56 Novels set in the United States

Adjustment Day is a 2018 novel by Chuck Palahniuk.

American War is the first novel by Canadian-Egyptian journalist Omar El Akkad. It is set in a near-future United States of America, ravaged by climate change and disease, in which a second Civil War has broken out over the use of fossil fuels.

Americanah is a 2013 novel by the Nigerian author Chimamanda Ngozi Adichie, for which Adichie won the 2013 U.S. National Book Critics Circle Award for fiction. Americanah tells the story of a young Nigerian woman, Ifemelu, who immigrates to the United States to attend university. The novel traces Ifemelu's life in both countries, threaded by her love story with high school classmate Obinze. It was Adichie's third novel, published on May 14, 2013 by Alfred A. Knopf. A television miniseries, starring and produced by Lupita Nyong'o, was in development for HBO Max.

Arc Light is the debut novel by Eric L. Harry, a techno-thriller about limited nuclear war published in September 1994 and written in 1991 and 1992.

Around the World in Eighty Days is an adventure novel by the French writer Jules Verne, first published in French in 1872. In the story, Phileas Fogg of London and his newly employed French valet Passepartout attempt to circumnavigate the world in 80 days on a £20,000 wager set by his friends at the Reform Club. It is one of Verne's most acclaimed works.

Aunt Jane's Nieces and Uncle John is a young adult novel written by L. Frank Baum, famous as the creator of the Land of Oz. It is the sixth volume in the ten-book series Aunt Jane's Nieces, Baum's greatest commercial success after the Oz books themselves. Like the other books in the series, this sixth volume was issued under the pen name "Edith Van Dyne," one of Baum's multiple pseudonyms.

Back in the USSA is a 1997 collection of seven short stories by English writers Eugene Byrne and Kim Newman, which was published by Mark V. Ziesing Books. The title is a reference to the song "Back in the U.S.S.R." by The Beatles. The stories are linked through their setting, an alternate history of the twentieth century in which the United States experienced a communist revolution in 1917 and became a communist superpower, whereas Russia did not. Six of the stories first appeared in Interzone magazine, and the concluding story in the sequence, "On the Road", was written especially for the collection.

The Bastard of Istanbul is a 2006 novel by Turkish bestselling author Elif Shafak, written originally in English and published by Viking Adult. It was translated by Aslı Biçen into her native language Turkish under the title Baba ve Piç in March 2006, and became a bestseller.

Batman: The Ultimate Evil is a novel written by Andrew Vachss and published in 1995 by the Warner Aspect imprint of Warner Books. Vachss was an attorney specializing in child abuse cases, as well as a crime novelist best known for his series of books featuring the character Burke, a private investigator who also takes on child abuse cases. A representative from DC Comics approached Vachss about the possibility of writing a novel featuring Batman. Viewing this as an opportunity to reach a completely different audience, Vachss agreed and wrote a draft. He continued with his themes concerning child sexual abuse and explored the topic of child sex tourism. The publisher required Vachss to follow certain rules, like making a clear distinction between fiction and reality and prohibiting the Batman character from killing, cursing, or having sex.

The Bear and the Dragon is a techno-thriller novel, written by Tom Clancy and released on August 21, 2000. A direct sequel to Executive Orders (1996), President Jack Ryan deals with a war between Russia and China, referred respectively in the title as the Russian Bear and the Chinese Dragon. At over 1,028 pages, it is Clancy's longest novel. The book debuted at number one on The New York Times Best Seller list.

Being There is a satirical novel by the Polish-born writer Jerzy Kosinski, published in 1970. Set in America, the story concerns Chance, a simple gardener who unwittingly becomes a much sought-after political pundit and commentator on the vagaries of the modern world.

The Bird is Gone: A Manifesto is a murder mystery by Stephen Graham Jones. It was published in 2003 by Fiction Collective 2. The Bird is Gone: A Manifesto is Jones' third novel.

Blacksad is a comic album series created by Spanish authors Juan Díaz Canales (writer) and Juanjo Guarnido (artist), and published by French publisher Dargaud. Though both authors are Spanish, their main target audience for Blacksad is the French market and thus they publish all Blacksad volumes in French first; the Spanish edition usually follows about one month later. The first volume, Quelque part entre les ombres, was published in November 2000. The second volume, Arctic-Nation, was published in 2003 and the third, Âme Rouge, was published in 2005. An English translation of the third volume was delayed due to the bankruptcy of its North American publisher, iBooks. In 2010, Dark Horse Comics published all three translated volumes as one volume. The publication of this 184-page collection also coincided with the European release of the series' fourth installment, L'Enfer, le silence, in September 2010. In 2014, a fifth installment of the series, Amarillo, was released in various translations.

A Case of Two Cities is Qiu Xiaolong's fourth Inspector Chen novel. Character, poetry, insights into Chinese society and culture, and food all come before story in this crime novel.

The Cold Six Thousand is a 2001 crime fiction novel by James Ellroy. It is the first sequel to American Tabloid in the Underworld USA Trilogy and continues many of the earlier novel's characters and plotlines. Specifically, it follows three rogue American law-enforcement officials and their involvement in the turmoil of the 1960s. James Ellroy dedicated The Cold Six Thousand "To BILL STONER."

