Avon Lake Public Library: Historical Fiction: November 2025

Recent Releases

Circle of Days
by Ken Follett

Exploring the creation of Stonehenge, Circle of Days follows Seft, a flint miner who's physically abused by his widowed father. Falling for Neen, he's embraced by her herding family and ends up helping Neen's priestess sister bring her vision for a massive stone circle to life while facing weather issues, tribal conflicts, and logistical problems in this intricately plotted epic with a large cast of characters. Try this next: Conn Iggulden's The Abbot's Tale.

Bad Bad Girl
by Gish Jen

Based on the life of the author’s mother, this “heartbreaking and stunning” (Library Journal) story follows Loo Shu-hsin, from her privileged but abusive childhood in Shanghai to 1947 Chicago, where she studies for an advanced degree. Marrying a fellow immigrant, she settles in New York, but she isn’t happy and mistreats her eldest daughter. Try this next: Wendy Chen’s Their Divine Fires.

The Wayfinder
by Adam Johnson

This well-researched, richly layered historical saga from the author of the Pulitzer Prize-winning The Orphan Master’s Son takes place in an evocative South Pacific setting. It depicts what happens when teenage Kōrero, who wants to be her small island’s storyteller, meets two brothers, a navigator and a poet, who are part of the Tongan empire. Try this next: Minsoo Kang’s The Melancholy of Untold History.

Whatever Happened to Lori Lovely?
by Sarah McCoy

In 1991, college student Lu Tibbott writes her senior thesis about her Aunt Lori, a 1960s movie starlet who left Hollywood to become a nun. While Lori has never discussed her abrupt decision before, she agrees to be interviewed by Lu. This compelling dual timeline novel puts the spotlight on ambition, love, faith, and secrets as readers follow Lu and Lori's paths. For fans of: Taylor Jenkins Reid's The Seven Husbands of Evelyn Hugo; or Meg Waite Clayton's Typewriter Beach.

Contact your librarian for more great books!