Open Books Challenge 2026: Set in America Between 1600-1800

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 "Set in America between 1600-1800, to mark the 250th anniversary of the Declaration of Independence."

Happy Reading!

Updated December 31, 2025
RPL Staff
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Chains : seeds of America
Anderson, Laurie Halse.
Paper Book
From acclaimed author Laurie Halse Anderson comes this compelling first novel in the historical middle grade The Seeds of America trilogy that shows the lengths we can go to cast off our chains, both physical and spiritual. As the Revolutionary War begins, thirteen-year-old...
Loyalty
Avi
Paper Book
Newbery Medalist Avi explores the American Revolution from a fresh perspective in the story of a young Loyalist turned British spy navigating patriotism and personal responsibility during the lead-up to the War of Independence. When his father is killed by rebel vigilantes,...
Revolutionary Mary : the true story of one woman, the Declaration of Independence, and America's fight for freedom
Blumenthal, Karen
Paper Book
A bold picture book biography about Mary Katharine Goddard, the only woman whose name is printed on the Declaration of Independence, by award-winning authors Karen Blumenthal and Jen McCartney, and illustrated by Elizabeth Baddeley. Who was Mary Katharine Goddard? ...
Hour of the witch : a novel
Bohjalian, Chris
Paper Book
NEW YORK TIMES BESTSELLER * From the acclaimed author of The Flight Attendant: "Historical fiction at its best.... The book is a thriller in structure, and a real page-turner, the ending both unexpected and satisfying" (Diana Gabaldon, bestselling author of the...
Slewfoot : a tale of bewitchery
Brom
Paper Book
A USA TODAY BESTSELLER! Set in Colonial New England, Slewfoot is a tale of magic and mystery, of triumph and terror as only dark fantasist Brom can tell it. Connecticut, 1666: An ancient spirit awakens in a dark wood. The wildfolk call him...
Caleb's crossing
Brooks, Geraldine.
Paper Book
A richly imagined new novel from the author of the New York Times bestseller, People of the Book. Once again, Geraldine Brooks takes a remarkable shard of history and brings it to vivid life. In 1665, a young man from Martha's Vineyard became the first Native...
Alexander Hamilton
Chernow, Ron.
Paper Book
The #1 New York Times bestseller, and the inspiration for the hit Broadway musical Hamilton! Pulitzer Prize-winning author Ron Chernow presents a landmark biography of Alexander Hamilton, the Founding Father who galvanized, inspired, scandalized, and shaped the newborn...
The fort
Cornwell, Bernard.
Paper Book
"The most prolific and successful historical novelist in the world today." --Wall Street Journal "Readers who haven't discovered Bernard Cornwell don't know what they are missing." --New York Times bestselling author Vince Flynn From the New York...
Never caught : the Washingtons' relentless pursuit of their runaway slave, Ona Judge
Dunbar, Erica Armstrong
Paper Book
Finalist for the National Book Award for Nonfiction "A fascinating and moving account of a courageous and resourceful woman. Beautifully written and utilizing previously untapped sources it sheds new light both on the father of our country and on the intersections of slavery and...
Hamilton and Peggy! : a revolutionary friendship
Elliott, L. M.
Paper Book
* Promotion in the HarperCollins Children's Books Booth at major institutional conferences, including extensive ARC distribution * School and Library social media outreach, including book talk written by a YA librarian * Pitch author for speaking engagements at school and library...
Written in my own heart's blood : a novel
Gabaldon, Diana.
Paper Book
#1 NEW YORK TIMES BESTSELLER * The eighth book in Diana Gabaldon's acclaimed Outlander saga, the basis for the Starz original series--season 8 coming in March 2026! "Features all the passion and swashbuckling that fans of this historical fantasy series have come to...
The ruin of all witches : life and death in the New World
Gaskill, Malcolm
Paper Book
A gripping story of a family tragedy brought about by witch-hunting in Puritan New England that combines history, anthropology, sociology, politics, theology and psychology. "The best and most enjoyable kind of history writing. Malcolm Gaskill goes to meet the past on its own terms...
