Here are 100 books that The Endless Forest fans have personally recommended if you like The Endless Forest. Book DNA is a community of 12,000+ authors and super readers sharing their favorite books with the world.

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Book cover of 1776

Arlene S. Bice Author Of Leafing the Family Tree

From my list on historical fiction based on fact.

Why am I passionate about this?

I am a Lifetime member of Bordentown Historical Society (NJ) and have written four non-fiction books about Bordentown history. I am a Lifetime member of New Egypt Historical Society (NJ) and have written a non-fiction book about New Egypt history. I have written and published short stories about my ancestors and the part they lived in New Jersey history.

Arlene's book list on historical fiction based on fact

Arlene S. Bice Why Arlene loves this book

I keep this book handy on my bookshelf to be used as a companion to other books I read about the Revolutionary War.

He writes the big picture with passion and reveals characters who are alive with patriotism and action! His words flow easily as his descriptions bring you right into the story, cheering for the righteous rebels!

It’s where I was first introduced to Nathaniel Greene, leading me to further reading interesting, exciting stories of history as it was lived!Β 

By David McCullough ,

Why should I read it?

6 authors picked 1776 as one of their favorite books, and they share why you should read it.

What is this book about?

America's most acclaimed historian presents the intricate story of the year of the birth of the United States of America. 1776 tells two gripping stories: how a group of squabbling, disparate colonies became the United States, and how the British Empire tried to stop them. A story with a cast of amazing characters from George III to George Washington, to soldiers and their families, this exhilarating book is one of the great pieces of historical narrative.


If you love The Endless Forest...

Book cover of Mirrors & Smoke

Mirrors & Smoke by Adrienne Stevenson,

Rebecca Plummer is an Englishwoman transplanted into colonial life. A herbalist and midwife with a shameful secret and feminist outlook, she is caught up in the War of 1812 in Niagara, Upper Canada. Rebecca struggles to keep her family and community together despite gossip and wartime deprivation.

A story of…

Book cover of Caleb's Crossing

Arlene S. Bice Author Of Leafing the Family Tree

From my list on historical fiction based on fact.

Why am I passionate about this?

I am a Lifetime member of Bordentown Historical Society (NJ) and have written four non-fiction books about Bordentown history. I am a Lifetime member of New Egypt Historical Society (NJ) and have written a non-fiction book about New Egypt history. I have written and published short stories about my ancestors and the part they lived in New Jersey history.

Arlene's book list on historical fiction based on fact

Arlene S. Bice Why Arlene loves this book

The book explores the cultural differences in the 1600s of Martha’s Vineyard of Native Americans and Puritans.

It is inspired by the story of the first Native American to graduate from Harvard College, as narrated by his friend Bethia. She is forbidden education but learns from him.Β 

Brooks, as always, has characters teeming with excited tension and reveals historical life set in that time and place. I love her depiction of the early settling in of the Puritans.

By Geraldine Brooks ,

Why should I read it?

4 authors picked Caleb's Crossing as one of their favorite books, and they share why you should read it.

What is this book about?

A bestselling tale of passion and belief, magic and adventure from the author of The Secret Chord and of March, winner of the Pulitzer Prize.

Bethia Mayfield is a restless and curious young woman growing up in Martha's vineyard in the 1660s amid a small band of pioneering English Puritans. At age twelve, she meets Caleb, the young son of a chieftain, and the two forge a secret bond that draws each into the alien world of the other. Bethia's father is a Calvinist minister who seeks to convert the native Wampanoag, and Caleb becomes a prize in the contest…


Book cover of Mayflower: Voyage, Community, War

Arlene S. Bice Author Of Leafing the Family Tree

From my list on historical fiction based on fact.

Why am I passionate about this?

I am a Lifetime member of Bordentown Historical Society (NJ) and have written four non-fiction books about Bordentown history. I am a Lifetime member of New Egypt Historical Society (NJ) and have written a non-fiction book about New Egypt history. I have written and published short stories about my ancestors and the part they lived in New Jersey history.

Arlene's book list on historical fiction based on fact

Arlene S. Bice Why Arlene loves this book

He brings USA history to life using facts and creating well-written stories that are exciting and adventurous.

I somehow wound up with two of these books on my bookshelf and one ebook of this story. Guess I didn’t want to miss reading this important and fascinating book.

By Nathaniel Philbrick ,

Why should I read it?

6 authors picked Mayflower as one of their favorite books, and they share why you should read it.

What is this book about?

Nathaniel Philbrick, bestselling author of 'In the Heart of the Sea', reveals the darker side of the Pilgrim fathers' settlement in the New World, which ultimately erupted in bloody battle some fifty years after they first landed on American soil.

