Books like Color of Lightning by Paulette Jiles
"Color of Lightning" follows Britt Johnson, a freed man who, alongside his family, leaves post‑Civil War Kentucky in search of prosperity in Texas. The novel chronicles their harrowing journey and settlement amid the rugged frontier, where the young community faces danger not only from the harsh landscape but also from the U.S. government's escalating land conflict with the Kiowa and Comanche peoples. The story blends personal struggle with the broader historical clash between settlers and Native Americans, offering a glimpse into the complexities of freedom, land, and identity in Reconstruction‑era America.
First publish date: 2009
Genre: Historical Fiction/19th Century Historical Fiction
Authors: Paulette Jiles
★
★
★
★
★
4.0 (2 community ratings)
How are these books recommended?
The books recommended for Color of Lightning by Paulette Jiles 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 Color of Lightning (19 similar books)
During World War II, a foster girl in Nazi Germany steals books to share with neighbors and a hidden Jewish man, proving literature’s power to nourish the soul amid darkness.
Similar?
✓ Yes
0
✗ No
0
A 1930s wartime tale of a blind French girl and a German boy whose lives intersect in occupied France, weaving themes of survival, friendship, and the moral choices people make amid World War II.
Similar?
✓ Yes
0
✗ No
0
Cora, a woman enslaved on a Georgia cotton plantation, partners with a new slave named Caesar to flee the South. Their daring escape follows a literal underground network of tunnels that mirrors the perilous journey of countless fugitive slaves toward freedom.
Similar?
✓ Yes
0
✗ No
0
Sisters Vianne and Isabelle are pulled into the turmoil of World War II, each forging a path of courage and resistance against the Nazi occupation of France.
Similar?
✓ Yes
0
✗ No
0
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.
Similar?
✓ Yes
0
✗ No
0
After the Civil War, a veteran newspaper‑reader, Captain Jefferson Kidd, journeys through Texas and agrees to escort an orphaned Kiowa girl, Johanna, to San Antonio—a perilous trek that tests their survival and trust.
Similar?
✓ Yes
0
✗ No
0
A Chilean woman embarks on a quest to find her lover in 1840s California's goldfields, facing numerous challenges and adventures along the way.
Similar?
✓ Yes
0
✗ No
0
When a ten‑year‑old Sarah is seized in the 1942 Vel' d'Hiv’ roundup, her friend Julia, a journalist two decades later, discovers that the past still haunts their families and forces her to confront her own identity in post‑war France.
Similar?
✓ Yes
0
✗ No
0
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.
Similar?
✓ Yes
0
✗ No
0
A concise historical exploration of Mary Boleyn, the lesser-known sister of Anne, set within the Tudor court of 1508–1543.
Similar?
✓ Yes
0
✗ No
0
A young Egyptian woman's life spanned Cairo’s political upheavals, from Mubarak’s regime to the revolution, tracing her coming of age, family secrets, and search for truth.
Similar?
✓ Yes
0
✗ No
0
In 1875, the Cherokee Nation West is shaken by disappearances, murder, and rising tensions as a mixed-race family navigates survival, community loyalty, and painful expulsions.
Similar?
✓ Yes
0
✗ No
0
When Will receives a horse, a key and a map at age twelve, he is sent alone into the Cherokee Nation to run a trading post as a bound boy. Over the years he learns to survive, love, and defend a people on the brink of loss.
Similar?
✓ Yes
0
✗ No
0
A former slave and his family seek a new life on the Texas plains after the Civil War, only to have their hopes shattered by an Indian raid that leaves them divided and desperate for reunion.
Similar?
✓ Yes
0
✗ No
0
Some Other Similar Books
Enemy Women by Sue Monk KiddThe LakeHouse by Kate Morton
The work of the author’s life by Paulette Jiles
Have a similar book in mind? Let others know!
Please login to submit books!