Add These Popular Books That Take Place in Every State to Your Reading List

Forrest Gump by Winston Groom

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Before the successful Academy Award-winning movie of the same name, Forrest Gump was a book written by Winston Groom. Gump, a kind-loving character with a low IQ from Alabama, sees the world for what it is. In the book, he tells the story of how he became a star on the football team at the University of Alabama and transformed the rest of his life.

More: Need a Recommendation for a New Book? Check Out These Best-Sellers

Into the Wild by Jon Krakauer

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After giving away his college fund to charity and burning the remaining cash he had in his wallet, Christopher Johnson McCandless set out in the Alaskan wilderness to invent a new life for himself. His body was found by a moose-hunter four months after his departure. Author Jon Krakauer adapted Into the Wild from a 9,000-word article written on McCandless' life. The story became a national best-seller, and it was turned into a movie directed by Sean Penn with Emile Hirsch.

Stargirl by Jerry Spinelli

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Stargirl is different from all of the other kids at Mica High in Arizona. She's colorful and joyful, and she enchants the other kids with her every move — until they turn on her. They try to make her conform to be normal, which is everything she's not. Newbery medalist Jerry Spinelli's emotional story about individuality is one to remember.

I Know Why the Caged Bird Sings by Maya Angelou

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Maya Angelou's debut memoir was published almost half a century ago, and it's still timeless for all readers. Angelou's own coming-of-age story begins when her and her brother were sent to Stamps, Arkansas. The story follows her journey as she faces bigotry and learns to stand up to the hatred she received in her early years.

White Oleander by Janet Fitch

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Astrid finds herself going from foster home to foster home after her mother, a brilliant poet, is convicted of murder. At each home, she enters a new world with new rules and new people, surprising herself during her own self-discovery. Fitch's novel was the May 1999 selection in Oprah's Book Club, and it was made into a movie starring Michelle Pfeiffer and Renée Zellweger.

More: The 51 Best Books From Oprah's Book Club

Plainsong by Kent Haruf

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Set in Holt, Colorado, the best-selling novel, Plainsong, follows the interlocking stories of three very different people at different times in their lives. The book, the first in a three-book series, was a finalist for the National Book Award in 1999.

Revolutionary Road by Richard Yates

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Published in 1961, Revolutionary Road explores American life in the '50s and the desire for normality. Frank and April Wheeler seem as though their lives are the ultimate suburban dream in Connecticut. They're good-looking homeowners with two young children; it all looks perfect from afar. Thinking that greatness is right around the corner, they find themselves spinning out of control. The 2008 film adaptation, starring Leonardo DiCaprio and Kate Winslet, was nominated for many awards, including three Oscars.

The Book of Unknown Americans by Cristina Henríquez

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Arturo and Alma Rivera move from Mexico to America in the hopes of getting the resources needed to help their daughter, Maribel, get better after an injury to the head. In America, a boy named Mayor Toro runs into Maribel at the store and immediately falls in love with her. As a romance develops between them, their families develop a friendship. This inspiring novel of immigrants from all over Latin America is one that'll break your heart.

Because of Winn-Dixie by Kate DiCamillo

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A lot of things happened because of Winn-Dixie, the lovable, not-so-ordinary dog that Opal Buloni finds at the supermarket and decides to take home. DiCamillo's young adult novel that takes place in Naomi, Florida, won the Newbery Honor in 2001.

The Color Purple by Alice Walker

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A powerful novel about domestic and sexual abuse, The Color Purple details the lives of African American women in rural Georgia in the early 20th century.

Readers will be taken on a journey through these women's pain, companionship, and resilience. It won a Pulitzer Prize in 1983 and was later adapted into a movie and a musical.

Hawaii by James A. Michener

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Author and Pulitzer Prize winner James A. Michener brings Hawaii's history to life in the novel named after the state. When the Polynesian seafarers stepped foot on the islands, they made it their home. Then in the early 19th century, the American missionaries forced them into a new way of life.

All Over Creation by Ruth Ozeki

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After running away at age 15, Yumi Fuller is returning to her hometown of Liberty Falls, Idaho, to see all that she left behind, including her dying parents. Besides all of the events she's missed out on, she gets caught up in the potato-farming town's crisis. Author Ruth Ozeki won the American Book Award in 2004 for All Over Creation.

Devil in the White City by Erik Larson

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Based on real characters and events, Devil in the White City is a riveting mystery set in Chicago in 1893. Architect Daniel Hudson Turnham — the builder behind New York City's Flatiron building and Washington, D.C.'s Union Station — was developing the 1893 World's Fair, bringing in talent, and turning the swamp area into an attraction. Meanwhile, a young doctor by the name of Henry H. Holmes was building the World's Fair Hotel right near the fairgrounds, where he would lure women into his torture chamber and murder them.

All the Bright Places by Jennifer Niven

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Theodore Finch and Violet Markey want nothing more than to escape their small town in Indiana, but for different reasons. Violet, looking to put the memories of her sister's death in the past, lives for the future. Theodore, who's suffering from a mental illness, is looking to take his own life. As a romance blossoms between the two, they realize they bring the best out in each other ... until they realize their lives are going in different directions.

Gilead by Marilynne Robinson

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Robinson's Gilead won the 2004 Pulitzer Prize as well as the National Book Critics Circle Award for Fiction in 2005. The story is a fictional autobiography of John Ames, recounting his life experiences with his father and grandfather. The three generations of men, all Congregationalist ministers, shared the same lifestyle in Gilead, Iowa. With a heart condition that's numbering John's days, he wants to make sure he can share these stories with his son before he passes.