Behind the quaint and pious version of the Mayflower story usually taught in American primary schools is a tumultuous and largely untold tale of violence, subterfuge and epic drama.

For amidst the friendships and co-operation that sprang up between the settlers and indigenous people, whose timely assistance on more than one occasion rescued the Pilgrims from otherwise certain death, a…


If you love Sara Donati...

Book cover of Mirrors & Smoke

Mirrors & Smoke by Adrienne Stevenson,

Rebecca Plummer is an Englishwoman transplanted into colonial life. A herbalist and midwife with a shameful secret and feminist outlook, she is caught up in the War of 1812 in Niagara, Upper Canada. Rebecca struggles to keep her family and community together despite gossip and wartime deprivation.

A story of…

Book cover of The Frozen River

Arlene S. Bice Author Of Leafing the Family Tree

From my list on historical fiction based on fact.

Why am I passionate about this?

I am a Lifetime member of Bordentown Historical Society (NJ) and have written four non-fiction books about Bordentown history. I am a Lifetime member of New Egypt Historical Society (NJ) and have written a non-fiction book about New Egypt history. I have written and published short stories about my ancestors and the part they lived in New Jersey history.

Arlene's book list on historical fiction based on fact

Arlene S. Bice Why Arlene loves this book

This book proves that real-life factual history taken from Martha Ballard’s diary can be exciting and hold a history lover’s fascinated attention.

Midwives always seemed to hold the pulse of a community. Lawhon’s characters are compelling and keep the plot moving forward. The story is set post-Revolutionary War in New England.

By Ariel Lawhon ,

Why should I read it?

46 authors picked The Frozen River as one of their favorite books, and they share why you should read it.

What is this book about?

NATIONAL BESTSELLER ‒ GMA BOOK CLUB PICK ‒ AN NPR BOOK OF THE YEAR ‒ From the New York Times bestselling author of I Was Anastasia and Code Name Hélène comes a gripping historical mystery inspired by the life and diary of Martha Ballard, a renowned 18th-century midwife who defied the legal system and wrote herself into American history.

"Fans of Outlander’s Claire Fraser will enjoy Lawhon’s Martha, who is brave and outspoken when it comes to protecting the innocent. . . impressive."β€”The Washington Post

"Once again, Lawhon works storytelling magic with a real-life heroine." β€”People Magazine

Maine, 1789: When…


Book cover of Ironweed

Wes Blake Author Of Pineville Trace

From my list on how it feels to be an outsider.

Why am I passionate about this?

I’ve always loved books about outsiders and stories that make you palpably feel what others do. In real life and fiction, the characters that interest me most are often outsiders. Because characters on the outside of social groups and norms are often isolated and lonely, there is something so powerful about works that can bring you inside their experience and relate what their inner life is like. Interiority is the great strength of literature, and stories that convey the inner architecture of outsiders have always attracted me. I love books that make me feel deeply connected and that linger in my subconscious long after I’ve read them. 

Wes' book list on how it feels to be an outsider

Wes Blake Why Wes loves this book

I love this book because it puts me inside the heartbreaking experience of a singular character named Francis Phelanβ€”a homeless man from Albany, New Yorkβ€”as he wrestles with his past and journeys home after a long, self-imposed absence. By the time Ironweed begins, Francis has been homeless for many years and is haunted by his past.

I love how the main character is a mystery, yet the author uses interiority to place the reader inside his experience. Ghosts of the past become palpable to Francis, and he struggles to make his way back home while struggling to survive the hardscrabble existence of the homeless. This book unravels the mystery of its main character and employs striking, beautiful, and direct prose. This book haunted me.

By William Kennedy ,

Why should I read it?

2 authors picked Ironweed as one of their favorite books, and they share why you should read it.

What is this book about?

Winner of The Pulitzer Prize and the National Book Critics Circle Award for Fiction

In this Pulitzer Prize-winning novel, the third in Kennedy's Albany cycle, Francis Phelan, ex-ballplayer, part-time gravedigger, and full-time bum with the gift of gab, has hit bottom. Years earlier he'd left Albany after he dropped his infant son accidentally, and the boy died. Now, in 1938, Francis is back in town, roaming the old familiar streets with his hobo pal, Helen, trying to make peace with the ghosts of the past and present.


Book cover of The Woman in the Window

Julia Stone Author Of Her Little Secret

From my list on suspense novels written by (or featuring) psychologists.

Why am I passionate about this?

