Made in Massachusetts

A selection of local reads.

Updated April 14, 2026
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Dana Hall School Dana Hall School Librarians
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Made in Massachusetts

A selection of local reads.

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1776
McCullough, David G
Paper Book
America's beloved and distinguished historian presents, in a book of breathtaking excitement, drama, and narrative force, the stirring story of the year of our nation's birth, 1776, interweaving, on both sides of the Atlantic, the actions and decisions that led Great Britain to undertake a war...
American Bloomsbury : Louisa May Alcott, Ralph Waldo Emerson, Margaret Fuller, Nathaniel Hawthorne, and Henry David Thoreau : their lives, their loves, their work
Cheever, Susan
Paper Book
The 1850s were heady times in Concord, Massachusetts: in a town where a woman's petticoat drying on an outdoor line was enough to elicit scandal, some of the greatest minds of our nation's history were gathering in three of its wooden houses to establish a major American literary movement. The...
The art of scandal : the life and times of Isabella Stewart Gardner
Shand-Tucci, Douglass
Paper Book
Black mass : the true story of an unholy alliance between the FBI and the Irish Mob
Lehr, Dick
Paper Book
This is a true story of violence, double-cross, and brutal murders involving Irish mobsters and corrupt FBI agents in South Boston. Two boys - John Connolly, and James Whitey Bulger - grew up together on the streets of South Boston. Decades later, in the late 1970s, they would meet again. By then,...
The Borden murders : Lizzie Borden and the trial of the century
Miller, Sarah
Paper Book
Lizzie Borden took an axe, gave her mother forty whacks. When she saw what she had done, she gave her father forty-one. Here's middle-grade nonfiction that reads like a thriller. With murder, court battles, and sensational newspaper headlines, the story of Lizzie Borden is...
The Boston girl : a novel
Diamant, Anita
Paper Book
New York Times bestseller An unforgettable novel about a young Jewish woman growing up in Boston in the early twentieth century, told "with humor and optimism...through the eyes of an irresistible heroine" (People)--from the acclaimed author of The Red Tent<...
Caleb's crossing
Brooks, Geraldine
Paper Book
A richly imagined new novel from the author of the New York Times bestseller, People of the Book. Once again, Geraldine Brooks takes a remarkable shard of history and brings it to vivid life. In 1665, a young man from Martha's Vineyard became the first Native...
Chemistry
Wang, Weike
Paper Book
Named by The Washington Post as a Notable Work of Fiction in 2017 and by Entertainment Weekly as a Best Debut Novel of 2017 Named a Best Book of 2017 by NPR, Ann Patchett on PBS NewsHour, Minnesota Public Radio, Maris Kreizman, and...
The Dante Club : a novel
Pearl, Matthew
Paper Book
A New York Times Bestseller Words can bleed. In 1865 Boston, the literary geniuses of the Dante Club—poets and Harvard professors Henry Wadsworth Longfellow, Dr. Oliver Wendell Holmes, and James Russell Lowell, along with publisher J. T. Fields—are finishing America’s first...
The departed
DiCaprio, Leonardo.
DVD
Legendary director Martin Scorsese takes the helm for this tale of questionable loyalties and blurring identities set in the South Boston organized crime scene and inspired by the wildly popular 2002 Hong Kong crime film Infernal Affairs. As the police force attempts to reign in the increasingly...
The Gardner heist : the true story of the world's largest unsolved art theft
Boser, Ulrich
Paper Book
"Boser cracks the cold case of the art world's greatest unsolved mystery." --Vanity Fair
Girl, interrupted
Kaysen, Susanna
Paper Book
30th ANNIVERSARY EDITION * NATIONAL BESTSELLER * In 1967, after a session with a psychiatrist she'd never seen before, eighteen-year-old Susanna Kaysen was put in a taxi and sent to McLean Hospital. Her memoir of the next two years is a "poignant, honest ... triumphantly funny ... and...
