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Kansas Books: The Best Books Set in Sunflower State
By: Angela & Melissa
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As an Amazon Associate and member of other affiliate programs, we may earn a referral fee from qualifying purchases.Whether you’re participating in our Read Around the USA Challenge or simply found your way to our website researching books set in Kansas, we’ve curated a diverse list of highly-rated titles about the Sunflower State! If you’re looking for another state, check our comprehensive list of books set in every state.
Literary Themes in Kansas Books
While Middle America is a colloquial term often used to describe the group of states in the center of the country, Kansas is, quite literally, the middle of America and embodies the Great Plains. Its flat horizons, wheat fields, and prairie landscapes evoke both stark beauty and isolation. Kansas literature often explores pioneer spirit, the Dust Bowl era, small-town life, and the tension between rural traditions and modern change. Tornado season adds dramatic potential to many narratives.
The Best Books Set in Kansas
The Good Lord Bird
Book Girls’ Readers Rate This Book
90% Would Recommend to a Friend
Book Summary
The Good Lord Bird is a unique work of historical fiction that offers a fresh and sometimes humorous perspective on the abolitionist movement and the notorious John Brown. The novel tells the story of Brown and Henry Shackleford, a young slave who is nicknamed “Onion” by Brown after he is mistaken for a girl.
Onion joins Brown’s ragtag army, which is preparing to raid the federal arsenal at Harper’s Ferry in 1859. Along the way, Onion witnesses the horrors of slavery and the violence of Brown’s abolition campaign firsthand. Despite its serious subject matter, The Good Lord Bird is also a coming-of-age story that follows Onion’s journey of self-discovery.
Format Recommendation & TV Adaptation
Readers note that the audiobook narrator is fabulous, so be sure to listen if you have a chance! There is also a Showtime TV adaptation of the book starring Ethan Hawke and Joshua Caleb Johnson.
Before Dorothy
Book Girls’ Readers Rate This Book
100% Would Recommend to a Friend
Book Summary
This novel tells the story of Dorothy’s aunt, Emily Gale, moving from Chicago to Kansas long before her niece ever visits Oz.
In the mid-1920s, Emily and her husband, Henry, were living in the bustling city of Chicago while dreaming of a quieter American dream in Kansas. But leaving the city would also mean leaving behind Emily’s beloved sister, Annie.
Nearly a decade later, Emily and Henry have forged a new life in the prairie town of Liberal, Kansas. When a tragedy strikes, their orphaned niece, Dorothy, lands on their doorstep.
Amid the drought and devastation of the Dust Bowl and the stock market crash, wide-eyed Dorothy’s new home becomes a place of uncertainty and danger. When the past catches up with the present and old secrets are exposed, Emily struggles to protect her niece.
More About This Book
Keep in mind that this modern retelling / prequel to The Wonderful Wizard of Oz is based on the 1930s time setting of the film adaptation rather than the timeline of the original novel by L. Frank Baum, which placed Dorothy in Kansas around the turn of the century.
Early readers praise this novel as new and fresh while enjoying the ways in which Hazel Gaynor pays homage to the original story, including highlighting the Tin Man and the Lion.
Some readers also choose to reread L. Frank Baum’s The Wonderful Wizard of Oz for this prompt, but keep in mind that only a few pages at the beginning and the end are set in Kansas, while the remainder follows Dorothy to the colorful and magical world of Oz, where she embarks on a journey to find the Wizard and return home.
Class Mom
Book Girls’ Readers Rate This Book
94% Would Recommend to a Friend
Book Summary
Class Mom is a light and entertaining novel about the life of a 40-something mom in a large suburb southwest of Kansas City. She has two daughters in college and a son in kindergarten.
If you’ve ever done a little eye-rolling when dealing with other parents at your child’s school, this is the book for you. Former rockstar groupie Jen is bamboozled into being the class mom for her daughter’s kindergarten class. Her emails recruiting other parent volunteers are full of the things you wish you could say, but hopefully wouldn’t.
What to Expect in This Series
This fun, irreverent book will make you laugh out loud as long as you don’t take it too seriously. If you’re not a fan of snark, sarcasm, or adult language, skip it. It’s total satire and not a deep novel, but sometimes, that’s just what we need!
If you enjoy the book, you’re in luck because it’s the first in a series of four books that follow the main character up through the years as her son goes through elementary school and on to middle school.
