Book Set in the 1930s

by Lynda Rutledge
Setting: 1938, Road Trip Across the US
First Published: 2021

West with Giraffes is a charming tale of adventure that takes you on the ride of a lifetime from the east coast of the US to the west, alongside a rowdy 17-year-old, a grumpy older man, and two giraffes.

The year is 1938 and no American zoo has successfully housed giraffes before, but the female zoo director of San Diego Zoo believes she can do it. The giraffes have just survived a hurricane en route to the east coast, and Riley Jones, the zoo’s curmudgeonly head keeper has been charged with safely transporting the giraffes from New York to San Diego. 

America is still in the throes of the Great Depression, and the Dust Bowl conditions continue to ravage the drought stricken Southern Plains states, and a coast to coast trek with giant animals is no easy feat. Jones begrudgingly teams up with a starving teenager named Woody to help him make the journey.

At its heart (and this book is filled with LOTS of heart) this is a coming of age story. Now at the age of 105, Woody recounts his cross-country trip with the Jones and the giraffes, including their run-ins with circus con artists, being tailed by a female photographer looking for a big scoop, and how his 12-day grand adventure with the giraffes shaped his life.

The Book Girls Say...We both adored everything about this story, and it tops our list of favorite books of 2021. From the insights it gives to life across America in the late 30s to the growing relationships between characters, including between the humans and giraffes, so many things make it a great book!

This book is currently available free with Kindle Unlimited.

by Donna Everhart
Setting: 1930s, North Carolina
First Published: 2022

Set against the backdrop of the Great Depression, this book transports readers to the turpentine camps and pine forests of the South. North Carolina earned it's nickname - the Tar Heel State - from the thick, sticky sap that labors extracted from the trees. It was hard and dangerous work, often in inhumane conditions.

When Rae's husband, Warren, is hurt and cannot do the job, Rae disguises herself as a man and heads to the Swallow Hill turpentine camp in Georgia. There she meets Del, who is on the run from the mistakes of his past, and Cornelia, the browbeaten wife of the camp's commissary owner. As the three form a stronger friendship, they begin to envision a path out of the camp and a better future.

The Book Girls Say... This book is described as Where the Crawdads Sing meets The Four Winds. The descriptive writing does a good job of setting the time and place, and the the story shows the determination and grit of the characters in the face of the hate and racism that abounds.

by Hazel Gaynor and Heather Webb
Setting: 1937, NYC & Europe
First Published: 2021

Sister Clara and Maddie are very different and don't get along particularly well. But when their dying grandmother calls them to the family estate in East Hampton, New York and asks them to deliver three letters for her across Europe, they can't say no to her dying wish.

The sisters are tasked with traveling to Paris, Venice, and Vienna via the Queen Mary and the Orient Express. Adventurous budding journalist Maddie is excited to travel, but Clara would rather stay home to plan her wedding. But along the way, a shocking truth about their family brings the pair closer together.

In 1937, political tensions are rising and Europe feels increasingly volatile, so by the time the sisters have completed their final task, they are both happy to be headed home via the Hindenburg.

The Book Girls Say... Maddie and Clara's journey is inspired by famed reporter, Nellie Bly's trip around the world in 72 days (be sure to read the author's note at the end of the book to learn more about Bly).

by Ariel Lawhon
Setting: 1937, aboard the Hindenburg
First Published: 2016

This historical fiction novel is based on the real people aboard the last flight of the Hindenburg as it traveled from Germany toward Lakehurst, New Jersey. It provides one possible scenario for the mysteries of what caused the explosion aboard the zeppelin.

The Book Girls Guide... This is a well-researched novel that draws upon biographies, survivor accounts, charts, and other documentation about the final flight of the Hindenburg. The author does a good job of clarifying what is fact and what is fiction.

by Genevieve Graham
Setting: 1933 and 1939, Toronto and Hong Kong
First Published: 2021

From the streets of Toronto to the shores of Hong Kong, this Canadian historical fiction novel tells the story of a little-known chapter of WWII history.

With the Depression crippling Toronto, 18-year-old Molly puts aside her journalism dreams to work any job she can to help her family get by. But, as the summer of 1933 stretches on, the terrible wave of hate and anti-Semitism sweeping the globe reaches Toronto in the form of "Swastika Clubs" and "No Jews Allowed" signs. On a fateful night in August, tensions reached a boiling point between the local Irish and Jewish communities. The resulting riot has devastating consequences for Molly's family and that of her best friend, Hannah.

