Books like Hawaii by James A. Michener

A poignant young‑adult tale of two teens—Hazel and Augustus—who meet in a cancer support group, and whose unlikely romance forces them to confront love, illness, and the meaning of life.

A solitary Chumash girl is left on San Nicolas Island and must learn to survive alone, mastering skills traditionally reserved for men while facing danger, hunger and loneliness.

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.

A family sent to the Belgian Congo in 1959 to spread evangelical faith faces cultural clash, disaster, and eventual rebirth over three decades as the brutal realities of colonialism reshape their faith and lives.

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

Nathaniel Philbrick's 2000 National Book Award winner chronicles the harrowing ordeal of the Essex whale ship crew that survived a near-sinking and subsequent harrowing journey on the ocean's surface.

Giovanni Boccaccio's Decameron is a 14th‑century collection of 100 Italian tales told by ten young people who flee the plague‑ravaged Florence to a villa in Fiesole, each day presenting stories framed by a rule and a closing canzone.

Posthumously published, Hemingway’s *A Moveable Feast* is a memoir of his Paris years in the 1920s, detailing his early career, intimate relationships, and encounters with other literary figures of the Lost Generation.

Set in Mississippi during the Civil War and Reconstruction, The Unvanquished follows the Sartoris family, whose code of personal responsibility and courage embodies the best of Old South traditions.

During the War of 1812, Captain Peabody of a Yankee frigate defies a British blockade in the Long Island Sound under a blizzard, putting his crew and vessel in perilous circumstances.

Set on Easter Monday 1916 in Dublin, this historical fiction follows a divided family caught in the turmoil of the Irish Easter Rising, where two generations clash over contrasting hopes and loyalties.

Set amid 13th‑century England and the reign of Henry III, Edith Pargeter’s "The Marriage of Meggotta" follows the secret, passionate bond between Richard de Clare and Meggotta de Burgh, as political intrigue and looming civil war threaten to tear them apart.

A young adventurer finds himself on a forgotten Thai island, slowly turning into a nightmare.

Anna Friedman's bold tale of Jewish immigrants' struggle in New York City.

Newlywed Emily Stone and her husband, Isaac, are young missionaries who have traveled from New England to Honolulu to share the Gospel with the Hawaiian natives. Gentle, adventurous, well-bred, and beautiful, Emily soon finds herself struggling with intense homesickness but remains determined to share her faith, and ignore her growing feelings for handsome Captain MacKenzie Farrow. Just as she begins to bond with the influential High Chiefess Pua and her daughter, Mahina, unexpected tragedy threatens to force her off the island. In a state of confusion, Emily makes a decision that could destroy everything she knows and loves. Three decades later, Sister Theresa comes to the islands as a missionary nurse and becomes acquainted with Captain Farrow's charming son, a powerful man who is instrumental in Hawaii's alliance with America. Theresa discovers that a dark curse is plaguing his family and the island's inhabitants, a curse that only Emily and Mahina can help her reverse.