If you’ve ever watched Live with Kelly & Mark (or Regis/Michael/Ryan) in the mornings, then you likely know Michael Gelman, the executive producer who is often seen on air. Author Laurie Gelman is his wife. While the Gelmans live in NYC, Laurie knows that the role of class mom is “a universal pain in the neck” (her words), so she wanted to set the story in the geographic center of the US.
Doc
Book Girls’ Readers Rate This Book
93% Would Recommend to a Friend
Book Summary
This historical fiction novel follows the life of John Henry “Doc” Holliday, a dentist and gambler who became a legend of the American West. Set in the 1870s and 1880s, the book explores the complex character of Holliday, a man who is often portrayed as a cold-blooded killer. However, he was also known to be compassionate and intelligent.
Russell’s writing is engaging and vivid, capturing the Wild West’s sights, sounds, and smells with great detail. The book takes readers on a journey through Holliday’s life, from his early years as a dentist in Atlanta to his travels to Dodge City and Tombstone, AZ, where he becomes embroiled in the infamous Gunfight at the O.K. Corral.
Along the way, readers meet a cast of equally fascinating characters, from Wyatt Earp and his brothers to Holliday’s lover, the spirited Kate Harony. Russell weaves a rich tapestry of historical detail into the novel, drawing on extensive research to bring the era to life.
Thoughts on This Book
This book was a Goodreads nominee for Best Historical Fiction 2011, and our readers seem to agree that it is a great pick for historical fiction fans.
The Persian Pickle Club
Book Girls’ Readers Rate This Book
98% Would Recommend to a Friend
Book Summary
The Persian Pickle Club brings you into the lives of gossipy quilters in a Kansas farming town. While crops are suffering from the ongoing drought and the job market is just as dry, a young farmer’s wife finds her weekly respite in the quilting club.
But when a new club member stirs up a big secret, the women must unite to protect each other in a new way.
Consider This Before Reading
Be aware that this novel includes several casual racist references (including the N-word) reflective of the prejudiced views of the era.
Sandra Dallas is also the author of A Quilt for Christmas, a holiday-themed historical fiction book set in Kansas.
Dark Places
Book Girls’ Readers Rate This Book
100% Would Recommend to a Friend
Book Summary
When Libby was just seven years old, she provided the evidence that put her 15-year-old brother behind bars. Now, twenty-four years later, she’s been contacted by a group who are convinced of Ben’s innocence, causing her to begin asking questions she never dared consider before.
Was the voice she heard really her brother? Was he really capable of murder? Are there still more secrets to be uncovered on the family’s Kansas farm?
Geographic Note
This novel is primarily set in Kansas, specifically in the fictional rural town of Kinnakee. Throughout the book, Libby also travels through areas near Kansas City, Kansas, and into Missouri.
When You Were Older
Book Summary
Russell worked on the 104th floor of the World Trade Center in New York City, but a phone call on his way out the door delayed him on the morning of September 11th, 2001. The call relays the devastating news that his mother has died of a stroke, but it also saves his life. As a result of that phone call, he is the only one of his colleagues to survive 9/11.
His mother had been the caregiver for his disabled older brother, so following her death, Russell returns to his tiny Kansas hometown to care for Ben.
More than a thousand miles away from NYC, Russell discovers that the terrorist attacks have also had a profound impact in middle America, where tensions are running high. He finds refuge drinking coffee each morning with a beautiful Egyptian-American woman in her father’s bakery. But just when he’s beginning to get his life back on track, an awful night threatens everything.
Thoughts on This Book
Our readers have loved many of Catherine Ryan Hyde’s books, so we are looking forward to digging into this backlist title.
Under the Rainbow
Book Girls’ Readers Rate This Book
100% Would Recommend to a Friend
Book Summary
Big Burr, Kansas, like many small towns, is a place where everyone seems to know everyone else. It might appear that everyone shares the same values, but in reality, those who don’t may simply keep their opinions to themselves.
When a national nonprofit labels Big Burr as “the most homophobic town in the US,” a task force of queer volunteers is sent in as an experiment. Their role is to live and work in the community for two years in an effort to broaden hearts and open minds.
Teenager Avery is uprooted from her home in Los Angeles when her crusader mom relocates them to Big Burr. Some in the town – like Linda, who is still grieving the loss of her son – welcome the new arrivals. Others, like Christine, see the newcomers as a threat to her town’s way of life.