Six years later, Molly is now working as a reporter for the local paper. With the war on the horizon and many people she loves in danger, Molly is forced to confront what happened on that terrible night back in 1933.

The Book Girls Say... This book combines page-turning fiction with facets of WW2 history that most know little about!

By Sara Gruen
Setting: 1932, Illinois & New York
First published 2006

Looking to escape his circumstances, Jacob Jankowski jumps onto a passing train and suddenly finds himself thrust into the world of a circus struggling to survive during the Great Depression. Because Jacob is just shy of his veterinary degree, he's put in charge of caring for the circus menagerie. He becomes enamored with Marlena - the star of the equestrian show. But Marlena is married to the circus's cruel animal trainer. Jacob also meets Rosie, an elephant that everyone had hoped would help save the circus, but who appears to be untrainable.

The Book Girls Say... There are a few books that you don't want to end because you're worried you won't find another book you enjoy as much, and this was one of those books. The writing transports you to the time and place - and it's a world you'll want to get lost in.

Book Girls' Readers Rate This Book ⭐⭐⭐⭐
90% Would Recommend to a Friend

By Erik Larson
Setting: 1933, Berlin, Germany
First published 2011

William Dodd, a professor from Chicago, is named America's ambassador to Germany at the rise of the Third Reich. His family joins him in Berlin, and his outgoing daughter, Martha, is immediately drawn in to the parties, pomp, and handsome young men of the Third Reich.

While Martha becomes enamored with the "New Germany," her father grows increasingly concerned by what he witnesses all around him as Adolf's true character and ambition become more clear. By the end of 1933, however, even Martha finds herself living in terror.

The Book Girls Say... We've read a lot of books about WWII, but many have left us questioning how the world did not recognize the darkening atmosphere in Germany for so long. This book shines a light on just that question from an eyewitness perspective. If you enjoy history and non-fiction, Erik Larson's books are a wonderful choice because of his detailed research, however, keep in mind that his writing style moves slowly and deliberately.

Book Girls' Readers Rate This Book ⭐⭐⭐⭐
71% Would Recommend to a Friend

by Chanel Cleeton
Setting: 1935, Florida Keys
First Published: 2020

Three women's stories intertwine in the Florida Keys as the a powerful hurricane approaches over Labor Day weekend of 1935.

Key West native Helen Berner yearns to escape her abusive husband. Elizabeth Preston has traveled down from New York in search of a veteran of the Great War. Mirta Perez's family suffered great losses in Cuban Revolution of 1933, and now they have arranged her marriage to a man in a dangerous business followed by a honeymoon in Key West.

The approaching storm is not the only danger that these women face as their paths unexpectedly cross.

by Annie Barrows
Setting: 1938, West Virginia
First Published: 2015

Layla Beck is the daughter of a US Senator and she's accustomed to running in a certain social circle. But in the summer of 1938, her father cuts off her allowance and insists that she get a job with the Federal Writers' Project, a New Deal jobs program.

Layla is assigned to cover the history of a remote West Virginia mill town, and while there she stays with the unconventional Romeyn family - who she comes to learn is a local dynasty with a complicated past.

The Romeyn's 12-year-old daughter is eager to uncover more about her family's past, and together she and Layla will bring to light long buried secrets about the family and the town.

The Book Girls Say... Annie Barrows is the co-author of the very popular The Guernsey Literary and Potato Peel Pie Society, and The Truth According to Us is described as equally delightful and eccentric while being refreshingly unique.

by Kristin Hannah
Setting: 1934-1936, Texas
First published 2021

As the Dust Bowl drought gripped the Great Plains, millions were out of work, crops were failing, water was drying up, and farmers were fighting to keep their land. This is the story of Elsa Martinelli, who is forced to make an agonizing choice: fight for her land in Texas or move west, to California, in search of a better life. She, like so many of her neighbors, courageously faces the hardship and sacrifices that came to define an entire generation during the Great Depression as they fought for the American Dream.

Book Girls' Readers Rate This Book ⭐⭐⭐⭐½
96% Would Recommend to a Friend

By Christina Baker Kline
Setting: Depression-era Minnesota
First published 2013

During the 80 years leading up to the Great Depression, so called Orphan Trains transported children from cities on the East Coast to the farmlands of the Midwest. The fates of the children on board - whether they would end up with loving families or end up with a childhood of hard labor - was determined by pure luck.

Vivian - now 91 - was one of those children, and the memories of her childhood are now tucked inside of trunks in her attic. Eighteen-year-old Molly is aging out of the foster care system and is assigned community service helping the elderly Vivian clean out her home. She will soon learn that the two have much more in common that she ever expected.

