Books like How Beautiful We Were by Imbolo Mbue

A nonfiction novel chronicling the adventures of a group of friends on their cross-country journey of discovery, featuring characters like Sal Paradise and Dean Moriarty as real-life friends Neal Casady.

Americanah follows Ifemelu, a Nigerian student who moves to the United States for university, exploring her life and love across continents while reflecting on identity, immigration, and cultural belonging.

Homegoing is Yaa Gyasi’s debut historical novel that traces generations of an Asante family from 18th‑century Ghana to modern America, exploring the enduring impact of slavery and colonialism.

A sweeping narrative of diverse characters linked by trees, exploring how they learn to see the hidden world of forests and join a fight to preserve the last virgin woodlands.

Set in a Southern California black community, The Mothers follows 17‑year‑old Nadia Turner as she navigates grief, a forbidden romance, and an unplanned pregnancy that shapes her and her friends' futures for years to come.

Salman Rushdie’s sweeping epic follows the enigmatic billionaire Nero Golden and his family as they settle into Greenwich Village’s “The Gardens,” setting off a chain of mysteries, betrayals, and political intrigue amid contemporary America.

Pat Barker reimagines the final days of the Trojan War through the eyes of Briseis, the captured concubine of Achilles, revealing the voices of the women walled in the Greek camp.

A multigenerational family saga of American radicals, following two women—Rose Zimmer, the “Red Queen” of Sunnyside, and her daughter Miriam in Greenwich Village—through the shifting tides of 20th‑century political movements.

In 1981 Houston, attorney Jay Porter’s attempt at a fresh start is shattered when a rescue on a bayou draws him into a murder investigation tied to high‑level corporate corruption, forcing him to confront his past and danger at every turn.

Imagine accidentally discovering a pending environmental disaster where you live, and having only eight years to try to stop it. That is precisely the situation Cole Summers finds himself in. A planned and preventable fiasco looms in his part of the Great Basin Desert, and it appears to be up to him to use his unique education to spread awareness, rally support, and rectify the situation before it is too late. Cole is no stranger when it comes to rising to circumstantial challenges. Home-schooled and born into a poor rural family with disabled parents, he started his own farm by age 7. When he was 9 he purchased a 350-acre ranch, and when he was 10, a house. By the time he was 14, he’d forged a plan to tackle the environmental problems of industrial hay farming and aquifer depletion. It would seem life has prepared Cole for this very calling. His journey through entrepreneurial unschooling has led him through an early path of conquering devastating setbacks on the way to his accomplishments. As you read his story, young Mr. Summers hopes that you find his writings equally eye-opening and inspiring for responding to your own challenges and calling in life.

Set in a 2074 America torn by a second Civil War, Omar El Akkad’s debut follows six‑year‑old Sarat Chestnut whose family turns to a displaced‑persons camp, where hidden truths and looming war shape her fate.