Open Books Challenge 2026: About or Set During a Natural Disaster

The Open Books Reading Challenge is a year-long reading challenge for people interested in pushing the boundaries of their reading. For full details of the program, please check-out our page at: https://www.rplmn.org/books-more/discover-more/open-books-reading-challenge

These are some ideas that fit the 2026 category "About or set during a natural disaster."

Happy Reading!

Updated December 31, 2025
Rochester Public Library RPL Staff
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Open Books Challenge 2026: About or Set During a Natural Disaster

The Open Books Reading Challenge is a year-long reading challenge for people interested in pushing the boundaries of their reading. For full details of the program, please check-out our page at: https://www.rplmn.org/books-more/discover-more/open-books-reading-challenge

These are some ideas that fit the 2026 category "About or set during a natural disaster."

Happy Reading!

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The year of the flood : a novel
Atwood, Margaret Eleanor
Paper Book
The long-awaited new novel from Margaret Atwood. The Year of the Flood is a dystopic masterpiece and a testament to her visionary power. The times and species have been changing at a rapid rate, and the social compact is wearing as thin as environmental stability. Adam One...
Flood
Baxter, Stephen.
Paper Book
Starred Review. Four hostages freed after five years of captivity by a Spanish extremist group vow to keep in touch. But with the oceans steadily rising and governments, corporations, and determined individuals battling for a solution, the hostages find themselves caught in currents of intrigue and...
I am a tornado
Beckmeyer, Drew
Paper Book
An emotionally unaware tornado carves a path of destruction until it picks up a very empathetic cow in this quirky and sweet picture book about compassion and navigating negative emotions. Tornado is on a rampage. It tosses cars and knocks over barns. Tornado is also angry, only...
The tin roof blowdown a Dave Robicheaux novel
Burke, James Lee
Paper Book
Louisiana lawman Dave Robicheaux returns in an adventure as timely as real life. Detective Robicheaux, driven by a keen sense of right versus wrong in the fight against crime following Hurricane Katrina, has his own demons of alcoholism and rage to contend with as well.Simon & Schuster
All the water in the world : a novel
Caffall, Eiren
Paper Book
In the tradition of Station Eleven, a literary thriller set partly on the roof of New York's Museum of Natural History in a flooded future. "Gripping...tense, de­­­lightful and rich with resonance." --Scientific American "Captivating...The...
What storm, what thunder
Chancy, Myriam J. A.
Paper Book
American Book Award Winner Aspen Words Literary Prize Finalist A NPR, Boston Globe, New York Public Library, Chicago Public Library, and Library Journal Best Book of the Year "Stunning." --Margaret Atwood At the end of a...
The last train to Key West
Cleeton, Chanel
Paper Book
Instant New York Times bestseller One of Bustle's Most Anticipated Books of Summer 2020 "The perfect riveting summer read!"-BookBub In 1935 three women are forever changed when one of the most powerful hurricanes in history barrels...
Speak to me of home : a novel
Cummins, Jeanine
Paper Book
What does it mean to call a place home? From #1 New York Times bestselling author Jeanine Cummins comes a deeply felt multigenerational family story On her wedding day in San Juan, Puerto Rico, in 1968, Rafaela Acuña y Daubón has mild misgivings, but...
Naked came the Florida man
Dorsey, Tim
CD
Don't blow your top!
Dyckman, Ame
Paper Book
Everybody gets angry sometimes, even a little volcano. But with some rock-steady advice, Little Volcano finds a way to process their steamy emotions. Spend a day in paradise with Little Volcano and Big Volcano. Everything is beautiful and calm until an out-of-control bird drops a coconut...
Random sh*t flying through the air
Ford, Jackson
Paper Book
"The stakes couldn't be higher ... The suspense, the danger, and the rocket-fueled pace are all turned up to 11."―Kirkus   "Furious, frenetic, fun, and "f**k you" -- Robert Brockway on The Girl Who Could Move Sh*t With Her Mind ...
Camino winds
Grisham, John
Paper Book
#1 NEW YORK TIMES BESTSELLER * "The perfect crime scene . . . in the type of wild but smart caper that Grisham's readers love."--Delia Owens, author of Where the Crawdads Sing     Just as Bruce Cable's Bay Books is preparing for the return of...
The volcano challenge
Grylls, Bear
Paper Book
The seventh in the exciting new 12-book collectible series for young readers from survival expert and Chief Scout BEAR GRYLLS
Lights, camera, bones
Haines, Carolyn
Paper Book
The latest novel in the series that Kirkus Reviews characterizes as "Stephanie Plum meets the Ya-Ya Sisterhood" featuring sassy Southern private investigator Sarah Booth Delaney. Delaney Detective Agency gets a taste of the spotlight when they are called to a case...
The hurricane girls
Holt, Kimberly Willis
Paper Book
A coming-of-age middle grade novel about three best friends born in the wake of Hurricane Katrina who must confront storms of their own 12 years later, from a National Book Award-winning author. ★ "Holt takes time developing these characters,...
House of bone and rain : a barrio noir
Iglesias, Gabino
Paper Book
In this "stunningly visceral" (New York Times Book Review) novel, a group of young men seek vengeance after one of their mothers is murdered in a Puerto Rican slum; STAND BY ME with a haunted, obsidian-dark heart.    A Barnes & Noble Best Horror Book...
What was Hurricane Katrina?
Koontz, Robin Michal.
Paper Book