The Book Girls say...Melissa read Orphan Train a few years back and was shocked to learn about the Children's Aid Society trains. While some have criticized the book as seeming like a young adult novel, Melissa enjoyed the story and characters.

Book Girls' Readers Rate This Book ⭐⭐⭐⭐
100% Would Recommend to a Friend

by William Kent Krueger
Setting: 1932 - Minnesota & down the Mississippi River
First published 2020

Set in 1932 during the Great Depression, This Tender Land follows four orphans who have escaped the abusive Lincoln Indian Training School. The kids set off down the river, and have to survive the environment while being pursued by the school.

They have to decide whether to trust each stranger they encounter and discover themselves along the way. Equal parts adventure and heart, this book is often described as a modern classic and compared to Huckleberry Finn.

The Book Girls Say... Melissa's husband just finished reading This Tender Land and said it lives up to all the great reviews. She can't wait to pick it up now that he finished reading it!

by Neal Bascomb
Setting: 1930s, Western Europe
First Published: 2020

This fascinating non-fiction read tells the story of the glamorous auto racing era and the success of one very unlikely team as the world as the world teetered on brink of war.

Rene Dryfus was one of the top drivers on the international racecar scene in the '20s and early '30s, but by the mid-30s, as the Third Reich rose to power, Dryfus was banned from the best European teams because of his Jewish heritage.

At the same time, Charles Weiffenbach, the head of the down-on-its-luck automaker Delahaye, was desperately searching for a way to save his company.

Lucy Schell was the adventurous daughter of an American multi-millionaire and a rally racer. She enlists Dalahaye to build a car capable of winning the Grand Prix races for the 1938 season in hopes of defeating Germany, who had dominated the sport.

The Book Girls Say... Reviewers say that you don't need to know anything about motorsport in order to enjoy this fascingating read. This book is recommended for fans of The Boys in the Boat, and In the Garden of Beasts, both of which are also on this list.

By Kristin Hannah
Setting: 1939, France
First published 2015

The Nightingale tells the story of French sisters Vianne and Isabelle, who have always been at odds. Vianne is a rule-follower, and Isabelle is more rebellious and willing to speak her mind. With WWII on, Isabelle intends to fight for France, while Vianne simply wants to survive the war with her family intact - even if it means allowing a German officer to live in her home.

Isabelle, who refuses to live passively under German authority, joins the French resistance guides Allied airmen out of France after their planes are shot down - work for which she adopts the codename the Nightingale. As the war wages on, both sisters learn who they are and what they can do.

The Book Girls Say... If you've already read and loved The Nightingale, be sure to check out our list of the Best Books Like the Nightingale.

Book Girls' Readers Rate This Book ⭐⭐⭐⭐½
91% Would Recommend to a Friend

By Harper Lee
Setting: 1933, Alabama
First published 1960

You probably read this classic back in high school (or at least you were supposed to), but we recommend you give this famous book another read. Chances are you'll get even more out of it this time around!

If you aren't familiar with the story, it's told from the perspective of a 6-year-old girl called Scout. Her widowed father, Atticus Finch, is a crusading local lawyer who risks everything to defend a black man accused of a terrible crime.

Book Girls' Readers Rate This Book ⭐⭐⭐⭐½
92% Would Recommend to a Friend

By Daniel James Brown
Setting: 1936, Berlin Olympics
First published 2013

This is the non-fiction story of nine working-class boys - sons of loggers, shipyard workers, and farmers - who beat all the odds to even become the American rowing team, let alone defeat others on the international stage. Out of the depths of the Depression, these unlikely young men shocked the world by defeating the German team at the 1936 Olympics in Berlin.

In writing this story, Brown drew upon the boys’ own journals and vivid memories to paint a portrait of an era.

Book Girls' Readers Rate This Book ⭐⭐⭐⭐½
90% Would Recommend to a Friend

By Elizabeth Letts
Setting: 1938, Hollywood; late 19th & early 20th centuries, South Dakota
First published 2019

This novel tells the story behind The Wonderful Wizard of Oz, through the eyes of Maud, the wife of author L. Frank Baum. The book follows two story lines - one tells the story of Maud's youth as the rebellious daughter of a leading suffragette and the early years of Maud and Frank's marriage on the prairie.

The second story line takes place in Hollywood when Maud learns that MGM is adapting The Wonderful Wizard of Oz into a movie. Then 77, Maud finagle her way onto the set in hopes of ensuring the producers stay true to the spirit of the book. She meets Judy Garland and recognizes in the young woman the yearning that defined her own life story.

