This exquisite debut novel begins in 1990 when Orhan’s grandfather wills his home in Turkey to a woman in a nursing home in California. Orhan needs to understand who this stranger is and travels to meet her. Reluctant at first, she ultimately shares her harrowing story. This is a beautifully written, devastating story of love and overwhelming loss during the Armenian genocide in 1915 Turkey.

—Julie of R.J. Julia Booksellers, Madison