These 10 must-read books set in Vermont include bestsellers, captivating memoirs, and unbeatable fiction. Take a trip to the Green Mountain State with these books that take place in Vermont.
1. the secret story of donna tartt
“Under the influence of their charismatic classics professor, a group of intelligent and eccentric misfits at an elite New England university discover a way of thinking and living that is a world away from the humdrum existence of their peers. contemporaries. But when they go beyond the bounds of normal morality, their lives are profoundly and forever changed, and they discover how difficult it can be to truly live and how easy it is to kill.”
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2. life among the savages by shirley jackson
“In her celebrated work of fiction, Shirley Jackson explored the darkness that lurks beneath the surface of America’s small towns. but in life among the savages, he takes on the lighter side of small-town life. In this witty and warm memoir of his family’s life in rural Vermont, he delightfully exposes a domestic side in playful contrast to his quietly frightening fiction. With a novelist’s gift for character, an unwavering maternal instinct, and her trademark humor, Jackson turns everyday family experiences into brilliant adventures.”
3. close your eyes, hold hands by chris bohjalian
“emily shepard is on the run; the nuclear plant where his father worked has suffered a cataclysmic collapse, and all his fingers are pointed at him. Now orphaned, homeless, and certain that she is an outcast, Emily has taken to hiding out on the frigid streets of Burlington, Vermont, creating a new identity inspired by her favorite poet, Emily Dickinson.
“then she meets cameron. Nine years old and with a series of foster families after him, she awakens something in Emily, and she protects him with a ferocity she never knew she possessed. But when an emergency threatens the new home she’s created, Emily realizes she can’t hide forever.”
4. one day no pig would die by robert newton peck
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“Originally published in hardcover in 1972, A Day Without Pigs Would Die was one of the first books for young adults, along with such titles as The Outsiders and The Chocolate War. In it, author Robert Newton Peck weaves a story of a Vermont boyhood that is part fiction, part memoir. the result is a poignant coming-of-age story that still resonates with teens today.”
5. radio vermont free by bill mckibben
“as a radio host for free vermont-‘underground, underpowered, and underfoot’-, seventy-two-year-old vern barclay is currently broadcasting from an “undisclosed and double-secret location”. With the help of a young computer prodigy named Perry Alterson, Vern uses his radio show to champion a simple but radical idea: an independent Vermont, where the state secedes from the United States and operates under a free local economy. . But for now, he and his radio show must remain untraceable, because in addition to being a lifelong Vermonter and concerned citizen, Vern Barclay is also a fugitive from the law.”
6. stranger in the kingdom by howard frank mosher
“in kingdom county, vermont, the town’s new presbyterian minister is a black man, a disturbing fact for some of the locals. when a French-Canadian woman takes refuge in her parsonage, and is subsequently murdered, suspicion immediately falls on the clergyman. As his thirteen-year-old son struggles in the shadow of the town’s accusations, and his eldest son, a lawyer, fights to defend him, a father finds himself on trial more for who he is than what he could have done. ”.
7. house rules by jodi picoult
“jacob hunt is a teenager with asperger’s syndrome. he is unable to read social cues or express himself well to others, although he is brilliant in many ways. but he has a special focus on one topic: forensic analysis. a police scanner in his room gives him clues to crime scenes, and he always shows up and tells the cops what to do. and he is usually right.
“but when jacob’s small hometown is rocked by a horrific murder, the police come to him. Jacob’s behaviors are typical of Asperger’s, but they look a lot like blame for the local police. suddenly the hunter family, just wanting to fit in, is squarely in the spotlight. For Jacob’s mother, Emma, it is a brutal reminder of the intolerance and misunderstanding that always threaten her family. For her brother, Theo, it’s another indication of why nothing is normal because of Jacob.”
8. songs in ordinary time by mary mcgarry morris
“it is the summer of 1960 in atkinson, vermont. Without the help of her alcoholic ex-husband, Marie Fermoyle is raising three children on the brink of poverty. Ella’s seventeen-year-old daughter, Alice, is becoming emotionally involved with a local priest in a staunchly Catholic town who disapproves of Marie’s divorce. Alice’s brother, Norm, is a brash sixteen-year-old, and twelve-year-old Benjy is isolated and full of anxieties, looking longingly at the Klubocks next door, who seem to live an orderly and peaceful life very different from theirs. of his own family.
“Marie has now met a new man: Omar Duvall, who talks of opportunity and riches, but so far seems only to absorb the fermoyles. A lonely and desperate single mother like Marie is easy prey for con artists, but she resists the urge to doubt him. However, young Benjy could reveal a disturbing secret that could shatter all of his hopes.”
9. midwives by chris bohjalian
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“On a frigid winter night in an isolated home in rural Vermont, a seasoned midwife named Sibyl Danforth takes desperate measures to save a baby’s life. she performs an emergency C-section on a mother who believes she died of a stroke. but what if, as sibyl’s assistant later accuses, the patient was not already dead? The trial that followed bears the hallmarks of a witch hunt, forcing Sibyl to face the antagonism of the law, the hostility of traditional doctors, and the accusations of her own conscience. exploring the complex and emotional decisions that surround childbirth, midwives engages us, moves us and moves us as only the best novels do.”
10. yannick murphy’s call
“The warm, wry, and patient voice of a veterinarian father tells the heartwarming story of his young New England family undergoing a poignant test of loyalty, hope, and faith after facing an unthinkable crisis.”
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