On August 25th, 2005, one of the deadliest and most destructive hurricanes in history hit the Gulf of Mexico. High winds and rain pummeled coastal communities, including the City of New Orleans, which was left under 15 feet of water in some areas after the levees burst. Track this powerful storm...
Outrun the moon
Lee, Stacey
Paper Book
From the author of the critically acclaimed Under a Painted Sky, an unforgettable story of determination set against a backdrop of devastating tragedy. Perfect for fans of Code Name Verity. Winner of the PEN Center USA Literary Award for Young Adult Winner of...
Beach haven
Lowe, T. I.
Paper Book
From the bestselling author ofLulu's CaféFree-spirited Opal Gilbert seems to have everything she needs to keep living a happy life in Sunset Cove as she refurbishes vintage furniture to sell at her funky ocean-side boutique, Bless This Mess. Until Lincoln Cole, a new-to-town ex...
Death on Tuckernuck
Mathews, Francine
Paper Book
As a Category 3 hurricane bears down on New England, a luxury yacht grounds a deserted barrier island off the western end of Nantucket. When the Coast Guard responds, they find two people shot in the boat's cabin, one of whom dies soon after. Nantucket Police Detective Meredith Folger is called in...
Elmer and the flood
McKee, David
Paper Book
Rain or no rain, Elmer is going for a walk. After being cooped up in a cave with his herd, he longs for a bit of fresh air and some peace and quiet. But he's going to have to wait--when Elmer goes outside, he discovers the rain has caused a flood. Can brave Elmer work out a way to save a stranded...
Hurricane season
Melchor, Fernanda
Paper Book
The Witch is dead. And the discovery of her corpse has the whole village investigating the murder. As the novel unfolds in a dazzling linguistic torrent, with each unreliable narrator lingering on new details, new acts of depravity or brutality, Melchor extracts some tiny shred of humanity from...
Mountains of fire : the menace, meaning, and magic of volcanoes
Oppenheimer, Clive
Paper Book
Meeting with volcanoes around the world, a volcanologist interprets their messages for humankind.   In Mountains of Fire, Clive Oppenheimer invites readers to stand with him in the shadow of an active volcano. Whether he is scaling majestic summits,...
A better man
Penny, Louise
Paper Book
A #1 New York Times Bestselling AuthorA Chief Inspector Gamache NovelChief Inspector Armand Gamache is back as head of the homicide department, just as flood waters are rising across the province. In the middle of the turmoil, a father approaches Gamache, pleading for help in finding his daughter....
Disappearing Earth
Phillips, Julia
Paper Book
One of The New York Times 10 Best Books of the Year National Book Award Finalist Finalist for the National Book Critics Circle John Leonard Prize Finalist for the Center for Fiction First Novel Prize Finalist for the New York Public Library's Young Lions...
The Academy
Poyer, David
Paper Book
With high ethical stakes and a suspenseful past-and-present narrative, The Academy is David Poyer's capstone novel in the Dan Lenson series. In his final tour of duty after a remarkable career at sea, Dan Lenson is appointed Superintendent of the US Naval Academy at...
The Phoenix crown : a novel
Quinn, Kate
Paper Book
From bestselling authors Janie Chang and Kate Quinn, a thrilling and unforgettable narrative about the intertwined lives of two wronged women, spanning from the chaos of the San Francisco earthquake to the glittering palaces of Versailles. San Francisco, 1906. In a city bustling with newly...
A rainbow above us
Sala, Sharon
Paper Book
Welcome back to USA Today bestselling author Sharon Sala's world of Blessings, Georgia-a tight-knit small town where the secrets of southern girls sometimes have surprising consequences, you never forget your first love, and the magnolia-scented breeze always feels like home. Hurricane...
No one does it like you
Shepard, Katie
Paper Book
College sweethearts reunite to restore more than just an old inn in this new romance by Katie Shepard, author of Sweeten the Deal. When's the best time to tell your ex that you want them back? Probably not in the middle of a Category 3 hurricane. But when...
Tall Water: A Graphic Novel
Sindu, SJ
Paper Book
From Stonewall Honor-winning writer SJ Sindu, author of Shakti, and celebrated illustrator Dion MBD comes a powerful coming-of-age teen graphic novel that follows one girl's journey to Sri Lanka to reconnect with her long-lost mother during the devastating Indian Ocean tsunami of 2004....
Rushing waters
Steel, Danielle
Paper Book
NEW YORK TIMES BESTSELLER * Danielle Steel fearlessly tackles a catastrophe and its aftermath with characters who are joined together by accident, then share their vulnerabilities, regrets, losses, and hopes.   Hurricane Ophelia is bearing down on New York City. And...
Dead in the water
Swanson, Denise
Paper Book
New York Times bestselling author Denise Swanson returns to the beloved town of Scumble River and its quirky townsfolk with Dead in the Water. First in a newly revamped cozy mystery series, Dead in the Water is a gripping mystery that won't let you go until you've turned the last page. ...
Half broke horses : a true-life novel
Walls, Jeannette.
Ebook
From the author of The Glass Castle and Hang the Moon--"Walls vividly depicts her astonishing, resilient grandmother with a lightness of touch that is plainspoken yet heartfelt" (Chicago Tribune). Half Broke Horses has transfixed readers everywhere. "Those...
One deadly eye
White, Randy Wayne
Paper Book
*NATIONAL BESTSELLER* From New York Times bestselling author Randy Wayne White, after the deadliest hurricane to hit Florida's Gulf Coast in a century, Doc Ford must stop a gang of thieves--and worse--during the twelve hours of chaos that follow the passing...
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