(Stacker) — Every state has its hallmark writers. Mississippi has William Faulkner and his incomparable (fictional) Yoknapatawpha County and Missouri can lay claim to Mark Twain. The state of Maine is gifted with Pulitzer winner Richard Russo and horror icon Stephen King. Rural Pennsylvania is the playground of the much-heralded (and occasionally maligned) John Updike, and when many bibliophiles think of New Jersey, they also think of Richard Ford’s series of novels featuring recurring Everyman character Frank Bascombe. Illinois can lay claim to William Maxwell, Sandra Cisneros, and Adam Langer, among numerous others. And what reader can think of Washington State without contending with the sparkle-vampire yarns of Stephanie Meyer?
What makes authors like these inextricably associated with a particular state is not simply the matter of their having been born there or choosing to live there. The connection, from a writerly standpoint, is deeper than that—their work, nearly all of it, is set in “their” state.
Of course, there are certainly exceptions. Whether a writer sets a tale in the town where they went to college or spent part of their childhood—like Donna Tartt’s “The Secret History” and its New England arts school setting and the almost-factual small town of Jo Ann Beard’s “In Zanesville,” respectively—or crafts a story that follows a social or political theme to a location they know little about but lay narrative claim to anyway, the world is rife with books known, loved, and respected that also capture the essence of place—books where setting itself is one of the strongest characters.
Stackercompiled a list of books set in West Virginia fromGoodreads. Whether you’re looking for a good read set in the state you call home, or you’re looking to expand your curiosity with a writer you’re already familiar with, we’ve got you covered.
1 / 50Goodreads
The Glass Castle
– Rating: 4.30 (1.1 million ratings)
– Author: Jeannette Walls
– Published: March 1, 2005
– Genres: Nonfiction, Memoir, Biography, Biography Memoir
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2 / 50Goodreads
Shiloh (Shiloh, #1)
– Rating: 3.95 (81,854 ratings)
– Author: Phyllis Reynolds Naylor
– Published: September 30, 1991
– Genres: Fiction, Childrens, Animals, Classics
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3 / 50Goodreads
The Good Lord Bird
– Rating: 3.90 (29,338 ratings)
– Author: James McBride
– Published: August 20, 2013
– Genres: Historical Fiction, Fiction, Historical, African American
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4 / 50Goodreads
Storming Heaven
– Rating: 4.12 (1,811 ratings)
– Author: Denise Giardina
– Published: August 17, 1987
– Genres: Historical Fiction, Fiction, Historical, Labor
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5 / 50Goodreads
No Filter (Barks & Beans Cafe Cozy Mystery #1)
– Rating: 4.35 (475 ratings)
– Author: Heather Day Gilbert
– Published: May 26, 2020
– Genres: Cozy Mystery, Mystery, Contemporary, Fiction
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6 / 50Goodreads
My Name Is River
– Rating: 4.33 (135 ratings)
– Author: Wendy Dunham
– Published: October 1, 2015
– Genres: Christian, Middle Grade, Contemporary, Fiction
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7 / 50Goodreads
The Boys Start the War (Boy/Girl Battle, #1)
– Rating: 4.03 (1,755 ratings)
– Author: Phyllis Reynolds Naylor
– Published: March 1, 1993
– Genres: Fiction, Childrens, Realistic Fiction, Middle Grade
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8 / 50Goodreads
Rocket Boys (Coalwood #1)
– Rating: 4.16 (20,611 ratings)
– Author: Homer Hickam
– Published: January 1, 1998
– Genres: Nonfiction, Memoir, Biography, Science
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9 / 50Goodreads
Moon Signs (Moon Mystery #1)
– Rating: 3.65 (2,074 ratings)
– Author: Helen Haught Fanick
– Published: October 6, 2011
– Genres: Mystery, Cozy Mystery, Fiction, Mystery Thriller
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10 / 50Goodreads
The Ballad of Trenchmouth Taggart: A Novel
– Rating: 3.97 (1,129 ratings)
– Author: M. Glenn Taylor
– Published: January 1, 2008
– Genres: Fiction, Historical Fiction, Historical, Novels
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11 / 50Goodreads
Missing May
– Rating: 3.80 (12,737 ratings)
– Author: Cynthia Rylant
– Published: March 1, 1992
– Genres: Fiction, Realistic Fiction, Young Adult, Childrens
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12 / 50Goodreads
