Books set in North Dakota
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 Dakota 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.
The Beet Queen
- Author: Louise Erdrich
- Published: January 1, 1986
- Genres: Fiction, Historical Fiction, Novels, Literary Fiction
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Love Medicine (Love Medicine, #1)
- Author: Louise Erdrich
- Published: January 1, 1984
- Genres: Fiction, Historical Fiction, Short Stories, Novels
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Paradise Valley (Highway Quartet #4)
- Author: C.J. Box
- Published: July 25, 2017
- Genres: Mystery, Fiction, Thriller, Crime
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Tracks (Love Medicine. #3)
- Author: Louise Erdrich
- Published: January 1, 1988
- Genres: Fiction, Historical Fiction, Magical Realism, School
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Giants in the Earth
- Author: O.E. Rølvaag
- Published: January 1, 1925
- Genres: Fiction, Historical Fiction, Classics, Literature
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The Night Watchman
- Author: Louise Erdrich
- Published: March 3, 2020
- Genres: Fiction, Historical Fiction, Historical, Literary Fiction
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The Round House
- Author: Louise Erdrich
- Published: October 2, 2012
- Genres: Fiction, Historical Fiction, Mystery, Literary Fiction
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The Grass Dancer
- Author: Susan Power
- Published: January 1, 1994
- Genres: Fiction, Historical Fiction, Magical Realism, Fantasy
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Jubal Sackett
- Author: Louis L'Amour
- Published: May 1, 1985
- Genres: Westerns, Fiction, Historical Fiction, Adventure
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The Missing Place
- Author: Sophie Littlefield
- Published: September 2, 2014
- Genres: Mystery, Fiction, Crime, Adult
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The Watermelon King
- Author: Daniel Royse
- Published: July 20, 2015
- Genres: Fiction, Travel, Africa, Ethiopia
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The New Wild West: Black Gold, Fracking, and Life in a North Dakota Boomtown
- Author: Blaire Briody
- Published: September 26, 2017
- Genres: Nonfiction, History, American History, Journalism
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Without Fail (Jack Reacher, #6)
- Author: Lee Child
- Published: May 13, 2002
- Genres: Thriller, Fiction, Mystery, Crime
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Tales of Burning Love
- Author: Louise Erdrich
- Published: January 1, 1996
- Genres: Fiction, Literary Fiction, Novels, Literature
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Peace Like a River
- Author: Leif Enger
- Published: January 1, 2001
- Genres: Fiction, Historical Fiction, Book Club, Literary Fiction
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The Children's Blizzard
- Author: David Laskin
- Published: November 1, 2004
- Genres: History, Nonfiction, American History, Historical
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Fly Away
- Author: Patricia MacLachlan
- Published: March 1, 2014
- Genres: Realistic Fiction, Middle Grade, Family, Childrens
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Oh My Stars
- Author: Lorna Landvik
- Published: January 1, 2005
- Genres: Fiction, Historical Fiction, Chick Lit, Adult Fiction
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The Last Report on the Miracles at Little No Horse
- Author: Louise Erdrich
- Published: April 3, 2001
- Genres: Fiction, Historical Fiction, Magical Realism, Historical
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Ill Wind (Anna Pigeon, #3)
- Author: Nevada Barr
- Published: January 1, 1995
- Genres: Mystery, Fiction, Mystery Thriller, Crime
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Apple in the Middle
- Author: Dawn Quigley
- Published: January 1, 2018
- Genres: Young Adult, Middle Grade, Fiction, Realistic Fiction
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The Master Butchers Singing Club
- Author: Louise Erdrich
- Published: January 1, 2003
- Genres: Fiction, Historical Fiction, Historical, Literary Fiction
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The Bingo Palace
- Author: Louise Erdrich
- Published: January 1, 1994
- Genres: Fiction, Novels, Literary Fiction, Literature
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Jake's Orphan
- Author: Peggy Brooke
- Published: March 17, 2000
