#4 Dark Matter: A ghost Story - Michelle Paver

A marvelously written tale set in the desolate far north. Paver's descriptions easily transport you to isolated Gruhuken and the characters are very vivid. The ghost story is wonderfully chilling and eerie without being gruesomely gory or horrific.
I thoroughly enjoyed the goosebumps without the nightmares. I wish I could find more modern ghost stories like this.

#5 The Rings of My Tree: A Latvian Woman's Journey - Jane E. Cunningham

The well told story of Mirdza, who was a young woman displaced from her homeland of Latvia during World War Two.
Jane E. Cunningham writes beautifully from Mirdza's point of view that connecting with Mirdza through Cunningham's writing is seemless.
Mirdza's quiet strength and resilience is admirable as well as her selfless helping of others despite her own misfortune and suffering.

My mother always said that you can tell a good book by how hard it makes you cry.

As a Latvian-Canadian, the story especially hits a tender cord with me, and helped me to connect with my own family's story as they were displaced from Latvia and eventually found their way to Canada.