Thoughts on This Book
This novel is said to be ultimately hopeful and heartwarming, with a message that reminds us we are all more alike than we are different.
While this is published as an adult novel, some feel that it reads a bit more like a YA because a portion of the story is told from the point of view of a teenager.
Book Summary
Lily and her 12-year-old son, Everett, escape to a small Kansas town after being abandoned by her fugitive ex-husband. She gets a job managing a storage facility, and mother and son take up residence in the business park.
After breaking into a storage unit, Everett discovers photos and news clippings of five girls who have long been missing. He sees it as an intriguing mystery to be solved, but his attempts to do so may put him and his mother in the crosshairs of a serial killer.
Things are further complicated when Lily’s ex-husband resurfaces just as a new man comes into her life. Combined with a suspicious detective who’s keeping an eye on her, it’s getting harder for her to know who she can trust.
Thoughts on This Book
While many readers say this book kept them on the edge of their seats, others feel that there is too much focus on Lily and Everett’s day-to-day lives.
Red Rabbit
Book Summary
Set in post-Civil War Kansas, this novel intertwines supernatural horror with Western elements.
The narrative begins in the small town of Riddle, where a $1,000 bounty is placed on Sadie Grace, a woman accused of witchcraft. This lucrative reward attracts various individuals, including Old Tom, a seasoned witch hunter, and his mute ward, Rabbit. Along their journey, they are joined by two aimless cowboys, Ned Hemingway and Moses Burke, and Rose Nettles, a recently widowed schoolteacher seeking purpose.
As this eclectic posse traverses the harsh landscape of the Kansas plains in a stolen red stagecoach, they confront a series of otherworldly threats—demons, ghosts, and ghouls—that challenge their resolve and survival.
Highly-Rated Audiobook
The audiobook version of this novel was nominated for a 2024 Audie Award in the fantasy category.
The Reckless Oath We Made
Book Summary
Zee has a lot on her plate. She has a shattered hip, endless bills, a housebound mother, a drug-dealing boss, and a 5-year-old nephew who needs her.
Her life is certainly not that of a princess, but nonetheless, Zee has a real-life knight in shining armor. At least, that’s how Gentry sees himself. He’s shy and autistic, but he speaks in perfect Middle English and lives by a code of honor that makes it his job to protect Zee.
When an abduction tears her family apart, Zee turns to the last person she ever imagined. This sets in motion a chain of events that will change both Zee and Gentry’s lives and bind them to one another forever.
More About This Book & the Author
Told from numerous different points of view, this book is described by reviewers as unlike anything else you’ve read. It’s a literary fiction read with elements of both romance and crime.
Be aware that this book deals with many challenging themes, including child abuse, drugs, and hoarding.
Author Brynn Greenwood is a 4th-generation Kansan who holds a degree in Creative Writing from Kansas State University.
Midnight at the Electric
Book Summary
This YA novel explores three distinct timelines, including one in the future. The book spans generations, starting in 1919 England, as Europe tries to recover from WWI. Lenore is grief-stricken by her brother’s death and is preparing to sail to the US to find a childhood friend.
In 1934, in Oklahoma, Catherine’s situation is getting desperate. The persistent dust is threatening her sister’s life. Can Catherine find the courage to make the extreme sacrifice required to save her sister’s life?
In the future (2065), Adri has been selected as one of the first to live on Mars. But when she finds the journal of someone who lived in her home over 100 years ago, she becomes preoccupied with finding out more. How is she connected to the mystery in the past? And is the country at risk of repeating past mistakes?
Other Books About the Dust Bowl
For another YA perspective on the Dust Bowl, consider Under the Dirt Sky by Callie J. Trautmiller. It covers the lives of two teens in the Roaring 20s, leading up to and at the beginning of the Dust Bowl.
For middle-grade reading, consider Newbery Award winner Out of the Dust by Karen Hesse or the highly-rated graphic novel The Great American Dust Bowl.
The Scent of Rain and Lightning
Book Girls’ Readers Rate This Book
98% Would Recommend to a Friend
Book Summary
Jody Linder was just a baby when her father was murdered, and her mother disappeared. Twenty-three years later, the man convicted of the murder is being released from prison and granted a new trial thanks to the work of his son, Collin.
