ISO clean novels to read (for me)

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Forum -> Hobbies, Crafts, and Collections -> Reading Room

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mommyplusmorah

Tue, Feb 27 2018, 1:42 pm

I absolutely love to read, especially a well written fictional story I can get lost in. The longer, the better. The thing is I try very hard to read books that are "clean" which to me means they don't have (very many) s-xual references and certainly not bedroom scenes or affairs. Does anyone have any novels to recommend? (Please don't worry that you're "paskening" for me. I'll do my own research as well, just looking for some ideas to start with.) Thanks very much for your help!

amother

Honeydew

Tue, Feb 27 2018, 2:15 pm

Maeve Binchy is not high literature, but she wrote fun, clean novels. Most classic mysteries and science fiction would also work for you.

smss

Tue, Feb 27 2018, 2:23 pm

The Anne of Green Gables series
Harry Potter

Dorothy Sayers
Agatha Christie
Maeve Binchy - some are cleaner than others - nothing explicit
In general the mystery genre is probably cleanest.

DrMom

Tue, Feb 27 2018, 2:53 pm

Charles Dickens novels fit the bill. Clean and quite long:
David Copperfield
A Tale of Two Cities

How about Jane Austen's Pride and Prejudice?

Chayalle

Tue, Feb 27 2018, 3:19 pm

I used to read Daphne Du Maurier as a teen. There are definitely some affairs in some of her books, but pretty clean for today's standards.

Chew21

Tue, Feb 27 2018, 4:55 pm

Me before you by jojo moyes
jodi piccoult

fish

Tue, Feb 27 2018, 5:40 pm

Lisa scottoline writes clean books
Ronald balson

icebreaker

Tue, Feb 27 2018, 6:00 pm

If you like historical fiction (I happen to), I recommend Philippa Gregory. I believe all of her novels are set in Tudor England.

amother

Babypink

Tue, Feb 27 2018, 6:29 pm

Are you willing to skip Christian references? Squeaky clean series about an Episcopalian minister in small Southern town, the Mitford series by Jan Karon. Must skip all the Bible passages and references to oso haish, but very charming.

Water Stones

Tue, Feb 27 2018, 7:42 pm

I read Peony by author Pearl S. Buck.
It's in China 100 years ago, a Chinese servant girl loves the Jewish son of her boss. It is not having s*x in it. It's culture issues and I like it because it tells how Jews came to China 100 years ago and how keeping Jewish ways there.

Ravenclaw

Fri, Jun 08 2018, 10:42 am

If you like fantasy:
Brandon Sanderson books are clean- worst thing is a kiss (like maybe once per book,if even)

Historical:
The girl in the blue coat by Monica Hesse
The book thief (maybe one chapter there is slightly off, but easily censored)

Lisa Klein’s books are pretty clean

LeahRivka

Wed, Jun 13 2018, 10:36 am

Thank you for this topic and list! I too find it is hard to find good books that are clean.

Chayalle

Wed, Jun 13 2018, 10:40 am

Seashells wrote:

I also remember enjoying The Good Earth by same author.

Amarante

Wed, Jun 13 2018, 10:49 am

A few that I have enjoyed in the past few years - most of them are current and I tend to like women writers or stories about families although I do like the well written "thriller" or mystery when I want to give me brain a holiday and devour something in a day. :-)

Before We Were Yours - Lisa Wingate

NEW YORK TIMES BESTSELLER • For readers of Orphan Train and The Nightingale comes a “thought-provoking [and] complex tale about two families, two generations apart . . . based on a notorious true-life scandal.”*

Memphis, 1939. Twelve-year-old Rill Foss and her four younger siblings live a magical life aboard their family’s Mississippi River shantyboat. But when their father must rush their mother to the hospital one stormy night, Rill is left in charge—until strangers arrive in force. Wrenched from all that is familiar and thrown into a Tennessee Children’s Home Society orphanage, the Foss children are assured that they will soon be returned to their parents—but they quickly realize the dark truth. At the mercy of the facility’s cruel director, Rill fights to keep her sisters and brother together in a world of danger and uncertainty.

Aiken, South Carolina, present day. Born into wealth and privilege, Avery Stafford seems to have it all: a successful career as a federal prosecutor, a handsome fiancé, and a lavish wedding on the horizon. But when Avery returns home to help her father weather a health crisis, a chance encounter leaves her with uncomfortable questions and compels her to take a journey through her family’s long-hidden history, on a path that will ultimately lead either to devastation or to redemption.

Based on one of America’s most notorious real-life scandals—in which Georgia Tann, director of a Memphis-based adoption organization, kidnapped and sold poor children to wealthy families all over the country—Lisa Wingate’s riveting, wrenching, and ultimately uplifting tale reminds us how, even though the paths we take can lead to many places, the heart never forgets where we belong.

Amarante

Wed, Jun 13 2018, 10:51 am

The Sewing Machine - Natalie Fergie - old fashioned historical drama

It is 1911, and Jean is about to join the mass strike at the Singer factory. For her, nothing will be the same again.

Decades later, in Edinburgh, Connie sews coded moments of her life into a notebook, as her mother did before her.

