Books like I Thought My Soul Would Rise and Fly by Joyce Hansen


Set in the post‑Civil War South, the book presents the daily experiences of a young African American girl who, after emancipation, chronicles her challenges, hopes, and resilience in a reconstructed society. Written in a diary format, the narrative offers young readers a personal glimpse into the historical period of Reconstruction while highlighting themes of freedom, growth, and community. Joyce Hansen's storytelling foregrounds the perspective of a young African American protagonist, enabling readers to explore the era’s social dynamics from the viewpoint of someone living through its changes.
First publish date: 1997
Genre: History/Modern History
Authors: Joyce Hansen
★ ★ ★ ★ ★ 3.7 (3 community ratings)

I Thought My Soul Would Rise and Fly by Joyce Hansen

How are these books recommended?

The books recommended for I Thought My Soul Would Rise and Fly by Joyce Hansen are shaped by reader interaction. Votes on how closely books relate, user ratings, and community comments all help refine these recommendations and highlight books readers genuinely find similar in theme, ideas, and overall reading experience.


Have you read any of these books?
Your votes, ratings, and comments help improve recommendations and make it easier for other readers to discover books they’ll enjoy.

Books similar to I Thought My Soul Would Rise and Fly (19 similar books)

Inside Out & Back Again by 11259375|Thanhha Lai book cover

πŸ“˜ Inside Out & Back Again

A verse novel that follows a ten‑year‑old Vietnamese girl’s first year in the United States in 1975, as she navigates language, culture, bullying, and family change while yearning for home.

β˜…β˜…β˜…β˜…β˜…β˜…β˜…β˜…β˜…β˜… 3.9 (50 ratings)
Similar? ✓ Yes 0 ✗ No 0
Salt to the Sea by 11147927|Ruta Sepetys book cover

πŸ“˜ Salt to the Sea

In World Warβ€―II, four refugeesβ€”descendants of a Royalist, a German Jesuit, a Jewish family, and a Polish munitions factory workerβ€”board the doomed MVβ€―Wilhelm Gustloff in a desperate bid for survival.

β˜…β˜…β˜…β˜…β˜…β˜…β˜…β˜…β˜…β˜… 4.1 (13 ratings)
Similar? ✓ Yes 0 ✗ No 0
Brown Girl Dreaming by 7209110|Jacqueline Woodson book cover

πŸ“˜ Brown Girl Dreaming

Newbery Honor Book National Book Award Finalist

β˜…β˜…β˜…β˜…β˜…β˜…β˜…β˜…β˜…β˜… 4.6 (11 ratings)
Similar? ✓ Yes 0 ✗ No 0
Dear Martin by 11891384|Nic Stone book cover

πŸ“˜ Dear Martin
 by Nic Stone

Justyce McAllister, a high‑achieving African‑American student, finds himself at the center of a police brutality incident that forces him to confront race, identity, and justice in contemporary America.

β˜…β˜…β˜…β˜…β˜…β˜…β˜…β˜…β˜…β˜… 4.9 (10 ratings)
Similar? ✓ Yes 0 ✗ No 0
Dear America by 6697334|Barry Denenberg book cover

πŸ“˜ Dear America

After a sledding accident leaves Bess blind, she learns to read braille and rebuild her life at the Perkins School for the Blind in Watertown, Massachusetts, with help from her twin sister Elin during America’s Great Depression.

β˜…β˜…β˜…β˜…β˜…β˜…β˜…β˜…β˜…β˜… 3.5 (2 ratings)
Similar? ✓ Yes 0 ✗ No 0
The Pox Party by 6361820|M. T. Anderson book cover

πŸ“˜ The Pox Party

A collection of diaries, letters, and manuscripts follows Octavian, a young African American raised as part of a scientific experiment, through his first sixteen years amid the Revolutionary War.

β˜…β˜…β˜…β˜…β˜…β˜…β˜…β˜…β˜…β˜… 4.0 (2 ratings)
Similar? ✓ Yes 0 ✗ No 0
The Journal of Jasper Jonathan Pierce by 6370463|Ann Rinaldi book cover

πŸ“˜ The Journal of Jasper Jonathan Pierce

A fourteen‑year‑old indentured servant records his adventures aboard the Mayflower and his labor building Plimoth Plantation in 1620–21.

β˜…β˜…β˜…β˜…β˜…β˜…β˜…β˜…β˜…β˜… 1.0 (1 rating)
Similar? ✓ Yes 0 ✗ No 0
I be somebody by 6176715|Hadley Irwin book cover

πŸ“˜ I be somebody

A young black boy in the early 1900's hears his community talk about moving to Canada to escape the prejudices and problems they face in the United States.

β˜…β˜…β˜…β˜…β˜…β˜…β˜…β˜…β˜…β˜… 5.0 (1 rating)
Similar? ✓ Yes 0 ✗ No 0
When Will This Cruel War Be Over? (Dear America) by 6697334|Barry Denenberg book cover

πŸ“˜ When Will This Cruel War Be Over? (Dear America)

A young Confederate woman chronicles the daily hardships of Southern life as the Civil War erupts around her, capturing how the conflict fractures her family and nation.

