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
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...
The Pox party
Anderson, M. T.
Paper Book
National Book Award Winner! This deeply provocative novel reimagines the past as an eerie place that has startling resonance for readers today. It sounds like a fairy tale. He is a boy dressed in silks and white wigs and given the finest of classical educations. Raised by a...
King Hancock : the radical influence of a moderate founding father
Barbier, Brooke
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...
The indigo girl : a novel
Boyd, Natasha
Paper Book
In this incredible story of ambition, betrayal, and sacrifice, an extraordinary sixteen-year-old girl in Colonial South Carolina defies all expectations to achieve her dream. The year is 1739. Eliza Lucas is sixteen years old when her father leaves her in charge of their family's three...
Slewfoot : a tale of bewitchery
Brom
Audiobook
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...
Flight of the sparrow : a novel of early America
Brown, Amy Belding.
Paper Book
From the author of Emily's House comes a "compelling, emotionally gripping"* novel of historical fiction--perfect for readers of America's First Daughter. Massachusetts Bay Colony, 1676. Even before Mary Rowlandson was captured by Indians on a winter day of...
The judge hunter
Buckley, Christopher
Paper Book
The latest comic novel from Christopher Buckley, a hapless Englishman embarks on a dangerous mission to the New World in pursuit of two judges who helped murder a king. London, 1664. Twenty years after the English revolution, the monarchy has been restored and Charles II sits on the...
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...
1666 : a novel
Chilton, Lora
Paper Book
The Survival Story of the Patawomeck Tribe of Virginia told through the lives of two women  The survival story of the Patawomeck Tribe of Virginia has been remembered within the tribe for generations, but the massacre of Patawomeck men and the enslavement of women and children...
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...
Spy ring
Durst, Sarah Beth
Paper Book
Two modern-day kids discover the truth about an American Revolutionary War-era female spy through a treasure-hunt adventure in their hometown of Setauket, New York. With codewords and secret signals perfected, best friends Rachel and Joon are ready to spend their summer...
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...
Covered with night : a story of murder and indigenous justice in early America
Eustace, Nicole
Paper Book
In the winter of 1722, on the eve of a major conference between the Five Nations of the Haudenosaunee (also known as the Iroquois) and Anglo-American colonists, a pair of colonial fur traders brutally assaulted a Seneca hunter near Conestoga, Pennsylvania. Though virtually forgotten today, the...
The seamstress of Acadie : a novel
Frantz, Laura
Paper Book
In a land torn apart by conflict, can love mend the tattered pieces? As 1754 is drawing to a close, tensions between the French and the British on Canada's Acadian shore are reaching a fever pitch. Seamstress Sylvie Galant and her family--French-speaking Acadians wishing to remain...
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...
The mark of the king
Green, Jocelyn
Paper Book
Sweeping Historical Fiction Set at the Edge of the Continent After being imprisoned and branded for the death of her client, twenty-five-year-old midwife Julianne Chevalier trades her life sentence for exile to the fledgling 1720s French colony of Louisiana, where she hopes to be...
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 love letter
Hauck, Rachel
Paper Book
Maybe love can come home after generations in a way not even Hollywood could imagine. Romance has never been actress Chloe Daschle's forte--in life or on screen. But everyone knows who to call for a convincing death scene . . . and it might be killing her career...
The scarlet letter
Hawthorne, Nathaniel
Paper Book
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...
In the house in the dark of the woods
Hunt, Laird
Paper Book
In colonial New England, a law-abiding Puritan woman goes missing. Or perhaps she has fled or abandoned her family. Or been kidnapped and set loose to wander in the dense forest. Alone and possibly lost, she meets another woman. Then everything changes. On a journey through dark woods full of almost...
The heretic's daughter
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...
Dangerous crossing : the revolutionary voyage of John Quincy Adams
Krensky, Stephen.
Paper Book
In February 1778, at the height of the Revolutionary War, the American representative from Massachusetts, John Adams, is sent on a secret mission to France. It is dangerous to cross the Atlantic in winter, but the situation is desperate-the colonies need France's help against the British army. Adams...
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-...
