Books like 'Wench'
Readers who enjoyed Wench by Dolen Perkins-Valdez & Robynne Young also liked the following books featuring the same tropes, story themes, relationship dynamics and character types.
historical military, war & conflict historical-fiction slavery friendship civil-war literary-fiction drama grief realistic
-
The Storyteller of Casablanca by Fiona Valpy
Rated: 4.50 of 5 stars · 24 ratingsIn this evocative tale from the bestselling author of The Dressmaker’s Gift, a strange new city offers a young girl hope. Can it also offer a lost soul a second chance?Morocco, 1941. With France having fallen to Nazi occupation, twelve-year-old Jewish girl Josie has fled with her family to Casablanca, where they await safe passage to America...Categorized as:
drama family female-mc friendship historical-fiction literary-fiction war 20th-century -
![Pink y Say by Patricia Polacco]()
Pink y Say by Patricia Polacco
Rated: 4.50 of 5 stars · 24 ratingsFor use in schools and libraries only. Say Curtis describes his meeting with Pinkus Aylee, a black soldier, during the Civil War, and their capture by Southern troops. Based on a true story about the author's great-great-grandfather... -
![The World Played Chess by Robert Dugoni]()
The World Played Chess by Robert Dugoni
Rated: 4.46 of 5 stars · 26 ratingsIn 1979, Vincent Bianco has just graduated high school. His only desire: collect a little beer money and enjoy his final summer before college. So he lands a job as a laborer on a construction crew. Working alongside two Vietnam vets, one suffering from PTSD, Vincent gets the education of a lifetime... -
![The Joy Luck Club by Clare West, Amy Tan]()
The Joy Luck Club by Clare West, Amy Tan
Rated: 4.42 of 5 stars · 24 ratingsThere are so many things that a mother wishes to teach her daughter. This is a story about four mothers born in China, and their daughters born in America. Through their eyes we see life in pre-revolutionary China and life in downtown San Francisco, and also women who struggle to find a cultural identity that can include a past and a future... -
-
![Yellow Wife by Sadeqa Johnson]()
Yellow Wife by Sadeqa Johnson
Rated: 4.38 of 5 stars · 26 ratingsCalled “wholly engrossing” by New York Times bestselling author Kathleen Grissom, this “fully immersive” (Lisa Wingate, #1 bestselling author of Before We Were Yours) story follows an enslaved woman forced to barter love and freedom while living in the most infamous slave jail in Virginia.Born on a plantation in Charles City, Virginia, Pheby Delores Brown has lived a relatively sheltered life...Categorized as:
black-mc civil-war drama family historical-fiction literary-fiction poc-mc realistic -
![Three Sisters by Heather Morris]()
Three Sisters by Heather Morris
Rated: 4.40 of 5 stars · 24 ratingsA promise to stay together.An unbreakable bond.A fierce will to survive.From international bestselling author Heather Morris comes the breathtaking conclusion to The Tattooist of Auschwitz trilogy.When they are girls, Cibi, Magda and Livia make a promise to their father - that they will stay together, no matter what.Years later, at just 15 years old, Livia is ordered to Auschwitz by the Nazis... -
![The Child Without a Home by Ann Bennett]()
The Child Without a Home by Ann Bennett
Rated: 4.58 of 5 stars · 12 ratings‘So captivating, I was on edge while flipping through the pages as fast as I could… Truly heartwarming… Emotional, heartbreaking… I loved this… A must read… Amazing’ Pageturners ⭐⭐⭐⭐⭐Inspired by the lives of the forgotten orphans of World War Two, this heart-wrenching and moving tale is about fighting for your loved ones when all hope is lost... -
![The Cypress Maze by Fiona Valpy]()
The Cypress Maze by Fiona Valpy
Rated: 4.44 of 5 stars · 18 ratingsIn this haunting tale from the bestselling author of The Storyteller of Casablanca, Beatrice kept a wartime secret to protect the innocent. Now, could telling it set her free?Tuscany, 1943. Stranded in war-ravaged Italy, Beatrice’s dream of an escapist year teaching English is shattered... -
![Yellow Crocus by Laila Ibrahim]()
Yellow Crocus by Laila Ibrahim
