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So, how many of you are reading this post to see if you have in fact read any of the books mentioned in it? Welcome! Either you have excellent taste, if you have in fact read any of them, or you’re about to add a lot of books to your TBR. It’s a win-win situation! It’s not possible to actually know what every single person in the world has or hasn’t read, so this list is based on the books’ low number of Goodreads rating.
We all know that there are SO many books in the world, and we will only ever be able to read a very small fraction of them. (*SOB*) But getting to read any amount of books is an incredible, positive addition to our lives. And just like we can’t read every book, we also can’t hear about every book. That’s why these lists exist—to help amazing books find new readers!
These books are fantastic works of historical fiction, but for whatever reason, haven’t reached a huge audience. So let’s give them another boost. There’s a USDA agent visiting North Carolina in the 1930s; a young girl hunting a panther through the wilds of Texas in the 1800s; a young woman who is mysteriously named in the will of a rich stranger in China in the 1990s; a jazz club singer trying to make it big in Chicago in the 1960s; and more!
Each of these novels is a story of adversity, tragedy, and loss, but also of love, family, and triumph. Get ready to write them down!
The Which Way Treeby Elizabeth Crook
This is a fantastic story of loss and revenge, reminiscent of True Grit, and set in Texas in the mid-1800s. When a panther kills Samantha’s mother and horribly maims her face, she is hell bent on getting revenge. And after her father abandons her and her older brother, Benjamin, there’s no one to stop her. So Samantha sets out into the Texas wilderness to find the panther and kill it. Teenage Benjamin goes too, thinking that his little sister is going to need someone to protect her. But in the end, will the panther, rumored to be an actual demon, win, or Samantha prove to be fiercer?
Past Tense
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Over the Plain Houses by Julia Franks
In this award-winning novel set in the 1930s, a USDA agent’s visit to the North Carolina mountains ends in devastating tragedy. Virginia Furman has been sent by the federal governmentto North Carolina to help people learn about the latest upgrades they can make to their farms and homes. Irene Lambey is the wife of Brodis, a preacher, who longs for a life away from her difficult husband, and is drawn to Virginia’s independence and education. At night, Irene wanders the woods, her only time to be free of Brodis. But between this and Irene’s interest in Virginia, Brodis becomes convinced that Irene is involved in witchcraft, and his fear and brute nature will lead to devastation.
What Lies Between Usby Nayomi Munaweera
This haunting book is set partly in the present and partly in the past. After the death of her father, Ganga and her mother flee Sri Lanka to their relatives in America, where Ganga tries to fit in and be like the other teenagers. But the violence and tragedy of the past haunt her, and as Ganga moves forward to college and love, unexpected events have her questioning her choices, and lead to a horrible act.
Getting Mother’s Body by Suzan-Lori Parks
This is the debut novel from the Pulitzer Prize-winning playwright of Topdog/ Underdog. It’s the 1960s in Texas, and 16-year-old Billy Beede is unmarried and pregnant and in need of help. Her mother, Willa Mae, died years before, in another state, and there are rumors that she was buried with jewels. But word gets back to Billy that her mother’s final resting place is going to soon be under pavement. So Billy steals a car and sets out to find her mother’s grave and, hopefully, dig up her fortune. The novel is told through multiple points of view, from Billy to her aunt and uncle, to her mother’s old lover, Dill.
Last Night at the Blue Angel by Rebecca Rotert
This award-winning novel is also about mothers and daughters, and set in the 1960s, this time in Chicago at the Blue Angel club. It’s about Naomi Hill, a talented jazz singer who has been trying to break into stardom for a decade. When she finally catches a big break, the fame and attention that come with it make things harder for her and her 10-year-old daughter, Sophia, who worries that Naomi’s bright light will burn out too soon.
The Clay Girl by Heather Tucker
Oh, hey, another book set in the 1960s! This is a gripping debut in the vein of Bastard Out of Carolina that will break your heart. It’s about a young girl named Ari, whose fractured home life is filled with violence and danger. After the death of her father, eight-year-old Ari is sent to live with her aunts, but after a brief respite from her mother, she is sent back to her mother and sisters and the men that come in and out of her mother’s orbit. Helping Ari get through this time is her imaginary seahorse friend, Jasper. It’s a heart-squeezing coming-of-age story about imagination and trauma, a difficult read but also an amazing one.
Easter Island by Jennifer Vanderbes
When Elsa Pendleton is orphaned and left guardian of her younger sister, Alice, she forsakes love and enters a marriage of convenience with anthropologist Edward Beazley. He promises to care for them both, and soon they join him on an expedition to Easter Island. Elsa thinks the trip will be good for Alice, but their remoteness leaves them unaware that WWI has started, and a German naval squadron is going to land soon. Sixty years later, a grieving American botanist travels to Easter Island, and the stories of both the women unfold as they work to find themselves and overcome the tragedy in their lives.
Ghost Girl, Banana by Wiz Wharton
And last but not least, this excellent, engrossing debut is about two young women trying to make their way, set 30 years apart. In Hong Kong in 1966, Sook-Yin is sent away from her home to train as a nurse in England and send money back to her family. But the choices she makes send her down a different path. And three decades later in London, Lily goes looking for answers about her mother, who died when she was very young, after learning she has been named a beneficiary in the will of a rich stranger in China.
If you can’t get enough recommendations, be sure to check out Historical Fiction about the Vietnam War, 50 Years Later, and Get a Blast From the Recent Past with 2000s “Historical” Fiction. And be sure to sign up for Past Tense, our historical fiction newsletter!
The following comes to you from the Editorial Desk.
We love a good cover, and this week, we’re highlighting a list of the best short story covers. Trust us when we say that these will look so demure on your bookshelves!
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In the course of writing about great book covers, there’s one thing that I’ve noted several times: short story collections have some of the most innovative, memorable, and eye-catching covers of them all. Why is that? Perhaps part of it is because short story collections are a harder sell to the average reader, so the first line of marketing has to be for the bookshop browser, whether they’re perusing on or off line. Perhaps part of it is that many great short story collections are coming from smaller presses, so pushing boundaries with design is part of what’s possible because there are fewer stakeholders to please in the process. Perhaps it’s also simply that short story collections, by nature of their diversity, invite more creativity into the cover design process.
Whatever the reason or reasons, I suspect anyone who appreciates a good book cover is here for it.
Let’s take a look at some of the banging short story book covers that have hit shelves this year, as well as look at some of the upcoming covers of collections you’ll want to pop on your TBR ASAP. If you’re reading this when the piece publishes in mid-May, know you’ll be reading it in time to partake in Short Story Month, too. Any month can be short story month, of course, but May gives extra reason to dive into bite-sized fiction.
As always, caveats abound here. It is still unnecessarily difficult to track down cover designers and artists for book covers, especially if you don’t have the book in your hand to double-check. Many publishers still don’t put this information on the landing pages for these books, so it takes good Googling and a lot of luck to dig up names to credit.
Autocorrect by Etgar Keret, translated by Jessica Cohen and Sondra Silverston (May 27)
If you’re looking for a collection of darkly funny stories, this cover is not going to steer you in the wrong direction. It’s a squirrel that’s clearly been launched right into the book title, and he looks completely unfazed by it all. There’s a lot of nice movement in this design, especially as it is very simplistic.
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