Not Without Laughter by Langston Hughes

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The first novel by esteemed poet Hughes, it did not disappoint. The novel follows the life of a young black boy growing up in a mostly white town in rural Kansas and the lives of his family. Through Hughes beautiful words, you'll see the sad reality of what it's like for a black family living in a racially divided America.

Dark Places by Gillian Flynn

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Any fan of Gillian Flynn knows her novels are all page-turners filled with twists and suspense. Dark Places is no different. Libby Day, the only survivor of a massacre in her hometown of Kansas, is in need of cash 25 years after testifying against her teenage brother. She meets with a team of investigators who believe her brother is innocent. Through flashbacks, meetings with her brother in jail, and her now-homeless father, Libby discovers the truth behind what happened on the night of the murders.

Hillbilly Elegy by J. D. Vance

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As a former marine and Yale Law School graduate, Vance discusses what the struggles are like for America's white working class as he recounts his childhood growing up in a poor Rust Belt town. J. D. Vance's memoir has been called "an essential read" by the New York Times.

12 Years a Slave by Solomon Northup

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Twelve Years a Slave was published in 1853 and lent factual support to Harriet Beecher Stowe's widely popular novel Uncle Tom's Cabin. Solomon Northup writes how he was born a free man in New York and tricked into going to D.C., where he was sold into slavery. He then went on to spend the next 12 years of his life in the South, until he was able to get word to his family to secure his freedom. In 2013, a film adaptation of Northup's story was made, and it won the Academy Award for Best Picture.

IT by Stephen King

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The terrifying title character, aka Pennywise, has been giving readers nightmares since the book's release in 1986. The novel is roughly a whopping 1,489 pages, but it'll have you entranced by the first chapter. Set in the fictional town of Derry, Maine, IT follows seven adults as they confront the nameless evil that's been haunting them since they were teenagers.

The Sisterhood of the Traveling Pants by Ann Brashares

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The Sisterhood of the Traveling Pants is the first book in the beloved series of four. It's about an ordinary pair of pants that gets passed between four best friends as they spend summer vacations in four very different environments. In 2005, the book was made into a movie starring Alexis Bledel, America Ferrera, Blake Lively, and Amber Tamblyn.

Little Women by Louisa May Alcott

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Little Women, Louisa May Alcott's most famous work, is about four sisters as they share their bond of sisterhood and grow into women. Originally two separate volumes released in 1868 and 1869, the combined edition wasn't released until 1880. The book is recognized as the all-American-girl story and one of the most widely-read books.

Middlesex by Jeffrey Eugenides

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The Pulitzer Prize-winning novel is about Calliope Stephanides and three generations of the Greek American Stephanides family. To grasp why Calliope is not like other girls, she has to unfold the truth about a secret in her family genetic history. Changing from Callie to Cal, this coming-of-age story has been called one of the best books of 2002 by both the New York Times and the Los Angeles Times.

The Good Girl by Mary Kubica

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When her on-again, off-again boyfriend doesn't show, Mia Dennett ends up going home with Colin Thatcher, a stranger who seems to be a safe one-night-stand kind of guy. She soon realizes that was the worst mistake of her life when Colin keeps her hidden in a cabin in rural Minnesota. Mia's mother, Eve, along with detective Gabe Hoffman do everything in their power to find her. This national best-seller has twists at every corner, and it'll have you on your toes until the last page.

The Help by Kathryn Stockett

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Set in Jackson, Mississippi, in 1962, The Help tells the story of the unexpected friendship between two African-American maids — Aibileen and Minny — with a white socialite named Skeeter. Skeeter just graduated college, but is looked at as a failure because she doesn't have a husband. Together, the three of them write a tell-all book about working as black maids in the South.

Gone Girl by Gillian Flynn

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On the day of Nick and Amy Dunne's fifth wedding anniversary, Amy disappears. Nick isn't necessarily mourning her absence as much as he's bitter about the whole thing, and his lack of emotion makes him a suspect in her disappearance. As the book bounces back and forth between Nick in the present day and Amy's diary entries depicting their relationship, the reader will be left with two unreliable narrators and the inability to point a finger at who's the killer.

A River Runs through It by Norman Maclean

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This semi-autobiographical story of Maclean's life growing up in Montana with his brother, Paul, is recognized as a classic work of literature in the 20th century. Written when he was 70 years old and published in 1976, A River Runs Through It is an appreciation of nature and the simplistic world he lived in.

Eleanor & Park by Rainbow Rowell

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Readers of all ages will take something away from Eleanor and Park. Eleanor, the new girl in town, doesn't quite blend in — she has wild red hair and wears patchwork outfits. One day, she takes a seat on the school bus right in front of Park, who loves reading comic books. He notices her reading over his shoulder, and from there, a love story begins.

Burned by Ellen Hopkins

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Pattyn is sent to live with her aunt in rural Nevada after having a sexual fantasy that raised questions about God, sex, and love — all the things her religious and abusive family didn't tolerate. In her new life, she's able to find love and acceptance, but she still can't shake the demons of her past. Written by the New York Times best-selling author Ellen Hopkins, Burned will take you on an emotional journey you won't want to end.

A Separate Peace by John Knowles

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Set during World War II in New Hampshire and told through the narrator, Gene, A Separate Peace is about the loss of innocence for both he and his best friend, Phineas. As John Knowles' best-known work, this novel became a National Book Award finalist and a New York Times best-seller.