Want a no risk way to travel during the pandemic? Pick up a historical fiction novel from the Homewood Public Library! Transport yourself across the continents with these 7 picks from Library Tech Ella!

The Night Watchman by Louise Erdrich

Your first destination is right here in the United States. Head to the Turtle Mountain Res. to meet Thomas Wazhushk, the night watchman of the first factory on the reservation as he fights for Native land rights in North Dakota. You’ll also want to follow Pixie “Patrice” Pantreau as she grapples with the challenges that accompany life on the reservation – most notably dealing with her alcoholic father and saving enough money to follow her sister to the big city of Minneapolis, if her sister is even still there….Based on the true story of author Louis Erdrich’s grandfather.

Of Women and Salt by Gabriela Garcia

Next, head down to Miami – but don’t get too comfortable. This tale spans into Cuba and Mexico as main character Jeanette not only battles her own addiction but also her family’s turbulent past. Adding to her dilemmas is a troubled relationship with her mother, Carmen, who is struggling with the trauma of being a displaced immigrant. Political, personal, and exceedingly poignant, this female-centric story will transport you to a land of tough decisions and difficult memories.

The House of the Spirits by Isabel Allende

Continue southward on your trip to an unnamed country (with striking similarities to 20^th century Chile) that is the backdrop of the Treuba family’s triumphs and tribulations. Headed up by volatile and controlling patriarch Esteban, moderated by mystical matriarch Clara, and disrupted by amorous daughter Blanca, the family is not expecting the arrival of a precious gift borne of rebellion. The gift may lead the Truebas, and the country at large, to a momentous fate: revolution or destruction. Political, romantic, and magical, this tale will enthrall every reader.

Homegoing by Yaa Gyasi

Traverse the Pacific ocean to reach your next stop: the Gold Coast of Africa. This bestseller follows two half-sisters, seemingly with little more in common than their shared blood. Effia is married to a wealthy slave trader while Esi is enslaved and shipped off to America, forcing her and her descendants into the cycle of slavery. However, Effia’s offspring aren’t living as carefree of a life as expected given the raging warfare in Ghana as well as the colonization efforts by the British. This intercontinental yarn spins into Harlem and even into Alabama, chronicling how captivity became the indelible mark of a nation.

Sarah’s Key by Tatiana de Rosnay

This stop is not for the faint of heart. Sarah, age 10, is arrested along with her mother and father as part of the Vélodrome d’Hiver, a notorious roundup of French Jews in 1942, perpetrated by the Nazis in collaboration with the French police. Imprisoned in the stadium along with thousands of others, Sarah has a secret: she has, in an effort to spare him, locked her 4-year-old brother Michael in a clandestine cabinet in the family’s apartment. In 2002, journalist Julia Jarmond, a decades-long American ex-pat married to a Frenchman, is tasked with writing an article about the horrific event. As Julia discovers more about the appalling incident, she is shocked at the code of silence that still surrounds it and finds a chilling connection between her family and that of the little girl. How will this new knowledge affect her marriage, identity, and life beyond the article? Read and find out…if you dare.

A Gentleman in Moscow by Amor Towles

Destination number 6 will escort you to the vast landscapes of Russia where Count Alexander Ilyich Rostov, a writer of noble blood, has been sentenced to house arrest for life by the Bolshevik regime. During his time imprisoned in the Metropel Hotel, the Count observes the numerous political changes to the country on the sidelines while also discovering some important lessons one simply cannot find in books.

Pachinko by Min Jin Lee

Last but certainly not least, end your journey in Korea and Japan where teen Sunja, the daughter of a crippled fisherman, falls head over heels for a wealthy stranger and his promises to take care of her. When her too-good-to-be-true love turns sour in more ways than one, Sunja finds a partner in a sickly minister traveling to Japan. A tale of loyalty, sacrifice, perseverance ensues.