Top Ten Tuesday is a weekly feature hosted by the team over at The Broke and the Bookish. The theme for this week is books that are set outside of the US. The advantage of living outside of the US is that I have a lot of Aussie YA books (set in Australia) that I can use for this list. But I chose to go with a variety of different locations and settings for my TTT today. Be warned: I have a lot of WWII historical fiction novels on this list…
1. All the Light We Cannot See by Anthony Doerr
Hehehe I’m so predictable. Of course, my favourite book of all time makes it on to this list. This WWII historical fiction masterpiece is set in France and Germany, as well as parts of Russia. READ IT!
2. Just One Year by Gayle Forman
Just One Year is the companion sequel to Just One Day. The reason why I’ve chosen to go with Just One Year is because it’s set completely outside of the US, whereas Just One Day was set partially in the US. In Just One Year, our protagonist, Willem, travels around Europe, India and Mexico and overall, it’s just a great time.
3. The Lake House by Kate Morton
This novel is set in Cornwall and was one of my favourite releases of 2015. It’s a historical fiction novel that’s set in the 1930s and has a great atmosphere and setting! The writing is absolutely beautiful too.
4. The Narrow Road to the Deep North by Richard Flanagan
Another WWII historical fiction novel, The Narrow Road to the Deep North is set in Australia as well as Japanese POW camps in South East Asia. It was the Man Booker Prize winner of 2014.
5. Wolf by Wolf by Ryan Graudin
Wolf by Wolf is an alternate history WWII novel that’s set across multiple continents. The story begins in Germany (I believe?) and features a cross-continental motocross race. We follow the characters across the Middle East, through South East Asia and into Japan. It’s fast-paced and exciting and I can’t wait for the sequel!
6. Anna and the French Kiss by Stephanie Perkins
This novel isn’t my favourite of Stephanie Perkins companion series (I love Isla and the Happily Ever After the most) but I’m pretty sure that this one is set entirely outside of the US? I think it’s set entirely in France and I really enjoyed it when I read it.
7. Max by Sarah Cohen-Scali
And yet another WWII historical fiction novel, Max follows the story of a baby who was born as part of the Lebensborn program. We follow his journey from before birth, up until the end of the war. It’s a super interesting and eye-opening story and I highly recommend it. This one is set in Germany.
8. The Sidekicks by Will Kostakis
The Sidekicks is an Aussie YA novel that’s set in Australia. It’s a really short read but gives you a good kick in the feels. It’s about friendship and grief and is so, so good!
9. Anna and the Swallow Man by Gavriel Savit
This is my last WWII novel, I promise! In this novel, we follow Anna and a mysterious man known as the Swallow Man as they wander around Poland for years during the war. It’s a bit of a confusing book but it’s definitely worth the read.
10. The Infernal Devices by Cassandra Clare
And finally, I had to include an urban fantasy novel and I’ve chosen The Infernal Devices. This trilogy is set in the London Institute during the 19th century and I love this series so much!
Great choices! I have The Road to the Deep North and Anna and the French Kiss on my list too.
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Great choices! I agree, if I loved Anna and the French Kiss, my favorite remains Isla and the happily ever after as well 🙂
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Thanks for this! 🙂
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I completely forgot to include The Infernal Devices! Great list!
Here’s mine:
https://travellingthroughwords.wordpress.com/2016/07/19/top-10-tuesday-4-books-set-outside-the-us/
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Anna and Just One Day have been so popular today. They are beautiful stories and I would love to to Paris one day. I really want to read All the Light not sure why I haven’t yet. My TTT
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This totally reminds me I NEED to read the One Day series!! And I keep going “well, one day I’ll read it” and giggling to myself because VERY PUNNY….but it’s not actually helping me read it. Dangit. But I’m excited that it’s about travel across Europe! YAY. Also I only just heard about Max this week and I’m curious for that one now. 😀 Here’s my TTT!
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I have seen Wolf by Wolf on a lot of lists today! Although this just keeps reminding me that I still need to read it. Nice picks! 🙂
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Ooo I totally did not know this was a theme for this TTT or I would have 100% join in omg. It’s already 9.30PM, is it too late? I want to do an book in Asia edition. Sobbing.
I am in constant awe of how you can insert All The Light You Cannot See into every tag possible lmaooo.
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Oh we have All The Light in common! Yeah!
I’ve read Just One Day but actually haven’t yet read Just One Year.
Wolf by Wolf sounds freaking AMAZING. I keep telling myself I’m reading to much about WWII, but these unique books keep popping up! And also, I’m on a bit of an alternate-history trip at the moment, so it fits right in. Great list!
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Max sounds fascinating! I really enjoy reading WWII historical fiction, so I’ll definitely have to check it out. Great list!
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I loved All the Light We Cannot See, too! I definitely wanted to throw the book once or twice, but it was still amazing.
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Great picks! I’ve only read numbers 5,6,9 and 10.
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I still haven’t read The Lake House, but really want to sometime! I love Kate Morton. Nice list!
Here are some of the books I’ve read outside the US: http://www.anovelglimpse.com/2016/07/19/top-ten-tuesday-ten-books-set-outside-the-u-s/
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Such great choices! I love that you picked a bunch of war books. They’re always set in cool places (though the whole war thing isn’t cool). Have you read Between Shades of Gray? I feel like you’d like that one. 🙂
My TTT
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I definitely feel like your mission is to get everyone to read All the Light We Cannot See haha. I will get to that book one day, hopefully in the very near future.
I’m still not over the epicness that is Wolf by Wolf. Only 4 months until we can get our hands on Blood for Blood but that still feels like such a long way away. I don’t have the patience to wait any longer. 😛
I’d love to visit Cornwall, especially since it’s about a 6 hour drive from where I live.
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Great list. All the light we cannot see was one of my favourite reads last year. Wolf by Wolf on TBR. Have not bought it yet
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Looooved Anna and Just One Year! Some all-time favorites. Great list!
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YES FOR WWII BOOKS. I love that I am discovering more of them because it’s also my favorite genre/setting to read 🙂
Max is coming out this year in the US, (or maybe it’s next year?) so I FINALLY have a chance to read it! I know you raved about it before in a review 🙂
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