Top Ten Tuesday -Books That Celebrate America

Today’s Topic: Books with Red, White, & Blue Covers (In honor of the 4th of July in the USA. Choose covers with your own country’s colors if you prefer!)

Hosted by: That Artsy Reader Girl

I was really excited about this week’s prompt, until I started looking through all my books. Can you believe with hundreds of books on my shelves I only have two or three with appropriately hued patriotic covers?! #fail.

After this astonishing discovery I realized I would have to reinterpret the prompt. So, instead I have made a list of books which I believe feature stories celebrating America.

Freedom’s Ring

A dual time slip novel, Freedom’s Ring tells the story of a Boston Marathon bombing survivor and a woman living in Boston on the eve of the Revolutionary war. I loved learning more about the early history of this great American city as well as the sacrifices made by the early patriots.  Also bonus, this is one of the few books I own whose cover actually fits today’s original prompt.

The Frontiersman’s Daughter

One trait uniquely American is the spirit of the pioneer, people who set out into the great unknown to carve out a life for themselves in the wilderness. Laura Frantz does an excellent job of capturing this attitude in her debut novel.

The Gulf Coast Chronicles 

The southern territory of the United States is often overlooked in fiction in favor of the thirteen original colonies. This generational series follows a family over the course of a century, from early colonization in the 1700’s through the War of 1812. This area of the country was a true melting pot then with the French, British and Spanish all intermingling and trying to establish ownership of the Gulf Coast.

Wings of the Nightingale Series

All of Sundin’s series celebrate the commitment and sacrifice of ordinary men and women during the years of WWII. I particularly like this series which features stories about women serving overseas during the war.

The Wood’s Edge & A Flight of Arrows

Pre-revolution, this duology portrays the heart-breaking choices confronting those whose cultures intermingled. British, Indians and early Americans often struggled with the changing political climate that could turn a friend into an enemy and vice versa. A British soldier’s difficult choice leads to serious ramifications not only for his family but also for others.

Heroines Behind the Lines Series

The Civil War has to date been the only war fought on American soil. It divided families and communities and wiped out a generation of men and a culture which (right or wrong) had been entrenched in the South. Jocelyn Green’s series is one of the best I have read and I love how it focuses on the roles women played during this time.

Yesterday’s Tomorrow

Catherine West writes some very compelling novels, but this is my favorite. I rarely read stories set during the Vietnam era and I found this one heart-breaking and fascinating.

Daughters of Fortune Series

An oldie but goodie. I love this family saga of three sisters set during WWII. The oldest sister is a reporter who falls in love with a Russian doctor. The second has a whirlwhind romance with a soldier who ends up stationed in the Philippines. The third confronts prejudice when she marries a Japanese American whose family is interred in a prison camp.

Nightingale

Set in WWII, this book tackles the plight of a German-American POW who is interred in an American prison camp. It’s interesting reading about the war from the perspective of one whose loyalties are split by his heritage.

Sixty Acres and a Bride

What could be more American than an immigrant experience? Pair that together with a re-telling of the biblical Ruth and Boaz story and this book gives me all the feels. Plus, it is set in my home state of Texas, so winner winner, chicken dinner.

Rebellious Heart

This one is loosely based on the story of John and Abigail Adams and the Revolutionary period. I love reading stories about or inspired by our founding fathers.

Flirtation Walk

Um hello, a story set around the West Point military academy just screams America to me. I found the traditions and regimented life of the cadets fascinating.

What are some of your favorite American stories?

RELATED: Patriotic Films to Celebrate the Fourth of July

 

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