Books set in North Carolina

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September 27, 2022
Goodreads

Books set in North Carolina

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.

Stacker compiled a list of books set in North Carolina from Goodreads. 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.

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Goodreads

Where the Crawdads Sing

- Rating: 4.44 (2.1 million ratings)
- Author: Delia Owens
- Published: August 14, 2018
- Genres: Fiction, Historical Fiction, Mystery, Audiobook
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Goodreads

Cold Mountain

- Rating: 3.88 (234,705 ratings)
- Author: Charles Frazier
- Published: January 1, 1997
- Genres: Historical Fiction, Fiction, Historical, Romance
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Goodreads

Nights in Rodanthe

- Rating: 3.84 (164,524 ratings)
- Author: Nicholas Sparks
- Published: January 1, 2002
- Genres: Romance, Fiction, Chick Lit, Contemporary
- Read more on Goodreads
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Goodreads

Just Listen

- Rating: 4.05 (244,006 ratings)
- Author: Sarah Dessen
- Published: April 6, 2006
- Genres: Young Adult, Romance, Contemporary, Fiction
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Goodreads

Garden Spells (Waverley Family, #1)

- Rating: 4.05 (94,949 ratings)
- Author: Sarah Addison Allen
- Published: August 28, 2007
- Genres: Fiction, Magical Realism, Fantasy, Romance
- Read more on Goodreads

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Goodreads

The Truth About Forever

- Rating: 4.12 (219,023 ratings)
- Author: Sarah Dessen
- Published: May 11, 2004
- Genres: Young Adult, Romance, Contemporary, Fiction
- Read more on Goodreads
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Goodreads

Raney

- Rating: 3.94 (3,719 ratings)
- Author: Clyde Edgerton
- Published: January 2, 1985
- Genres: Fiction, Humor, Southern, Novels
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Goodreads

Ellen Foster

- Rating: 3.78 (29,787 ratings)
- Author: Kaye Gibbons
- Published: January 21, 1987
- Genres: Fiction, Southern, Coming Of Age, Young Adult
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Goodreads

The Wish

- Rating: 4.41 (74,211 ratings)
- Author: Nicholas Sparks
- Published: September 28, 2021
- Genres: Romance, Fiction, Audiobook, Contemporary
- Read more on Goodreads
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Goodreads

The Fiery Cross (Outlander, #5)

- Rating: 4.24 (196,396 ratings)
- Author: Diana Gabaldon
- Published: November 6, 2001
- Genres: Historical Fiction, Romance, Fantasy, Fiction
- Read more on Goodreads

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Goodreads

All the Missing Girls

- Rating: 3.77 (166,909 ratings)
- Author: Megan Miranda
- Published: June 28, 2016
- Genres: Mystery, Thriller, Fiction, Mystery Thriller
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Goodreads

What Happened to Goodbye

- Rating: 3.95 (86,657 ratings)
- Author: Sarah Dessen
- Published: May 10, 2011
- Genres: Young Adult, Romance, Contemporary, Fiction
- Read more on Goodreads
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Goodreads

Big Lies in a Small Town

- Rating: 4.12 (77,805 ratings)
- Author: Diane Chamberlain
- Published: January 14, 2020
- Genres: Historical Fiction, Fiction, Mystery, Audiobook
- Read more on Goodreads
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Goodreads

First Frost (Waverley Family, #2)

- Rating: 3.97 (33,561 ratings)
- Author: Sarah Addison Allen
- Published: January 20, 2015
- Genres: Magical Realism, Fiction, Fantasy, Romance
- Read more on Goodreads
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Goodreads

Where the Lilies Bloom

- Rating: 3.84 (2,532 ratings)
- Author: Vera Cleaver
- Published: January 1, 1969
- Genres: Historical Fiction, Young Adult, Fiction, Classics
- Read more on Goodreads

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Goodreads

At Home in Mitford (Mitford Years, #1)