Rated: 4.30 of 5 stars · 36 ratingsMattie was never truly mine. That knowledge must have filled me as quickly and surely as the milk from her breasts. Although my family ‘owned’ her, although she occupied the center of my universe, her deepest affections lay elsewhere. So along with the comfort of her came the fear that I would lose her some day. This is our story..Categorized as:
civil-war drama family female-mc friendship historical-fiction literary-fiction poc-mc -
![Stay by Catherine Ryan Hyde]()
Stay by Catherine Ryan Hyde
Rated: 4.35 of 5 stars · 26 ratingsAn unforgettable novel about the power of friendship and kindness by the New York Times bestselling author of Pay It Forward. In the summer of 1969, fourteen-year-old Lucas Painter carries a huge weight on his shoulders. His brother is fighting in Vietnam. His embattled parents are locked in a never-ending war. And his best friend, Connor, is struggling with his own family issues... -
![For All Their Lives by Fern Michaels]()
For All Their Lives by Fern Michaels
Rated: 4.44 of 5 stars · 16 ratingsFrom the wildly beloved bestselling author Fern Michaels, a haunting portrait of love and war—and the passionate woman swept into an epic of desire, heartbreak, and destiny. Casey Adams, a dedicated nurse, loses her heart overseas to idealistic officer Mac Carlin, the rebellious scion of a wealthy family. Then tragedy strikes... -
![The Spoon Stealer by Lesley Crewe]()
The Spoon Stealer by Lesley Crewe
Rated: 4.39 of 5 stars · 18 ratingsBorn into a basket of clean sheets—ruining a perfectly good load of laundry—Emmeline never quite fit in on her family's rural Nova Scotian farm. After suffering multiple losses in the First World War, her family became so heavy with grief, toxicity, and mental illness that Emmeline felt their weight smothering her. And so, she fled across the Atlantic and built her life in England...Categorized as:
historical-fiction family literary-fiction war realistic female-mc friendship fiction -
![The Sunflower House by Adriana Allegri]()
The Sunflower House by Adriana Allegri
Rated: 4.50 of 5 stars · 12 ratingsFamily secrets come to light as a young woman fights to save herself, and others, in a Nazi-run baby factory—a real-life Handmaid's Tale—during World War II.In a sleepy German village, Allina Strauss’s life seems idyllic: she works at her uncle’s bookshop, makes strudel with her aunt, and spends weekends with her friends and fiancé... -
![Glory over Everything: Beyond The Kitchen House by Kathleen Grissom]()
Glory over Everything: Beyond The Kitchen House by Kathleen Grissom
Rated: 4.29 of 5 stars · 28 ratingsA novel of family and long-buried secrets along the treacherous Underground Railroad. The author of the New York Times bestseller and beloved book club favorite The Kitchen House continues the story of Jamie Pyke, son of both a slave and master of Tall Oakes, whose deadly secret compels him to take a treacherous journey through the Underground Railroad...Categorized as:
civil-war drama family friendship historical-fiction literary-fiction slavery action-adventure -
-
![The London Girls by Soraya M. Lane]()
The London Girls by Soraya M. Lane
Rated: 4.43 of 5 stars · 14 ratingsFrom the bestselling author of The Last Correspondent comes a remarkable story of three young women who defy the bombs to do their bit for Britain. Will they survive the dark streets of London to see the Allies win the war?London, 1941. The Blitz...Categorized as:
family female-mc friendship historical-fiction literary-fiction war 20th-century adult -
![Family by J. California Cooper]()
Family by J. California Cooper
Rated: 4.43 of 5 stars · 14 ratingsIn this wise, beguiling, beautiful novel set in the era of the Civil War, an award-winning playwright and author paints a haunting portrait of a woman named Always, born a slave, and four generations of her African-American family... -
![When the World Goes Quiet by Gian Sardar]()
When the World Goes Quiet by Gian Sardar
Rated: 4.38 of 5 stars · 16 ratingsIn the final days of World War I, an aspiring artist’s courageous journey is just beginning in a powerful novel about love, danger, and survival by the author of Take What You Can Carry.It’s 1918 in German-occupied Bruges, Belgium. With luck, Evelien will make it to the end of the war and be given what she was a prized painting in exchange for safeguarding her employer’s possessions...Categorized as:
historical-fiction war literary-fiction friendship family female-mc fiction historical -
![Sunflower Sisters by Martha Hall Kelly]()
Sunflower Sisters by Martha Hall Kelly
Rated: 4.27 of 5 stars · 26 ratingsLilac Girls introduced readers to Caroline Ferriday, an American philanthropist who helped young girls released from Ravensbruck concentration camp...Categorized as:
civil-war family female-mc friendship historical-fiction literary-fiction slavery war -
![Jubilee by Margaret Walker]()
Jubilee by Margaret Walker
Rated: 4.33 of 5 stars · 18 ratingsA 50th anniversary edition of Margaret Walker's best-selling classic with a foreword by Nikki Giovanni Jubilee tells the true story of Vyry, the child of a white plantation owner and one of his black slaves. Vyry bears witness to the South’s antebellum opulence and to its brutality, its wartime ruin, and the promises of Reconstruction...Categorized as:
black-mc civil-war drama female-mc historical-fiction literary-fiction poc-mc slavery -
![The Forgotten Home Child by Genevieve Graham]()
The Forgotten Home Child by Genevieve Graham
Rated: 4.33 of 5 stars · 18 ratingsThe Home for Unwanted Girls meets Orphan Train in this unforgettable novel about a young girl caught in a scheme to rid England’s streets of destitute children, and the lengths she will go to find her way home—based on the true story of the British Home Children...Categorized as:
drama family female-mc friendship historical-fiction literary-fiction war 20th-century -
![The Child On Platform One by Gill Thompson]()
The Child On Platform One by Gill Thompson
Rated: 4.33 of 5 stars · 18 ratingsInspired by the real-life escape of thousands of Jewish children from Nazi-occupied Europe on the Kindertransport trains to London, the new novel from the author of The Oceans Between Us Gill Thompson. For readers of The Tattooist of Auschwitz Heather Morris, The Choice Edith Eger and Lilac Girls Martha Hall Kelly. Prague 1939. Young mother Eva has a secret from her past... -
![The Frozen Heart by Almudena Grandes]()
The Frozen Heart by Almudena Grandes
Rated: 4.33 of 5 stars · 18 ratingsIn a small town on the outskirts of Madrid, a funeral is taking place. Julio Carrion Gonzalez, a man of tremendous wealth and influence in Madrid, has come home to be buried. But as the family stand by the graveside, his son Alvaro notices the arrival of an attractive stranger—no one appears to know who she is, or why she is there... -
![The Secretary by Catherine Hokin]()
The Secretary by Catherine Hokin
Rated: 4.41 of 5 stars · 13 ratingsThe Tower House. Down a secluded path, hidden by overgrown vines, the crumbling villa echoes with memories. Of the family who laughed and sang there, until the Nazis tore them from their home. And of the next woman to walk its empty rooms, whose courage in the face of evil could alter the course of history…Germany 1940...Categorized as:
female-mc friendship historical-fiction literary-fiction war 20th-century adult book -
![The Bookbinder by Pip Williams]()
The Bookbinder by Pip Williams
Rated: 4.42 of 5 stars · 12 ratingsA young British woman working in a book bindery gets a chance to pursue knowledge and love when World War I upends her life--an exquisite novel from the New York Times bestselling author of the Reese's Book Club pick The Dictionary of Lost Words It is 1914, and as the war draws the young men of Britain away to fight, women must keep the nation running... -
-
![Brotherless Night by V.V. Ganeshananthan]()
Brotherless Night by V.V. Ganeshananthan
Rated: 4.42 of 5 stars · 12 ratingsIn this searing novel, a courageous young woman tries to protect her dream of becoming a doctor as civil war devastates Sri Lanka.Jaffna, 1981. Sixteen-year-old Sashi wants to become a doctor. But over the next decade, a vicious civil war tears through her home, and her dream spins off course as she sees her four beloved brothers and their friend K swept up in the mounting violence...Categorized as:
historical-fiction literary-fiction war family civil-war poc-mc dark social-commentary -