β˜…β˜…β˜…β˜…β˜…β˜…β˜…β˜…β˜…β˜… 5.0 (1 rating)
Similar? ✓ Yes 0 ✗ No 0
Across the alley by 6727643|Richard Michelson book cover

πŸ“˜ Across the alley

Two boys from different backgrounds discover their true talents when they trade their expected pathsβ€”one a budding violinist, the other a future baseball pitcher.

β˜…β˜…β˜…β˜…β˜…β˜…β˜…β˜…β˜…β˜… 5.0 (1 rating)
Similar? ✓ Yes 0 ✗ No 0
Freedom at any price by 10734686|Amanda Stephens book cover

πŸ“˜ Freedom at any price

African American children Sarah, Moses, and Henri uncover the struggle for freedom as they work in Franklin's newspaper office.

β˜…β˜…β˜…β˜…β˜…β˜…β˜…β˜…β˜…β˜… 5.0 (1 rating)
Similar? ✓ Yes 0 ✗ No 0
Sugar by 6659697|Jewell Parker Rhodes book cover

πŸ“˜ Sugar

A spirited ten‑year‑old girl named Sugar lives on a Louisiana sugar plantation during Reconstruction, forming a friendship with Billy, the son of her former master, while Chinese workers arrive to help rebuild the community.

β˜…β˜…β˜…β˜…β˜…β˜…β˜…β˜…β˜…β˜… 0.0 (0 ratings)
Similar? ✓ Yes 0 ✗ No 0
Freedom Over Me by 8403385|Ashley Bryan book cover

πŸ“˜ Freedom Over Me


β˜…β˜…β˜…β˜…β˜…β˜…β˜…β˜…β˜…β˜… 0.0 (0 ratings)
Similar? ✓ Yes 0 ✗ No 0
Dear America by 6564119|Joyce Hansen book cover

πŸ“˜ Dear America

A young freed slave girl’s diary chronicles life in the American South during Reconstruction, blending history and personal hope into a moving coming‑of‑age story.

β˜…β˜…β˜…β˜…β˜…β˜…β˜…β˜…β˜…β˜… 0.0 (0 ratings)
Similar? ✓ Yes 0 ✗ No 0
From Slave to Soldier by 7398951|Deborah Hopkinson book cover

πŸ“˜ From Slave to Soldier

A young African American boy who resents his life as a slave joins the Union Army during the Civil War, proving his courage and skill by leading a mule team when the need arises.

β˜…β˜…β˜…β˜…β˜…β˜…β˜…β˜…β˜…β˜… 0.0 (0 ratings)
Similar? ✓ Yes 0 ✗ No 0
My face to the wind by 6761167|Murphy, Jim book cover

πŸ“˜ My face to the wind

Teenaged Sarah Jane, orphaned in 1881 Nebraska by a deadly disease, takes up teaching to survive and chronicles her early school years in a diary.

β˜…β˜…β˜…β˜…β˜…β˜…β˜…β˜…β˜…β˜… 0.0 (0 ratings)
Similar? ✓ Yes 0 ✗ No 0
When freedom comes by 6240624|Kristiana Gregory book cover

πŸ“˜ When freedom comes

Eleven‑year‑old Hope chronicles life in 1778 Philadelphia during the American Revolution, her family’s house commandeered by British Redcoats, her father fighting at Valley Forge, and the arrival of a new friend and baby sister.

β˜…β˜…β˜…β˜…β˜…β˜…β˜…β˜…β˜…β˜… 0.0 (0 ratings)
Similar? ✓ Yes 0 ✗ No 0
Cast Two Shadows by 6370463|Ann Rinaldi book cover

πŸ“˜ Cast Two Shadows

Set in South Carolina in 1780, "Cast Two Shadows" follows fourteen‑year‑old Caroline as she witnesses the Revolutionary War’s devastating impact on her family and friends, learns a painful truth about her own heritage, and gains a deeper understanding of war’s true nature.

β˜…β˜…β˜…β˜…β˜…β˜…β˜…β˜…β˜…β˜… 0.0 (0 ratings)
Similar? ✓ Yes 0 ✗ No 0
Just like Martin by 6668938|Ossie Davis book cover

πŸ“˜ Just like Martin

In 1963 Alabama, 14‑year‑old Stone Parker organizes a children’s march for civil rights after two classmates die in a church bomb explosion.

β˜…β˜…β˜…β˜…β˜…β˜…β˜…β˜…β˜…β˜… 0.0 (0 ratings)
Similar? ✓ Yes 0 ✗ No 0

Some Other Similar Books

A Place to Land by Carole Boston Weatherford
The Blacker the Berry by Walter Dean Myers
The Uprising by Anderson, Margaret Peterson
March: Book One by John Lewis and Andrew Aydin
The Impossible Patriotism of Lewis Allen by Avi

Have a similar book in mind? Let others know!

Please login to submit books!