Big Books of 2026

Listopia > Poor Book Lists

Oliver Twist by Charles DickensThe Adventures of Huckleberry Finn by Mark TwainOf Mice and Men by John SteinbeckLes Misérables by Victor HugoThe Grapes of Wrath by John Steinbeck
Underclass
375 books — 131 voters
Nickel and Dimed by Barbara EhrenreichEvicted by Matthew DesmondJourney to the West by Biao WangMaid by Stephanie LandThe Working Poor by David K. Shipler
Books on Poverty and Inequality
218 books — 116 voters

Anne of Green Gables by L.M. MontgomeryHarry Potter Series Box Set by J.K. RowlingThe Bad Beginning by Lemony SnicketSky Ghosts by Alexandra EngellmannThe Forsaken by R.J. Craddock
Awesome Orphans
161 books — 76 voters
The Duchess War by Courtney MilanSecrets of a Summer Night by Lisa KleypasSomething Wonderful by Judith McNaughtJane Eyre by Charlotte BrontëThe Admiral's Penniless Bride by Carla Kelly
Impoverished Heroines
132 books — 58 voters

Breaking Dawn by Stephenie MeyerEclipse by Stephenie MeyerJust a Few Inches by Tara St. PierreLove for Kenya by Aretha ReniaAll the Wrong People Have Self-Esteem by Laurie Rosenwald
Best FIction Books Promoting Good Self Esteem
85 books — 55 voters
Can't Get There from Here by Todd StrasserPaper Things by Jennifer Richard JacobsonWhere I Live by Brenda RufenerHold Fast by Blue BalliettRunaway by Wendelin Van Draanen
Homelessness in Children's Fiction
114 books — 39 voters

Breaking Dawn by Stephenie MeyerEclipse by Stephenie MeyerNew Moon by Stephenie MeyerTwilight by Stephenie MeyerAllegiant by Veronica Roth
The Worst Things You Have Ever Read
195 books — 34 voters
Last Stop on Market Street by Matt de la PeñaThe Table Where Rich People Sit by Byrd BaylorA Chair for My Mother by Vera B. WilliamsThose Shoes by Maribeth BoeltsEach Kindness by Jacqueline Woodson
Picture Books About Poverty & Material Wealth
143 books — 28 voters

Oliver Twist by Charles DickensA Tree Grows in Brooklyn by Betty SmithAngela’s Ashes by Frank McCourtThe Glass Castle by Jeannette WallsWhere the Crawdads Sing by Delia Owens
Books Involving Lower Class Families
299 books — 24 voters
Kyland by Mia SheridanRuthless by Anne StuartTrade Me by Courtney MilanOnce Upon a Masquerade by Tamara HughesUnshakeable by Molly MacKenzie
Poverty in Romance Novels
54 books — 19 voters

Red Queen by Victoria AveyardThe Selection by Kiera CassGlass Sword by Victoria AveyardThe Elite by Kiera CassFrostfire by Amanda Hocking
YA Fantasy Romance & Royals
40 books — 19 voters
Romeo and Juliet by William ShakespeareHarry Potter and the Order of the Phoenix by J.K. RowlingJane Eyre by Charlotte BrontëSpeaker for the Dead by Orson Scott CardThe Hitchhiker's Guide to the Galaxy by Douglas Adams
Poor Communication Kills
52 books — 18 voters

This Heart of Mine by Brenda NovakWhat Price Paradise by Katherine AllredAfter the Night by Linda HowardHitting the Wall by Cate C. WellsAgainst a Wall by Cate C. Wells
Heroine from wrong side of the tracks
29 books — 13 voters
Finding Somewhere to Belong by C.C. MastersDynasty by Sheridan AnneFractured Heart by Mia HarlanWings of the Walker by Coralee JuneNow or Never by Lucy Smoke
Rags to Riches Reverse Harem Romance
16 books — 10 voters

