100 books like The Boy and His Ribbon

By Pepper Winters,

Here are 100 books that The Boy and His Ribbon fans have personally recommended if you like The Boy and His Ribbon. Shepherd is a community of 12,000+ authors and super readers sharing their favorite books with the world.

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Book cover of On the Island

Susan Cliff Author Of Stranded With The Navy Seal

From my list on romance novels for island lovers.

Why am I passionate about this?

I’ve always loved romance. I discovered the world of Harlequin one summer and never looked back. Now that I’m older, I appreciate female triumph and female-centered stories even more. I’ve read thousands of romances in my lifetime, so I know my stuff. As a San Diego area resident, I’m also an expert at “beach,” like Ken. When island vibes meet romance, it’s magic. The third element I can’t resist, exemplified by On the Island, is survival. I wrote my book with these passions in mind, and I make these recommendations with my whole heart. Happy reading! 

Susan's book list on romance novels for island lovers

Susan Cliff Why did Susan love this book?

This is the OG of island romance. It’s also controversial due to the age difference between the characters. Anna (30F) and TJ (16M) get stranded on a deserted island together after their plane crashes in the Indian Ocean. Over the next three years, they stay alive against all odds and develop an unbreakable bond. Although TJ is enamored with Anna from the start, she doesn’t return his feelings or even see him as a man until he turns 19. By then, he’d become a strong survivor and an essential life partner.

I’m not a big fan of age-gap romance, but Graves makes it work without making it weird. This is an extraordinary story with grit and heart. I got totally swept away.

By Tracey Garvis Graves,

Why should I read it?

2 authors picked On the Island as one of their favorite books, and they share why you should read it.

What is this book about?

It would always be summer on the island . . .

THE EMOTIONALLY GRIPPING AND ADDICTIVE NEW YORK TIMES BESTSELLER

'I cannot put into words the love I have for Anna and T.J. I felt as though I was right there with them' 5***** Reader Review
'I'd give this more than 5 stars if I could! Will stay with me for a very long time' 5***** Reader Review
_________

When thirty-year-old English teacher Anna Emerson is offered a summer job tutoring T.J. Callahan at his family's holiday home in the Maldives, she immediately accepts.

T.J. wishes he weren't going. Almost…


Book cover of Red Thorns

Paige Weaver Author Of Promise Me Darkness

From my list on romance that stays with you after the last page.

Why am I passionate about this?

I read many different genres, but my favorite to write and read is romance. I love ones that have angst, adventure, danger, and a passionate push and pull between the love interests. Those seem to stick with me long after I turn the last page. In my own writing, I like to do the same, giving readers a love story they want to visit again and again. The books I’ve listed are just some of the wonderful, unforgettable novels I’ve read, and I hope you enjoy them too! Happy reading!

Paige's book list on romance that stays with you after the last page

Paige Weaver Why did Paige love this book?

Rina Kent writes hot, dark, erotic novels that stick with you for a long time. Her writing is spectacular, and her male characters are the types that I love to hate. Red Thorns is an opposites attract, enemies to lovers novel, and is not for the faint of heart but it’s a wild ride on the dark side that will make your heart race and require you to keep an ice cold drink nearby.

By Rina Kent,

Why should I read it?

1 author picked Red Thorns as one of their favorite books, and they share why you should read it.

What is this book about?

A bet turned into a disaster.

Sebastian Weaver is the star quarterback and the college’s heartthrob.
Rich. Handsome. Bastard.
Everyone’s attention flocked toward him and all the girls dreamed to be with him.
Not me.
At least, not until he made a move on me.
See, I thought I was stronger than Sebastian’s charms.
I thought I could survive being his target.
I thought wrong.
Little did I know that he will make my most twisted fantasies come true.
Fantasies I didn’t know existed...

Red Thorns is a dark new adult book that contains dubious situations some readers might find…


Book cover of Bared to You

Rose Thorgaard Author Of Treasured

From my list on action packed romance makes you feel larger than life.

Why am I passionate about this?

From the first time I snagged a romance book off my mother's shelf as a teenager, I've always been a hopeless romantic. I'm fascinated by love stories that feel like real life, entwined with the good, bad, and sometimes ugly. This is why I enjoy exploring the duality of life and love in my own novels as a romantic suspense author.

Rose's book list on action packed romance makes you feel larger than life

Rose Thorgaard Why did Rose love this book?

This was one of the first romance books I read, and I was immersed in the fast-paced life of the characters from the first page. It's always satisfying to see two similar yet opposite people fall in love and heal together through any obstacle.

The high stakes and drama pulled me in and kept me engaged until the very end.

By Sylvia Day,

Why should I read it?