As she tries to come to terms with the new trial for the man she has always believed was the killer, Jody begins to uncover a web of secrets and lies that threaten to upend everything she thought she knew about her family and the town she grew up in. As Jody delves deeper into the mystery surrounding the loss of her parents, she must confront long-buried traumas and the people she thought she knew.
Pickard’s writing is both suspenseful and evocative, painting a vivid picture of life in a small town where everyone knows everyone else’s business.
Award Recognition
This lyrical mystery was nominated for the Macavity Award Nominee for Best Mystery Novel and the Agatha Award Nominee for Best Novel.
Book Girls’ Readers Rate This Book
100% Would Recommend to a Friend
Book Summary
Lane was 15 when, following her mother’s suicide, she was sent to live with her grandparents and cousin at the Roanoke family estate in rural Osage Flats, Kansas. She knew little about her mother’s family other than the fact that her mother had run away from them and cut off contact years before.
Her cousin, Allegra, who was abandoned by her own mother, introduces Lane to small-town Kansas life, and she soon discovers the benefits of being one of the rich and beautiful Roanoke girls. But the family also has a dark side that makes Lane want to run as far away as she can.
More than a decade later, Lane is barely making ends meet in LA when her grandfather calls with the news that Allegra has gone missing. Compelled by her guilt over leaving her cousin behind years ago, Lane returns home to help find Allegra.
More About This Book
The novel’s narrative alternates between the summer of Lane’s first arrival in Kansas and the summer of her return.
Bring on the Blessings
Book Girls’ Readers Rate This Book
90% Would Recommend to a Friend
Book Summary
On Bernadine’s 52nd birthday, she caught her husband cheating on her with his secretary. Rather than getting angry, she got revenge. She hired a cut-throat attorney and ended up with $275 million in the divorce.
Bernadine was raised in the church with the understanding that to whom much is given, much is expected. So, with her newfound fortune, she asks God to send her a purpose. That purpose turns out to be a small town in Kansas.
The town of Henry Adams is one of the last surviving townships founded by freed slaves after the Civil War. Mayor Trenty July had run out of options to save his town from debt, so he put it up for sale… and Bernadine bought it.
Trent is excited about Bernadine’s vision for Henry Adams, but not everyone feels the same way.
Genre Notes
This book is designated as Christian Fiction. Reviewers describe it as a feel-good book with Hallmark movie vibes, and sometimes, that’s exactly the kind of book we need between heavier reads.
Queen Bees Quilt Shop Series
Book Summary
This series begins when Portia Paltrow finds the dead body of a college professor sprawled across the back steps of the small town’s fabric and quilt shop. Some speculate that it could have been a burglary gone wrong. But when it turns out that Owen Hill was murdered, a close-knit group of quilters, ranging from a new mom to an octogenarian, work to piece together the patchwork of clues.
About the Series
While Goodreads lists four books in this Kansas-set series, only the first three are grouped together on Amazon. The fourth, titled Dog-Gone Murder, is written by a different author and appears under a separate listing.
Moon Over Manifest
Book Girls’ Readers Rate This Book
100% Would Recommend to a Friend
Book Summary
Twelve-year-old Abilene Tucker is sent to live with her father’s friend for the summer while he works. But she jumps off the train in his hometown of Manifest, Kansas, with only a few possessions, determined to learn about her dad’s childhood.
She uncovers the town’s hidden history and mysteries through a box of keepsakes. The letters and mementos inside send Abilene and new friends, Lettie and Ruthanne, on a spy hunt. Weaving between past and present, “Moon Over Manifest” tells the intertwined stories of Abilene, her father’s experiences in the town, and the colorful cast of characters that shaped Manifest’s past.
Thoughts on This Book
This middle-grade book won the 2011 Newbery Medal and is said to be a fantastic read, even for adults.
Keeping Faith
Book Summary
In the last months of 1999, Mariah White is working to rebuild her life after catching her husband, Colin, cheating and divorcing him. Then her seven-year-old daughter, Faith, begins quoting scripture she’s never been taught and insists she’s speaking to God. Rumors explode when Faith appears to perform miracles, drawing crowds, clergy, and cameras to their home. Skeptics arrive, too, including television debunker Ian Fletcher, who expects the case to be an exposé and a ratings win. Alarmed by the chaos, Colin sues for custody.
