Books like 'You Know Better'
Readers who enjoyed You Know Better by Tina McElroy Ansa also liked the following books featuring the same tropes, story themes, relationship dynamics and character types.
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The Little Liar by Mitch Albom
Rated: 4.59 of 5 stars · 32 ratingsBeloved bestselling author Mitch Albom returns with a powerful novel that moves from a coastal Greek city during the Holocaust, to America, where the intertwined lives of three survivors are forever changed by the perils of deception and the grace of redemption. Eleven-year-old Nico Krispis never told a lie...Categorized as:
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The Secrets of the Tea Garden by Janet MacLeod Trotter
Rated: 4.56 of 5 stars · 16 ratingsShe’s gone in search of happy memories. But was her idyllic childhood in India an illusion? After the Second World War, Libby Robson leaves chilly England for India, and the childhood home where she left her heart—and her beloved father, James—fourteen years ago. At first Libby is intoxicated by India’s vibrant beauty: the bustle of Calcutta, the lush tea gardens of Assam... -
The Ways of White Folks by Langston Hughes
Rated: 4.44 of 5 stars · 18 ratingsOne of his best-known works, Hughes wrote The Ways of White Folks while living in Carmel, California. In it, he shares acrid and poignant stories of blacks colliding--sometimes humorously, but often tragically--with whites throughout the 1920s and 1930s...Categorized as:
black-mc christian family historical-fiction literary-fiction poc-mc spirituality 20th-century -
The Orphan's Mother by Marion Kummerow
Rated: 4.50 of 5 stars · 12 ratings1945, the German-Polish border: With Nazis on one side and Soviet forces approaching on the other, a mother and her little boy are torn apart, and so begins an unforgettable tale of courage, heartbreak and motherhood in wartime.“If you ever get lost, Jacob, you need to stay where you are and wait, because I’ll come looking for you. And I’ll always find you... -
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Long Way Home by Lynn Austin
Rated: 4.43 of 5 stars · 14 ratingsIn this portrait of war and its aftermath, a young woman searches for the truth her childhood friend won't discuss after returning from World War II, revealing a story of courage, friendship, and faith.Peggy Serrano couldn't wait for her best friend to come home from the war... -
Gilding the Lily by Rita Bradshaw
Rated: 4.50 of 5 stars · 10 ratingsA heartrending tale of two sisters and their quest for a place to belong, from much-loved author Rita Bradshaw.Lily and Sarah Brown's childhood is an unhappy one. Sarah escapes by marrying Ralph Turner, a Sunderland dock worker, but Lily doesn't trust Ralph - a dark volatile man with a hidden cruel streak. When he tries to seduce Lily on his wedding day, her worst fears are confirmed... -
The Colours of Love by Rita Bradshaw
Rated: 4.50 of 5 stars · 10 ratingsCan love survive when all is lost? England is at war, but nothing can dim land girl Esther Wynford's happiness at marrying the love of her life - fighter pilot Monty Grant. Their short honeymoon results in a baby, but on the birth of her daughter, Joy, Esther's world falls apart... -
On a Wing and a Prayer by Helen Carey
Rated: 4.50 of 5 stars · 10 ratings‘This dramatic and poignant novel depicts the resilience of ordinary people caught up in an extraordinary war.Unputdownable!’ Western Telegraph Life is hard in London in 1941, and yet Helen de Burrel finds herself volunteering to join the SOE. Nobody knows that her cool exterior conceals such courage ... and such fear. It also means that love, when it strikes unexpectedly, is doubly dangerous...Categorized as:
family historical-fiction literary-fiction 20th-century adult book fiction historical -
The Musician by Tess Thompson
Rated: 4.50 of 5 stars · 10 ratingsFiona Barnes has a secret. One so big she's afraid it will destroy everything she holds dear. Not even her beloved music can save her.Li Wu has fought prejudice his entire life. But he's always felt safe and protected within the fierce love of the Barnes family. If only the object of his desire were free to be his, all would be well... -
A Royal Visit to Victory Street by Pam Howes
Rated: 4.50 of 5 stars · 10 ratingsFrom Amazon charts bestseller Pam Howes comes an emotional and uplifting saga about the power of family and a community trying to rebuild their lives after the terrible war that nearly destroyed everything…1956, Liverpool. With the shadow of the war looming over them and bomb craters littering the surrounding streets, hope feels far away for the residents of Victory Street... -
