The 12 best books set in Wisconsin

From cozy mysteries set in small towns to big city adventures, these 12 books set in Wisconsin belong on your reading list.

It can get pretty chilly in Wisconsin during the winter, so it’s understandable if Wisconsinites would rather stay warm inside and curl up with a good book. Even if you don’t live in the Badger State, it’s possible to explore the state through reading some of the best books set in Wisconsin.

There are plenty of Wisconsin-based books to choose from, too. From children’s books about the fun and hardships of growing up in the Wisconsin wilderness, like in Laura Ingalls Wilder’s first book, to mysteries set in Milwaukee and dramatic tales that carry readers up to Door County. It’s possible to explore the whole state through literature.

No matter what genre of book you’re a fan of reading, there’s bound to be a Wisconsin-set story that’ll pique your interest. Here are some of the 13 best books set in Wisconsin.

1. “Little House in the Big Woods” by Laura Ingalls Wilder (1932)

While Laura Ingalls Wilder might be best known for her stories of growing up in the prairie states, including South Dakota, where she spent the majority of her childhood, her story started in Wisconsin. “Little House in the Big Woods” is the first book ever written by the “Little House on the Prairie” author. It’s a fictionalized retelling of the author’s childhood, growing up in the Big Woods near Pepin, Wisc. 

Throughout the book, the Ingalls family has seasonal work to complete at their log cabin in the woods, “Little House in the Big Woods” was the first of nine books in the “Little House on the Prairie” series, which was eventually turned into a television show in 1974. Fans of the book and the author can visit Wilder’s birthplace outside of Pepin, where they can see a replica cabin on the spot where the Ingalls’ cabin, where Laura was born, stood.

2. “The Westing Game” by Ellen Raskin (1978)

In “The Westing Game,” a mystery book by Ellen Raskin, the plot centers around the death of wealthy businessman Sam Westing and his named heirs, who are all residents of the Sunset Towers apartment building in Milwaukee. In his will, Westing pairs up the potential heirs and says that one of the 16 heirs is responsible for his death. Whichever pair solves the mystery of the wealthy man’s death will inherit his multi-million dollar fortune. 

After it was published in 1978, “The Westing Game” was awarded the Newberry Medal, which is given to distinguished contributions to American children’s literature. Since then, the book has been adapted into a stage play and a 1997 film, “Get A Clue.” Author Ellen Raskin was born in Milwaukee and attended the University of Wisconsin-Madison.

3. “A Death in Door County” by Annelise Ryan (2022)

Morgan Carter, the protagonist in “A Death in Door County,” isn’t just a humble bookshop owner in Sister Bay, Wisc. She’s also a cryptozoologist, a scientist who studies animals that are considered to be legendary—like Bigfoot or the Loch Ness Monster. Her skills come in handy when bodies start to appear on the shores of Lake Michigan with mysterious bites in them. 

The cozy mystery novel, which is set in Door County, is the first of a series written by Annelise Ryan, a Wisconsin-based author. The following book, “Death in the Dark Woods” has Morgan looking for Bigfoot in the Chequamegon-Nicolet National Forest, and “Beast of the North Woods,” which will be released in Jan. 2025, sees the cryptozoologist hunting down a deadly Hodag in Rhinelander. 

4. “All This Could Be Different” by Sarah Thankam Mathews (2022)

Sneha, the main character in “All This Could Be Different,” is an Indian immigrant who, at the start of the novel, has recently moved to Milwaukee to accept a job after graduating from college. Throughout the novel, Sneha navigates her new career, burgeoning friendships, and love, all as a queer South Asian woman who is trying to find out where she fits in.

“All This Could Be Different” was a finalist in the 2022 National Book Awards. It was the debut novel by Sarah Thankam Mathews, who was born in India and raised in Oman but moved to Wisconsin with her family when the author was 17. Mathews attended the University of Wisconsin-Madison and lived in Milwaukee, but now resides in Brooklyn.

5. “The Great Believers” by Rebecca Makkai (2018)

Primarily set in Chicago and Paris, Rebecca Makkai’s “The Great Believers” also sees characters spend a significant amount of time in Door County. The novel, which was released in 2018, follows two primary protagonists in alternative timelines and centers around the AIDS epidemic. In one of the timelines, Yale Tishman, who is working on building a collection of art at Northwestern University’s Brigg Gallery, finds out that his friend, who had recently died due to complications from AIDS, has an aunt, Nora, in Door County with an impressive collection she’s willing to donate. 

Throughout the novel, Yale makes several trips to Door County to examine the collection and speak to Nora. The novel went on to win several awards, including the Andrew Carnegie Medal for Excellence, and it was a finalist for the Pulitzer Prize in Fiction. Makkai is from Lake Forest, Ill., but previously held the Mackey Chair in Creative Writing at Beloit College in Beloit, Wisc.