4 authors picked Bared to You as one of their favorite books, and they share why you should read it.

What is this book about?

Bared to You will take you to the very limits of obsession - and introduce you to a hero you'll never forget . . .

One of the bestselling love stories of the century from the No. 1 bestselling Crossfire series
_______

Our journey began in fire . . .

Gideon Cross came into my life like lightning in the darkness - beautiful and brilliant, jagged and white hot.

I was drawn to him as I'd never been to anything or anyone in my life.

I craved his touch like a drug, even knowing it would weaken me.

I was…


Book cover of The Mister

Paige Weaver Author Of Promise Me Darkness

From my list on romance that stays with you after the last page.

Why am I passionate about this?

I read many different genres, but my favorite to write and read is romance. I love ones that have angst, adventure, danger, and a passionate push and pull between the love interests. Those seem to stick with me long after I turn the last page. In my own writing, I like to do the same, giving readers a love story they want to visit again and again. The books I’ve listed are just some of the wonderful, unforgettable novels I’ve read, and I hope you enjoy them too! Happy reading!

Paige's book list on romance that stays with you after the last page

Paige Weaver Why did Paige love this book?

E.L. James always delivers steamy, entertaining novels and The Mister is no exception. Maxim is a “spare” to an earldom but that changes when tragedy strikes his family. He’s left with a responsibility he doesn’t want and feelings for someone on his staff he shouldn’t have. What develops is a love story that has stayed with me. The novel reminds me of regency novels but it is set in modern times. If you’re a fan of E.L. James and haven’t read The Mister or if you’ve never read one of her novels, I recommend this one. It is a wonderfully written love story.

By E L James,

Why should I read it?

1 author picked The Mister as one of their favorite books, and they share why you should read it.

What is this book about?

'Packed with passion ... a love story full of charm, music and soul-mates ... a classic E L James combo of the sweet and erotic with the perfect ending for romantics. I think it's her best by far!' - Milly Johnson, The Sun
___________________
The thrilling new romance from E L James, author of the phenomenal #1 bestselling Fifty Shades trilogy

London, 2019. Life has been easy for Maxim Trevelyan. With his good looks, aristocratic connections, and money, he's never had to work and he's rarely slept alone. But all that changes when tragedy strikes and Maxim inherits his family's…


Book cover of Up From Slavery

Thomas Bailey & Katherine Joslin Author Of Theodore Roosevelt: A Literary Life

From my list on Theodore Roosevelt read in the White House.

Why are we passionate about this?

We live in the countryside of southwest Michigan in a farmhouse dating back to the 1830s on land once owned by James Fenimore Cooper. The land itself has stories to tell that intrigue us as readers and writers ourselves. Katherine’s passion for the writings of Jane Addams and Edith Wharton led her to Theodore Roosevelt, a kindred male voice in American literature at the turn of the twentieth century. Tom’s passion for environmental writers and activism led him to the books and essays of the 26th President, who believed that good writing sometimes leads to good laws! As professors and writing partners, we are delighted every time we can introduce readers to the literary Theodore Roosevelt.

Thomas' book list on Theodore Roosevelt read in the White House

Thomas Bailey & Katherine Joslin Why did Thomas love this book?

Theodore Roosevelt read the book and loved his philosophy and way of telling a life story. Autobiography is at the heart of American literature. Washington, the founder of the Tuskegee Institute and Roosevelt’s contemporary in age and thinking, was the first writer the President invited to lunch at the White House, controversial as that invitation came to be. We love the book because, in this day of reconsidering Black history, the reader can see how Washington’s notion of self-reliance, captured in his famous admonition, “Cast down your bucket where you are,” helps to define the quest for economic and social freedom for people of color in the early 20th century. Readers will discover a compelling man with an engaging writing style who speaks to the struggles within American society that persist to this day.

By Booker T. Washington,

Why should I read it?

1 author picked Up From Slavery as one of their favorite books, and they share why you should read it.

What is this book about?

Originally published in 1901, ‘Up From Slavery’ is an eloquently written book by Booker T. Washington, an American educator, author, speaker, and counselor to several presidents of the United States. Booker T. Washington was a prominent leader of the African-American community in the late 19th and early 20th centuries. Washington was born into slavery but would become a prolific author who wrote broadly about his life experiences and the challenges facing African-Americans during his time.
In this, Washington describes events in an extraordinary life that began in bondage and culminated in worldwide recognition for his many accomplishments. In simply written…


Book cover of Nat Turner

Nic Watts Author Of Toussaint Louverture: The Story of the Only Successful Slave Revolt in History

From my list on political graphic novels.

Why am I passionate about this?

