Books like 'Show Way'
Readers who enjoyed Show Way by Jacqueline Woodson also liked the following books featuring the same tropes, story themes, relationship dynamics and character types.
historical military, war & conflict historical-fiction family slavery children poc-mc social-commentary realistic civil-war
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Henry's Freedom Box: A True Story from the Underground Railroad by Ellen Levine
Rated: 4.50 of 5 stars · 24 ratingsA stirring, dramatic story of a slave who mails himself to freedom by a Jane Addams Peace Award-winning author and a Coretta Scott King Award-winning artist.Henry Brown doesn't know how old he is. Nobody keeps records of slaves' birthdays. All the time he dreams about freedom, but that dream seems farther away than ever when he is torn from his family and put to work in a warehouse... -
![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... -
![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 family historical-fiction poc-mc realistic slavery social-commentary -
![The Last Long Night by Ginny Dye]()
The Last Long Night by Ginny Dye
Rated: 4.50 of 5 stars · 16 ratingsCan they survive the Last, Long Night of the Civil War?The power of the Union army brings the South to its knees in surrender, but not until a year of intense pain and violence creates a chasm that may be impossible for the country to bridge. Carrie struggles to hold on to hope as the world caves in around her, hanging on to the promise she’s been given... -
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![Dark Chaos by Virginia Gaffney, Ginny Dye]()
Dark Chaos by Virginia Gaffney, Ginny Dye
Rated: 4.44 of 5 stars · 18 ratingsDark Chaos is the 4th book in the Bregden Chronicles - the sweeping historical saga of America, beginning in 1860. As the 3rd year of the American Civil War begins, Carrie Cromwell, her heart filled with joy, marries the man of her dreams, the handsome Lieutenant Robert Borden. But a cloud threatens to wipe out the bride's new happiness... -
![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 realistic female-mc fiction historical literary-fiction war -
![Promises by Carolyn Brown]()
Promises by Carolyn Brown
Rated: 4.43 of 5 stars · 14 ratingsIndigo Hamilton was a lovely bride and the day was perfect as she walked down the aisle toward her smiling groom, Thomas Brewster. She was the absolute center of attention and loved being there - until the priest asked if anyone had any objections to the marriage. Then the doors of the church swung open and Indigo's world fell apart. Flannon Sullivan chose to sit at the back of the church... -
![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 female-mc historical-fiction poc-mc slavery social-commentary 20th-century -
![Ashes by Laurie Halse Anderson]()
Ashes by Laurie Halse Anderson
Rated: 4.33 of 5 stars · 18 ratingsReturn to the American Revolution in the conclusion to the Seeds of America trilogy.As the Revolutionary War rages on, Isabel and Curzon have narrowly escaped Valley Forge--but their relief is short-lived. Before long they are reported as runaways, and the awful Bellingham is determined to track them down...Categorized as:
black-mc children family historical-fiction poc-mc realistic slavery action-adventure -
![BLACK by Joan Vassar]()
BLACK by Joan Vassar
Rated: 4.50 of 5 stars · 10 ratingsIn August 1831, Nat Turner leads a group of escaped slaves in a rebellion that rocks the South. The revolt comes to a quick and violent end. In November, Nat is publicly hanged, and as his body swings, a false sense of peace washes over Jerusalem, Virginia. Unbeknownst to the world, on the day Nat Turner dies, his son, Nat Hope Turner, is born... -
![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 family civil-war poc-mc social-commentary fiction historical literary-fiction -
![Absolution by Carolyn Brown]()
Absolution by Carolyn Brown
Rated: 4.36 of 5 stars · 14 ratingsThe Irish are hardheaded so Elspeth Hamilton doesn't like them. The Mexicans are hotheaded so likewise, she doesn't think much of them either. Since Rebels burned her family home, killing both her parents in the Chambersburg, Pennsylvania fire, it stands to reason she surely doesn't waste affection on Rebels. Colum Sullivan is all three: Irish, Mexican and Rebel... -
![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... -
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![The Appomattox Saga Collection 1 by Gilbert Morris]()
The Appomattox Saga Collection 1 by Gilbert Morris
Rated: 4.50 of 5 stars · 8 ratingsEnjoy the first three novels from the acclaimed Appomattox Saga by bestselling author Gilbert Morris in a collector's hardbound anthology. On a prosperous Virginia plantation, the Rocklin family tries to live as they traditionally have, enjoying the pleasures of wealth and status... -
![Quinn: Cowboy Risk by Kathleen Ball]()
Quinn: Cowboy Risk by Kathleen Ball