As a psychologist who writes psychological suspense I love reading similar books where other writers bring their knowledge of psychology to their craft. Aside from writing, I enjoy cryptic puzzles, and I find that reading crime and suspense novels exercises similar lateral thinking as I try to identify the red herrings and work out the twist. And don’t we all love it when we get it right? But if you’re like me, you get an even bigger buzz when you’ve been fooled by a clever misdirection or plot twist. And gosh, are they fun to write!

Julia's book list on suspense novels written by (or featuring) psychologists

Julia Stone Why Julia loves this book

This book features a child psychologist who is our unreliable narrator, and we are straight into her life with no introduction. We are in her head from the outset, witness to all her internal dialogue, her drunken episodes, and the minutiae of her claustrophobic lifestyle; her only entertainment spying on her neighbors as she nowΒ  lives apart from her husband and child for unknown reasons.

The narrowness of her agoraphobic life is well depicted, and I was keen to discover what events had led her from a successful career and happy family to this depressed and depressing way of life.

By A. J. Finn ,

Why should I read it?

9 authors picked The Woman in the Window as one of their favorite books, and they share why you should read it.

What is this book about?

THE NUMBER ONE SUNDAY TIMES BESTSELLER

OVER 2 MILLION COPIES SOLD!

Soon to be a major motion picture produced by 20th Century Fox, starring Amy Adams, Gary Oldman and Julianne Moore

'Astounding. Thrilling. Amazing' Gillian Flynn

'One of those rare books that really is unputdownable' Stephen King

'Twisted to the power of max' Val McDermid

'A dark, twisty confection' Ruth Ware

What did she see?

It's been ten long months since Anna Fox last left her home. Ten months during which she has haunted the rooms of her old New York house like a ghost, lost in her memories, too…


Book cover of Bread & Wine

Nicholas Blair Author Of Castro to Christopher: Gay Streets of America 1979-1986

From my list on LGBTQ history through photography and print.

Why am I passionate about this?

I became aware of the struggles of the LGBTQ community as a 22-year-old touring the Dachau concentration camp in Germany, where hundreds of gay men were imprisonedβ€”my mother was a Holocaust survivor who survived Auschwitz. A month later, in October 1978, after I returned to San Francisco, Supervisor Harvey Milk and Mayor George Moscone were murdered. As a hippie, San Francisco seemed extremely tolerant, but after the murders, I realized there was a monumental struggle for β€œunalienable rights” in the LGBTQ community. I started photographing LGBTQ political events and, for six years, documented the β€œgay liberation movement” as it exploded across the streets of New York and San Francisco.

Nicholas' book list on LGBTQ history through photography and print

Nicholas Blair Why Nicholas loves this book

I was overwhelmed with the loving simplicity of this beautifully rendered and highly charged romantic graphic novel. Reading it was akin to watching a film–I was drawn in and held tight until I had finished the last page.

Tender, emotional, cross-cultural, and cross-class, it resonated with me on so many levels but especially reaffirmed my belief that love is possible at any age and despite any obstacle.

By Samuel Delany , Mia Wolff ,

Why should I read it?

1 author picked Bread & Wine as one of their favorite books, and they share why you should read it.

What is this book about?

Written by black, gay science-fiction writer, professor, and theorist Samuel R. Delany, and drawn by artist/martial arts instructor Mia Wolff, Bread & Wine, based on the poem Ò€œBread and WineÒ€ by the German lyric poet Friedrich Holderlin, is a graphic autobiography that flashes back to the unlikely story of how Delany befriended Dennis, and how they became an enduring coupleÒ€”Delany, a professor at PhiladelphiaÒ€ℒs Temple University, Dennis, an intelligent man living on the streets. For casual readers and fans, Bread & Wine is a moving, sexually charged love story, with visuals informed by WolffÒ€ℒs professional physical pursuits. Her black-and-white, pen-and-ink…


Book cover of All-of-a-Kind Family

Pamela S. Nadell Author Of America's Jewish Women: A History from Colonial Times to Today

From my list on memoirs through the voices of women.

Why am I passionate about this?

I am a professor of history and Jewish studies at American University and author of America’s Jewish Women: A History from Colonial Times to Today, winner of the National Jewish Book Award – 2019 Jewish Book of the Year. Since childhood I have been reading stories of women’s lives and tales set in Jewish communities across time and space. Yet, the voices that so often best evoke the past are those captured on the pages of great memoirs.

Pamela's book list on memoirs through the voices of women

Pamela S. Nadell Why Pamela loves this book

In 1951, Sydney Taylor invented the memorable Brennersβ€”papa, mama, five sisters, and baby brotherβ€”a Jewish family on the Lower East Side in turn-of-the-century New York.Β Taylor’s words and Helen John’s illustrations in this book, the first in a series, set the scene. A calendar in the parlor announced that it was 1912.Β Tenements lined city streets.Β When I read these novels as a child, I did not yet know that they were closely based on Taylor’s own life.Β When the entire series was republished in 2014, I quipped: I became a Jewish historian because of these books.Β 

By Sydney Taylor ,

Why should I read it?