Crisis is the seventh book of the Uruguayan American writer and literature professor Jorge Majfud. This fourth installment is based on the experiences of the author both as a migrant and a Latino out.

The Dead All Have the Same Skin is a 1947 crime novel by the French writer Boris Vian. It tells the story of a mixed Black-White American, who manages to have a career in "white society" without anyone knowing of his origin; when his black half-brother turns up and tries to blackmail him by threatening to reveal his origin, his life turns into a downward spiral of violence. It was the second book published under the pseudonym Vernon Sullivan, after I Spit on Your Graves from 1946.

The Devil's Alternative is a novel by British writer Frederick Forsyth first published in 1979. It was his fourth full-length novel and marked a new direction in his work, setting the story in the near-future rather than in the recent past. The work evolved from an unfilmed screenplay entitled No Alternative.

The Divide is a 1980 alternate history novel by William Overgard. It concerns resistance in the United States to a Nazi occupation.

Edge of Eternity is a historical and family saga novel by Welsh-born author Ken Follett, published in 2014. It is the third book in the Century Trilogy, after Fall of Giants and Winter of the World.

Ellen; or, The Fanatic's Daughter is an 1860 plantation fiction novel written by Mrs. V.G. Cowdin.

Endless Night is a crime novel by Agatha Christie, first published in the UK by the Collins Crime Club on 30 October 1967 and in the US by Dodd, Mead and Company the following year. The UK edition retailed at eighteen shillings (18/-) and the US edition at $4.95. It was one of her favourites of her own works and received some of the warmest critical notices of her career upon publication.

Fall of Giants is a historical novel published in 2010 by Welsh-born author Ken Follett. It is the first part of the Century Trilogy which follows five interrelated families throughout the course of the 20th century. The first book covers notable events such as World War I, the Russian Revolution, and the struggle for women's suffrage. The sequel Winter of the World covers World War II and was published on September 18, 2012. The third book, Edge of Eternity, covers the Cold War and was published in 2014.

Full Circle is a 1984 romance novel by American Danielle Steel. It was adapted by Karol Ann Hoeffner into a 1996 television film starring Teri Polo. It is Steel's seventeenth novel.

Glamorama is a 1998 novel by American writer Bret Easton Ellis. Glamorama is set in and satirizes the 1990s, specifically celebrity culture and consumerism. Time describes the novel as "a screed against models and celebrity."

Going Native is the third novel written by Stephen Wright. First published in 1994 by Farrar Straus & Giroux, it is a portrait of irredeemable American culture.

Grab Hands and Run is a fictional adaptation of a true story written by Frances Temple. The book is written at a fourth grade level aimed at audiences aged 8 to 13.

The Hate U Give is a 2017 young adult novel by Angie Thomas. It is Thomas's debut novel, expanded from a short story she wrote in college in reaction to the police shooting of Oscar Grant. The book is narrated by Starr Carter, a 16-year-old black girl from a poor neighborhood who attends an elite private school in a predominantly white, affluent part of the city. Starr becomes entangled in a national news story after she witnesses a white police officer shoot and kill her childhood friend, Khalil. She speaks up about the shooting in increasingly public ways, and social tensions culminate in a riot after a grand jury decides not to indict the police officer for the shooting.

I Spit on Your Graves is a 1946 crime novel by the French writer Boris Vian, published under the pseudonym Vernon Sullivan. The story is set in the United States and revolves around a sexual and racial conflict.

The Inscrutable Americans is a 1991 novel by Anurag Mathur. Tri-Color Communications adapted the book into a film in 1999.

Jewels is a 1992 historical romance novel by Danielle Steel. In the novel, 75-five-year-old Sarah, Duchess of Whitfield, looks back on her long and eventful life. It is Steel's 30th novel.

Joe Steele is an alternate history novel by Harry Turtledove, first published by ROC Books/New American Library in hardcover and ebook form in April 2015. It is an expanded version of the author's 2003 short story of the same name.

July, July (2002) is a novel by National Book Award Winner Tim O'Brien, about the 30th reunion of a graduating college class of 1969 that happened a year too late. It's filled with characters bent up by society's pliers, and it constantly flashes back to moments that shaped their lives. It expands on themes from his earlier novels, memory, hope, love, and war.

"Karmic Debts" is a 2013 novel, the eight book by the Estonian author Inga Raitar.

A Kiss Before Dying is a 1953 novel written by Ira Levin. It won the 1954 Edgar Award, for Best First Novel.

Kitchens of the Great Midwest is the debut novel of American author and producer J. Ryan Stradal, published in July 2015 by Viking Press. It debuted at No. 19 on The New York Times Best Seller list for August 23, 2015.

Legs is a 1975 novel by William Kennedy. It is the first book in Kennedy's Albany Cycle.

The Mere Wife is a book by Maria Dahvana Headley that is a retelling of Beowulf set in 21st-century America.

