The Siege - Helen Dunsmore

A while back, I read the wonderful Cellist of Sarajevo and was taken into a world of which I had been largely unaware--it took place during the siege of Sarajevo.  Dunsmore's book tells a similar tale (though in a very different way).  Dunsmore shares with us the story of a family trapped in St. Petersberg during the siege during WWII.  She describes the hardship and the starvation in such a way that you almost feel that you are there.  The Siege is a compelling window into an era that I was fascinated to learn more about (though, it is also very horrific at points).

Glass Harmonica - Russell Wangersky

This book takes place in one of my favorite places on earth...St. John's.   It starts out kind of as a murder-mystery, but essentially what Wangersky seems to do is peel the layers of a local community to see why this murder might have taken place.  It's told from the perspective of the residents (primarily) of Mackay Street and I found it fascinating.  It was a window into a micro-community and I think it really worked.