Anna Strong : a spy during the American Revolution
Marsh, Sarah Glenn
CD
Anna Smith Strong (1790-1812) was a fearless woman who acted as a spy for George Washington during the Revolutionary War. Recruited by Washington's spymaster Major Benjamin Tallmadge, she joined the Culper Ring, a group of American spies. General Washington placed a huge amount of trust in his spies...
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
In exchange for a bad debt, an Anglo-Dutch trader takes on Florens, a young slave girl, who feels abandoned by her slave mother and who searches for love-first from an older servant woman at her master's new home, and then from a handsome free blacksmith-in an evocative novel set against late...
Beheld : a novel
Nesbit, TaraShea
Paper Book
A New York Times Notable Book of the Year A Publishers Weekly Best Fiction Book of 2020 Most Anticipated Books of 2020 - Vogue, Medium, LitHub Honoree for the 2021 Society of Midland Authors Prize Finalist for the 2021 Ohioana Book...
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...
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...
Woods runner
Paulsen, Gary.
Paper Book
Samuel, 13, spends his days in the forest, hunting for food for his family. He has grown up on the frontier of a British colony, America. Far from any town, or news of the war against the King that American patriots have begun near Boston. But the war comes to them. British soldiers and...
Terror to the wicked : America's first trial by jury that ended a war and helped to form a nation
Pearl, Tobey
Paper Book
A little-known moment in colonial history that changed the course of America's future. A riveting account of a brutal killing, an all-out manhunt, and the first murder trial in America, set against the backdrop of the Pequot War (between the Pequot tribe and the colonists of Massachusetts Bay)...
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...
Barkskins : a novel
Proulx, Annie.
Paper Book
Now a mini-series on National Geographic! A Washington Post Best Book of the Year & a New York Times Notable Book From the Pulitzer Prize-­­winning author of The Shipping News and "Brokeback Mountain" comes the New York Times bestselling epic about...
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...
Rebel spy
Rossi, Veronica
Paper Book
A reimagining of the story behind Agent 355--a New York society girl and spy for George Washington during the Revolutionary War--perfect for fans of Tatiana de Rosnay's Sarah's Key and the novels of Julie Berry. Rebellious Frannie Tasker knows little about the war between...
If the tide turns
Rueckert, Rachel
Paper Book
Set during the Golden Age of Pirates and the shadowy aftermath of the Salem witch trials, this vivid literary debut is inspired by the captivating true story of real-life pirate Samuel Bellamy, combining high seas adventure, star-crossed longing, surprisingly timely questions about social justice...
Rise to rebellion
Shaara, Jeff
Paper Book
Jeff Shaara dazzled readers with his bestselling novels Gods and Generals, The Last Full Measure, and Gone for Soldiers. Now the acclaimed author who illuminated the Civil War and the Mexican-American War brilliantly brings to life the American Revolution, creating a...
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),...
Washington's gay general : the legends and loves of Baron von Steuben
Trujillo, Josh
Ebook
A graphic novel biography of Baron von Steuben, the soldier, immigrant, and flamboyant homosexual who influenced the course of US history during the Revolutionary War despite being omitted from our textbooks.   Author Josh Trujillo and illustrator Levi Hastings tell the true...
Love thy neighbor : the Tory diary of Prudence Emerson
Turner, Ann Warren.
Paper Book
At the brink of the American Revolution, Prudence Emerson finds her friends and neighbors turning against her and her family, who remain loyal to the British King. The drama of the American Revolution is brought to life through the eyes of a Prudence Emerson, who tells the story...
By the light of fireflies : a novel of war hero Sybil Ludington
Walsh, Jenni L.
Paper Book
Sybil Ludington believes in the legend of fireflies - they appear when you need them most. But it's not until her family is thrust into the dangers of the Revolutionary War, and into George Washington's spy ring, that Sybil experiences firefly magic for herself - guiding her through the darkness,...
Ring of secrets
White, Roseanna M.
Audiobook
This exciting romantic spy novel from Roseanna M. White combines fascinating cloak-and-dagger secrets with a tale of love and intrigue during the Revolutionary War.Winter Reeves is an aristocratic Patriot forced to hide her heart amid the Loyalists of the City of New York. She has learned to keep...

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