In honor of Earth Day, we’re sharing 10 books with nature as a main character. These books have plots that entwine flora and fauna in such a way that it is as if nature itself is a central character to the storyline.
In some of these books, nature is a source of profound peace and healing. In others, it is an unpredictable obstacle that causes despair. The duality of nature is absolutely fascinating. In these stories, you’ll find examples of the environment having deep impacts on the characters as well as characters having lasting effects on the world around them – for better and for worse.
If you’re wanting to read more books where nature plays a prominent role, you can’t go wrong with any of the books below. The descriptions of nature in these stories are absolutely beautiful. We only recommend books that we’ve personally read, and these are all books that we would rate as 4 and 5 stars.
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Giants in the Earth: A Saga of the Prairie
Synopsis: Based in part on O.E. Rölvaag’s own recollections as well of those of his wife’s family who were immigrant homesteaders, this is the riveting story of a Norwegian family forging a new life amid the harsh, desolate climate of the Dakota Territory. The author recounts the hardships endured on the prairie—blizzards, locust storms, poverty, hunger, loneliness, homesickness, and culture shock—as well as their simple joys, culminating in a magnificent epic that bridges Norwegian culture and the history of the American dream.
Favorite nature quote from the book: “Tish-ah!” said the grass. “Tish-ah, tish-ah!” Never had it said anything else–never would it say anything else. It bent resiliently under the trampling feet; it did not break, but it complained aloud every time–for nothing like this had ever happened to it before.
Synopsis: Inti Flynn arrives in Scotland with her twin sister to lead a team of biologists tasked with reintroducing fourteen gray wolves into the remote Highlands. Her goal is to heal not only the dying landscape, but her sister too, unmade by the terrible secrets that drove the sisters out of Alaska. But when a farmer is found dead, Inti knows the town will blame the wolves. Inti is convinced the wolves did not commit the crime. But if they didn’t, who from the town did?
Favorite nature quote from the book: And when you open your heart to rewilding a landscape, the truth is, you’re opening your heart to rewilding yourself.
Synopsis: Weaving together the stories of three women across five centuries, Weyward is an enthralling novel of female resilience and the transformative power of the natural world. The women are separated by time but are tied together through their family name, their determination to overcome hardships, and their keen awareness of the nature around them that provides both comfort and power.
Favorite nature quote from the book: Everything is made out of magic, leaves and trees, flowers and birds, badgers and foxes and squirrels and people. So it must be all around us.
Synopsis: Kya Clark has lived her whole life in an isolated marsh on the North Carolina coast with her only companionship being the wild landscape around her. The townspeople call her the “Marsh Girl” and generally do not show her kindness. When a local man is found dead, they are quick to point fingers at the strange Marsh Girl. But Kya is far more intelligent than the town gives her credit, and she is not the simpleton they’ve assumed her to be.
Favorite nature quote from the book: Female fireflies draw in strange males with dishonest signals and eat them; mantis females devour their own mates. Female insects, Kya thought, know how to deal with their lovers.
Synopsis: Leni’s life is turned upside down when her father, a former POW, comes home from the Vietnam War and decides they will move to Alaska and live off the grid in America’s last true frontier. The remote area of Alaska where they move at first seems like an exciting change, and the local community is full of kind people. But winter is quickly approaching, and Leni’s family needs to be fiercely independent to survive the harsh wintry conditions. As the sunlight wanes each day, so does her father’s fragile mental state. Leni and her mother quickly realize that it is up to them to survive the brutal winter ahead as well as their volatile household.
Favorite nature quote from the book: The wild can be both beautiful and cruel. It can give as much as it takes.
The Great Alone doesn’t just make our list of books with nature as a main character, it also made our list of 23 Books For All Ages to Satisfy Your Wanderlust. These books are filled with fabulous story lines and rich settings that will satisfy your wanderlust until you can book your next trip!