6. “Driftless” by David Rhodes (2008)

One of the many beautiful parts of Wisconsin is the Driftless Area, a region that spreads throughout Wisconsin, Minnesota, Iowa, and Illinois and was never covered by ice during the last Ice Age. Therefore, the region has no glacial deposits known as drift and is known for steep hills, deeply carved river valleys, and forested ridges. Wisconsin’s Driftless Area is the setting for David Rhodes’ 2008 novel, “Driftless.”

The book chronicles the lives of many of the residents of Words, Wisc. The novel won the Milkweed Editions National Fiction Prize. Prior to his death in 2022, Rhodes lived in Wonewoc, Wisc., which is part of the state’s Driftless Area.

7. “Black House” by Stephen King and Peter Straub (2001)

Horror author Stephen King usually sets his terrifying tales in his home state of Maine. But for “Black House,” the iconic author teamed up with Peter Straub, a novelist and poet who wrote several works with King. Straub also happened to be a Wisconsin native, born in Milwaukee and an alum of the University of Wisconsin-Madison.

The novel is a sequel to “The Talisman,” which King and Straub wrote together in 1984. In “Black House,” the town of French Landing, Wisc., is terrorized by a serial killer dubbed The Fisherman. French Landing is based on Trempealeau, Wisc., and nearby towns and cities, including Onalaska, Sparta, Madison, and a fictionalized version of La Crosse (called La Riviere in the novel), are mentioned.

8. “The Family Chao” by Lan Samantha Chang (2022)

The titular family in “The Family Chao” centers around a Chinese-American family of chefs who live in the fictional town of Haven, Wisc. In the novel, family patriarch Leo Chao is murdered, and the family has to consider their family’s reputation in the community afterward. The novel is split in two halves; the first is “They See Themselves,” leading to Leo’s murder, and the second is “The World Sees Them,” which follows the trial and aftermath.

The book won the Anisfield-Wolf Book Award for fiction and was named to former President Barack Obama’s 2022 Summer Reading List. Chang was born and raised in Appleton, Wisc.

9. “Blankets” by Craig Thompson (2003)

Graphic novelist Craig Thompson first crafted “Blankets,” his 2003 graphic novel autobiography, as a way to tell his parents he wasn’t Christian anymore. Thompson was born in Traverse City, Mich., but raised in Marathon, Wisc., in an Evangelical Christian family. Thompson attended the University of Wisconsin-Marathon County before transferring to the Milwaukee Institute of Art & Design for a semester and ultimately moving to the Pacific Northwest. 

“Blankets” is Thompson’s second graphic novel, and serves as a coming-of-age story, starting with Thompson’s childhood in his Evangelical family. It eventually follows Thompson as he finds his first love and becomes an adult who questions his Christianity. In 2003, Time Magazine ranked “Blankets” as the best comic of the year.

10. “Wisconsin Death Trip” by Michael Lesy (1973)’

Books set in Wisconsin don’t always showcase the state’s beautiful side, especially “Wisconsin Death Trip” by Michael Lesy. The nonfiction book chronicles the tragic and unusual incidents that happened in Wisconsin’s Jackson County, especially in the city of Black River Falls, between the years 1885 and 1910. During that time, the local economy fell apart, there was an outbreak of diphtheria, as well as violent crimes including murder, suicides, arsons and superstitions that were shaped due to the events.

“Wisconsin Death Trip” was made into a critically acclaimed docudrama film in 1999. Michael Lesy, the book’s author, is known for his nonfiction books that combine original writing with historic photographs. He studied American social history at the University of Wisconsin-Madison. 

11. “Drowning Ruth” by Christina Schwarz (2000)

The two main characters of “Drowning Ruth,” a novel set in rural Wisconsin in 1919, are sisters Amanda and Mathilda. Along with her husband and daughter, Ruth, Mathilda lives on a small island near her family’s farm. When her husband goes off to fight in World War I, she moves back to her parent’s home on the mainland, only to later return to living on the island with her daughter and sister. The novel explores the lives of the sisters and what led up to a fatal and traumatic incident on the water near the island. 

“Drowning Ruth” was chosen as the selection for Oprah’s Book Club in September 2020 and spent four weeks on the New York Times best-seller list. Schwarz currently lives in Los Angeles, but she grew up in Waukesha County. 

12. “All Flesh is Grass” by Clifford D. Simak (1965)

Science fiction author Clifford D. Simak was born and raised in Millville, Wisc., and often used the southwestern Wisconsin town as the setting in his stories, including “All Flesh is Grass,” which was published in 1965. In the novel, the town of Millville is closed off from the rest of the world by a mysterious barrier, which was placed by extraterrestrials. In the novel, the extraterrestrial beings have the appearance of purple flowers.

It’s not the only one of Simak’s novels to be set in his hometown—Millville is also the setting for “Way Station,” which was published in 1963.

This article first appeared on Good Info News Wire and is republished here under a Creative Commons license.