Obsidian (Lux, #1)
– Rating: 4.15 (267,873 ratings)
– Author: Jennifer L. Armentrout
– Published: November 29, 2011
– Genres: Young Adult, Fantasy, Romance, Paranormal
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13 / 50Goodreads
The Finder of Forgotten Things
– Rating: 4.13 (479 ratings)
– Author: Sarah Loudin Thomas
– Published: December 1, 2021
– Genres: Historical Fiction, Fiction, Romance, Christian
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14 / 50Goodreads
Child of the Mountains
– Rating: 4.03 (665 ratings)
– Author: Marilyn Sue Shank
– Published: April 10, 2012
– Genres: Historical Fiction, Young Adult, Middle Grade, Fiction
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15 / 50Goodreads
The Unquiet Grave (Ballad #12)
– Rating: 3.74 (2,496 ratings)
– Author: Sharyn McCrumb
– Published: September 12, 2017
– Genres: Historical Fiction, Mystery, Fiction, Historical
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16 / 50Goodreads
Send No Blessings
– Rating: 3.82 (80 ratings)
– Author: Phyllis Reynolds Naylor
– Published: January 1, 1990
– Genres: Young Adult
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17 / 50Goodreads
What Lies in the Hills: A West Virginia Adventure Novel (A Josh Baker and Eddie Debord Series Book 2)
– Rating: 4.54 (118 ratings)
– Author: Steve Kittner
– Published: January 15, 2016
– Genres: Mystery
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18 / 50Goodreads
River Rocks: A West Virginia Adventure Novel (A Josh Baker and Eddie Debord Series Book 1)
– Rating: 4.31 (209 ratings)
– Author: Steve Kittner
– Published: December 28, 2014
– Genres: Mystery, Amazon, Adventure
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19 / 50Goodreads
A Killing in the Hills (Bell Elkins #1)
– Rating: 3.63 (4,935 ratings)
– Author: Julia Keller
– Published: January 1, 2012
– Genres: Mystery, Fiction, Crime, Mystery Thriller
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20 / 50Goodreads
Minna’s Patchwork Coat
– Rating: 4.26 (62 ratings)
– Author: Lauren A. Mills
– Published: January 1, 2015
– Genres: Historical Fiction, Middle Grade, Picture Books
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21 / 50Goodreads
June Bug
– Rating: 4.14 (4,247 ratings)
– Author: Chris Fabry
– Published: July 23, 2009
– Genres: Christian Fiction, Fiction, Christian, Mystery
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22 / 50Goodreads
Snow in Summer
– Rating: 3.50 (1,951 ratings)
– Author: Jane Yolen
– Published: November 10, 2011
– Genres: Fantasy, Fairy Tales, Young Adult, Historical Fiction
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23 / 50Goodreads
A Blue-Eyed Daisy
– Rating: 3.65 (181 ratings)
– Author: Cynthia Rylant
– Published: January 1, 1985
– Genres: Fiction, Juvenile, Young Adult, Childrens
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24 / 50Goodreads
The Promise of Jesse Woods
– Rating: 4.22 (1,587 ratings)
– Author: Chris Fabry
– Published: July 1, 2016
– Genres: Christian Fiction, Fiction, Historical Fiction, Christian
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25 / 50Goodreads
Dirt: Growing Strong Roots in What Makes the Broken Beautiful
– Rating: 4.23 (1,232 ratings)
– Author: Mary Marantz
– Published: September 15, 2020
– Genres: Memoir, Nonfiction, Biography Memoir, Biography
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26 / 50Goodreads
Finding Family
– Rating: 3.62 (143 ratings)
– Author: Tonya Bolden
– Published: August 31, 2010
– Genres: Historical Fiction, African American, Historical, Middle Grade
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27 / 50Goodreads
Free Verse
– Rating: 4.12 (763 ratings)
– Author: Sarah Dooley
– Published: March 15, 2016
– Genres: Realistic Fiction, Poetry, Middle Grade, Young Adult
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28 / 50Goodreads
Under a Cloudless Sky
– Rating: 4.48 (920 ratings)
– Author: Chris Fabry
– Published: January 1, 2017
– Genres: Christian Fiction, Historical Fiction, Fiction, Christian
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29 / 50Goodreads
Sarah
– Rating: 3.47 (4,138 ratings)
– Author: J.T. LeRoy
– Published: August 1, 2000
– Genres: Fiction, LGBT, Queer, Contemporary
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30 / 50Goodreads
The Dog Days of Charlotte Hayes
– Rating: 3.84 (394 ratings)
– Author: Marlane Kennedy
– Published: March 1, 2009
– Genres: Realistic Fiction, Animals, Fiction, Dogs
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31 / 50Goodreads