The glass universe : how the ladies of the Harvard Observatory took the measure of the stars
Sobel, Dava
Paper Book
From #1 New York Times bestselling author Dava Sobel, the "inspiring" (People), little-known true story of women's landmark contributions to astronomy A New York Times Book Review Notable Book Named one of the best books of the year by...
Gone baby gone
Ladd, Alan, 1937-2022; Rissner, Dan, 1940; Bailey, Sean, 1970; Affleck, Ben, 1972-; Stockard, Aaron; Lehane, Dennis; Affleck, Casey, 1975-; Monaghan, Michelle; Freeman, Morgan; Harris, Ed, 1950; Ashton, John, 1948; Ryan, Amy; Madigan, Amy; Welliver, Titus
DVD
Ben Affleck's adaptation of Dennis Lehane's novel Gone, Baby, Gone stars Casey Affleck as Patrick Kenzie, a private investigator from working-class Boston who takes on a case involving a kidnapped girl. The girl's aunt begs Patrick to take the case because he has connections to criminal Boston that...
Good Will Hunting
Van Sant, Gus; Williams, Robin, 1952 July 21; Damon, Matt; Affleck, Ben, 1972-; Skarsga?rd, Stellan; Driver, Minnie; Miramax Films; Miramax Home Entertainment Firm; Buena Vista Home Entertainment
DVD
As director Gus Van Sant observes in the introduction to Matt Damon's and Ben Affleck's screenplay Good Will Hunting, the two young actors somewhat resemble the characters they play in the film: they're best friends, and Affleck (who plays Chuckie) habitually chauffeurs Damon (Will), who doesn't...
Green : a novel
Graham-Felsen, Sam
Paper Book
A coming-of-age novel about race, privilege, and the struggle to rise in America, written by a former Obama campaign staffer and propelled by an exuberant, unforgettable narrator.   "A riot of language that's part hip-hop, part nerd boy, and part pure imagination."--...
The handmaid's tale
Atwood, Margaret
Paper Book
The stunning graphic novel adaptation * A must-read and collector's item for fans of "the patron saint of feminist dystopian fiction" (New York Times).   Look for The Testaments, the sequel to The Handmaid's Tale   In Margaret...
Home town
Kidder, Tracy
Paper Book
In this splendid book, one of America's masters of nonfiction takes us home--into Hometown, U.S.A., the town of Northampton, Massachusetts, and into the extraordinary, and the ordinary, lives that people live there. As Tracy Kidder reveals how, beneath its amiable surface, a small town is a place of...
The Hotel Nantucket
Hilderbrand, Elin
Paper Book
"The queen of beach reads" (New York Magazine) and #1 New York Times bestselling author delivers an immensely satisfying page-turner in this tale about a summer of scandal at a storied Nantucket hotel. Fresh off a bad breakup with a longtime...
Jaws
Spielberg, Steven, 1946; Benchley, Peter; Gottlieb, Carl; Shaw, Robert, 1927-1978; Scheider, Roy; Dreyfuss, Richard; Gary, Lorraine, 1937; Hamilton, Murray; Universal Pictures Firm; Universal City Studios
DVD
Celebrate the 25th anniversary of the first summer mega hit! Special features include: Steven Spielberg's retrospective on the making of Jaws, deleted scenes and outtakes, Jaws archive photos, storyboards, production drawings, and more.
The jinx
Sturman, Jennifer
Paper Book
The Jinx by Jennifer Sturman released on Nov 29, 2005 is available now for purchase.
Legally blonde
Platt, Marc E; Kidney, Ric; Lutz, Karen McCullah; Smith, Kirsten; Luketic, Robert; Witherspoon, Reese, 1976; Wilson, Luke, 1971; Blair, Selma; Davis, Matthew, 1978; Garber, Victor; Coolidge, Jennifer; Taylor, Holland; Larter, Ali; Richmond, Anthony B., 19
DVD
When a blonde sorority queen is dumped by her boyfriend, she decides to follow him to law school to get him back. Once there, she learns she has more legal savvy than she ever imagined. Based on the book by Amanda Brown.