The Orphan's Island by Katharine Swartz, Kate Hewitt
Rated: 4.36 of 5 stars · 14 ratings1904: Ellen Copley is still a child when she leaves behind the sooty rail yards of Glasgow, and crosses the Atlantic Ocean with a heart full of dreams. Yet within weeks of their arrival in America, her father has disappeared—leaving Ellen with resentful relatives, feeling alone and scared for her future...Categorized as:
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Kinfolk by Pearl S. Buck
Rated: 4.36 of 5 stars · 14 ratingsKinfolk is the story of a Chinese family. Dr. Liang moves to America in search of a better life, but his children long to return to China. Each responds to their new life in China differently, providing rich insight into the struggles between Eastern and Western culture, and the differences between generations...Categorized as:
historical-fiction family literary-fiction fiction classics historical 20th-century politics -
Snowflakes in the Wind by Rita Bradshaw
Rated: 4.50 of 5 stars · 8 ratingsSnowflakes in the Wind is a heartwarming story of triumph over adversity by Rita Bradshaw, author of the number one bestselling Dancing in the Moonlight. It's Christmas Eve 1920 when nine-year-old Abby Kirby's family is ripped apart by a terrible tragedy. Leaving everything she's ever known, Abby takes her younger brother and runs away to the tough existence of the Border farming community... -
No Journey Too Far by Carrie Turansky
Rated: 4.50 of 5 stars · 8 ratingsA family long divided, a mysterious trunk, and a desperate journey across the ocean--all in the name of love. The epic saga of the McAlisters continues in this riveting sequel to No Ocean Too Wide. In 1909, Grace McAlister set sail for Canada as one of the thousands of British Home Children taken from their families and their homeland... -
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Palace of Desire by Naguib Mahfouz
Rated: 4.25 of 5 stars · 20 ratingsThe sensual and provocative second volume in the Cairo Trilogy, Palace Of Desire follows the Al Jawad family into the awakening world of the 1920's and the sometimes violent clash between Islamic ideals, personal dreams and modern realities...Categorized as:
family historical-fiction literary-fiction poc-mc spirituality 20th-century action-adventure adult -
Early Novels & Stories: Go Tell It on the Mountain / Giovanni’s Room / Another Country / Going to Meet the Man by James Baldwin
Rated: 4.40 of 5 stars · 10 ratings“The civil rights struggle,” said The New York Times Book Review, “found eloquent expression in [Baldwin’s] novels. His historical importance is indisputable.” Here, in a Library of America volume edited by Nobel laureate Toni Morrison, is the fiction that established James Baldwin’s reputation as a writer who fused unblinking realism and rare verbal eloquence... -
Seasons of the Heart/Four Complete Novels in One Book by Janette Oke
Rated: 4.40 of 5 stars · 10 ratingsJanette Oke, with over 11 million copies of her books in print, writes with a special feeling about her characters and their time. This heartwarming collection of four novels is a wonderful series of stories about an American family on the prairies of yesterday...Categorized as:
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Love Comes Home by Ann H. Gabhart
Rated: 4.40 of 5 stars · 10 ratingsWorld War II is finally over and the people of Rosey Corner are busy welcoming the boys home. The Merritt sisters in particular are looking toward the future. Kate is eager to start a family and live out her dream of happily ever after with Jay. Evangeline wants a beautiful house and encourages Mike to pastor a big-town church...Categorized as:
christian family historical-fiction spirituality 20th-century book fiction historical -
Return To Jarrow by Janet MacLeod Trotter
Rated: 4.40 of 5 stars · 10 ratingsCatherine (Kitty) McMullen, is seventeen, restless and rebellious. Resentful of her mother Kate's new husband, she yearns for stories of the father she never knew and when her gossipy aunt divulges that he was a wealthy gentleman, Catherine's discontent with grimy, impoverished Jarrow grows... -
Under the Midnight Sun by Tracie Peterson, Kimberley Woodhouse
Rated: 4.40 of 5 stars · 10 ratingsTayler Hale is ahead of her time as one of the first women naturalists. She has always loved adventure and the great outdoors, and her remote job location also helps keep her away from the clutches of the man to whom she once made a foolish promise. It seems she must keep running, however, and in secret, her boss from Yellowstone arranges for a new job . . . in Alaska...Categorized as:
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The Rebel by Tess Thompson