Why This Book Made the List
Fleeing the media and custody battle, Mariah and Faith hop on a plane to Kansas City and wind up in Lake Perry, Kansas. While this location is only a temporary reprieve for the characters, readers from Kansas specifically report enjoying this part of the book and find it relatable to their experiences growing up in the “Bible Belt.”
Genre Note
This is not considered a work of Christian Fiction. Instead, Picoult uses religion to drive the central storyline and often as a source of conflict.
A Guide to Midwestern Conversation
Book Girls’ Readers Rate This Book
93% Would Recommend to a Friend
Book Summary
This short, illustrated guide will make you laugh out loud as you learn about the colloquialisms and sentiments of the Heartland. For example, if a Midwesterner says, “I didn’t really care for it,” that actually means they hated it beyond belief.
The author was born and raised in Kansas City, Missouri, right in the heart of the Midwest, giving an authentic feel to this non-fiction guide that strikes the humorous balance of being both heartwarming and self-deprecating.
States Covered in This Book
This book covers a total of 12 midwestern states with a chapter for each of Illinois, Indiana, Iowa, Kansas, Michigan, Minnesota, Missouri, Nebraska, North Dakota, Ohio, South Dakota, and Wisconsin.
Taylor Kay Phillips is a writer, actor, and comedian who worked for Last Week Tonight with John Oliver. To quote John Oliver: “Taylor is as funny as she is Midwestern. And she is thunderously midwestern. You will enjoy this book!”
Classic Books Set in Kansas
In Cold Blood
Book Girls’ Readers Rate This Book
87% Would Recommend to a Friend
Book Summary
This true crime classic is a gripping and chilling account of a real-life crime that occurred in 1959 in the small town of Holcomb, Kansas. The story begins with the brutal murder of the Clutter family, a wealthy and respected farming family. The four members of the family, Herb Clutter, his wife Bonnie, and their two children, Nancy and Kenyon, were found tied up and shot in their home.
The book also covers the investigation, trial, and eventual execution of the killers. Through his portrayal of the Clutter family and their killers, Capote paints a vivid picture of a society in which violence and desperation can arise from the most unexpected places.
More About This Book
Capote spent six years researching and writing In Cold Blood, conducting extensive interviews with the people involved in the case and visiting Holcomb multiple times. His storytelling combines journalistic reporting with literary techniques to create a riveting and haunting narrative. Capote called In True Blood a “non-fiction novel.”
Book Girls’ Readers Rate This Book
100% Would Recommend to a Friend
Book Summary
Although Langston Hughes is best known as a pioneer of the Harlem Renaissance movement, his powerful, classic novel Not Without Laughter is a moving portrait of African-American life in 1930s Kansas.
This is a coming-of-age story about Sandy Rogers, whose mother Annjee works as a housekeeper for a wealthy white family while his father travels in search of work.
Book Connection
If you’ve read Victoria Christopher Murray’s 2025 historical fiction novel Harlem Rhapsody, you may recognize this book as the one Langston Hughes mentions that he is hoping to write when he meets with his patron, Charlotte Osgood Mason.
Little House on the Prairie Series
Book Girls’ Readers Rate This Book
100% Would Recommend to a Friend
Book Summary
This is the first book in the Little House on the Prairie series, based on the real-life adventures of author Laura Ingalls Wilder. Little Laura is just four in this first book, and she grows up throughout the nine books of the series.
The first book in the series, Little House in the Big Woods, takes place in Wisconsin in 1871, where Laura lives in a log cabin with her Pa, her Ma, and her sisters. In later books, the family travels by covered wagon from Wisconsin to Kansas, where they establish a homestead.
Our Thoughts on This Series
While we enjoyed them as kids, we recommend the books in this series with a major caveat. These books are considered classics, but due to their age, they include inappropriate attitudes and language that are unfortunately reflective of the times.
We don’t condone these elements of the books, but we also believe that those who forget history are doomed to repeat it. We’ve included these books on the list in hopes that you’ll enjoy the overall stories, but also in hopes that they will challenge you to think critically about what we can continue to learn from the problematic elements.
Read Around the USA – Books Set in Other States
We hope you enjoyed this list of books about Vermont and found some great titles to add to your TBR. If you’re participating in our Read Around the USA Challenge, be sure to check out our alphabetical index of books set in each state.
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