Little women : an annotated edition
Alcott, Louisa May, 1832-1888
Paper Book
Little Women has delighted and instructed readers for generations. For many, it is a favorite book first encountered in childhood or adolescence. Championed by Gertrude Stein, Simone de Beauvoir, Theodore Roosevelt, and J. K. Rowling, it is however much more than the "girls' book" intended...
Mona Lisa smile
Goldsmith-Thomas, Elaine; Schindler, Deborah; Schiff, Paul; Konner, Lawrence; Rosenthal, Mark D; Newell, Mike, 1942; Roberts, Julia, 1967; Dunst, Kirsten, 1982; Stiles, Julia, 1981; Gyllenhaal, Maggie, 1977; Stevenson, Juliet; West, Dominic, 1970; Goodwin
DVD
An art history teacher in the 1950s, who has the admiration of her students at Wellesley College, instructs them on how to be independent women. This goes against the conservative views of the school and she is chastised by the faculty.
Nightbird
Hoffman, Alice
Paper Book
Bestselling author Alice Hoffman's bewitching Nightbird is perfect for ages 10-13: love and friendship empower a lonely girl to embrace her uniqueness and discover her strengths.   Twig lives in Sidwell, where people whisper that fairy tales are real. After all,...
No gods, no monsters
Turnbull, Cadwell
Paper Book
Named a BEST BOOK OF 2021 by the New York Times, NPR, the New York Public Library, Audible, Tor.com, Book Riot, Library Journal, and Kirkus! Longlisted for the 2022 PEN Open Book Award "Riveting...[A] tender, ferocious book."--New York Times "Beautifully fantastical."--NPR<...
The Penderwicks : a summer tale of four sisters, two rabbits, and a very interesting boy
Birdsall, Jeanne
Paper Book
With over one million copies sold, this series of modern classics about the charming Penderwick family from National Book Award winner and New York Times bestseller Jeanne Birdsall is perfect for fans of Noel Streatfeild and Edward Eager. A PARADE BEST KIDS BOOK OF ALL...
Prep : a novel
Sittenfeld, Curtis
Paper Book
Curtis Sittenfeld’s debut novel, Prep, is an insightful, achingly funny coming-of-age story as well as a brilliant dissection of class, race, and gender in a hothouse of adolescent angst and ambition. Lee Fiora is an intelligent, observant fourteen-year-old when her father drops her...
The Prince of Fenway Park
Baggott, Julianna
Paper Book
It's been eighty-six years since the Red Sox won a World Series. Eighty-six years cursed. Twelve-year-old Oscar Egg be-lieves he is cursed, just like the Red Sox. His real parents didn't want him, and now his adopted mom has dumped him off to live with his strange, sickly dad. But...
Remain : a supernatural love story
Sparks, Nicholas; Shyamalan, M. Night
Paper Book
#1 NEW YORK TIMES BESTSELLER * A one-of-a-kind novel that grapples with the supernatural mysteries of life, death, and human connection--an unprecedented collaboration between the globally bestselling author of love stories like The Notebook and the renowned writer and director of...
Revere Beach elegy : a memoir of home and beyond
Merullo, Roland.
Paper Book
In Revere Beach Elegy, Roland Merullo returns to his childhood heaven of Revere, Massachusetts, to begin an intricate, impressionistic portrait of his rich and complex life. The tough codes of Revere's working-class streets mixwith the warmth and affirmation of family- forty cousins, grandparents,...
Run
Patchett, Ann
Paper Book
"Engaging, surprising, provocative and moving...a thoroughly intelligent book, an intimate domestic drama that nonetheless deals with big issues touching us all: religion, race, class, politics and, above all else, family." -- Washington Post From New York Times bestselling author Ann...
The Salem witch trials : an unsolved mystery from history
Yolen, Jane
Paper Book
In this spooky book from the nonfiction An Unsolved Mystery from History picture book series, tragedy strikes Salem, Massachusetts, in 1692 as the community is torn apart by accusations of witchcraft. When a group of girls came down with a horrible, mysterious bout of illness,...