- Genres: Historical Fiction, Young Adult, Fiction, Childrens
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LaRose
- Author: Louise Erdrich
- Published: May 10, 2016
- Genres: Fiction, Literary Fiction, Historical Fiction, Contemporary
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The Plague of Doves
- Author: Louise Erdrich
- Published: April 29, 2008
- Genres: Fiction, Historical Fiction, Mystery, Literary Fiction
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Beyond the Bedroom Wall
- Author: Larry Woiwode
- Published: September 1, 1975
- Genres: Fiction, Novels, Literature, Contemporary
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Dakota Born (Dakota, #1)
- Author: Debbie Macomber
- Published: January 1, 1999
- Genres: Romance, Fiction, Contemporary Romance, Chick Lit
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The Emigrants
- Author: Johan Bojer
- Published: January 1, 1924
- Genres: Fiction
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Young Pioneers
- Author: Rose Wilder Lane
- Published: January 1, 1932
- Genres: Historical Fiction, Fiction, Classics, Young Adult
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Last Child
- Author: Michael Spooner
- Published: January 1, 2005
- Genres: Historical Fiction, Native Americans
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A Promise for Ellie (Daughters of Blessing, #1)
- Author: Lauraine Snelling
- Published: January 1, 2006
- Genres: Christian Fiction, Historical Fiction, Christian, Romance
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Spring for Susannah
- Author: Catherine Richmond
- Published: June 14, 2011
- Genres: Christian Fiction, Historical Fiction, Romance, Historical
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Codename Zero (The Codename Conspiracy #1)
- Author: Chris Rylander
- Published: February 4, 2014
- Genres: Middle Grade, Mystery, Adventure, Fiction
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Badlands (Highway Quartet #3)
- Author: C.J. Box
- Published: July 28, 2015
- Genres: Mystery, Fiction, Thriller, Crime
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Girl Gone Missing
- Author: Marcie R. Rendon
- Published: May 14, 2019
- Genres: Mystery, Fiction, Mystery Thriller, Crime
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Yellow Earth
- Author: John Sayles
- Published: January 7, 2020
- Genres: Fiction
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Naya Nuki: Shoshone Girl Who Ran
- Author: Kenneth Thomasma
- Published: January 1, 1983
- Genres: Historical Fiction, Fiction, Historical, Childrens
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Young Water Protectors: A Story About Standing Rock
- Author: Aslan Tudor
- Published: January 1, 2018
- Genres: Nonfiction, Picture Books, Childrens, History
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The Horizontal World: Growing Up Wild in the Middle of Nowhere
- Author: Debra Marquart
- Published: January 1, 2006
- Genres: Memoir, Nonfiction, Biography Memoir, Nature
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The Fire Duke (Keepers of the Hidden Ways, #1)
- Author: Joel Rosenberg
- Published: May 1, 1995
- Genres: Fantasy, Fiction, High Fantasy, Science Fiction Fantasy
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Downtown Owl
- Author: Chuck Klosterman
- Published: September 16, 2008
- Genres: Fiction, Humor, Contemporary, Novels
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The Murdered Family
- Author: Vernon Keel
- Published: April 1, 2010
- Genres: Nonfiction, True Crime
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The Bones of Plenty
- Author: Lois Phillips Hudson
- Published: March 15, 1984
- Genres: Fiction, Historical Fiction, Historical
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The Bitterroots (Highway Quartet #5)
- Author: C.J. Box
- Published: August 13, 2019
- Genres: Mystery, Fiction, Thriller, Crime
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A Fireproof Home for the Bride
- Author: Amy Scheibe
- Published: March 10, 2015
- Genres: Fiction, Historical Fiction, Adult, Historical
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Sod Houses on the Great Plains
- Author: Glen Rounds
- Published: January 1, 1995
- Genres: History, Picture Books, Nonfiction
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P Is for Peace Garden: A North Dakota Alphabet
- Author: Roxane Beauclair Salonen
- Published: April 1, 2005
- Genres: Picture Books, Childrens
- Read more on Goodreads