Small Town Wisconsin

Everyone likes to read books that take place in their home state.  It's fun to see how authors use scenery that we are so familiar with to create these marvelous stories (and it's fun to check their accuracy!).  Being a Wisconsin girl, I enjoy picking up books not only by Wisconsin authors, but books that are set throughout the state.  What's funny is most Wisconsin books tend to take place in "small town" Wisconsin.  Since I grew up in Green Bay, I've never lived in a rural area, but I've definitely seen my fair share of small town life.  I love the way many books that take place in these small Wisconsin towns show what an effect an incident or story can have on an entire town. 

Two novels that I would highly recommend for this "small town" Wisconsin feel are:

The Mourning Hours by Paula Treick DeBoard
5 of 5 Stars

I discovered this book before its release while looking through an advance magazine at work.  I saw the words Manitowoc, Wisconsin and had to stop and read the description (I mean honestly how many books take place outside Manitowoc, WI??).  The Mourning Hours is the story of a teenage girl, Stacy, who goes missing from her small town.  The last person to see her was her boyfriend, Johnny, the local high school's star wrestler.  The thing I love the most about this book is the narrator is Johnny's younger sister, Kirsten, who at the time of Stacy's disappearance is just nine years old.  The reader only knows and sees what Kirsten experiences, which adds such an unique element to the story.  
The mystery of Stacy's whereabouts tests the entire town and basically splits it in half.  It really shows how one event impacts everyone, since everyone knows with everybody else, and can leave even those who think they know Johnny and Stacy reevaluating their opinions.
Bottom line: This book kept me turning pages way past my bedtime.  I was addicted to the storyline and Paula's writing.  I recommend it for anyone looking for a great mystery/family drama... anyone who lives/lived in Wisconsin... anyone who likes books that feel like they're ripped from the news headlines... anyone who likes well written novels...really to anyone.
The best news: Paula's second book, The Fragile World, comes out exactly two months from today!  I *might* have a countdown going for this release date... and I *might* have to take off from work and read it all day!

Shotgun Lovesongs by Nickolas Butler
4.5 of 5 Stars

This book was actually a book club pick.  It was one of those books that I had heard wonderful things about, but had I not been told to read it for book club, I probably would have never picked it up.  One of the many reasons I adore my book club!  
How much I enjoyed Shotgun Lovesongs actually surprised me.  The novel is told from alternating perspectives of four men and one woman who grew up together in a small town just outside Eau Claire, Wisconsin.  There isn't a lot of action or anything overly dramatic about the plot, and I loved that.  It's a down-to-earth story of friendship, love, and real life.  Nickolas Butler does an amazing job creating the characters and setting for his novel.  I was completely immersed in this small town and the lives of those living in it.  I felt what the characters felt because the emotions and struggles they were facing are so universal... it could have been a story about anyone's life.  
Bottom line: I really hope Nickolas Butler is working on something new, because I would love to read another book by him.  I would recommend this book to anyone looking for an escape from the action-based, thrill-seeking, drama of many novels to a quiet little town filled with characters with human hearts and minds.


What are some of your favorite Wisconsin books?  Or books from your home state that you've enjoyed?