![The Beekeeper of Aleppo by Christy Lefteri]()
The Beekeeper of Aleppo by Christy Lefteri
Rated: 4.20 of 5 stars · 38 ratingsThe unforgettable love story of a mother blinded by loss and her husband who insists on their survival as they undertake the Syrian refugee trail to Europe.Nuri is a beekeeper; his wife, Afra, an artist. They live a simple life, rich in family and friends, in the beautiful Syrian city of Aleppo--until the unthinkable happens. When all they care for is destroyed by war, they are forced to escape... -
![Mustard Seed by Laila Ibrahim]()
Mustard Seed by Laila Ibrahim
Rated: 4.25 of 5 stars · 24 ratingsThe bestselling author of Yellow Crocus returns with a haunting and tender story of three women returning to the plantation they once called home.Oberlin, Ohio, 1868. Lisbeth Johnson was born into privilege in the antebellum South. Jordan Freedman was born a slave to Mattie, Lisbeth’s beloved nurse. The women have an unlikely bond deeper than friendship... -
![Wild, Beautiful, and Free by Sophfronia Scott]()
Wild, Beautiful, and Free by Sophfronia Scott
Rated: 4.31 of 5 stars · 16 ratingsFrom award-winning author Sophfronia Scott comes the story of one young woman’s bold journey to reclaim her birthright and carve out her own place in a world that tells her she doesn’t belong. Born the daughter of an enslaved woman and a Louisiana plantation owner, Jeannette Bébinn is raised alongside her white half sister―until her father suddenly dies... -
![The Woodcutter's Wife by David Johnson]()
The Woodcutter's Wife by David Johnson
Rated: 4.31 of 5 stars · 16 ratingsSet against the backdrop of the Civil War comes a tale of love lost and found. Mary Thomson is no ordinary woman. She works alongside her husband William cutting firewood to sell in the city, earning the nickname “The Woodcutter’s Wife.” She kills a bear with her bare hands. And she prefers plowing a field to cooking a meal... -
![Γκιακ by Δημοσθένης Παπαμάρκος]()
Γκιακ by Δημοσθένης Παπαμάρκος
Rated: 4.31 of 5 stars · 16 ratingsΟι ήρωες των διηγημάτων του Γκιακ, στρατιώτες που πολέμησαν στη Μικρασιατική Εκστρατεία, έρχονται αντιμέτωποι με τους ρόλους που τους επιβάλλουν οι παραδοσιακοί κανόνες και το βίωμα του πολέμου. Συγκρούονται, υποτάσσονται, ζουν εν κρυπτώ ή φεύγουν. Το γκιακ είναι το αίμα, ο συγγενικός δεσμός και ο νόμος του αίματος που σκιάζει τις ζωές τους...Categorized as:
historical-fiction war literary-fiction drama fiction 21st-century historical violent-conflict -
![The Book of Lost Friends by Lisa Wingate]()
The Book of Lost Friends by Lisa Wingate
Rated: 4.19 of 5 stars · 37 ratingsA new novel inspired by historical events: a story of three young women on a journey in search of family amidst the destruction of the post-Civil War South, and of a modern-day teacher who rediscovers their story and its connection to her own students' lives...Categorized as:
civil-war drama family female-mc friendship historical-fiction literary-fiction realistic -
![The Arsonists' City by Hala Alyan]()
The Arsonists' City by Hala Alyan
Rated: 4.28 of 5 stars · 18 ratings"Feels revolutionary in its freshness." --Entertainment Weekly"The Arsonists' City delivers all the pleasures of a good old-fashioned saga, but in Alyan's hands, one family's tale becomes the story of a nation--Lebanon and Syria, yes, but also the United States. It's the kind of book we are lucky to have... -
![The War Girls: a heartwarming World War Two saga perfect for fans of Nancy Revell by Rosie James]()
The War Girls: a heartwarming World War Two saga perfect for fans of Nancy Revell by Rosie James
Rated: 4.40 of 5 stars · 10 ratingsCan their friendship survive the darkest days of war?When Abigail arrives for a new start in Bristol in the late 1930s, she knows life won’t be easy – particularly as she is the unmarried mother of three-year-old Emily Grace...Categorized as:
family female-mc friendship historical-fiction literary-fiction war 20th-century adult -
![Dreams of Silver by Mina Baites, Alison Layland]()
Dreams of Silver by Mina Baites, Alison Layland
