In honor of #ReadABookDay, check out these fictional stories set in the Land of Lincoln:

Adventures of Huckleberry Finn (1855)
By Mark Twain

Huckleberry Finn, a young teenager, travels along the Mississippi River through Missouri, Illinois, Kentucky and Arkansas on a raft with Jim, who is escaping slavery. Huck’s father Pap lives in the woods on the Illinois side of the Mississippi.

The House on Mango Street (1984)
By Sandra Cisneros

“The House on Mango Street” is coming-of-age novel and tells the story of Esperanza Cordero, a young Latina girl, and her life growing up in Chicago with Chicanos and Puerto Ricans.

Native Son (1940)
By Richard Wright

“Native Son” tells the story of 20-year-old Bigger Thomas, a young man living in utter poverty in a poor area on Chicago’s South Side in the 1930s.

The Jungle (1906)
By Upton Sinclair

Set in Chicago, Upton Sinclair wrote “The Jungle” to expose the appalling working conditions in the meat-packing industry. His work helped lead to new federal food safety laws.

Ordinary People (1976)
By Judith Guest

The Jarrett family, living in Lake Forest, Ill., deal with the death of one of their sons and the subsequent suicide attempt of the other.