Rated: 4.50 of 5 stars · 8 ratingsA Christian Historical Western Romance Quinn Kavanagh is never going to risk his heart again. In fact, he doesn't think he has a heart anymore. Everything he thought to be true wasn't and now he is traveling trying to find a place where he fits. Heaven Burke is about to be shot when Quinn arrives. He saves her then and again later that day in a shootout... -
![The Length of a String by Elissa Brent Weissman]()
The Length of a String by Elissa Brent Weissman
Rated: 4.33 of 5 stars · 12 ratingsImani is adopted, and she's ready to search for her birthparents. But when she discovers the diary her Jewish great-grandmother wrote chronicling her escape from Holocaust-era Europe, Imani begins to see family in a new way.Imani knows exactly what she wants as her big bat mitzvah gift: to meet her birthparents... -
![From Sea to Shining Sea by James Alexander Thom]()
From Sea to Shining Sea by James Alexander Thom
Rated: 4.29 of 5 stars · 14 ratingsIn one generation, the Clark family of Virginia fought for our nation's independence, and explored, conquered, and settled the continent from sea to shining sea. This powerfully written book recreates the warm life of the family, the dangers of the battlefield, the grueling journeys across an untamed wilderness, and the soul-stirring Lewis and Clark Expedition... -
![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...Categorized as:
black-mc civil-war historical-fiction poc-mc slavery adult american-civil-war audiobook -
![Baseball Saved Us by Ken Mochizuki]()
Baseball Saved Us by Ken Mochizuki
Rated: 4.25 of 5 stars · 16 ratingsShorty and his family, along with thousands of Japanese Americans, are sent to an internment camp after the attack on Pearl Harbor. Fighting the heat and dust of the desert, Shorty and his father decide to build a baseball diamond and form a league in order to boost the spirits of the internees. Shorty quickly learns that he is playing not only to win, but to gain dignity and self-respect as well...Categorized as:
children family historical-fiction poc-mc realistic social-commentary 20th-century book -
![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... -
![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...Categorized as:
historical-fiction civil-war slavery social-commentary poc-mc black-mc family fiction -
![Margaret's Story by Eugenia Price]()
Margaret's Story by Eugenia Price
Rated: 4.38 of 5 stars · 8 ratingsFrom the Seminole uprisings to the Civil War, they fought for their beloved plantation, their family, and their faith. . . Margaret Seton had loved the handsome young widower long before she become Lewis Fleming's bride. Together they would rebuild Hibernia on the St. Johns River in northern Florida, and fill it to overflowing with laughter and tears of their large, close-knit family... -
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![Plantation Trilogy: Deep Summer, The Handsome Road, and This Side of Glory by Gwen Bristow]()
Plantation Trilogy: Deep Summer, The Handsome Road, and This Side of Glory by Gwen Bristow
Rated: 4.30 of 5 stars · 10 ratingsNew York Times–bestselling author Gwen Bristow’s spellbinding Plantation Trilogy compiled in a single volume The Plantation Trilogy is an epic series of historical novels that bring to life the history of Louisiana, from its settlement in the late eighteenth century to the post–World War I era, via the intertwined lives of the members of three families: the Sheramys, the Larnes, and the Upjohns... -
![Barefoot Dreams of Petra Luna by Alda P. Dobbs]()
Barefoot Dreams of Petra Luna by Alda P. Dobbs
Rated: 4.30 of 5 stars · 10 ratingsBased on a true story, the tale of one girl's perilous journey to cross the U.S. border and lead her family to safety during the Mexican Revolution. "Wrenching debut about family, loss, and finding the strength to carry on." ― Booklist , starred review "Blazes bright, gripping readers until the novel's last page." ― Publishers Weekly , starred review "Vital and perilous and hopeful...Categorized as:
historical-fiction family realistic children poc-mc social-commentary north-america mexico -
![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 historical-fiction poc-mc social-commentary audiobook book -
![I Lived on Butterfly Hill by Marjorie Agosín]()
I Lived on Butterfly Hill by Marjorie Agosín
Rated: 4.21 of 5 stars · 14 ratingsAn eleven-year-old’s world is upended by political turmoil in this searing novel from an award-winning poet, based on true events in Chile.Celeste Marconi is a dreamer...Categorized as:
children family female-mc historical-fiction poc-mc realistic social-commentary action-adventure -
![Queen by Alex Haley, David Stevens]()
Queen by Alex Haley, David Stevens
Rated: 4.19 of 5 stars · 16 ratingsMultigenerational saga of Alex Haley's father's family through his grandmother, Queen, the proud daughter born of a slave and a white slave owner... -
![The Secret Wife of Aaron Burr by Susan Holloway Scott]()