The pirate's wife : the remarkable true story of Sarah Kidd
Geanacopoulos, Daphne Palmer
Paper Book
The dramatic and deliciously swashbuckling story of Sarah Kidd, the wife of the famous pirate Captain Kidd, charting her transformation from New York socialite to international outlaw during the Golden Age of Piracy Captain Kidd was one of the most notorious pirates to ever prowl the...
A million quiet revolutions
Gow, Robin
Paper Book
Robin Gow's A Million Quiet Revolutions is a modern love story, told in verse, about two teenaged trans boys who name themselves after two Revolutionary War soldiers. A lyrical, aching young adult romance perfect for fans of The Poet X, Darius the Great is Not Okay, and...
The vaster wilds
Groff, Lauren
Paper Book
AN INSTANT NEW YORK TIMES BESTSELLER ONE OF BARACK OBAMA'S FAVORITE BOOKS OF 2023 NAMED A BEST BOOK OF THE YEAR BY NPR, TIME, ESQUIRE, VOGUE, LA TIMES, SLATE, HARPER'S BAZAAR and others "Part historical, part...
Lafayette! : a Revolutionary War tale
Hale, Nathan
Paper Book
Meet French nobleman and American Revolutionary War hero the Marquis de Lafayette in author-illustrator Nathan Hale's New York Times bestselling Hazard Tales graphic novel series. STARRED REVIEW *"Action-packed. . . . A must-buy." --School Library Journal...
The scarlet letter
Hawthorne, Nathaniel
Paper Book
Introduction by Kathryn Harrison Commentary by Nathaniel Hawthorne, W. D. Howells, and Carl Van Doren A stark tale of adultery, guilt, and social repression in Puritan New England, The Scarlet Letter is a foundational work of American literature. Nathaniel...
Magic lessons
Hoffman, Alice
Paper Book
In an unforgettable novel that traces a centuries-old curse to its source, beloved author Alice Hoffman unveils the story of Maria Owens, accused of witchcraft in Salem, and matriarch of a line of the amazing Owens women and men featured in Practical Magic and The Rules of Magic.<...
The physick book of Deliverance Dane
Howe, Katherine.
Paper Book
A spellbinding, beautifully written novel that moves between contemporary times and one of the most fascinating and disturbing periods in American history - the Salem witch trials. Harvard graduate student Connie Goodwin needs to spend her summer doing...
The age of Phillis
Jeffers, Honorée Fanonne
Paper Book
Poems imagine the life and times of Phillis Wheatley Peters NAACP Image Award Winner for Outstanding Literary Work for Poetry 2020 National Book Award for Poetry, Longlist 2020 Los Angeles Times Book Prize for Poetry, Finalist
The heretic's daughter : a novel
Kent, Kathleen
Paper Book
Martha Carrier was one of the first women to be accused, tried and hanged as a witch in Salem, Massachusetts. Like her mother, young Sarah Carrier is bright and willful, openly challenging the small, brutal world in which they live. Often at odds with one another, mother and daughter are forced to...
Hester : a novel
Lico Albanese, Laurie
Paper Book
Named a Most Anticipated Book for Fall 2022 by Goodreads * Washington Post * New York Post * BuzzFeed * PopSugar * Business Insider * An October 2022 Indie Next List Pick * An October 2022 LibraryReads Pick "A hauntingly beautiful-...
North woods : a novel
Mason, Daniel
Paper Book
NATIONAL BESTSELLER * A NEW YORK TIMES BOOK REVIEW TOP TEN BOOK OF THE YEAR A WASHINGTON POST TOP TEN BOOK OF THE YEAR * FINALIST FOR THE NATIONAL BOOK CRITICS CIRCLE AWARD AND THE MARK TWAIN AMERICAN VOICE IN LITERATURE AWARD A sweeping novel...
A mercy
Morrison, Toni
Paper Book
NATIONAL BESTSELLER * The acclaimed Nobel Prize winner reveals what lies beneath the surface of slavery. But at its heart, like Beloved, it is the story of a mother and a daughter--a mother who casts off her daughter in order to save her, and a daughter who may never exorcise that...