Synopsis: Over the course of one humid summer, as the urge to procreate overtakes the lush countryside, a reclusive wildlife biologist, a young farmer’s wife marooned far from home, and a pair of elderly, feuding neighbors face disparate predicaments but find connections to one another and to the flora and fauna with whom they necessarily share a place. Their discoveries are embedded inside countless intimate lessons of biology, the realities of small farming, and the final, urgent truth that humans are only one piece of life on earth.
Favorite nature quote from the book: This is how moths speak to each other. They tell their love across the fields by scent. There is no mouth, the wrong words are impossible, either a mate is there or he is not, and if so the pair will find each other in the dark.
Synopsis: Maine, 1789: When the Kennebec River freezes, entombing a man in the ice, Martha Ballard is summoned to examine the body and determine cause of death. As a midwife and healer, she is privy to much of what goes on behind closed doors in Hallowell. Her diary is a record of every birth and death, crime and debacle that unfolds in the close-knit community. Months earlier, Martha documented the details of an alleged rape committed by two of the town’s most respected gentlemen—one of whom has now been found dead in the ice. But when a local physician undermines her conclusion, declaring the death to be an accident, Martha is forced to investigate the shocking murder on her own.
As the trial nears, and whispers and prejudices mount, Martha doggedly pursues the truth. Her diary soon lands at the center of the scandal, implicating those she loves, and compelling Martha to decide where her own loyalties lie.
Kayla’s favorite book so far in 2024 – and it is based on a real person!
Synopsis: Texas, 1934 – Millions are out of work and a drought has broken the Great Plains. Farmers are fighting to keep their land and their livelihoods as the crops are failing, the water is drying up, and dust threatens to bury them all. The Dust Bowl era has arrived with a vengeance. Elsa Martinelli and her neighbors must decide if they stay and fight for the land they love during the throws of the Great Depression or head west for California where whispers say a better life may await.
Favorite nature quote from the book: My land tells its story if you listen. The story of our family.
Synopsis: Inspired by a true story, Burial Rites is set in Iceland in 1829 and tells the story of Agnes Magnúsdóttir – the last person to be executed in Iceland. During the final days leading up to her execution, Agnes is sent to live with a family on an isolated farm. The family at first does their best to ignore Agnes, but the landscape is brutal and they quickly realize it is better to have her help to keep their homestead going. The family cannot help but be drawn to Agnes as they learn more about her life and her side to the story of the murder she’s been charged with committing. The Icelandic winter storms rage on, and so too do the thoughts swirling around in Agnes’s mind as she tries to come to terms with her looming death.
Favorite nature quote from the book: Cruel Birds, ravens, but wise. And creatures should be loved for their wisdom if they cannot be loved for kindness.
The Sound of a Wild Snail Eating
Synopsis: Based on a true story – When Elisabeth Tova Bailey becomes bedridden with illness, she finds happiness in the form of a wood snail that has taken up residence on her nightstand. Bailey closely observes the snail’s daily habits and is soon in awe of how the small creature navigates life. This book shows how even the smallest bits of nature can heal the soul and give you a newfound appreciation for life.
Favorite nature quote from the book: In the presence of a snail, time slows down, and we learn to appreciate the present moment.
Tell us your favorite books with nature as a main character in the comments below! If you’ve read any of the above books with nature as a main character, let us know what you thought about them!
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I’ve read a few on this list and watched the film, Where the Crawdads Sing. I need to catch up and read the others on your list!
Great list! I’ve read a few of these. Charlotte Mcconaghy also has a good one with nature as a primary force in her book Migrations.
Thanks for the recommendation! We will have to check it out!
I like the idea of reading books where nature plays a prominent role. I had never heard of any of these books. So good to get a list that rates so high.
Great list! I’ve read two of these (Where the Crawdads sing and The Great Alone – I’ll have to check the others out!
A great list of books. I’ve read Where the crawdads sing and The Great Alone, and loved them both. The story is compelling and the nature is well described.
This is a great list of books – varied and interesting. I’ve read Giants in the Earth and it was excellent. The other books sound like they will be just as good. Thanks for the list. I am on my way to the library!!