Books like Rifles for Watie by Harold Keith

1818 novel by Mary Shelley about young scientist Victor Frankenstein who creates a sapient creature in an unorthodox experiment.

Oliver Twist, Charles Dickens’s 1837-39 social novel, follows an orphan raised in a workhouse who flees to London, joins a gang of pickpockets, and uncovers family secrets while exposing child labour and exploitation.

A wolf–dog, raised by Native Americans in the Yukon, evolves from fierce pack animal to a survivor in the harsh Gold Rush world of early 20th‑century North America.

A charming first look at early American pioneer life, following young Laura Ingalls and her family as they live in a simple Wisconsin cabin, learn chores, and grow together on the Big Woods frontier.

A powerful story of a Black family's battle for dignity, family, and land in Depression‑era Mississippi, seen through the eyes of eight‑year‑old Cassie Logan.

After an October blizzard, Laura's family retreats from their claim shanty to the nearby town, confronting a harsh winter that a Sioux Indian prophesied will last seven months of relentless bad weather.

A war novel that follows Union private Henry Fleming as he confronts fear and shame after fleeing battle, seeking a symbolic "red badge of courage" and ultimately taking on the role of standard-bearer.

A Pulitzer‑winning historical novel that dramatizes the four‑day Battle of Gettysburg from the viewpoints of Union and Confederate leaders.

Caddie Woodlawn, a Newbery‑Medal‑winning historical novel by Carol Ryrie Brink, follows a spirited Wisconsin farm girl as she navigates frontier life, family bonds, and friendships in 19th‑century America.

Craig of the Mohicans, a frontier scout turns away from civilization, forming a bond with a Mohican warrior as they escort two sisters across the perilous wilderness of America's frontier.

A spirited eleven‑year‑old orphan named Pollyanna moves in with her stern Aunt Polly in Beldingsville, Vermont, and spreads optimism through her "Glad Game," uplifting residents while facing resistance from those who refuse her help.

A curious apprentice silversmith in 1775 Boston faces the tensions of the Revolutionary War while discovering his own path of courage and self‑discovery.

Cold Mountain follows wounded Confederate soldier Inman's perilous journey home to his love Ada, interweaving his odyssey through the war‑torn South with Ada’s struggle to revive her family farm, as both confront a nation and themselves in transition.

In 12th‑century Korea, orphan Tree‑ear rises from a bridge in a potters’ village to follow his dream of making celadon by apprenticing with master potter Min, facing hardship and learning the art of pottery.

Helen Keller’s first-person memoir chronicles her ascent from blindness and deafness to academic success, detailing her education with Annie Sullivan and her emerging into society.

A comprehensive military, political, and social history of the American Civil War, awarded the 1989 Pulitzer Prize for History.

A 13‑year‑old boy, once known only as Asta’s Son, cycles from poverty to outlaw in 14th‑century England; he must flee with only a newly revealed name—Crispin—and his mother’s crumbling cross of lead.

A young boy becomes a slave on a transatlantic slave ship, forced to play music for the exercise periods of the human cargo.

Geraldine Brooks tells the story of March, the absent father of the March family, as he leaves home to serve the Union in the Civil War, confronting the war’s psychological impact and upheaving his marriage.

A story of a woman's search for a meaningful life, exploring personal conflicts and social critique in 1872.

A group of settlers encounters an old trapper on the prairie in 1805, as they push westward over the Great Plains for new land and opportunities in the United States of America, while the country is still being explored.

During the eighteenth century in Maine, a young boy is left alone to guard his family's wilderness home and must learn survival skills from local Indians before anyone else arrives.

Union forces under Ulysses S. Grant successfully cross the Mississippi River in May 1863, force Confederate troops to retreat to Vicksburg, and lay siege to the city, leading to a Confederate surrender on July 4, 1863.

Still recruited from the Pathan tribes that live in the no-man's land between Pakistan and Afghanistan, the Khyber Rifles continue to guard one of the world's most volatile borders. For more than a century these poachers turned gamekeepers fought for the British Raj against their own kin, but until now nothing has been written about their key role in Britain's struggle to dominate the North-West Frontier. Journalist Stewart tells the story of the British colonel who raised the corps in 1878, and describes them in action against uprisings. In 1947, Pakistan gained its independence and the Khyber Rifles took on new duties, amongst them pursuing drug smugglers and terrorists. Most recently they set up the first permanent military presence in the forbidden tribal territory of Tirah, to seal the border against Al Qaeda militants and eradicate the opium trade.--From publisher description.

Huckleberry Finn, a runaway boy escaping the abuse of his alcoholic father, meets Jim, a fugitive slave, and together they journey down the Mississippi River in search of freedom.