The Book Girls say... Melissa read Finding Dorothy in January and it quickly became one of her favorite books that she already looks forward to re-reading again. It captures a true glimpse into life as a woman in the late 1800s-1930s while constantly keeping you engaged between moments of true joy and deep heartache in the life of Maud.

Book Girls' Readers Rate This Book ⭐⭐⭐⭐½
100% Would Recommend to a Friend

by Anna Schmidt
Setting: 1936 and 2002: Sarasota, Florida
First Published: 2022

This is a dual-time line historical fiction romance.

Lucinda was trapeze artist for the Ringling Brothers Circus, and was set to perform at the 70th birthday celebration for John Ringling in 1936, but she disappeared after being accused of a robbery, and possibly murder, at Ringling's Ca d'Zan mansion.

Chloe, a present-day mystery novelist visits Ca d'Zan (the former home of John Ringling) to research her next novel, and while she's there she winds up uncovering the mystery of what happened to her great-grandmother, Lucinda.

The Book Girls Say... This book is part of the Doors to the Past series. Each book transports readers to a different time in American history, and each features different characters. As a result, this book reads as a stand-alone.

All of the books in these series are categorized as Christian Fiction. While reviewers say that faith and religion only play a small part in the overall story, this is a clean book with out bad language or sexual content.

By John Steinbeck
Setting: 1930s Oklahoma to California
First published 1939

With the Great Depression gripping the nation, this epic novel from the 1930s chronicles the Dust Bowl migration that transformed the nation. The story follows a farm family - the Joads - who are driven from their homestead in Oklahoma and forced to travel west for promise of a better life in California. But when they finally arrive at their destination, the worst rumors prove true.

Book Girls' Readers Rate This Book ⭐⭐⭐⭐
86% Would Recommend to a Friend

By Alice Walker
Setting: 1930s Georgia
First published 1982

The Color Purple portrays the lives of African American women in the deep south throughout the first half of the twentieth century, though most of the story takes place between the two world wars. Separated when they are young, sisters Celie and Nettie maintain their relationship through a series of letters spanning twenty years. This book broke the silence around domestic and sexual abuse, while taking readers on a journey of love and redemption.

This book is currently available free with Kindle Unlimited.

Book Girls' Readers Rate This Book ⭐⭐⭐½
71% Would Recommend to a Friend

By Stephen King
Setting: 1932, Cold Mountain Penitentiary
First published 1996

Cold Mountain Penitentiary is home to the Depression-worn men of E Block. All of them are convicted killers awaiting their time to walk the Green Mile - the path that leads to the electric chair known as "Old Sparky." Death row guard Paul Edgecombe has walked the mile with a lot of convicts, but he's never met anyone else like John Coffey - a giant man with the mind of a child who has been condemned for a terrifyingly violent crime.

By Bryan Burrough
Setting: 1933-1934, Chicago
First published: 2004

This non-fiction read tells the full story of the most spectacular crime wive in American history - the two year battle between young J. Edgar Hoover at the head of the FBI and an assortment of criminals who became national icons, including John Dillinger, Machine Gun Kelly, Bonnie and Clyde, Baby Face Nelson, and more.

by Shelley Wood
Setting: Canada, 1934-1939
First published 2019

The Quintland Sisters is a fictionalized telling of real life identical quintuplets born in 1934, taken from their home, made wards of the government, and put on display at the height of the Great Depression for 6,000 visitors a day to watch them play.

Book Girls' Readers Rate This Book ⭐⭐⭐⭐½
100% Would Recommend to a Friend

By Arthur Golden
Setting: 1930, Kyoto, Japan
First published 1997

Nitta is a young girl taken from her Japanese fishing village at the age of 9 and sold into slavery to a renowned geisha house in Kyoto - a world in which appearances are paramount, where a girl's virginity is auctioned to the highest bidder, where women are trained to beguile the most powerful men, and where love is scorned as illusion.

Book Girls' Readers Rate This Book ⭐⭐⭐⭐
89% Would Recommend to a Friend

By Kim Michele Richardson
Setting: 1936 Kentucky
First published 2019

The impoverished residents of Troublesome Creek struggle for nearly everything, but thanks to Roosevelt's Kentucky Pack Horse Library Project they don't want for books.

Book woman Cussy Mary Carter, is not only Troublesome Creek's own traveling library, she's also the last living female of the rare Blue People ancestry. But not everyone approves of Cussy's family or the government Library Project. Cussy wants to bring the joy of books to the hill folks, but she has to confront prejudice and suspicion as old as the Appalachias.