- Rating: 4.12 (62,585 ratings)
- Author: Jan Karon
- Published: October 28, 1994
- Genres: Fiction, Christian Fiction, Christian, Adult Fiction
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Goodreads

The Sugar Queen

- Rating: 3.98 (52,134 ratings)
- Author: Sarah Addison Allen
- Published: May 20, 2008
- Genres: Fiction, Magical Realism, Romance, Fantasy
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Goodreads

One Second After

- Rating: 3.95 (56,400 ratings)
- Author: William R. Forstchen
- Published: March 17, 2009
- Genres: Fiction, Post Apocalyptic, Science Fiction, Apocalyptic
- Read more on Goodreads
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Goodreads

The Rest of the Story

- Rating: 4.06 (28,916 ratings)
- Author: Sarah Dessen
- Published: June 4, 2019
- Genres: Young Adult, Romance, Contemporary, Fiction
- Read more on Goodreads
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Goodreads

Bootlegger's Daughter (Deborah Knott Mysteries, #1)

- Rating: 3.97 (7,071 ratings)
- Author: Margaret Maron
- Published: May 1, 1992
- Genres: Mystery, Fiction, Mystery Thriller, Southern
- Read more on Goodreads

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Goodreads

Keeping the Moon

- Rating: 3.85 (66,475 ratings)
- Author: Sarah Dessen
- Published: September 1, 1999
- Genres: Young Adult, Romance, Contemporary, Fiction
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Goodreads

This Lullaby

- Rating: 4.02 (177,076 ratings)
- Author: Sarah Dessen
- Published: May 27, 2002
- Genres: Young Adult, Romance, Contemporary, Fiction
- Read more on Goodreads
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Goodreads

Along for the Ride

- Rating: 4.04 (200,833 ratings)
- Author: Sarah Dessen
- Published: June 16, 2009
- Genres: Young Adult, Romance, Contemporary, Fiction
- Read more on Goodreads
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Goodreads

Serena

- Rating: 3.54 (34,840 ratings)
- Author: Ron Rash
- Published: October 7, 2008
- Genres: Historical Fiction, Fiction, Historical, Southern
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Goodreads

Lock and Key

- Rating: 4.00 (147,541 ratings)
- Author: Sarah Dessen
- Published: April 22, 2008
- Genres: Young Adult, Romance, Contemporary, Fiction
- Read more on Goodreads

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Goodreads

Look Homeward, Angel

- Rating: 3.92 (13,960 ratings)
- Author: Thomas Wolfe
- Published: January 1, 1929
- Genres: Fiction, Classics, Literature, Novels
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Goodreads

The Moon and More

- Rating: 3.63 (38,879 ratings)
- Author: Sarah Dessen
- Published: June 4, 2013
- Genres: Young Adult, Romance, Contemporary, Realistic Fiction
- Read more on Goodreads
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Goodreads

Confederates in the Attic: Dispatches from the Unfinished Civil War

- Rating: 4.09 (22,886 ratings)
- Author: Tony Horwitz
- Published: March 3, 1998
- Genres: Civil War, History, Nonfiction, American History
- Read more on Goodreads
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Goodreads

Someone Like You

- Rating: 3.92 (101,707 ratings)
- Author: Sarah Dessen
- Published: May 1, 1998
- Genres: Young Adult, Romance, Contemporary, Fiction
- Read more on Goodreads
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Goodreads

That Summer

- Rating: 3.47 (54,755 ratings)
- Author: Sarah Dessen
- Published: January 1, 1996
- Genres: Young Adult, Contemporary, Romance, Fiction
- Read more on Goodreads

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Goodreads

Cataloochee

- Rating: 3.81 (1,285 ratings)
- Author: Wayne Caldwell
- Published: January 1, 2007
- Genres: Historical Fiction, Fiction, Southern, Historical
- Read more on Goodreads
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Goodreads

Safe Haven

- Rating: 4.21 (363,721 ratings)
- Author: Nicholas Sparks
- Published: January 1, 2010
- Genres: Romance, Fiction, Chick Lit, Contemporary
- Read more on Goodreads
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Goodreads