The Miner’s Daughter
– Rating: 3.79 (272 ratings)
– Author: Gretchen Moran Laskas
– Published: February 6, 2007
– Genres: Historical Fiction, Young Adult, Historical, Fiction
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32 / 50Goodreads
Close to Famous
– Rating: 4.03 (9,055 ratings)
– Author: Joan Bauer
– Published: February 1, 2011
– Genres: Realistic Fiction, Young Adult, Middle Grade, Fiction
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33 / 50Goodreads
McKendree
– Rating: 3.45 (11 ratings)
– Author: Sandra Belton
– Published: May 31, 2000
– Genres: Young Adult
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34 / 50Goodreads
Hound Heaven
– Rating: 4.06 (31 ratings)
– Author: Linda Oatman High
– Published: October 1, 1995
– Genres: Middle Grade
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35 / 50Goodreads
The Evening Hour
– Rating: 3.92 (410 ratings)
– Author: Carter Sickels
– Published: January 17, 2012
– Genres: Fiction, Literary Fiction, Adult Fiction, Class
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36 / 50Goodreads
The Brightest Light
– Rating: 3.98 (58 ratings)
– Author: Colleen O’Shaughnessy McKenna
– Published: January 1, 1992
– Genres: Young Adult
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37 / 50Goodreads
All That’s Missing
– Rating: 3.70 (212 ratings)
– Author: Sarah Sullivan
– Published: October 8, 2013
– Genres: Middle Grade, Realistic Fiction, Family, Childrens
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38 / 50Goodreads
Coal Camp Girl
– Rating: 4.09 (126 ratings)
– Author: Lois Lenski
– Published: January 1, 1959
– Genres: Historical Fiction, Childrens, Fiction, Classics
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39 / 50Goodreads
When the Whistle Blows
– Rating: 3.77 (443 ratings)
– Author: Fran Cannon Slayton
– Published: June 11, 2009
– Genres: Historical Fiction, Young Adult, Fiction, Historical
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40 / 50Goodreads
Into the Hollow
– Rating: 4.22 (55 ratings)
– Author: Lynn Vroman
– Published: November 6, 2018
– Genres: Contemporary, Young Adult, Romance, Fiction
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41 / 50Goodreads
Wolf’s Bane (Otherworld: Kate and Logan, #1)
– Rating: 4.13 (1,928 ratings)
– Author: Kelley Armstrong
– Published: December 10, 2018
– Genres: Young Adult, Urban Fantasy, Fantasy, Paranormal
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42 / 50Goodreads
Dogs of God
– Rating: 3.71 (256 ratings)
– Author: Pinckney Benedict
– Published: December 1, 1993
– Genres: Fiction, Novels, Mystery, Southern Gothic
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43 / 50Goodreads
Melting the Ice
– Rating: 4.07 (99 ratings)
– Author: Amy Leigh Napier
– Published: December 31, 2013
– Genres: Contemporary Romance
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44 / 50Goodreads
Tumult on the Mountains: Lumbering in West Virginia 1770-1920
– Rating: 4.37 (19 ratings)
– Author: Roy B. Clarkson
– Published: January 1, 1964
– Genres: History, Nature
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45 / 50Goodreads
Julianna’s Choice (The Stone Wolves Book 1)
– Rating: 3.72 (18 ratings)
– Author: Davina Guy
– Published: January 14, 2018
– Genres: Amazon, Paranormal
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46 / 50Goodreads
A Cold Dark Place (Cold Justice, #1)
– Rating: 4.20 (10,897 ratings)
– Author: Toni Anderson
– Published: March 25, 2014
– Genres: Romantic Suspense, Romance, Mystery, Suspense
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47 / 50Goodreads
Whiskey Chaser (Bootleg Springs, #1)
– Rating: 4.31 (12,458 ratings)
– Author: Lucy Score
– Published: April 13, 2018
– Genres: Romance, Contemporary Romance, Contemporary, Humor
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48 / 50Goodreads
Funny How Things Change
– Rating: 3.56 (342 ratings)
– Author: Melissa Wyatt
– Published: April 27, 2009
– Genres: Young Adult, Romance, Contemporary, Teen
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49 / 50Goodreads
Backcountry: Contemporary Writing in West Virginia
– Rating: 4.32 (25 ratings)
– Author: Irene McKinney
– Published: August 19, 2002
– Genres: Poetry, Short Stories
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50 / 50Goodreads
The Truth According to Us
– Rating: 3.75 (18,094 ratings)
– Author: Annie Barrows
– Published: June 9, 2015
– Genres: Historical Fiction, Fiction, Historical, Adult
–Read more on Goodreads
