Books like 'Underground: Finding the Light to Freedom'
Readers who enjoyed Underground: Finding the Light to Freedom by Shane W. Evans also liked the following books featuring the same tropes, story themes, relationship dynamics and character types.
historical military, war & conflict historical-fiction realistic civil-war poc-mc slavery social-commentary children black-mc
-
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... -
-
![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... -
![Spring Will Come by Virginia Gaffney, Ginny Dye]()
Spring Will Come by Virginia Gaffney, Ginny Dye
Rated: 4.39 of 5 stars · 18 ratingsSpring Will Come is the third book in the Bregdan Chronicles historical fiction series. As of today, there are 10 books in the series. Make sure you start reading with # 1 – Storm Clouds Rolling In. It's readers like you who have turned the series into a world-wide best-seller... -
![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... -
![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 -
![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... -
![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... -
![Sister of Mine by Sabra Waldfogel]()
Sister of Mine by Sabra Waldfogel
Rated: 4.28 of 5 stars · 18 ratingsWhen two Union soldiers stumble onto a plantation in northern Georgia on a warm May day in 1864, the last thing they expect is to see the Union flag flying high—or to be greeted by a group of freed slaves and their Jewish mistress. Little do they know that this place has an unusual history... -
-
![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... -
![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... -
![Forge by Laurie Halse Anderson]()
Forge by Laurie Halse Anderson
Rated: 4.20 of 5 stars · 25 ratingsWould you risk everything to be free?The young soldiers at Valley Forge are suffering from hunger, cold, and the threat of the British army. Their newly forged bonds of friendship might be enough to help them survive. But the chains of Curzon's past threaten to shackle him again.Surrounded by the fires of ignorance, mistrust, and greed, Curzon can't risk sharing his deadly secrets with anyone...Categorized as:
black-mc children historical-fiction poc-mc realistic slavery social-commentary action-adventure -
![Las tres bodas de Manolita by Almudena Grandes]()
Las tres bodas de Manolita by Almudena Grandes
Rated: 4.29 of 5 stars · 14 ratingsManolita es una joven de 18 años que, en un Madrid devastado por la miseria, se ve en la complicada situación de mantener a su familia debido a que sus padres fueron encarcelados y su hermano vive oculto en la clandestinidad. A su cargo también tiene al resto de sus hermanos, que en total son cuatro criaturas más...Categorized as:
civil-war historical-fiction adult audiobook book fiction historical violent-conflict -
![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 -
![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 Wall by Eve Bunting]()
The Wall by Eve Bunting
Rated: 4.25 of 5 stars · 16 ratingsA young boy and his father visit the Vietnam Veterans Memorial...Categorized as:
children family historical-fiction poc-mc realistic action-adventure book children-books -
![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... -
![Never Too Late by Michael R. Phillips]()
Never Too Late by Michael R. Phillips
Rated: 4.38 of 5 stars · 8 ratingsA tender romance is developing between Henry and Josepha, but when he learns that she hides a startling secret, will it tear them... -
![The Runaway by Melanie Dobson]()
The Runaway by Melanie Dobson
Rated: 4.30 of 5 stars · 10 ratingsMelanie Dobson's bestselling novel--In a divided town during a dangerous era, who can be trusted? Liberty, Indiana, is home to a stop on the Underground Railroad operated by Anna Brent and her father, covert abolitionists who harbor runaway slaves traveling toward freedom... -
![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 -
![The Long Way Home by Lauraine Snelling]()
The Long Way Home by Lauraine Snelling
Rated: 4.25 of 5 stars · 12 ratingsWill the War's End Bring the Highwood Family Together Again? When a disastrous decision by the new wagon master forces Jesselynn Highwood and her companions to separate from the wagon train, she races back to Fort Laramie to find a guide to take them to Oregon. But the guide has a far different plan, and following her heart, Jesselyn agrees to join him, her rag-tag band in tow... -
![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 historical-fiction poc-mc realistic social-commentary action-adventure audiobook -
![Finding Junie Kim by Ellen Oh]()
Finding Junie Kim by Ellen Oh
Rated: 4.21 of 5 stars · 14 ratingsFor fans of Inside Out and Back Again and Amina’s Voice comes a breathtaking story of family, hope, and survival from Ellen Oh, cofounder of We Need Diverse Books. When Junie Kim is faced with middle school racism, she learns of her grandparents’ extraordinary strength and finds her voice...Categorized as:
historical-fiction realistic family children poc-mc social-commentary middle-grade fiction -
-
![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...Categorized as:
black-mc historical-fiction poc-mc social-commentary adult anthologies drama female-author -
![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... -
![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 historical-fiction realistic slavery action-adventure adult audiobook -
![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... -
![One Wore Blue, And One Wore Gray, And One Road West by Heather Graham]()
One Wore Blue, And One Wore Gray, And One Road West by Heather Graham
Rated: 4.33 of 5 stars · 6 ratingsFrom inside front flap: Here in this exclusive Rhapsody edition, are the three stirring novels of Heather Graham's Civil War Series. One Wore Blue: Kiernan Miller & Jesser Cameron. And One Wore Gray: Jesse's brother, Daniel Cameron & and the romance with Callie Michaelson. And One Road West introduces Christa, sister to Jessse and Daniel and her romance with Colonel Jeremy McCauley... -
![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... -
![Always & Forever: A Saga of Slavery and Deliverance by Gretchen Craig]()
Always & Forever: A Saga of Slavery and Deliverance by Gretchen Craig
Rated: 4.20 of 5 stars · 10 ratingsSince they were children running barefoot about Toulouse Plantation, Josie and Cleo have been as close as sisters, forging an unbreakable bond that defies their roles as mistress and slave. Together, the two have shared secrets and protected each other through happiness and heartbreak... -
![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
Or - use our amazing romance book finder to get recommendations based on your favorite content tropes and themes. Mix and match at will.