I have worked as an illustrator and visual storyteller throughout my adult life, illustrating children’s fiction books and comics for educational publications. My educational work focused on publications for kids with special needs, this gave me training in how to communicate visually, very clearly and concisely. I now collaborate with my partner Sakina Karimjee making beautiful graphic novels full-time. Toussaint Louverture is our first; we are now working on our second.

Nic's book list on political graphic novels

Nic Watts Why did Nic love this book?

In researching my graphic novel, I read many comics on slavery.

This atmospheric account of enslaved Virginians in 1831 is a hard read, but it made a great impression on me.

Powerfully, Baker uses the verbatim testimony from the confession of Nat Turner as he awaited execution in jail. The narrative does not pull its punches; in one scene, Turner recounts the murder of a plantation owner's baby. It is shocking, but Baker skillfully puts this in the context of the brutality of the lived experience of the enslaved, their own children being routinely abducted and sold by their masters.

The comic is a powerful slave narrative in this sparse and mostly wordless retelling of America’s most famous slave revolt.

By Kyle Baker,

Why should I read it?

1 author picked Nat Turner as one of their favorite books, and they share why you should read it. This book is for kids age 15, 16, and 17.

What is this book about?

The story of Nat Turner and his slave rebellion-which began on August 21, 1831, in Southampton County, Virginia-is known among school children and adults. To some he is a hero, a symbol of Black resistance and a precursor to the civil rights movement; to others he is monster-a murderer whose name is never uttered. In Nat Turner, acclaimed author and illustrator Kyle Baker depicts the evils of slavery in this moving and historically accurate story of Nat Turner's slave rebellion. Told nearly wordlessly, every image resonates with the reader as the brutal story unfolds. Find teaching guides for Nat Turner…


Book cover of Necropolis: Disease, Power, and Capitalism in the Cotton Kingdom

Peter B. Dedek Author Of The Cemeteries of New Orleans: A Cultural History

From my list on the history of life, death, and magic in New Orleans.

Why am I passionate about this?

Being from Upstate New York I went to college at Cornell University but headed off to New Orleans as soon as I could. By and by I became an instructor at Delgado Community College. Always a big fan of the city’s amazing historic cemeteries, when teaching a world architectural history class, I took the class to the Metairie Cemetery where I could show the students real examples of every style from Ancient Egyptian to Modern American. After coming to Texas State University, San Marcos (30 miles from Austin), I went back to New Orleans on sabbatical in 2013 and wrote The Cemeteries of New Orleans. 

Peter's book list on the history of life, death, and magic in New Orleans

Peter B. Dedek Why did Peter love this book?

Necropolis describes how the yellow fever shaped New Orleans society in the 1800s.

While the fever was killing tens of thousands of people for almost two centuries from the founding of the city in 1718 until the last yellow fever epidemic in 1905, giving its victims horrible deaths in which they cried blood and vomited tar-like bile in the process, the disease helped preserve the city’s Creole culture by killing off a large proportion of immigrants to the city who were more susceptible than native-born New Orleans.

Before reading this book, I had no idea that being “acclimated” to yellow fever by surviving a case of this horrible disease was what made white transplants into bonafide citizens of the city. 

By Kathryn Olivarius,

Why should I read it?

2 authors picked Necropolis as one of their favorite books, and they share why you should read it.

What is this book about?

Disease is thought to be a great leveler of humanity, but in antebellum New Orleans acquiring immunity from the scourge of yellow fever magnified the brutal inequities of slave-powered capitalism.

Antebellum New Orleans sat at the heart of America's slave and cotton kingdoms. It was also where yellow fever epidemics killed as many as 150,000 people during the nineteenth century. With little understanding of mosquito-borne viruses-and meager public health infrastructure-a person's only protection against the scourge was to "get acclimated" by surviving the disease. About half of those who contracted yellow fever died.

Repeated epidemics bolstered New Orleans's strict racial…


Book cover of The South vs. The South: How Anti-Confederate Southerners Shaped the Course of the Civil War

William Barney Author Of Rebels in the Making: The Secession Crisis and the Birth of the Confederacy

From my list on an offbeat look at the Confederacy.

Why am I passionate about this?

From a youth devouring the books of Bruce Catton to my formative years as a historian, I’ve been fascinated by the Civil War, especially the thinking and experiences of southerners who lived through the cataclysmic war years. In my teaching and writing, I’ve tried to focus on the lived experiences, the hopes and fears, of southerners who seemingly embraced secession and an independent Southern Confederacy in the expectation of a short, victorious war only to become disenchanted when the war they thought would come to pass turned into a long, bloody stalemate. The books I’ve listed share my passion for the war and open new and often unexpected windows into the Confederate experience.

William's book list on an offbeat look at the Confederacy

William Barney Why did William love this book?