Rated: 4.29 of 5 stars · 14 ratingsA single treasured keepsake links one unforgettable family across continents in this enthralling saga by Mina Baites, the author of The Silver Music Box. London, 1963. I dream about my sister almost every night. Lilian Morrison has one memento of her beloved sister, Emma: a battered silver music box... -
-
![The Tuscan Girl by Angela Petch]()
The Tuscan Girl by Angela Petch
Rated: 4.29 of 5 stars · 14 ratingsShe ran away through the pine trees when the soldiers came. Staggering into the hiding place, she felt a fluttering in her belly, like a butterfly grazing its wings, and knew instantly she had something to fight for. Present day: When her fiancé is tragically killed in an accident, twenty-six-year-old Alba is convinced she’s to blame...Categorized as:
female-mc friendship grief historical-fiction literary-fiction war 20th-century adult -
![One for the Blackbird and One for the Crow by Olivia Hawker]()
One for the Blackbird and One for the Crow by Olivia Hawker
Rated: 4.18 of 5 stars · 28 ratingsFrom the bestselling author of The Ragged Edge of Night comes a powerful and poetic novel of survival and sacrifice on the American frontier.Wyoming, 1870. For as long as they have lived on the frontier, the Bemis and Webber families have relied on each other. With no other settlers for miles, it is a matter of survival... -
![The Indigo Girl by Natasha Boyd]()
The Indigo Girl by Natasha Boyd
Rated: 4.18 of 5 stars · 28 ratingsAn incredible story of dangerous and hidden friendships, ambition, betrayal, and sacrifice.The year is 1739. Eliza Lucas is sixteen years old when her father leaves her in charge of their family's three plantations in rural South Carolina and then proceeds to bleed the estates dry in pursuit of his military ambitions... -
![Freeman by Leonard Pitts Jr.]()
Freeman by Leonard Pitts Jr.
Rated: 4.25 of 5 stars · 16 ratingsFreeman, the new novel by Leonard Pitts, Jr., takes place in the first few months following the Confederate surrender and the assassination of Abraham Lincoln. Upon learning of Lee's surrender, Sam--a runaway slave who once worked for the Union Army--decides to leave his safe haven in Philadelphia and set out on foot to return to the war-torn South... -
![Show Way by Jacqueline Woodson]()
Show Way by Jacqueline Woodson
Rated: 4.25 of 5 stars · 16 ratingsSoonie's great-grandma was just seven years old when she was sold to a big plantation without her ma and pa, and with only some fabric and needles to call her own. She pieced together bright patches with names like North Star and Crossroads, patches with secret meanings made into quilts called Show Ways -- maps for slaves to follow to freedom... -
![The Sweetness of Water by Nathan Harris]()
The Sweetness of Water by Nathan Harris
Rated: 4.17 of 5 stars · 30 ratingsA profound debut about the unlikely bond between two freedmen who are brothers and the Georgia farmer whose alliance will alter their lives, and his, forever.In the waning days of the Civil War, brothers Prentiss and Landry—freed by the Emancipation Proclamation—seek refuge on the homestead of George Walker and his wife, Isabelle... -
![We Hope for Better Things by Erin Bartels]()
We Hope for Better Things by Erin Bartels
Rated: 4.22 of 5 stars · 18 ratingsWhen Detroit Free Press reporter Elizabeth Balsam meets James Rich, his strange request--that she look up a relative she didn't know she had in order to deliver an old camera and a box of photos--seems like it isn't worth her time. But when she loses her job after a botched investigation, she suddenly finds herself with nothing but time...Categorized as:
civil-war drama family female-mc historical-fiction literary-fiction social-commentary war -
![Four Fires by Bryce Courtenay]()
Four Fires by Bryce Courtenay
Rated: 4.22 of 5 stars · 18 ratingsIn a small town like any other small town around Australia live the Maloneys. They are a fifth-generation Australian family of Irish Catholic descent who are struggling to reach the first rung of the social ladder. The Maloneys are a family you won't forget: a strong mother, a father broken by war, three boys and two girls, one of whom has an illegitimate daughter...Categorized as:
drama family female-mc historical-fiction literary-fiction war action-adventure adult -