Millroy the Magician is a novel by American writer Paul Theroux. It was published in 1993 by Hamish Hamilton in the UK and by Random House the following year in the US, where it was chosen as one of the New York Times notable books of the year. The novel has been identified as one of the best of the 1990s. It is a satire of American consumer culture and love of fast food and contains elements of parable and magic realism.

Monkey Bridge, published in 1997, is the debut novel of Vietnamese American attorney and writer Lan Cao. Cao is a professor of international law at Chapman University School of Law. She fled Vietnam in 1975, at the end of the Vietnam War. In addition to Monkey Bridge, Cao also co-authored Everything You Need to Know about Asian American History with Himilce Novas.

Nightwing is a 1977 thriller novel by Martin Cruz Smith, who adapted it for a 1979 film with the same title directed by Arthur Hiller.

Nontraditional Love is a dystopian novel written by the Russian writer Rafael Grugman and describes an alternative future where heterosexuality is outlawed. The novel was first published by Liberty Publishing House in November 2008 and nominated for the 2009 Rossica Translation Prize. Nontraditional Love combines satire with Orwellian themes for a unique look at morals and society.

On the Come Up is a 2019 young adult novel by Angie Thomas, published by Balzer + Bray on February 5, 2019. It tells the story of Bri, a sixteen-year old rapper hoping to fill the shoes of her father and 'make it' as an underground hip-hop legend. Overnight, Bri becomes an internet sensation after posting a rap hit which sparks controversy. As Bri defeats the odds to 'make it' she battles controversy to achieve her dreams. It is set in the same universe as Thomas' first book The Hate U Give.

On the Road is a 1957 novel by American writer Jack Kerouac, based on the travels of Kerouac and his friends across the United States. It is considered a defining work of the postwar Beat and Counterculture generations, with its protagonists living life against a backdrop of jazz, poetry, and drug use. The novel is a roman à clef, with many key figures of the Beat movement, such as William S. Burroughs, Allen Ginsberg, and Neal Cassady represented by characters in the book, including Kerouac himself as the narrator Sal Paradise.

One of Us Is Lying is a young adult, mystery/suspense novel by author Karen M. McManus. The book is her debut novel, originally published in the US by Delacorte Press, an imprint of Penguin Random House, on the 30 May 2017.

Out of My Mind is a novel by Sharon M. Draper, a New York Times bestselling author. The cover illustration of the fifth edition is by Daniel Chang, and the cover photography is by Cyril Bruneau/Jupiter Images. A reading group guide is enclosed. The book is recommended for ages 10 and up and for grades 5-8. The story was written in first person, featuring Melody Brooks, a girl with cerebral palsy.

The Patriots novel series is a five-novel series by survivalist novelist and former U.S. Army officer and blogger, James Wesley Rawles. It is followed by his Counter-Caliphate Chronicles novel series.

Restless is an espionage novel written by William Boyd, published in 2006. It won the Costa Prize for fiction.

The Rifle is a 1995 novel by American writer Gary Paulsen. The novel is a work of historical fiction, written for a young adult audience. The story focuses on the history of a rifle crafted prior to the American Revolution, and on the lives of its various owners until the present day. Although Paulsen romanticizes the creation and the uniqueness of the rifle, the novel provides a sober reminder the importance of handling guns responsibly.

Roots: The Saga of an American Family is a 1976 novel written by Alex Haley. It tells the story of Kunta Kinte, an 18th-century African, captured as an adolescent, sold into slavery in Africa, transported to North America; following his life and the lives of his descendants in the United States down to Haley. The release of the novel, combined with its hugely popular television adaptation, Roots (1977), led to a cultural sensation in the United States. The novel spent forty-six weeks on The New York Times Best Seller List, including twenty-two weeks at number one. The last seven chapters of the novel were later adapted in the form of a second miniseries, Roots: The Next Generations (1979). It stimulated interest in genealogy and appreciation for African-American history.

Twins is a young adult novel written by Marcy Dermansky. It was originally published on October 17th, 2006, by William Morrow and Company. It is written in the first person, but the narration alternates between two twin sisters, Sue and Chloe. The events described begin on the eve of the twins' thirteenth birthday, when they agree to get matching tattoos to prove their bond is stronger than DNA.

Underground Airlines is a 2016 novel by Ben Winters which is set in a contemporary alternate-history United States where the American Civil War never occurred because Abraham Lincoln was assassinated prior to his 1861 inauguration and a version of the Crittenden Compromise was adopted instead. As a result, slavery has remained legal in the "Hard Four" : Alabama, Louisiana, Mississippi and a unified Carolina. Its name evokes the Underground Railroad in relations to its setting. The novel attracted praise for exploring racism through the alternate-history mechanism.

Up the Down Staircase is a novel written by Bel Kaufman, published in 1964, which spent 64 weeks on The New York Times Best Seller list. In 1967 it was released as a film starring Sandy Dennis, Patrick Bedford, Ruth White, Jean Stapleton and Eileen Heckart.

Waterlily is a novel by Ella Cara Deloria.

The Will of an Eccentric is a 1900 adventure novel written by Jules Verne based on the Game of the Goose.

Witz is a novel by Joshua Cohen.