A Decade of Hit Books
Discover new books on Goodreads
See if your friends have read any of Kim van Alkemade's books
Kim van Alkemade
516 ratings | 108 reviews | avg rating:4.77

more photos (2)

Kim’s Year In Books

year in books
Kim’s 2025 Year in Books
Take a look at Kim’s Year in Books, including some fun facts about their reading.
Go to Kim’s 2025 Year in Books

Kim van Alkemade’s Followers (470)

member photo
member photo
member photo
member photo
member photo
member photo
member photo
member photo
member photo
member photo
member photo
member photo
member photo
member photo
member photo
member photo
member photo
member photo
member photo
member photo
member photo
member photo
member photo
member photo
member photo
member photo
member photo
member photo
member photo
member photo

Add New
Videos

Counting Lost Stars Book Trailer
Add a comment
Bachelor Girl Book Trailer
Add a comment

More videos…

Kim’s Bookshelves

to-read (69)
currently-reading (3)
read (538)
did-not-finish (0)
all (0)

Kim’s Friends (31)

Dawne W...
Dawne Webber
489 books | 73 friends

Susan P...
Susan Perabo
252 books | 220 friends

Pam Webber
Pam Webber
113 books | 390 friends

Kimberl...
Kimberly (kimmerthebooknerd)
2,485 books | 227 friends

H
H
1,124 books | 85 friends

Mariel
Mariel
525 books | 82 friends

Kyle Ge...
Kyle Gearity
48 books | 58 friends

Emily T...
Emily Taylor
1,292 books | 631 friends

More friends…

Kim van Alkemade

Goodreads Author


Born
in New York, NY, The United States
Website

Genre
Fiction, Historical Fiction, Gay and Lesbian

Member Since
March 2013


Kim van Alkemade is a New York Times bestselling author whose work has been translated into eleven languages. After a career teaching writing at Shippensburg University in Pennsylvania, she now works at an independent bookstore in upstate New York where she lives with her partner, their rescue dog, and two feisty backyard chickens.

Learn more
Ask the Author

To ask Kim van Alkemade questions, please sign up.

Popular Answered Questions

Hi! I just read your book Orphan #8 (finished it about an hour ago actually). I feel the impact of your novel has greatly changed the way I look at people of the LGBTQ+ community who are Jewish. I'm a leader of my school's Gender Sexuality Alliance (GSA). I was wondering if you'd be comfortable sharing your experience as a Jewish LGBTQ+ woman and as an author and how that has impacted you? Thank you so much!
Kim van Alkemade Hi Celeste, thanks so much for reading my novel! I'm not sure my personal experience is all that interesting or useful, but there are so many great re…moreHi Celeste, thanks so much for reading my novel! I'm not sure my personal experience is all that interesting or useful, but there are so many great resources through the American Library Associations LGBT Roundtable I'm sure you can find some great reading for your students. http://www.ala.org/rt/glbtrt
It is really important for me, though, to have LGBT characters in my historical fiction as I think it reclaims a historical space for us that is often invisible since so much was hushed up in the past. I'd also recommend that you check out the book Hidden From History: Reclaiming the Gay and Lesbian Past, it's a fantastic resource.(less)
flag
Hi Kim, are was there currently research that caused you make this a into a novel- is it a personal experience for you?
Kim van Alkemade Hi Velvet, I wrote an essay for the back of the novel, the PS section, called "True Stories" that really goes in depth in answer to your question. Aft…moreHi Velvet, I wrote an essay for the back of the novel, the PS section, called "True Stories" that really goes in depth in answer to your question. After you read it let me know if you have any other questions!(less)
flag
See all 17 answers from Kim van Alkemade…

Combine Editions

Average rating: 3.73 · 27,065 ratings · 2,834 reviews · 4 distinct works • Similar authors
Orphan Number Eight
3.72 avg rating — 21,652 ratings — published 2015 — 31 editions
Rate this book
Clear rating
1 of 5 stars2 of 5 stars3 of 5 stars4 of 5 stars5 of 5 stars
Bachelor Girl
3.65 avg rating — 3,791 ratings — published 2018 — 9 editions
Rate this book
Clear rating
1 of 5 stars2 of 5 stars3 of 5 stars4 of 5 stars5 of 5 stars
Counting Lost Stars
4.08 avg rating — 1,593 ratings — published 2023 — 11 editions
Rate this book
Clear rating
1 of 5 stars2 of 5 stars3 of 5 stars4 of 5 stars5 of 5 stars
Upstate
4.41 avg rating — 29 ratings — expected publication 2026 — 5 editions
Rate this book
Clear rating
1 of 5 stars2 of 5 stars3 of 5 stars4 of 5 stars5 of 5 stars

* Note: these are all the books on Goodreads for this author. To add more, click here.

Kim is Currently Reading

Miss Lambert Step...
Kim van Alkemade is currently reading
by Kazuo Ishiguro (Goodreads Author)
bookshelves: currently-reading
Rate this book
Clear rating
1 of 5 stars2 of 5 stars3 of 5 stars4 of 5 stars5 of 5 stars

 
2 hours, 6 min ago
Returns and Excha...
Kim van Alkemade is currently reading
by Kayla Rae Whitaker (Goodreads Author)
bookshelves: currently-reading
Rate this book
Clear rating
1 of 5 stars2 of 5 stars3 of 5 stars4 of 5 stars5 of 5 stars

 
Aug 20, 2026 05:27AM
Vladimir
Kim van Alkemade is currently reading
by Julia May Jonas (Goodreads Author)
bookshelves: currently-reading
Rate this book
Clear rating
1 of 5 stars2 of 5 stars3 of 5 stars4 of 5 stars5 of 5 stars

