Books like 'God Help the Child'
Readers who enjoyed God Help the Child by Toni Morrison also liked the following books featuring the same tropes, story themes, relationship dynamics and character types.
contemporary psychological literary-fiction classics magical-realism poc-mc family realistic drama grief
-
The Light Through the Leaves by Glendy Vanderah
Rated: 4.39 of 5 stars · 28 ratingsOne unbearable mistake at the edge of the forest.In a moment of crisis, Ellis Abbey leaves her daughter, Viola, unattended—for just a few minutes. But when she returns, Viola is gone. A breaking point in an already fractured marriage, Viola’s abduction causes Ellis to disappear as well—into grief, guilt, and addiction...Categorized as:
coming-of-age dark drama family female-mc literary-fiction magical-realism realistic -
Saturday by Oge Mora
Rated: 4.50 of 5 stars · 16 ratingsIn this warm and tender story by the Caldecott Honor-winning creator of Thank You, Omu!, join a mother and daughter on an up-and-down journey that reminds them of what's best about Saturdays: precious time together. Today would be special. Today would be splendid. It was Saturday! But sometimes, the best plans don't work out exactly the way you expect... -
Ruby Finds a Worry by Tom Percival
Rated: 4.50 of 5 stars · 14 ratingsA sensitive and reassuring story about what to do when a worry won't leave you alone. Meet Ruby—a happy, curious, imaginative girl. But one day, she finds something unexpected: a Worry. It's not such a big Worry, at first. But every day, it grows a little bigger... And a little bigger... Until eventually, the Worry is ENORMOUS and is all she can think about... -
Jabari salta by Gaia Cornwall
Rated: 4.39 of 5 stars · 18 ratingsJabari is definitely ready to jump off the diving board. He's finished his swimming lessons and passed his swim test, and he's a great jumper, so he's not scared at all. "Looks easy," says Jabari, watching the other kids take their turns. But when his dad squeezes his hand, Jabari squeezes back... -
-
Next to Normal by Brian Yorkey, Tom Kitt
Rated: 4.38 of 5 stars · 16 ratings"A brave and breathtaking musical... -
The Glass Girl by Kathleen Glasgow
Rated: 4.38 of 5 stars · 16 ratingsEveryone in fifteen-year-old Bella’s life needs something from her. Her mom needs her to help around the house; her dad needs her to not make waves; her ex needs her to not be so much. The only person who never needed anything from her was her grandmother—and now she’s dead.There’s only one thing that dulls the pressure: alcohol... -
Joy by Victoria Christopher Murray
Rated: 4.42 of 5 stars · 12 ratingsVictoria Christopher Murray's bestselling novel shares the story of a successful black Christian woman who must decide how far she is willing to go to have a future with the man she loves.Anya Mitchell feels greatly blessed. The owner of a successful Los Angeles financial services company, she is also prosperous in love, thanks to handsome writer Braxton Vance... -
Night Road by Kristin Hannah
Rated: 4.20 of 5 stars · 41 ratingsJude Farraday is a happily married, stay-at-home mom who puts everyone’s needs above her own. Her twins, Mia and Zach, are bright and happy teenagers. When Lexi Baill enters their lives, no one is more supportive than Jude. A former foster child with a dark past, Lexi quickly becomes Mia’s best friend. Then Zach falls in love with Lexi and the three become inseparable...Categorized as:
coming-of-age drama family female-mc grief historical-fiction literary-fiction realistic -
Gonna Lay Down My Burdens by Mary Monroe
Rated: 4.33 of 5 stars · 12 ratingsCarmen Taylor finds her life spinning out of control when her best friend Desiree begins dating Chester Sheffield, the man Carmen has loved for years, and when Desiree gets pregant with his child, Carmen commits a reckless crime of passion that forces he..Title: .Gonna Lay Down My Burdens..Author: .Monroe, Mary..Publisher: .Kensington Pub Corp..Publication Date: .2005/10/01..Number of Pages: .384... -
The Grapes of Wrath/The Moon is Down/Cannery Row/East of Eden/Of Mice & Men by John Steinbeck
Rated: 4.29 of 5 stars · 14 ratingsThe Grapes of Wrath / The Moon Is Down / Cannery Row / East of Eden / Of Mice and...Categorized as:
classics drama family historical-fiction literary-fiction 20th-century adult anthologies -
The Essential Tales of Chekhov by Anton Chekhov
Rated: 4.29 of 5 stars · 14 ratingsOf the two hundred stories that Anton Chekhov wrote, the twenty stories that appear in this extraordinary collection were personally chosen by Richard Ford--an accomplished storyteller in his own right. Included are the familiar masterpieces--"The Kiss," "The Darling," and "The Lady with the Dog"--as well as several brilliant lesser-known tales such as "A Blunder," "Hush!," and "Champagne...Categorized as:
classics literary-fiction female-mc fiction anthologies contemporary psychological literary -
Iza's Ballad by Magda Szabó
Rated: 4.25 of 5 stars · 16 ratingsWhen Ettie's husband dies, her daughter Iza insists that her mother give up the family house in the countryside and move to Budapest. Displaced from her community and her home, Ettie tries to find her place in this new life, but can't seem to get it right...Categorized as:
classics family female-mc grief historical-fiction literary-fiction 20th-century action-adventure -
The Day She Came Back by Amanda Prowse
Rated: 4.17 of 5 stars · 24 ratingsWhen her loving, free-spirited grandmother Primrose passes away, Victoria is bereft, yet resilient—she has survived tragedy before. But even her strength is tested when a mysterious woman attends Prim’s funeral and claims to be the mother Victoria thought was dead... -
Winter Solstice by Rosamunde Pilcher
Rated: 4.15 of 5 stars · 26 ratingsHer captivating bestseller of loss and the healing power of love now re-issued with a stunning new jacket look. Elfrida Phipps loves her new life in the pretty Hampshire village. She has a tiny cottage, her faithful dog Horace and the friendship of the neighbouring Blundells - particularly Oscar - to ensure that her days include companionship as well as independence... -
