Books like Mayflower Bastard — picked by fans

It is a book that deep dives into a historical event, in this case, the 1893 World Columbian Exposition. Check. It is a nonfiction book that reads like a gripping thriller, in this case, the serial killer H.H. Holmes, who built a three-story building featuring secret rooms, torture chambers, and a crematorium. Check. Chicago leaps off the page. By the end of the book, I was able to envision the massive exposition, its hundreds of temporary buildings, all white colored, interlaced with ponds and canals.

Much like that exposition helped raise Chicago up from its Great Fire, so I could see a Chicago of the past, in a glorious triumph of industry and innovation. Oh, and yeah, a serial killer constructing a horrific murder building.

As an 80s kid, it pains a small part of me to recommend a historical fiction book that takes place in 1984, but this book goes into so much more than simply the tragic fire that destroyed part of the LA Central Library. While I found those aspects compelling, what really drew me in was the history of library sciences and how women played—and got pushed out of—the history of such beloved institutions.

There is also a nice bonus of humanity restored for all those who helped salvage as many books as they could after the tragedy. I found it to be a really gripping and informative read.  

Award-winning historian Stacy Schiff takes the reader back to 17th-century Salem village and the society that enabled the Salem witchcraft frenzy.

Without overwhelming the reader with facts, Schiff weaves the story of events with empathy. Good history is an accurate story told well, and Schiff’s extensive research and accessible writing style do just that.

Bill Bryson’s other books are more famous, but this one is my favorite. It details the wacky, startling, and sometimes unbelievable stories behind all the common phrases and words we use. I always keep a (lovingly tattered) copy in my car. You can pick it up, turn to any random page, and be happily engrossed for five minutes—or five hours. 

I read this book with my mother-daughter book group and we all loved it!

The story focuses on the quest for twelve-year-old Crow to discover where she came from and who she truly is. It’s a story filled with suspense and intrigue fueled by Crow’s insatiable curiosity. There are powerful lessons here for Crow and for the lucky readers who follow her journey. The writing is hauntingly beautiful!

If you want to learn about the Pilgrims and Plymouth Colony, the most essential source is Mayflower passenger and longtime governor William Bradford’s own history. Bradford explains the circumstances that led a portion of his congregation to transplant themselves to the New World, then goes year by year through the colony’s first three decades. His annals aren’t dry, though. Bradford also has a wicked sense of humor. If would-be colonists weren’t tough enough for what awaited them in New England, they should remain across the Atlantic “till at least they be mosquito proof.” You shouldn’t only read Bradford. He’s a partisan in this contentious history, after all. But you shouldn’t pass on one of the great works of seventeenth-century American non-fiction.

The Long Season of Rain (the title refers to the monsoons that afflict the Korean Peninsula at the start of summer) reminds us that in Hell Chosŏn women remain subservient to men in almost every sphere of society, and learn early on to endure silently instead of speaking out. This novel exemplifies the richness of Korean-American young-adult novels, which often focus on coming of age and the quest for identity. Especially poignant is the author’s use of a naïve narrator, the daughter of a woman who learns that her husband has taken a concubine.

Most found family stories involve individuals coming together, seeing them forged in fire to become something new, something whole, and unbreakable. The Gray House is a twist on found family in that it begins with strong family bonds already in place, so the true story becomes: What happens when a found family breaks apart? The Gray House is a home and school for disabled children and teenagers, where they need to rely on each other for everything—even things as basic as getting dressed in the morning. And while the shifting perspectives and timelines do tell the story of family bonds forged among individuals, the threat of Graduation Day looms over the house’s seniors, heralding an ending, rather than a beginning. With a low fantasy setting that I can’t describe without spoiling the story, I can only assure you that this book will take you on a completely unexpected journey.

One of the wonderful things about Tomi Ungerer’s books is that the characters and stories are so unexpected. The pictures in The Three Robbers are powerful and beautiful, with lots of black at the beginning when the robbers are being monstrously bad and stealing from their hapless victims. But by the end of the story the blue, green, yellow, red, and white have taken over the pictures and the robbers’ hearts have been melted by a little orphan girl. It is a joyful story of robbers being reformed and doing good with all their ill-gotten gains. The colours themselves help so much in communicating the emotions of the story.

It is about courage and standing up for what is right, even in front of people who are bigger and stronger than you are. It is about being the smallest/ youngest person in the room, and still being able to lead – it is about ostensibly having the least power in the room and still being able to lead and persuade others to follow your lead. It is about using your voice.

Sophie is the creator of her own story, she isn’t passive. Valuable lessons, particularly for girls, to learn, so that their voices can always be heard and so that they always have the courage to challenge wrongs and wrongdoing and so help make the world a better place.