 
Jun 14, 2026 10:15AM

rss
Kim’s Recent Updates

Kim van Alkemade started reading
Miss Lambert Steps Aboard Danger by Kazuo Ishiguro
Miss Lambert Steps Aboard Danger
by Kazuo Ishiguro (Goodreads Author)
Rate this book
Clear rating
1 of 5 stars2 of 5 stars3 of 5 stars4 of 5 stars5 of 5 stars
2 hours, 6 min ago  · 
Kim van Alkemade wants to read
Long Island Girls by Gabrielle Korn
Long Island Girls
by Gabrielle Korn (Goodreads Author)
Rate this book
Clear rating
1 of 5 stars2 of 5 stars3 of 5 stars4 of 5 stars5 of 5 stars
Sep 08, 2026 07:24PM  ·   ·  preview book
Kim van Alkemade wants to read
Surrender by Jennifer Acker
Surrender
by Jennifer Acker (Goodreads Author)
Rate this book
Clear rating
1 of 5 stars2 of 5 stars3 of 5 stars4 of 5 stars5 of 5 stars
Sep 08, 2026 07:24PM  ·   ·  preview book
Kim van Alkemade rated a book it was amazing
The Winter Guest by Sarah Moss
The Winter Guest
by Sarah Moss (Goodreads Author)
Rate this book
Clear rating
1 of 5 stars2 of 5 stars3 of 5 stars4 of 5 stars5 of 5 stars
The moment I reached the surprising last page of this immersive novella, I turned back to the beginning to read it again knowing what I know now. Gorgeously written and rich in detail, I will be recommending this book to everyone I know!
Sep 06, 2026 05:17PM  · 1 like ·   · see review
Kim van Alkemade wants to read
The Shape of Grace by Sara Elliott
The Shape of Grace: A Novel
by Sara Elliott
Rate this book
Clear rating
1 of 5 stars2 of 5 stars3 of 5 stars4 of 5 stars5 of 5 stars
Sep 03, 2026 04:40PM  · 
Kim van Alkemade rated a book it was amazing
Instant Classic by Kate Fagan
Instant Classic
by Kate Fagan (Goodreads Author)
Rate this book
Clear rating
1 of 5 stars2 of 5 stars3 of 5 stars4 of 5 stars5 of 5 stars
A repressed movie director finds the courage to claim her heart's desire in this affecting and sexy novel about Hollywood, women's basketball, and lesbian history. Dual timelines weave seamlessly across decades as we follow the high-stakes process of ...more
Aug 22, 2026 04:03PM  ·   · see review
Kim van Alkemade started reading
Returns and Exchanges by Kayla Rae Whitaker
Returns and Exchanges
by Kayla Rae Whitaker (Goodreads Author)
Rate this book
Clear rating
1 of 5 stars2 of 5 stars3 of 5 stars4 of 5 stars5 of 5 stars
Aug 20, 2026 05:27AM  ·   ·  preview book
Kim van Alkemade started reading
Instant Classic by Kate Fagan
Instant Classic
by Kate Fagan (Goodreads Author)
Rate this book
Clear rating
1 of 5 stars2 of 5 stars3 of 5 stars4 of 5 stars5 of 5 stars
Aug 19, 2026 04:36AM  · 
Kim van Alkemade rated a book it was amazing
I Am You by Victoria Redel
I Am You
by Victoria Redel (Goodreads Author)
Rate this book
Clear rating
1 of 5 stars2 of 5 stars3 of 5 stars4 of 5 stars5 of 5 stars
Aug 19, 2026 04:36AM  ·   ·  preview book
Kim van Alkemade rated a book it was amazing
The Three Lives of Cate Kay by Kate Fagan
The Three Lives of Cate Kay
by Kate Fagan (Goodreads Author)
Rate this book
Clear rating
1 of 5 stars2 of 5 stars3 of 5 stars4 of 5 stars5 of 5 stars
Aug 16, 2026 04:20AM  · 1 like · 
More of Kim's books…
Quotes by Kim van Alkemade  (?)
Quotes are added by the Goodreads community and are not verified by Goodreads. (Learn more)

“I was so used to pretending to be something I wasn't, it shocked me to be seen for what I was.”
― Kim van Alkemade, Orphan Number Eight
tags: crying, kiss, lesbian, lgbtqia, librarian, loneliness, rachel, romance
5 likes
Like

“What makes you think I ever got married? Married women work themselves to death, all their money goes to husbands who gamble it away. Why would I ever do that to myself?”
― Kim van Alkemade, Orphan Number Eight
tags: businesswoman, chinese-american, equal-pay, feminism, marriage, marriage-equality, mrs-hong, wig-maker
3 likes
Like

“Sometimes I ask myself if there’s any limit to the harm people can do to each other.” “No,”
― Kim van Alkemade, Orphan Number Eight
3 likes
Like

Topics Mentioning This Author

topics posts views last activity  
Book Nook Cafe: What I read October 2015 59 38 Nov 21, 2015 02:46PM  
Reading with Style: This topic has been closed to new comments. FA 2015 RwS Completed Tasks - Fall 2015 1016 104 Nov 30, 2015 09:00PM  
The Seasonal Read...: This topic has been closed to new comments. Fall Challenge 2015: Completed Tasks (DO NOT DELETE POSTS) 3254 609 Nov 30, 2015 09:01PM  
A Million More Pages: POFM November 2015 190 123 Dec 02, 2015 12:37PM  
Book Nook Cafe: Carol's 2015 Reads & Reviews 167 92 Jan 07, 2016 09:37AM  

Kim’s Friend Comments

No comments have been added yet.