Annihilation of Caste by B.R. AmbedkarWho were the Shudras? by B.R. AmbedkarThe Buddha and his Dhamma by Aakash Singh RathoreCastes in India by B.R. AmbedkarThe Untouchables by B.R. Ambedkar
Ambedkar
95 books — 6 voters
Angela’s Ashes by Frank McCourtThe Sorrows of Young Mike by John ZelaznyFear and Loathing in America by Hunter S. ThompsonA Modest Proposal for Peace, Prosperity and Happiness by Frank SchaefferA Modest Proposal for America by Howard Steven Friedman
Influenced By A Modest Proposal
5 books — 5 voters

Woody Notes, and Heat Sneaking up Fast by Danny WinterDon't Lose Your Head by Jeanette PowersPostwar Polish Poetry by Czesław MiłoszLittle Fires Hiding by Jason BaldingerUnanswered Verses by Tajammul Kothari
Poetry of the Proletariat
19 books — 5 voters
The Little Matchgirl by Miles Kelly PublishingNickel and Dimed by Barbara EhrenreichThe Boxcar Children by Gertrude Chandler WarnerThe Mole People by Jennifer TothA Christmas Carol by Charles Dickens
Poverty In Fact And Fiction
96 books — 5 voters

Fahrenheit 451 by Ray BradburyThe Razor’s Edge by W. Somerset MaughamCaptains Courageous by Rudyard KiplingStreaking for Mother by Mark ShearmanTouching Spirit Bear by Ben Mikaelsen
Loss of things/rags to riches
9 books — 4 voters
Khairlanji by Anand TeltumbdeHaunted by Fire by Mythily SivaramanComing Out as Dalit by Yashica DuttSpotted Goddesses by Roja SinghVenomous Touch by Ravikumar
Dalit Nonfiction
92 books — 4 voters

Because of Winn-Dixie by Kate DiCamilloWith the Fire on High by Elizabeth AcevedoSomeplace Else by Ben ShecterThe Benefits of Being an Octopus by Ann BradenThe Good Dream by Donna VanLiere
lower class kids
36 books — 4 voters
The Great Tithing Debate by A. Bruce WellsKleptomaniac by Frank Chase Jr.Kleptomaniac by Frank Chase Jr.The Tithe by James J. DeFazioThe Tithes That Bind by C.L. Threatt
Kleptomaniac: Who's Really Robbing God Anyway?
12 books — 1 voter

Memoirs of a Dalit Communist by R.B. MoreCaste Matters by Suraj YengdeThe Social Context of an Ideology by M S GoreMahad by Bojja TharakamAmbedkar by Narendra Jadhav
Ambedkarite
23 books — 1 voter
My Work is Not Yet Done by Thomas LigottiHorrorstör by Grady HendrixHasty for the Dark by Adam L.G. NevillThere Is No Antimemetics Division by qntmThe Corporation by J.F. Gonzalez
Corporate, Workplace and Capitalist Horror in Fiction
66 books — 1 voter

Blood Meridian, or, the Evening Redness in the West by Cormac McCarthyLakewood by Megan GiddingsSnow Crash by Neal StephensonThe Employees by Olga RavnRipe by Sarah Rose Etter
Corporate, Workplace and Capitalist Exploitation in Fiction Part I
100 books — 1 voter
Metal from Heaven by August ClarkeTrust by Hernan DiazLand of Milk and Honey by C Pam ZhangBabel by R.F. KuangThe Ministry for the Future by Kim Stanley Robinson
Corporate, Workplace and Capitalist Exploitation in Fiction Part II
100 books — 1 voter

The Egg Man by Carlton Mellick IIIExtreme Makeover by Dan WellsThe Collected Stories of Philip K. Dick 3 by Philip K. DickThe Terraformers by Annalee NewitzThe Portable Door by Tom Holt
Corporate, Workplace and Capitalist Exploitation in Fiction Part III
14 books — 1 voter

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