The scarlet letter
Hawthorne, Nathaniel
Paper Book
Show me a sign
LeZotte, Ann Clare
Paper Book
Don't miss the companion book, Set Me Free CRITICS ARE RAVING ABOUT SHOW ME A SIGN Winner of the 2021 Schneider Family Book Award * NPR Best Books of 2020 * Kirkus Reviews Best Books of 2020 * School Library Journal Best Books of 2020 *...
Since we fell
Lehane, Dennis
Paper Book
NEW YORK TIMES BESTSELLER Barnes and Noble Best Book of the Year Bookpage Best of 2017 Booklist Best Crime Novel PopSugar Best Book of 2017 The new novel from New York Times bestseller Dennis Lehane, author of Mystic River and Shutter Island "Lehane is...
Small mercies
Lehane, Dennis
Paper Book
Instant New York Times Bestseller "Small Mercies is thought provoking, engaging, enraging, and can't-put-it-down entertainment." -- Stephen King The acclaimed New York Times bestselling writer returns with a masterpiece to rival...
Summer sisters : a novel
Blume, Judy
Paper Book
No writer captures the seasons of our lives better than Judy Blume.  Now, from theNew York Timesbestselling author ofWifeyandSmart Women,comes an extraordinary novel of reminiscence and awakening--an unforgettable story of two women, two families, and the friendships that shape a lifetime. When...
That old cape magic
Russo, Richard
Paper Book
Following Bridge of Sighs--a national best seller hailed by The Boston Globe as an astounding achievement and a masterpiece--Richard Russo gives us the story of a marriage, and of all the other ties that bind, from parents and in-laws to children and the promises of youth. Griffin has been...
This land is their land : the Wampanoag Indians, Plymouth Colony, and the troubled history of Thanksgiving
Silverman, David J.
Paper Book
Ahead of the 400th anniversary of the first Thanksgiving, a new look at the Plymouth colony's founding events, told for the first time with Wampanoag people at the heart of the story.In March 1621, when Plymouth's survival was hanging in the balance, the Wampanoag sachem (or chief),...
The trial of Lizzie Borden : a true story
Robertson, Cara
Paper Book
WINNER OF THE NEW ENGLAND SOCIETY BOOK AWARD In Cara Robertson's "enthralling new book," The Trial of Lizzie Borden, "the reader is to serve as judge and jury" (The New York Times). Based on twenty years of research and recently unearthed evidence, this true...
Walking to Martha's Vineyard : poems
Wright, Franz
Paper Book
In this radiant new collection, Franz Wright shares his regard for life in all its forms and his belief in the promise of blessing and renewal. As he watches the “Resurrection of the little apple tree outside / my window,” he shakes off his fear of mortality, concluding “what death...
We keep the dead close : a murder at Harvard and a half century of silence
Cooper, Rebecca H.
Paper Book
FINALIST FOR THE J. ANTHONY LUKAS BOOK PRIZE FINALIST FOR THE ALCS GOLD DAGGER FOR NON-FICTION NATIONAL BESTSELLER Named One of The Best Books of 2020 by NPR's Fresh Air * Publishers Weekly * Marie Claire *...
The witches : Salem, 1692
Schiff, Stacy
Paper Book
The Pulitzer Prize-winning author of the #1 national bestseller Cleopatra unpacks the mystery of the Salem Witch Trials. "The Witches is the fullest and finest story ever told about Salem in 1692, and no one else could tell it with the otherworldly flair...
Writers & lovers
King, Lily
Paper Book
#ReadWithJenna Book Club Pick as Featured on Today Emma Roberts Belletrist Book Club Pick A New York Times Book Review's Group Text Selection "I loved this book not just from the first chapter or the first page but from the first paragraph... The voice...
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https://librarian.syndetics.com/syndeticsunbound/lp/603.961/list/7737

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