HeartlandHeartland
Score Modern
What it's about
A memoir of working-class poverty in America. Sarah Smarsh, a fifth-generation Kansas wheat farmer on her father's side and the product of generations of teen mothers on her mother's, shows how class shapes the country.
Why it's worth reading
It was a finalist for the National Book Award for Nonfiction.
You'll love it if you liked
Educated: A Memoir
The Glass Castle
She Come by It Natural: Dolly Parton and the Women Who Lived Her SongsGood to know
It's a memoir.
By the numbers
- Readers32 out of 100 · counts 42%
- Critics28 out of 100 · counts 34% (its stronger lane)
- Bestseller10 out of 100 · counts 14%
- Buzz7 out of 100 · counts 10%
Critics and Bestseller are two ways to earn a place: a book's stronger one counts more. Buzz rewards recent bestseller weeks and prizes, so older books start at zero. The parts combine into the Must-Read Score, shown on a scale where the best book we found scores 99 and the last book to make the ranking scores 50.
Where it ranks
- #263 of the 290 memoirs and biographies we rank
- #1357 of the 1,647 modern books we rank
- #2564 of the 3,056 books we rank
Why it made the list
Reads as
True story
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Between the World and Me
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The Passage of Power
American Prometheus: The Triumph and Tragedy of J. Robert Oppenheimer
Nothing to Envy: Ordinary Lives in North KoreaExplore the best-of lists
All 47 best-of lists →Memoirs and biographiesTop 25 · 290 ranked
Modern booksTop 25 · 1,647 ranked
Books of the 2010sTop 25 · 751 ranked
Fantasy booksTop 25 · 504 ranked
Mysteries and thrillersTop 25 · 623 ranked
Literary novelsTop 25 · 325 ranked
Pulitzer Prize-winning novelsTop 25 · 63 ranked
Science fiction booksTop 25 · 333 rankedQuick answers
Is Heartland worth reading?
Yes. It was a finalist for the National Book Award for Nonfiction. It ranks #2,564 of the 3,056 books in our ranking, with a Must-Read Score of 59.7 (the best book we found scores 99).
What is Heartland about?
A memoir of working-class poverty in America. Sarah Smarsh, a fifth-generation Kansas wheat farmer on her father's side and the product of generations of teen mothers on her mother's, shows how class shapes the country.
How long does it take to read Heartland?
About 8 hours (304 pages), or about 2 weeks at 30 minutes a day.
What should I read after Heartland?
If you liked it, try Educated: A Memoir by Tara Westover, The Glass Castle by Jeannette Walls or She Come by It Natural: Dolly Parton and the Women Who Lived Her Songs by Sarah Smarsh.