The Secret Wife of Aaron Burr by Susan Holloway Scott
Rated: 4.19 of 5 stars · 16 ratingsEugenie Bearhani (1760-1835) was born in Calcutta, raised in Haiti, and brought as a servant--a free woman of color--to America by an English officer on the eve of the American Revolution. Yet none of that prepared Eugenie for her next employer: Colonel Aaron Burr, a man some whispered had made a pact with the devil... -
![I Survived the Battle of Gettysburg 1863 by Lauren Tarshis]()
I Survived the Battle of Gettysburg 1863 by Lauren Tarshis
Rated: 4.17 of 5 stars · 18 ratingsIssued on Playaway, a dedicated audio media player... -
![The Land by Mildred D. Taylor]()
The Land by Mildred D. Taylor
Rated: 4.17 of 5 stars · 18 ratingsThe son of a prosperous landowner and a former slave, Paul-Edward Logan is unlike any other boy he knows. His white father has acknowledged him and raised him openly—something unusual in post-Civil War Georgia. But as he grows into a man he learns that life for someone like him is not easy. Black people distrust him because he looks white... -
![The Lost Quilter by Jennifer Chiaverini]()
The Lost Quilter by Jennifer Chiaverini
Rated: 4.17 of 5 stars · 18 ratingsMaster Quilter Sylvia Bergstrom Compson treasures an antique quilt called by three names -- Birds in the Air, after its pattern; the Runaway Quilt, after the woman who sewed it; and the Elm Creek Quilt, after the place to which its maker longed to return. That quilter was Joanna, a fugitive slave who traveled by the Underground Railroad to reach safe haven in 1859 at Elm Creek Farm...Categorized as:
civil-war family female-mc historical-fiction realistic slavery action-adventure adult -
![Words Composed of Sea and Sky by Erica George]()
Words Composed of Sea and Sky by Erica George
Rated: 4.33 of 5 stars · 6 ratingsMichaela Dunn dreams of getting into an art school, but when her stepfather refuses to fund a trip there for a poetry workshop, Michaela enters a local contest searching for a poet to write the dedication plaque for a statue honoring Captain Benjamin Churchill, a whaler who died at sea over one hundred years ago... -
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![Untethered by Angela Jackson-Brown]()
Untethered by Angela Jackson-Brown
Rated: 4.33 of 5 stars · 6 ratingsSometimes family is found in the most unlikely of places . . .In the small college town of Troy, Alabama, amidst the backdrop of 1967, Katia Daniels lives a life steeped in responsibility. At the Pike County Group Home for Negro Boys, she pours her heart into nurturing the young lives under her care, harboring a longing for children of her own... -
![Yonder by Jabari Asim]()
Yonder by Jabari Asim
Rated: 4.25 of 5 stars · 8 ratingsThe Water Dancer meets The Prophets in this spare, gripping, and beautifully rendered novel exploring love and friendship among a group of enslaved Black strivers in the mid-19th century.They call themselves the Stolen. Their owners call them captives. They are taught their captors’ tongues and their beliefs but they have a language and rituals all their own... -
![A Season of Swans by Celeste De Blasis]()
A Season of Swans by Celeste De Blasis
Rated: 4.25 of 5 stars · 8 ratingsThe conclusion to the "Swan saga", completing a trilogy of novels that spans 100 years of American history and brings to life a memorable family. Seared by the firestorm of the Civil War, the Swan dynasty, led by Alexandra Carrington, struggle to rebuild their lives and their dreams... -
![Tennessee Rose by Jane Kendall, Jane Kendall]()
Tennessee Rose by Jane Kendall, Jane Kendall
Rated: 4.25 of 5 stars · 8 ratingsAlabama, 1856. Tennessee Rose is a dark bay Tennessee Walking Horse with a rose-shaped marking on her forehead. She loves dashing around the plantation in the running walk that her breed is famous for, then coming back to her comfortable stall and her friend Levi, the slave boy who is her groom. But as the Civil War approaches, Rosie begins to question plantation life... -
![Ever My Love by Gretchen Craig]()
Ever My Love by Gretchen Craig
Rated: 4.20 of 5 stars · 10 ratingsOn the eve of Civil War, the daughter of Southern planters finds her loyalties tested in a magnificent saga of family pride and forbidden love...Brought up amid the luxury of plantation life, Marianne Johnston never questions her sheltered life until, driven by her conscience, she joins the Underground Railroad... -
![Katie Mulholland by Catherine Cookson]()
Katie Mulholland by Catherine Cookson
Rated: 4.17 of 5 stars · 12 ratingsAs the daughter of a mining family, Katie Mulholland is forced to find work as a scullery maid in the house of the Rosiers. But the beautiful young girl soon captures the eye of her employer’s evil son, who rapes her and leaves her pregnant. Quick to dismiss Katie, the family forces her into a loveless marriage with the cruel manager of the Rosier mines...Categorized as:
children family historical-fiction audiobook book fiction historical violent-conflict -
![Coming On Home Soon by Jacqueline Woodson]()
Coming On Home Soon by Jacqueline Woodson
Rated: 4.14 of 5 stars · 14 ratingsBeloved multi-award-winning author Jacqueline Woodson tells a timeless story set during World War II Ada Ruth's mama must go away to Chicago to work, leaving Ada Ruth and Grandma behind. It's war time, and women are needed to fill the men's jobs. As winter sets in, Ada Ruth and her grandma keep up their daily routine, missing Mama all the time...Categorized as:
black-mc children family historical-fiction poc-mc realistic social-commentary 20th-century -
![Day of Tears by Julius Lester]()
Day of Tears by Julius Lester
Rated: 4.13 of 5 stars · 16 ratingsOn March 2 and 3, 1859, the largest auction of slaves in American history took place in Savannah, Georgia. More than 400 slaves were sold. On the first day of the auction, the skies darkened and torrential rain began falling. The rain continued throughout the two days, stopping only when the auction had ended... -
![Addy's Surprise: A Christmas Story by Connie Rose Porter]()
Addy's Surprise: A Christmas Story by Connie Rose Porter
Rated: 4.11 of 5 stars · 18 ratingsDuring the holiday season, Addy and Momma are generous with their meager savings and thrilled by a wonderful surprise.' to 'Addy Walker is a proud, courageous girl growing up in 1864, during the midst of the Civil War. Addy's stories tell of her daring escape with her mother from slavery, and the challenges they face afterward as they try to reunite their family...Categorized as:
black-mc children civil-war historical-fiction poc-mc realistic slavery american-civil-war -
![The Runaway Quilt by Jennifer Chiaverini]()
The Runaway Quilt by Jennifer Chiaverini
Rated: 4.11 of 5 stars · 18 ratingsIn the fourth novel of the beloved Elm Creek Quilts series, Sylvia Compson searches for evidence of her ancestors' courageous involvement in the Underground Railroad...Categorized as:
civil-war family female-mc historical-fiction realistic slavery adult american-civil-war -
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![Meet Addy: An American Girl by Connie Rose Porter]()
Meet Addy: An American Girl by Connie Rose Porter
Rated: 4.10 of 5 stars · 20 ratingsAddy Walker's family is planning a dangerous escapefrom slavery in the summer of 1864. But before they can make the escape, the worst happens--Master Stevens decides to sell some of his slaves, including Poppa and Addy's brother, Sam. Addy and Momma take the terrible risk of escaping by themselves, hoping that the family eventually will be together again in Philadelphia... -
![Cane River by Lalita Tademy]()
Cane River by Lalita Tademy
Rated: 4.07 of 5 stars · 31 ratingsA New York Times bestseller and Oprah's Book Club Pick-the unique and deeply moving saga of four generations of African-American women whose journey from slavery to freedom begins on a Creole plantation in Louisiana... -
![The Legacy of Beulah Land by Lonnie Coleman]()
The Legacy of Beulah Land by Lonnie Coleman
Rated: 4.17 of 5 stars · 6 ratingsFrom the ashes of war...fueled by lust, greed, and passion, they rose to splendorous new heights.... Three generationsn of men and women...the masters and slaves whose sacrifice and savagery made Beulah Land the pride of the Old South...the sons and daughters whose seething passions and fierce devotion made it the pride of the New.. -
![Carolina Rain by Nancy B. Brewer]()
Carolina Rain by Nancy B. Brewer
Rated: 4.17 of 5 stars · 6 ratingsOpen the page of Carolina Rain and step on the streets of an era gone by. Carolina Rain is not just a read, but an experience. You will smell the magnolia trees, feel the sun on your face and taste the bittersweet tears of a beautiful young girl coming of age at the dawning of the Civil War. Theodosia Elizabeth Sanders, "Lizzie" was born October 6, 1842... -
![Promise by Rachel Eliza Griffiths]()
Promise by Rachel Eliza Griffiths
Rated: 4.17 of 5 stars · 6 ratingsTwo Black sisters growing up in small-town New England fight to protect their home, their bodies, and their dreams as the Civil Rights Movement sweeps the nation in this "magical, magnificent novel" (Marlon James) from "a startlingly fresh voice" (Jacqueline Woodson)...Categorized as:
historical-fiction family poc-mc civil-war black-mc fiction coming-of-age historical -
![Shadows on Society Hill: An Addy Mystery by Evelyn Coleman]()
Shadows on Society Hill: An Addy Mystery by Evelyn Coleman
Rated: 4.10 of 5 stars · 10 ratingsIn the winter of 1866, Addy's poppa gets a new job, and his employer, Mr. Radisson, offers the Walkers a home of their own on the grounds of his fine house in Society Hill. Addy's delight quickly evaporates as she realizes that Mr. Radisson's house holds frightening secrets--one of which leads straight back to the plantation where Addy's family was held in slavery only two years before...
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