1774 : the long year of Revolution
Norton, Mary Beth
Paper Book
From one of our most acclaimed and original colonial historians, a groundbreaking book tracing the critical "long year" of 1774 and the revolutionary change that took place from the Boston Tea Party and the First Continental Congress to the Battles of Lexington and Concord. A...
An outbreak of witchcraft : a graphic novel of the Salem witch trials
Noyes, Deborah
Paper Book
A gripping tale of paranoia at its worst, this bewitching narrative nonfiction graphic novel visually imagines the haunting details behind the Salem witch trials. From 1692 to 1693, fear reigned in the small village of Salem, Massachusetts. The night Abigail...
Killing the witches : the horror of Salem, Massachusetts
O'Reilly, Bill
Paper Book
The instant New York Times, Wall Street Journal, and Publishers Weekly bestseller! Killing the Witches revisits one of the most frightening and inexplicable episodes in American history: the events of 1692 and 1693 in Salem Village, Massachusetts. What...
The traitor's wife
Pataki, Allison.
Paper Book
A riveting work of historical fiction, The Traitor's Wife tells the little known but explosive story of Peggy Shippen Arnold, the cunning young wife of Benedict Arnold and mastermind behind one of the most shocking acts of...
Savage liberty
Pattison, Eliot
Paper Book
The fifth installation of Eliot Pattison'sBone Rattler series follows the exiled Scotsman Duncan McCallum to the stepping-stones of the American Revolution Acclaimed author Eliot Pattison continues his Bone Rattler series as Duncan McCallum is drawn into dark intrigue...
Mayflower : a story of courage, community, and war
Philbrick, Nathaniel.
Paper Book
From the perilous ocean crossing to the shared bounty of the first Thanksgiving, the Pilgrim settlement of New England has become enshrined as our most sacred national myth. Yet, as bestselling author Nathaniel Philbrick reveals in his spellbinding new book, the true story of the Pilgrims...
Blood slaves
Redmond, Markus
Paper Book
For fans of Ryan Coogler's Sinners and readers of Victor LaValle, Tananarive Due, Stephen Graham Jones, and Colson Whitehead's The Underground Railroad, this ingenious reimagining of the vampire origin story set during the early days of American slavery blends alternate history with...
A Ben of all trades : the most inventive boyhood of Benjamin Franklin
Rosen, Michael J.
Paper Book
A rousing biography from Michael J. Rosen and Matt Tavares reveals how Benjamin Franklin's boyhood shaped his amazingly multifaceted life. Young Benjamin Franklin wants to be a sailor, but his father won't hear of it. The other trades he tries -- candle maker, joiner, boot closer...
Taking Manhattan : the extraordinary events that created New York and shaped America
Shorto, Russell
Paper Book
A New Yorker Best Book of the Year A Kirkus Best Book of 2025 One of Literary Hub's Most Anticipated Books of 2025 The author of The Island at the Center of the World offers up a thrilling narrative of how New York--that brash, bold,...
This land is their land : the Wampanoag Indians, Plymouth Colony, and the troubled history of Thanksgiving
Silverman, David J.
Paper Book
Ahead of the 400th anniversary of the first Thanksgiving, a new look at the Plymouth colony's founding events, told for the first time with Wampanoag people at the heart of the story.In March 1621, when Plymouth's survival was hanging in the balance, the Wampanoag sachem (or chief),...
The thrifty guide to the American Revolution : a handbook for time travelers
Stokes, Jonathan W.
Paper Book
From the publishing house that brought you the Who Was? books comes the next big series to make history approachable, engaging, and funny! The Thrifty Guide to the American Revolution provides useful information for the practical time traveler, like- .Where...
Washington's gay general : the legends and loves of Baron von Steuben
Trujillo, Josh
Paper Book
In this graphic novel biography, author Josh Trujillo and illustrator Levi Hastings tell the true story of one of the most important, but largely forgotten, military leaders of the American Revolution, Baron Von Steuben, who brought much-needed knowledge to the inexperienced and ill-prepared...
It happened in Salem
Winter, Jonah
Paper Book
"It could happen anywhere, at any time." The chillingly familiar history of the infamous Salem witch trials is here brought into modern context, showing how bias and blame have worked in tandem throughout history, to disastrous effect. As the townspeople become increasingly fueled by suspicion, the...

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