![Jag heter inte Miriam by Majgull Axelsson]()
Jag heter inte Miriam by Majgull Axelsson
Rated: 4.22 of 5 stars · 18 ratingsNär familjen samlas runt Miriams säng för att fira hennes åttiofemårsdag tror de nästan att hon blivit dement. Varför skulle hon annars säga att hon inte heter det som alla vet att hon faktiskt heter? Visst vittnar siffrorna som är tatuerade på hennes vänstra arm om hennes historia. Men det finns en annan sanning. Det är dags att sondottern Camilla får veta. Om Auschwitz och Ravensbruck...Categorized as:
drama female-mc historical-fiction literary-fiction realistic war 20th-century adult -
![The Wake of the Wind by J. California Cooper]()
The Wake of the Wind by J. California Cooper
Rated: 4.50 of 5 stars · 14 ratingsA dramatic and thought-provoking novel of one family's triumph in the face of the hardships and challenges of the post-Civil War South.The Wake of the Wind , J. California Cooper's third novel, is her most penetrating look yet at the challenges that generations of African Americans have had to overcome in order to carve out a home for themselves and their families... -
-
![The Last Bookshop in London: A Novel of World War II by Madeline Martin]()
The Last Bookshop in London: A Novel of World War II by Madeline Martin
Rated: 4.15 of 5 stars · 26 ratingsInspired by the true World War II history of the few bookshops to survive the Blitz, The Last Bookshop in London is a timeless story of wartime loss, love and the enduring power of literature.August 1939: London prepares for war as Hitler’s forces sweep across Europe... -
![Josephine by Beverly Jenkins]()
Josephine by Beverly Jenkins
Rated: 4.25 of 5 stars · 12 ratingsJosephine Best has it all figured out. Just seventeen, she's been to college, she has her own hairdressing shop and she refuses to be distracted from her goals. At least until handsome George Brooks begins to pursue her. Jojo isn't looking for romance, but she permits George to call on her.Adam Morgan has always been a Casanova, and no girl is immune to his charm...Categorized as:
black-mc civil-war family friendship historical-fiction poc-mc social-commentary war -
![Beyond the Horizon by Ella Carey]()
Beyond the Horizon by Ella Carey
Rated: 4.25 of 5 stars · 12 ratingsFROM THE AUTHOR OF 'THE HOUSE BY THE LAKE' COMES A POWERFUL NOVEL OF FRIENDSHIP DURING WORLD WAR II, FIGHTING FOR THE TRUTH, AND MAKING PEACE WITH THE PAST.At the height of World War II, Eva Scott's dream comes true...Categorized as:
family female-mc friendship historical-fiction literary-fiction war 20th-century adult -
![The Bogside Boys by Eoin Dempsey]()
The Bogside Boys by Eoin Dempsey
Rated: 4.21 of 5 stars · 14 ratingsFrom the Amazon Top Ten Overall Bestselling author of Finding RebeccaThe war will force him to choose between his community, his family, or the woman he loves. The city of Derry, Northern Ireland, 1972The Bogside is an area in open revolt, cordoned off from the rest of the city of Derry, patrolled by masked IRA men atop burnt out barricades... -
![Ruined by Lynn Nottage]()
Ruined by Lynn Nottage
Rated: 4.19 of 5 stars · 16 ratingsWinner of the 2009 Pulitzer Prize for Drama ''A powerhouse drama. . . . Lynn Nottage's beautiful, hideous and unpretentiously important play [is] a shattering, intimate journey into faraway news reports." - Linda Winer, Newsday ''An intense and gripping new drama . . . the kind of new play we desperately need; well-informed and unafraid of the world's brutalities... -
![The Fortunate Ones by Catherine Hokin]()
The Fortunate Ones by Catherine Hokin
Rated: 4.19 of 5 stars · 16 ratingsEvery day he stood exactly where he was directed. He listened for his number, shouted his answer in the freezing cold. He was ragged and he was starving, but he was alive. He was one of the fortunate ones whom fate had left standing. And he needed to stay that way. For Hannah. Berlin, 1941. Felix Thalberg, a printer’s apprentice, has the weight of the world on his shoulders...Categorized as:
drama female-mc friendship historical-fiction literary-fiction war 20th-century adult
Or - use our amazing romance book finder to get recommendations based on your favorite content tropes and themes. Mix and match at will.