Rated: 4.67 of 5 stars · 12 ratingsShe watches helplessly as the man she loves leaves to fight with the Allies overseas. He promises her he will return to her alive and well. Will he be able to keep his promise, or will he be yet another lost soldier in a war against tyranny?After four years at a university, Delphia Barnes returns home to Emerson Pass as America prepares to join the war...Categorized as:
historical-fiction family christian spirituality romance fiction audiobook historical -
The Promised Land by Roberta Kagan
Rated: 4.33 of 5 stars · 12 ratingsThe Holocaust robbed Zofia Weiss of all she holds dear. The Secret State Police have confiscated her home, killed her friends, and imprisoned the man she loves. After searching through displaced persons camps and finding nothing, Zofia is sure that her lover is dead. With only her life, a dream, and a terrifying secret, Zofia illegally boards The Exodus, bound for Palestine...Categorized as:
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Forever Hidden by Tracie Peterson, Kimberley Woodhouse
Rated: 4.33 of 5 stars · 12 ratingsFor Havyn Powell, growing up on her grandfather Chuck Bondrant's dairy outside the 1904 gold-rush boomtown of Nome, Alaska, offered all she needed. She had the love of her mother, two sisters, and grandfather. But now, at 23, Havyn realizes the stability of her life may soon vanish... -
Out of the Ashes by Tracie Peterson, Kimberley Woodhouse
Rated: 4.33 of 5 stars · 12 ratingsA chance at reconciliation for two exes who reunite by chance in a 1920s Alaskan hotel is challenged by painful losses, wartime trauma, a violent first marriage and questions about their faith. (religious fiction). Simultaneous... -
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The Secret Diary by Anna Stuart
Rated: 4.33 of 5 stars · 12 ratingsTwo women. One house. And a secret that spans decades…The past merges with the present in an unforgettable, poignant story of love, loss and courage in this beautifully written story set between World War Two and the present day.She steps into the room and it’s like going back in time.Catapulting her right into the heart of the 1940s.The spindle of the record player frozen and ready to play...Categorized as:
family historical-fiction literary-fiction 20th-century adult book female-mc fiction -
3 by Flannery O'Connor: The Violent Bear It Away / Everything That Rises Must Converge / Wise Blood by Flannery O'Connor
Rated: 4.29 of 5 stars · 14 ratingsThe quintessential Southern writer, O'Connor wrote fiercely comic, powerful fiction. This anthology includes the masterpieces Wise Blood. The Violent Bear it Away, and Everything that Rises Must Converge...Categorized as:
christian historical-fiction literary-fiction spirituality 20th-century adult anthologies classics -
Tumbling by Diane McKinney-Whetstone
Rated: 4.25 of 5 stars · 16 ratingsDiane McKinney-Whetstone's lyrical first novel, Tumbling, vividly captures a tightly knit African-American neighborhood in South Philadelphia during the forties and fifties. Its central characters, Herbie and Noon, are a loving but unconventional couple whose marriage remains unconsummated for many years as Noon struggles to repossess her sexuality after a brutal attack in her past...Categorized as:
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The City of Joy by Dominique Lapierre, Elina Klersy Imberciadori
Rated: 4.22 of 5 stars · 18 ratingsMade into a movie starring Patrick Swayze, this is the inspiring story of an American doctor who experienced a spiritual rebirth in an impoverished section of Calcutta... -
Minnie by Kirsten Osbourne
Rated: 4.50 of 5 stars · 6 ratingsMinnie Sanders has everything going for her. She’s starting a new job at the mayor’s office in Nowhere, Texas. She’s surrounded by family who love her beyond anything she’s ever known. But as Minnie watches her sisters all fall in love and marry, she realizes marriage is something she wants as well. She loves her nieces and nephews, and she dreams of holding her own child someday...Categorized as:
christian historical-fiction spirituality 20th-century adult book fiction historical -
Haven for Her Heart (Redemption's Light) by Susan Anne Mason
Rated: 4.50 of 5 stars · 6 ratingsHomeless after being released from a women's reformatory in 1939Toronto, Olivia Rosetti is taken in by an angel of mercy, Ruth Bennington. The two discover they share a painful past and together decide to open a maternity home for troubled women.Despite the success of the home, Olivia is haunted by her inhumane treatment at the reformatory and the way her newborn son was taken from her...Categorized as:
christian historical-fiction family spirituality historical 20th-century fiction ww2 -
The Rose Stone by Teresa Crane
Rated: 4.50 of 5 stars · 6 ratingsA dazzling jewel holds the key to a prosperous new life… or total ruin The Rose Stone. A diamond, gained through betrayal and blood, upon which the Rosenberg family's fortunes were founded and whose price is yet to be paid. Kiev, 1875: Josef Rosenberg narrowly escapes death from a Cossack raid, rescuing Tanya, the youngest daughter of his old friend Boris Anatov...Categorized as:
historical-fiction literary-fiction family romance historical 20th-century fiction epic -
Birthright by Patricia Dixon
Rated: 4.50 of 5 stars · 6 ratingsA woman's quest to save her family's chateau in France brings danger, rivalry, and romance--and reveals a secret buried since World War II . . .1931, Chateau de Chevalier: Ophélie, La Duchesse de Bombelle, receives a love letter from her admirer Picasso along with a gift: a priceless painting. Nine years later, the Nazis invade France and steal countless works of art, including Ophélie's gift . -
Margot's Secret by Roberta Kagan
Rated: 4.50 of 5 stars · 6 ratingsAmid the chaos of Hitler's conquest of Europe, a family teeters on the edge of utter destruction.Trudy is still obsessed with her sister's husband, Max. But Max is torn between his loyalty to his wife, Margot, and giving in to Trudy, who might turn him in for the murder of her husband, the SS officer Rudolph...Categorized as:
historical-fiction family literary-fiction ww2 mystery historical fiction 20th-century -
The Wordsmith by Tess Thompson
Rated: 4.58 of 5 stars · 12 ratingsShe didn’t want to fall in love with him. He was too old, too English, and too much her sister’s best friend. Worst of all, he’s promised to another woman. Will duty keep them apart forever?As a child Adelaide Barnes felt sure she wouldn’t live to be an adult. However, she’s grown into a beautiful and ambitious young woman with big dreams for a literary career...Categorized as:
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A Christmas Gift for Rose by Tricia Goyer
Rated: 4.38 of 5 stars · 8 ratingsBorn in the midst of the hardships of The Great Depression, Rose grew up in Berlin, Ohio, in the arms of a loving Amish family. But as she prepares to marry, she's thrown into confusion when she learns the truth of her birth. She was born Englisch and abandoned when the family moved on in search of work... -
Tilly's Story by June Francis
Rated: 4.38 of 5 stars · 8 ratingsCan she leave her troubles behind to find true happiness? In the aftermath of the Great War, many are searching for a new life. But has Tilly missed her only chance for love? Since the end of the First World War, the residents of Victoria Crescent have been slowly rebuilding their lives... -
When the Clouds Go Rolling By by June Francis
Rated: 4.38 of 5 stars · 8 ratingsThe secrets of the past can never be forgotten An orphaned young woman is overjoyed to find a family she never knew existed, but has to come to terms with their troubled history. Since her parents died Clara O’Toole has lived with her grandmother, Bernie...Categorized as:
family historical-fiction literary-fiction spirituality 20th-century adult book epic -
The Italian Ballerina: A World War II Novel by Kristy Cambron
Rated: 4.30 of 5 stars · 10 ratingsA prima ballerina. Two American medics. And a young Jewish girl with no name . . . At the height of the Nazi occupation of Rome, an unlikely band of heroes comes together to save Italian Jews in this breathtaking World War II novel based on real historical events.Rome, 1943...Categorized as:
christian historical-fiction spirituality 20th-century adult book fiction historical -
Step by Step by June Francis
Rated: 4.30 of 5 stars · 10 ratingsWill their friendship survive against all odds? In the early 1900s two girls see each other through good times and bad. But can their friendship endure when an dreadful act of violence sees their families turn against one another? Hannah Kirk and Alice Moran have been friends since childhood. Growing up in the back streets of Chester, they support each other through hard times... -
The Traveller's Daughter by Michelle Vernal
Rated: 4.30 of 5 stars · 10 ratingsROSA’S PAST IS HER PANDORA’S BOX, AND THE LID IS ABOUT TO BE LIFTED … ‘If you lie down with dogs you’ll rise with fleas’ – Irish Proverb Rosa Sorenson’s conversation was often peppered with sayings from her homeland. It was these conversational clangers that gave her daughter Kitty the only clue as to a childhood her mother refused to speak of...Categorized as:
family historical-fiction literary-fiction 20th-century adult book female-mc fiction -
Glamorous Powers by Susan Howatch
