15 Novels Set in Oklahoma You Might Enjoy

Oklahoma’s plains, hills, and cities have sparked the imagination of many writers. It’s a place with a rich, sometimes tough history and unique landscapes that you can almost feel when you read about them.

Here are some novels where Oklahoma isn’t just a location, but almost a character itself. You might find a story here that stays with you long after you turn the last page.

  1. 1
    True Grit by Charles Portis

    This book introduces Mattie Ross, a fourteen-year-old girl who is all business when it comes to avenging her father.

    She travels from Arkansas into Oklahoma’s Indian Territory and hires Rooster Cogburn, a one-eyed U.S. Marshal who doesn’t always follow the rules but knows how to track a man. Their journey through rugged country tests both Mattie’s sharp mind and Rooster’s questionable methods.

  2. 2
    Where the Red Fern Grows by Wilson Rawls

    You can almost smell the woods and hear the hounds in this story about Billy Colman. He lives in the Oklahoma Ozarks and wants hunting dogs more than anything. He saves up for two years to buy his pups, Old Dan and Little Ann.

    The book follows their adventures as they become the best hunting team around, and explores the incredible connection Billy has with his dogs.

  3. 3
    The Outsiders by S. E. Hinton

    Set in Tulsa, this novel throws you into the world of Ponyboy Curtis and his friends, the Greasers. They are always clashing with the Socs, the rich kids from the other side of town.

    It’s about loyalty, the pain of losing people you care about, and how Ponyboy starts to see beyond the labels of Greaser and Soc. He wonders if maybe they watch the same sunset after all.

  4. 4
    Where the Heart Is by Billie Letts

    Imagine seventeen-year-old Novalee Nation, pregnant and abandoned by her boyfriend at a Sequoyah, Oklahoma, Walmart. She secretly lives in the store for a while, then has her baby right there.

    The quirky people in this small town take her in, and Novalee starts to build a completely unexpected life for herself and her daughter.

  5. 5
    Rifles for Watie by Harold Keith

    This story takes you back to the Civil War on the western frontier. Jeff Bussey is a young Union soldier from Kansas who ends up deep in Indian Territory (modern-day Oklahoma).

    He sees the war from different angles, even spending time among the Cherokee forces led by Stand Watie. You get a real sense of the landscape and the complicated loyalties during that time.

  6. 6
    That Was Then, This Is Now by S.E. Hinton

    Bryon and Mark grew up together in Tulsa; they were closer than brothers. But as teenagers in the 1960s, they start to drift apart. Their paths diverge, and Bryon faces choices that could change their intense friendship forever.

    The story captures that feeling when the world you knew starts to shift beneath your feet.

  7. 7
    House of Night (Series) by P. C. Cast & Kristin Cast

    Zoey Redbird is just a regular teenager in Tulsa until she gets Marked as a fledgling vampyre. She has to leave her life behind and move into the House of Night, a special school. There, she discovers she has unusual powers tied to the elements.

    She makes friends and enemies while she tries to figure out the secrets of this new world, which exists alongside everyday Tulsa.

  8. 8
    Summer of the Monkeys by Wilson Rawls

    Set in the Oklahoma Ozarks near the end of the 1800s, this book is about Jay Berry Lee. One summer, he finds a whole troop of trained monkeys that escaped from a circus loose in the river bottoms.

    There’s a big reward for catching them, money Jay Berry dreams of using to help his family. His attempts to capture these clever monkeys lead to humorous and sometimes thoughtful adventures.

  9. 9
    Out of the Dust by Karen Hesse

    This novel uses free-verse poems to tell the story of Billie Jo. She lives in the Oklahoma Panhandle during the Dust Bowl years of the 1930s. Dust storms constantly choke the land and make life incredibly difficult.

    Billie Jo faces terrible loss and hardship, and the poems give you a powerful sense of her voice and her struggle to find hope when everything seems covered in dust.

  10. 10
    Sundown by John Joseph Mathews

    Chal Windzer is a young Osage man in Oklahoma during the early 20th century oil boom. He returns home from college and feels caught between the traditional ways of his people and the fast-changing world brought by oil money.

    The book shows how the sudden wealth complicated life and identity for the Osage Nation.

  11. 11
    Dragon's Oath (A House of Night Novella) by P.C. Cast & Kristin Cast

    This story goes back in time to reveal the past of Dragon Lankford, the fencing master at Tulsa’s House of Night school.

    You learn about his youth in 19th-century England, his love for a woman named Anastasia, and the choices and vows he made that led him to become the vampyre warrior Zoey and her friends know. It adds another layer to the House of Night world.

  12. 12
    Awakened (House of Night Series) by P.C. Cast & Kristin Cast

    In this installment, Zoey Redbird and her friends at Tulsa’s House of Night face serious danger. Zoey is dealing with the aftermath of a shattering event, while the dark forces led by Neferet continue to grow stronger.

    The battle between light and darkness unfolds against the backdrop of familiar Tulsa locations.

  13. 13
    Marked by Fire by Joyce Carol Thomas

    Abyssinia “Abby” Jackson grows up in a small, close-knit Black community in rural Oklahoma. When a terrible tornado rips through the town, followed by personal tragedy, Abby’s spirit is tested.

    The story follows her journey through healing and self-discovery, surrounded by the strong traditions and people of her town.

  14. 14
    Pushing the Bear by Diane Glancy

    This novel gives voice to the Cherokee people forced to walk the Trail of Tears in the 1830s. It tells the story through the experiences of Maritole and her family as they are driven from their lands in the East towards what is now Oklahoma.

    You hear from different characters, and you feel their struggle, loss, and resilience on that devastating journey.

  15. 15
    Shell Shaker by LeAnne Howe

    This book moves between modern-day Oklahoma and 18th-century Mississippi. It connects the lives of a contemporary Choctaw family with their ancestors. The story starts when a Choctaw chief is murdered, and suspicion falls on one of the family members.

    Their search for the truth uncovers old secrets and shows the enduring strength of Choctaw history and traditions.