More than 100 years after his grandmother’s sewing machine was made, Fred discovers a treasure trove of documents. His family history is laid out before him in a patchwork of unfamiliar handwriting and colourful seams.

He starts to unpick the secrets of four generations, one stitch at a time.

Amarante

Wed, Jun 13 2018, 10:53 am

This is a very light fun read - twisty thriller set in Park Slope - not great literature - classic "beach" read

The Perfect Mother - Aimee Molloy

THE INSTANT NEW YORK TIMES BESTSELLER AND MOST ANTICIPATED BOOK OF THE SUMMER—SOON TO BE A MAJOR MOTION PICTURE STARRING SCANDAL’S KERRY WASHINGTON

An addictive psychological thriller about a group of women whose lives become unexpectedly connected when one of their newborns goes missing.

A night out. A few hours of fun. That’s all it was meant to be.

They call themselves the May Mothers—a group of new moms whose babies were born in the same month. Twice a week, they get together in Brooklyn’s Prospect Park for some much-needed adult time.

When the women go out for drinks at the hip neighborhood bar, they want a fun break from their daily routine. But on this hot Fourth of July night, something goes terrifyingly wrong: one of the babies is taken from his crib. Winnie, a single mom, was reluctant to leave six-week-old Midas with a babysitter, but her fellow May Mothers insisted everything would be fine. Now he is missing. What follows is a heart-pounding race to find Midas, during which secrets are exposed, marriages are tested, and friendships are destroyed.

Thirteen days. An unexpected twist. The Perfect Mother is a "true page turner." —B.A. Paris, author of Behind Closed Doors

amother

Slateblue

Wed, Jun 13 2018, 11:00 am

The Hunger Games

Amarante

Wed, Jun 13 2018, 11:01 am

The Mother's Promise - Sally Hepworth

Sally Hepworth novels are "sure to appeal to fans of Jojo Moyes, Jodi Picoult, and Lisa Genova; book clubs will be lining up." —Library Journal (starred review)

All their lives, Alice Stanhope and her daughter, Zoe, have been a family of two, living quietly in Northern California. Zoe has always struggled with crippling social anxiety and her mother has been her constant and fierce protector. With no family to speak of, and the identity of Zoe’s father shrouded in mystery, their team of two works—until it doesn’t. Until Alice gets sick and needs to fight for her life.

Desperate to find stability for Zoe, Alice reaches out to two women who are practically strangers but who are her only hope: Kate, a nurse, and Sonja, a social worker. As the four of them come together, a chain of events is set into motion and all four of them must confront their sharpest fears and secrets—secrets about abandonment, abuse, estrangement, and the deepest longing for family. Imbued with heart and humor in even the most dismal moments, The Mother’s Promise is an unforgettable novel about the unbreakable bonds between mothers and daughters and the new ways in which families are forged.

Amarante

Wed, Jun 13 2018, 11:03 am

The Two Family House - Lynda Cohen Loigman

"An emotional but dreamy novel that...will transport you far, far away from your next dreary Monday morning. You may do a lot of sobbing, but don't worry, you'll be smiling by the end." —Bustle, "12 Spring Break Reads To Help You Escape Normal Life"

**Buzzfeed, "14 Of The Most Buzzed-About Books"

**Popsugar, "6 Books You Should Read"

"A novel you won't be able to put down." —Diane Chamberlain, New York Times bestselling author

Brooklyn, 1947: In the midst of a blizzard, in a two-family brownstone, two babies are born, minutes apart. The mothers are sisters by marriage: dutiful, quiet Rose, who wants nothing more than to please her difficult husband; and warm, generous Helen, the exhausted mother of four rambunctious boys who seem to need her less and less each day. Raising their families side by side, supporting one another, Rose and Helen share an impenetrable bond forged before and during that dramatic winter night.

When the storm passes, life seems to return to normal; but as the years progress, small cracks start to appear and the once deep friendship between the two women begins to unravel. No one knows why, and no one can stop it. One misguided choice; one moment of tragedy. Heartbreak wars with happiness and almost, but not quite, wins. Moving and evocative, Lynda Cohen Loigman's debut novel The Two-Family House is a heart-wrenching, gripping multigenerational story, woven around the deepest of secrets.

Amarante

Wed, Jun 13 2018, 11:06 am

The Laws of Gravity - Liz Rosengerg

An exquisite tour de force, The Laws of Gravity is a testament to what it means to be a family, what it takes to save a life, and the lengths we will go to protect the ones we love.
Two families, bound by blood. One decision holds the key to survival.

Nicole, red-haired and beautiful, discovers that her life is in danger. She turns to her cousin and childhood best friend Ari for the cord blood he's been banking for his own children. His decision brings them before the scales of justice. Solomon Richter, a state Supreme Court judge on the brink of mandatory retirement, finds himself embroiled in a legal battle unlike any other. A case that calls into question the very things we live for: family, loyalty, friendship and love.
It's Nicole's last chance, Ari's last stand, and the judge's last case.
A novel of heartbreaking honesty, humor and depth; an unforgettable story of justice and love: The Laws of Gravity heralds award-winning Liz Rosenberg as a new storytelling sensation.

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