Rated: 4.21 of 5 stars · 14 ratingsJon Darrow, a man with psychic powers, is a man who has played many parts: a shady faith-healer; a naval chaplain, a passionate husband, an awkward father, an Anglo-Catholic monk. In 1940 Darrow returns to the world he once renounced, but faced with many unforeseen temptations he fails to control his psychic, most glamorous powers...Categorized as:
christian historical-fiction literary-fiction spirituality 20th-century adult book fiction -
A Passion Denied by Julie Lessman
Rated: 4.21 of 5 stars · 14 ratingsYoung Elizabeth O'Connor is the little sister John Brady always longed for. But she wants much more than that from her spiritual mentor. As she blossoms into a beautiful young woman intent on loving John, he must push back the very real attraction he feels for her. His past just won't let him go there...Categorized as:
christian historical-fiction spirituality 20th-century adult book fiction historical -
Woesten by Kris Van Steenberge
Rated: 4.19 of 5 stars · 16 ratingsHet indringende debuut van Kris Van Steenberge brengt ons naar de Vlaamse klei, waar de negentiende eeuw ten einde loopt. In het dorp Woesten treedt Elisabeth, dochter van de smid, in het huwelijk met de jonge arts Guillaume Duponselle. Maar er rust geen zegen op hun verbintenis. Als Elisabeth acht maanden later van een tweeling bevalt, blijkt de eerstgeborene een prachtige zoon, Valentijn... -
The Street Sweeper by Elliot Perlman
Rated: 4.17 of 5 stars · 18 ratingsHow breathtakingly close we are to lives that at first seem so far away. From the civil rights struggle in the United States to the Nazi crimes against humanity in Europe, there are more stories than people passing each other every day on the bustling streets of every crowded city. Only some survive to become history...Categorized as:
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The Immigrants by Howard Fast
Rated: 4.15 of 5 stars · 20 ratingsIn a passionate, multigenerational novel set against the backdrop of San Francisco, the son of an Italian fisherman struggles from the rubble of the great earthquake to build a shipping empire. Reprint... -
The Secret Book of Flora Lea by Patti Callahan Henry
Rated: 4.33 of 5 stars · 6 ratingsWhen a woman discovers a rare book that has connections to her past, long-held secrets about her missing sister and their childhood spent in the English countryside during World War II are revealed.In the war-torn London of 1939, fourteen-year-old Hazel and five-year-old Flora are evacuated to a rural village to escape the horrors of the Second World War...Categorized as:
christian family historical-fiction literary-fiction spirituality 20th-century adult book -
String of Pearls by Melody Carlson
Rated: 4.33 of 5 stars · 6 ratingsBy 1943 the world is in the thick of war and the home-front continues to play a vital role. The Mulligans of San Francisco do their part in the war effort, but hardships and deprivations are taking a toll and each the four Mulligan sisters are tested in their own way. The war years urge young Molly to grow up quickly...Categorized as:
christian historical-fiction spirituality 20th-century book fiction historical violent-conflict -
Arms of Deliverance: A Story of Promise by Tricia Goyer
Rated: 4.33 of 5 stars · 6 ratingsMary and Lee have gone from best friends to competing WWII journalists, but a bombing raid gone wrong puts Mary's life at risk and sends Lee on a heroic rescue attempt through the fierce teeth of combat. Then, amidst an adventurous struggle for freedom, they uncover the story of the unspeakable Lebensborn atrocity...Categorized as:
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Dawn of a Thousand Nights: A Story of Honor by Tricia Goyer
Rated: 4.33 of 5 stars · 6 ratingsFor fans of scrupulously researched historical fiction, Tricia Goyer releases Dawn of a Thousand Nights . Following on the heels of Goyer's From Dust and Ashes and Night Song , readers journey with Dan Fletcher and Libby Conner, both U.S. pilots fighting in WWII's Pacific Theater...Categorized as:
christian historical-fiction literary-fiction spirituality 20th-century adult book fiction -
You're the Cream in My Coffee by Jennifer Lamont Leo
Rated: 4.33 of 5 stars · 6 ratingsCarol Awards Winner Grace Awards Winner Selah Awards Nominee In 1928, Chicago rocks to the rhythm of the Jazz Age, and Prohibition is in full swing. Small-town girl Marjorie Corrigan, visiting the city for the first time, has sworn that coffee's the strongest drink that will pass her lips...Categorized as:
christian historical-fiction spirituality 20th-century 21st-century adult book fiction
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