Iowa Books: The Best Books Set in the Hawkeye State

Book Summary

Gia’s teenage years in her small hometown of Wakefield, Iowa, were anything but simple. When an overzealous PTA slashed the high school reading list, she started the Banned Books Club. Then, she accused her former favorite teacher, Mr. Hart, of sexual misconduct. The minute she turned 18, she walked away from her college scholarship and left town without looking back.

But that left her sister, Margot, to bear the responsibility of caring for their ailing mother. Years later, when Margot begs her to come home, she knows it’s the right thing to do.

When Margot suddenly packs up her kids and leaves town, Gia begins to realize that her sister’s life isn’t as perfect as it might seem. But Margot’s husband blames Gia for her departure.

Book Summary

A real-life ballroom inspired this split-timeline historical romance. Lorraine spent her youth in the 1940s swept away by big bands in the Surf Ballroom. Now, it’s 2017, and she is returning to the ballroom for the first time in decades after the death of her husband. 

As she steps back into the building, she’s transported back to the biggest decision of her youth. Torn between two men, did she make the right decision when choosing between personal conviction (a German from a local POW camp) and social expectations (her perfect high school boyfriend)? As she makes peace with her youth, ghosts from the past make it hard for her to know what is real.

Book Summary

This novel spans three generations, from the Civil War to the 20th century. This deeply introspective novel is told from the point of view of John Ames, an aging Congregationalist minister in the small town of Gilead, Iowa.

As he nears the end of his life in 1956, Ames writes a letter to his young son, hoping to leave behind a legacy of wisdom, faith, and personal history. Through his reflections, he recounts his family’s past, from his abolitionist grandfather to his pacifist father, weaving in theological musings and meditations on grace, forgiveness, and mortality.

The novel’s emotional core centers on Ames’s complex relationship with Jack Boughton, the prodigal son of his best friend, whose return stirs old wounds and challenges Ames’s deeply held beliefs.

Book Summary

Francesca grew up in Italy and fell in love with a man her family didn’t approve of. She went on to meet and marry an American soldier and followed him home to rural Iowa.

Two decades later, at the age of 45, her husband and teenage children are out of town for the weekend. While sitting on the porch one afternoon, a man named Robert comes down the driveway in his pickup truck. He’s a photographer who has been commissioned by National Geographic to photograph all seven of the covered bridges in Iowa’s Madison County.

This chance encounter leads to a brief but intense extramarital affair.

Book Summary

Irene’s suburban life in Iowa is upended when she receives a shocking late-night phone call that her husband has been found dead on the island of St. John.

When she travels to St. John to find out what happened to her husband, Irene discovers much more than she expected—including his entire double life.

Book Summary

This 1992 Pulitzer Prize-winning literary novel is a retelling of Shakespeare’s King Lear, with the setting moved to the Great Plains in the 1970s. The story follows the lives of three sisters, Ginny, Rose, and Caroline, as they navigate the complexities of their relationships with their father, Larry, and each other.

When Larry decides to divide his thousand-acre farm among his daughters, it seems like a generous and fair gesture. But as the sisters begin to make decisions about the land and their futures, long-buried resentments and secrets come to light, threatening to tear the family apart.

As he ages, Larry’s drinking escalates, and his daughters are left to deal with him on top of responsibilities to the land, their cutthroat lenders, and their difficult husbands.

Book Summary

Baseball fans and magical realism readers may love this one! In 1979, Ray began hearing a voice at his farm outside Iowa City. “If you built it, he will come.” Ray becomes convinced that the voice is talking about Shoeless Joe Jackson and the rest of the 1919 Chicago Black Sox, who were banned from the game for life. 

He’s also convinced that they will show up if he plows up his cornfield, turning it into a baseball diamond. Everyone except his wife and daughter think he’s gone mad. With the field complete, the voice changes to say, “Ease his pain.” To Ray, the voice is talking about JD Salinger, and Ray believes he must find the reclusive author (1000 miles away) and take him to a baseball game. 

Part of the book takes place on the road trip with Salinger, but you’ll also get a good look at Iowa life and landmarks in Iowa City.

Book Summary

Gilbert is a 24-year-old grocery clerk living in the tiny town of Endora, Iowa. He’s the rock who holds his family together, leaving him little time to build a life of his own.

He is struggling to care for both his mother and his mentally disabled younger brother. His mother, Bonnie, has been eating non-stop since her husband’s suicide – to the point that the floor is about to cave in below her TV-watching chair. And his younger brother, Arnie, is very astute but depends on Gilbert for most things.

As the Grapes are preparing for Arnie’s 18th birthday, a beautiful girl named Becky arrives in town. Despite being nearly 10 years younger than Gilbert, they form a friendship that changes how he sees himself and his family.

Book Summary

Discover the heartwarming true story of Dewey, an abandoned kitten found in the book drop of the Spencer Public Library on a freezing winter morning. Adopted by the library staff, Dewey becomes the beloved mascot of the small-town institution, charming locals and visitors alike with his antics and affections. This non-fiction chronicles Dewey’s impact on the town but also addresses the farming industry in both Spencer and Iowa as a whole.

The author was born in Spencer and raised on an Iowa farm. This book also includes her family story, making it part memoir, part history of Iowa family, and part lovable cat tales about Dewey’s positive impact on the town.

Book Summary

Mildred Kalish grew up on her grandparent’s farm in Iowa during the Great Depression. Her father was banished from the home when Mildred was just 5 years old, but she was surrounded by siblings and cousins.

Despite the harsh times in which she came of age, Kalish counts herself among the lucky of the era. Her childhood was filled with hard work, but equally hard play – running barefoot through the fields, wild and free.