1 author picked All-of-a-Kind Family as one of their favorite books, and they share why you should read it. This book is for kids age 8, 9, 10, and 11.

What is this book about?

Meet the All-of-a-KindΒ Β Family -- Ella, Henny, Sarah, Charlotte, and Gertie -- who live with their parents in New York City at the turn of the century.

Together they share adventures that find them searching for hidden buttons while dusting Mama's front parlor and visiting with the peddlers in Papa's shop on rainy days. The girls enjoy doing everything together, especially when it involves holidays and surprises.

But no one could have prepared them for the biggest surprise of all!


Book cover of The Earth, My Butt, and Other Big Round Things

Kris Dinnison Author Of You And Me And Him

From my list on YA with fabulous plus-size heroines.

Why am I passionate about this?

I have always felt like a bit of a misfit. I was taller, bigger, and clumsier than the other kids. I listened to the wrong music, wore the wrong clothes, and read the wrong books. I wasn’t cool. And when I became a high school teacher, I saw many kids, especially young women, who I could see felt the same. When Young Adult literature came into its own, I really loved all the wonderful ways YA stories were telling the stories of the kids who didn’t fit in, and it made me want to read them, and eventually write one of my own.

Kris' book list on YA with fabulous plus-size heroines

Kris Dinnison Why Kris loves this book

This book was one of the first I read that featured a main character who looked like me. I love the humor, honesty, and insight of Virginia, which is perfectly captured in the diary format of the writing. And the book takes a hard but hopeful look at the ideas of perfection and expectations and all the ways we are flawed, but also worthy of love.

By Carolyn Mackler ,

Why should I read it?

1 author picked The Earth, My Butt, and Other Big Round Things as one of their favorite books, and they share why you should read it. This book is for kids age 14, 15, 16, and 17.

What is this book about?

Fifteen-year-old Virginia feels like a fat, awkward outsider in her perfect family, especially next to her golden-boy big brother Byron. She's got a lot to deal with - her weight, her best friend moving away, the mean girls at school - not to mention a boy who seems to like her! To survive, she decides to follow the 'Fat Girl Code of Conduct' to make herself acceptable, unnoticed ... invisible.

It seems to be working until something unthinkable happens and, before her eyes, Virginia's flawless family begins to fall apart. As her world spins out of orbit, Virginia realises that…


Book cover of Timeless

Christy Sloat Author Of The Wordsmith

From my list on time travel you probably haven’t read.

Why am I passionate about this?

I’ve always been a sucker for a good time travel novel. So when I started writing my Librarian Chronicles I quickly learned that there is just so much you can do with the theory of time. My characters have gone to many places and times and in order to perfect these locations and eras that required tons of research. For my first novel, The Librarian, I researched for nearly a year before I wrote the book. I sincerely hope you’ll enjoy my Librarian Chronicles and I look forward to writing more in the series. Each novel is unique and they can all be read in any order.

Christy's book list on time travel you probably haven’t read

Christy Sloat Why Christy loves this book

Yet another book I chose based on the cover. I dove into this book knowing that I would love the storyline since I adore all things time travel. Timeless is very descriptive and history based, which pulled me in right away. I will say I didn’t love our main character from the beginning, but as I got to know her I understood her quirks. In this book, we are tossed between the current time and 1910, my favorite era. Michele, our main character, is having dreams about a man with blue eyes and a skeleton key, which is all revealed later in the book. The writing is flawless and the romance is sweet, which puts this book more in the young adult category. I myself prefer YA books, and I do not apologize for it.

I ended up reading the series and really enjoyed the progression.

By Alexandra Monir ,

Why should I read it?

1 author picked Timeless as one of their favorite books, and they share why you should read it. This book is for kids age 12, 13, 14, and 15.

What is this book about?

When tragedy strikes Michele Windsor’s world, she is forced to uproot her life and move across the country to New York City, to live with the wealthy, aristocratic grandparents she’s never met. In their old Fifth Avenue mansion filled with a century’s worth of family secrets, Michele discovers a diary that hurtles her back in time to the year 1910. There, in the midst of the glamorous Gilded Age, Michele meets the young man with striking blue eyes who has haunted her dreams all her life – a man she always wished was real, but never imagined could actually exist.…


Book cover of 1776
Book cover of Caleb's Crossing
Book cover of Mayflower: Voyage, Community, War

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