Book Lovers

- Rating: 4.29 (377,004 ratings)
- Author: Emily Henry
- Published: May 3, 2022
- Genres: Romance, Contemporary, Fiction, Contemporary Romance
- Read more on Goodreads
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Goodreads

The Last Road Home

- Rating: 4.17 (492 ratings)
- Author: Danny Johnson
- Published: July 1, 2016
- Genres: Fiction, Historical Fiction, Adult Fiction, Literary Fiction
- Read more on Goodreads
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Goodreads

Smoky Mountain Tracks (Raine Stockton Dog Mysteries, #1)

- Rating: 4.02 (1,702 ratings)
- Author: Donna Ball
- Published: January 1, 2006
- Genres: Mystery, Dogs, Fiction, Cozy Mystery
- Read more on Goodreads

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Goodreads

Tell Me No Lies (An Ava Logan Mystery #1)

- Rating: 4.22 (130 ratings)
- Author: Lynn Chandler Willis
- Published: February 7, 2017
- Genres: Mystery, Fiction, Cozy Mystery, Adult Fiction
- Read more on Goodreads
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Goodreads

Christmas in Fair Bend

- Rating: 4.07 (85 ratings)
- Author: Angie Ellington
- Published: February 22, 2017
- Genres: Christmas, Romance, Audiobook, Contemporary Romance
- Read more on Goodreads
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Goodreads

Personal (Jack Reacher, #19)

- Rating: 3.97 (67,600 ratings)
- Author: Lee Child
- Published: September 2, 2014
- Genres: Thriller, Fiction, Mystery, Crime
- Read more on Goodreads
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Goodreads

Lunch at the Piccadilly

- Rating: 3.37 (1,328 ratings)
- Author: Clyde Edgerton
- Published: January 1, 2003
- Genres: Fiction, Humor, Southern, Adult Fiction
- Read more on Goodreads
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Goodreads

A Timely Vision (A Missing Pieces Mystery, #1)

- Rating: 3.95 (1,407 ratings)
- Author: Joyce Lavene
- Published: May 4, 2010
- Genres: Mystery, Cozy Mystery, Fiction, Paranormal
- Read more on Goodreads

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Goodreads

Lookaway, Lookaway

- Rating: 3.18 (3,180 ratings)
- Author: Wilton Barnhardt
- Published: May 7, 2013
- Genres: Fiction, Southern, Family, Contemporary
- Read more on Goodreads
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Goodreads

Carolina Harmony

- Rating: 3.49 (84 ratings)
- Author: Marilyn Taylor McDowell
- Published: January 1, 2009
- Genres: Historical Fiction, Realistic Fiction, Juvenile, Historical
- Read more on Goodreads
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Goodreads

Joyland

- Rating: 3.93 (142,305 ratings)
- Author: Stephen King
- Published: January 1, 2013
- Genres: Horror, Mystery, Fiction, Thriller
- Read more on Goodreads
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Goodreads

Road to Tater Hill

- Rating: 3.96 (364 ratings)
- Author: Edith M. Hemingway
- Published: January 1, 2009
- Genres: Middle Grade, Historical Fiction, Realistic Fiction, Young Adult
- Read more on Goodreads
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Goodreads

Jessie's Mountain

- Rating: 4.08 (93 ratings)
- Author: Kerry Madden
- Published: February 1, 2008
- Genres: Historical Fiction, Childrens
- Read more on Goodreads

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Goodreads

So Many Beginnings: A Little Women Remix

- Rating: 3.97 (2,109 ratings)
- Author: Bethany C. Morrow
- Published: September 7, 2021
- Genres: Historical Fiction, Young Adult, Retellings, Fiction
- Read more on Goodreads
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Goodreads

The Notebook (The Notebook, #1)

- Rating: 4.13 (1.5 million ratings)
- Author: Nicholas Sparks
- Published: October 1, 1996
- Genres: Romance, Fiction, Chick Lit, Contemporary
- Read more on Goodreads

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