This book is currently available free with Kindle Unlimited.

Book Girls' Readers Rate This Book ⭐⭐⭐⭐½
100% Would Recommend to a Friend

By Isabel Allende
Setting: 1930s
First published 2019

This novel begins during the Spanish Civil War. When Franco succeeds in overthrowing the government, thousands flee to the French border, including Roser, a pregnant young widow, and Victor, an army doctor and brother of Roser's deceased love. In order to improve their chances of survival, Roser and Victor must marry despite neither wishing to do so.

Together with thousands of other refugees, they board the SS Winnipeg bound for Chile, leaving behind a Europe erupting in WWII. While starting over on another continent, both hold onto hope that they'll be able to return to Spain one day. But as they witness the battle between freedom and repression across the globe, Roser and Victor discover that home is closer than they thought.

The Book Girls Say... Melissa recently watched an interview with author Isabel Allende, and found her utterly hilarious and charming. We both look forward to reading this one, and expect that if her writing is anything like her speaking, Allende's novel is sure to jump to the top of our favorites list.

Book Girls' Readers Rate This Book ⭐⭐⭐⭐
80% Would Recommend to a Friend

By Amor Towles
Setting: 1938, New York City
First published 2011

In post-Depression-era New York, a young women has a chance encounter with a handsome banker, and suddenly finds herself thrust into a yearlong journey into high society. You'll be drawn in by the characters and the sparkling depiction of New York's social strata. As one review put it, "If a novel could win an award for best cinematography, this would take home the gold."

By Beatriz Williams
Setting: 1938, Rhode Island
First published 2013

It's Memorial Day 1938 and New York socialite Lily Dane has returned with her family for another summer in the oceanfront community of Seaview, Rhode Island. But when Lily's former best friend shows up at the beach, newly married to Lily's former fiance, the summer no longer looks to be as peaceful and relaxing as planned.

Amid gossip and an impending hurricane, buried emotions and unexpected truths bubble to the surface.

By Laura Hillenbrand
Setting: 1938, USA
First published 1999

In 1938, a racehorse named Seabiscuit was the single biggest newsmaker, receiving more coverage than even FDR and Adolf. This non-fiction book tells his story.

Seabiscuit had been written off by the racing establishment because of his crooked legs, but three men changed his fortunes - Charles Howard, who introduced the automobile to the western US and became an overnight millionaire; Tom Smith, a mustang breaker from Colorado; and jockey Red Pollard, a failed boxer who was blind in one eye and half crippled.

By Lisa Wingate
Setting: 1939, Memphis
First published 2017

This book is based on the true story of Georgia Tann's "adoption" agency that claimed to help orphans, but instead kidnapped poor children and trafficked them to wealthy families.

Twelve-year-old Rill Foss and her four younger siblings have a wonderful life on the Mississippi River aboard their family’s shantyboat. But on stormy night when their father has to take their mother to the hospital, Rill is left in charge. But when strangers arrive, the kids are thrown into a Tennessee Children’s Home Society orphanage. They are assured that they will soon be returned to their parents - but they quickly realize the dark truth.

In present day South Carolina, Avery Stafford returns home to help her father during a health crisis. When she stumbles upon the possibility that her grandmother may be harboring a dark family secret, Avery becomes obsessed with her mission to uncover the truth.

The Book Girls say...Melissa read this heart-breaking tale and hates that it was based on true events. It was worth reading, but she recommends grabbing your tissues and keeping them handy!

Book Girls' Readers Rate This Book ⭐⭐⭐⭐
90% Would Recommend to a Friend

By Diane Ackerman
Setting: Poland, 1939
First published 2007

This is not your traditional holocaust story. The Zookeeper's Wife is the true story of how the keepers of the Warsaw Zoo- after a bomb killed most of their animals - managed to save over three hundred people from the German Army by hiding refugees in the empty animal cages.

This book receives mixed reviews, but if you love animals and enjoy learning about WWII from different perspectives, we think you'll enjoy this non-fiction read.

By Fannie Flagg
Setting: 1930s, Alabama
First published 1987

In this novel, the elderly Mrs. Threadgoode is telling a story to middle-aged Evelyn. Her tale is of two women who - back in the 1930s - ran a café in Whistle Stop, Alabama. Serving up good coffee and barbecue, the café was a place for friendship, and the occasional murder...

The Book Girls Say... While many people have seen the movie adaptation of this novel, as is often the case - the story in the book unfolds differently, and most agree the book is better.

The sequel, The Wonder Boy of Whistle Stop, also goes back and forth in time between the 1930s and present day.