Hood — Emma Donoghue

In the late '70s Irish convent school teenager Pen O'Grady fell in love with fellow student Cara Wall. Pen, an appealing heroine who is feisty yet vulnerable, and Cara, a free spirit who follows no path but her own, prove themselves to be up to the challenge of a love deemed unacceptable in Catholic Ireland. Their tumultuous relationship, full of love and passion and desire and flight, survives infidelities of all sorts--until they reach their late 20s, when Cara dies in a car accident. Through the elegant use of flashbacks intermingled with the harsh present-day reality of Cara's upcoming funeral, Pen reveals a sexy, beautifully written love story filled with the bittersweet reflections and emotional complexity of an intimate relationship. Above all, it is a graceful tale about coming to terms with loss.