This is the best source for understanding that the Confederacy, contrary to accepted wisdom, was not the South writ large. In a fast-paced narrative Freehling identifies the anti-Confederate dissenters – free as well as enslaved – who resisted Confederate rule and undermined it from within. He shows conclusively how Union victory was aided immeasurably by the lack of unity in the Confederacy.

By William W. Freehling,

Why should I read it?

1 author picked The South vs. The South as one of their favorite books, and they share why you should read it.

What is this book about?

Why did the Confederacy lose the Civil War? Most historians point to the larger number of Union troops, for example, or the North's greater industrial might. Now, in The South Vs. the South, one of America's leading authorities on the Civil War era offers an entirely new answer to this question.
William Freehling argues that anti-Confederate Southerners-specifically, border state whites and southern blacks-helped cost the Confederacy the war. White men in such border states as Missouri, Kentucky, and Maryland, Freehling points out, were divided in their loyalties-but far more joined the Union army (or simply stayed home) than marched off…


Book cover of Stolen Childhood: Slave Youth in Nineteenth-Century America

Seth Mallios Author Of Born a Slave, Died a Pioneer: Nathan Harrison and the Historical Archaeology of Legend

From my list on confronting slavery and how it impacts society today.

Why am I passionate about this?

As an archaeologist, anthropologist, and historian who has worked on both the East Coast (Flowerdew Hundred and Jamestown, Virginia) and West Coast (San Diego, California) of the U.S. and dug sites from the 17th, 18th, 19th, and 20th centuries, I am passionate about how archaeology can serve to offer new insights for marginalized peoples in American history. I specialize in exposing how narrow thinking, revisionism, and myth-making warp local histories and turn them into fabrications of the present. 

Seth's book list on confronting slavery and how it impacts society today

Seth Mallios Why did Seth love this book?

As a historical archaeologist, I find this book especially compelling. Stolen Childhood does a fine job of blending insights from a variety of primary-source narratives and recently uncovered archaeological artifacts; but these insights transcend the specific research questions regarding the conditions of daily life for slave youth in nineteenth-century America and indirectly make an intriguing case for why current archaeologists should pay as much attention to issues of childhood, parenting, and aging as they do to ethnicity, class, and gender.

By Wilma King,

Why should I read it?

1 author picked Stolen Childhood as one of their favorite books, and they share why you should read it.

What is this book about?

One of the most important books published on slave society, Stolen Childhood focuses on the millions of children and youth enslaved in 19th-century America. This enlarged and revised edition reflects the abundance of new scholarship on slavery that has emerged in the 15 years since the first edition. While the structure of the book remains the same, Wilma King has expanded its scope to include the international dimension with a new chapter on the transatlantic trade in African children, and the book's geographic boundaries now embrace slave-born children in the North. She includes data about children owned by Native Americans…


Book cover of Slave Stealers: True Accounts of Slave Rescues: Then and Now

Seth Mallios Author Of Born a Slave, Died a Pioneer: Nathan Harrison and the Historical Archaeology of Legend

From my list on confronting slavery and how it impacts society today.

Why am I passionate about this?

As an archaeologist, anthropologist, and historian who has worked on both the East Coast (Flowerdew Hundred and Jamestown, Virginia) and West Coast (San Diego, California) of the U.S. and dug sites from the 17th, 18th, 19th, and 20th centuries, I am passionate about how archaeology can serve to offer new insights for marginalized peoples in American history. I specialize in exposing how narrow thinking, revisionism, and myth-making warp local histories and turn them into fabrications of the present. 

Seth's book list on confronting slavery and how it impacts society today

Seth Mallios Why did Seth love this book?

This book weaves together two strikingly different stories about slavery that are separated by centuries and hundreds of miles. Ballard's powerful and riveting book not only demonstrates how exploitation in the Americas transcends time and space, it also offers evidence of good deeds by everyday people to combat such lingering evil.

By Timothy Ballard,

Why should I read it?

1 author picked Slave Stealers as one of their favorite books, and they share why you should read it.

What is this book about?

In the 1800s American South, Harriet Jacobs is enslaved and tormented by a cruel master. He relentlessly attempts to force her into a sexual union, and, when rebuffed, he separates her from her children and spends a lifetime trying to coerce her and then recapture her when she escapes to freedom. Jacobs outwits her tormentor and eventually reunites with her children, works in the cause of abolition and reform, and helps newly freed slaves with education and aftercare.

In 2012, Timothy Ballard encounters a grieving father in Haiti whose three-year-old son has been kidnapped and sold into slavery, along with…


Book cover of On the Island
Book cover of Red Thorns
Book cover of Bared to You

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Interested in slaves, Romanticism, and Slavery?

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