-
Let the Light Shine by Nick Alexander, Penelope Rawlins
Rated: 4.15 of 5 stars · 20 ratingsFrom Nick Alexander, the number one best-selling author of The Photographer's Wife and The Other Son.Penny and Victoria are about as different as two siblings can be, one with a smart London lifestyle, the other struggling to make ends meet. But they are joined by more than blood, and their shared tragic past is affecting the present more than they realise... -
The Secret Life of CeeCee Wilkes by Diane Chamberlain
Rated: 4.11 of 5 stars · 31 ratingsIn 1977, pregnant Genevieve Russell disappeared. Twenty years later, her remains are discovered and Timothy Gleason is charged with murder. But there is no sign of the unborn child. CeeCee Wilkes knows how Genevieve Russell died, because she was there. And she also knows what happened to the missing infant, because two decades ago she made the devastating choice to raise the baby as her own...Categorized as:
coming-of-age dark drama family female-mc historical-fiction literary-fiction realistic -
Here One Moment by Liane Moriarty
Rated: 4.10 of 5 stars · 30 ratingsIf you knew your future, would you try to fight fate? Aside from a delay, there will be no problems. The flight will be smooth, it will land safely. Everyone who gets on the plane will get off. But almost all of them will be forever changed. Because on this ordinary, short, domestic flight, something extraordinary happens. People learn how and when they are going to die... -
Christina by Leanne Davis
Rated: 4.33 of 5 stars · 6 ratingsMy entire life I’ve lived with shadows lurking behind what otherwise appears like the perfect family. My mother often disappears into her bedroom for days at a time because her life becomes too much to deal with. I never understood it. I know there are family secrets. I hear the whispers and innuendos. But no one wants me to know the truth. The thing is: I’m not a little girl anymore... -
The Girl of Tokens and Tears by Susan Ward
Rated: 4.25 of 5 stars · 8 ratings“I should never had fallen in love with Alan. He is like a drug, my secret addiction, and I am trapped in the hold of him.” ~Chrissie Parker “When I call, you’ll come. You won’t be able to stop yourself. We’re spending the rest of our lives together in bed, Chrissie. Get used to the idea.” ~Alan Manzone “We’re both in love with people who are not good for us. People we can’t be with... -
The Collected Regrets of Clover by Mikki Brammer
Rated: 4.25 of 5 stars · 8 ratingsMikki Brammer's The Collected Regrets of Clover is a big-hearted and life-affirming debut about a death doula who, in caring for others at the end of their life, has forgotten how to live her own, for readers of The Midnight Library... -
Hunger for Life by Andy Marr
Rated: 4.25 of 5 stars · 8 ratingsOn the day of his graduation, James says goodbye to the future and moves back to his parents’ house in Myreton, the sleepy village of his childhood. He’s not happy, but the thought of continuing his life anywhere else seems unthinkable while his sister, Emma, continues to suffer with the illness that’s plagued her since she was a child...Categorized as:
family coming-of-age literary-fiction drama romance fiction contemporary mental-illness -
In Sheep's Clothing by Mary Monroe
Rated: 4.17 of 5 stars · 12 ratingsA restless young woman thinks she’s found a free ride to happiness and adventure. But it’s a trip that may land her in prison—or worse. . . When Trudy Bell lands a job at a travel agency, she feels like a new woman. And her friendly personality soon wins her the adoration of her colleagues—with one exception... -
The House of Gazes by Daniele Mencarelli
Rated: 4.31 of 5 stars · 16 ratingsWinner of the 2019 John Fante First Novel Prize The critically acclaimed novel from the author of Everything Calls for Salvation , adapted into a Netflix Original series, is a powerful coming-of-age story about loss, identity, and rebirth Daniele is a young poet plagued by an unknown darkness, “an invisible disease of the heart, or of the mind...Categorized as:
literary-fiction drama coming-of-age fiction contemporary audiobook psychological book -
The Passing Storm by Christine Nolfi
Rated: 4.10 of 5 stars · 20 ratingsA gripping, openhearted novel about family, reconciliation, and bringing closure to the secrets of the past.Early into the tempestuous decade of her thirties, Rae Langdon struggles to work through a grief she never anticipated. With her father, Connor, she tends to their Ohio farm, a forty-acre spread that itself has enjoyed better days... -
-
The Art of Hiding by Amanda Prowse
Rated: 4.08 of 5 stars · 24 ratingsWhat would you do if you learned that the life you lived was a lie? Nina McCarrick lives the perfect life, until her husband, Finn, is killed in a car accident and everything Nina thought she could rely on unravels.Alone, bereft and faced with a mountain of debt, Nina quickly loses her life of luxury and she begins to question whether she ever really knew the man she married... -
How to Make Friends with the Dark by Kathleen Glasgow
Rated: 4.08 of 5 stars · 25 ratingsHere is what happens when your mother dies.It’s the brightest day of summer and it’s dark outside. It’s dark in your house, dark in your room, and dark in your heart. You feel like the darkness is going to split you apart.That’s how it feels for Tiger. It’s always been Tiger and her mother against the world. Then, on a day like any other, Tiger’s mother dies. And now it’s Tiger, alone... -
My Mother's Eyes: A Short Story by Jeremy Ray
Rated: 4.17 of 5 stars · 6 ratings“You’re wrong, Jordie. You’ll see. Draw me just one more time.”No one knows if his mother will come out of her coma, so fourteen-year-old Jordie memorializes her in the only way he knows how: by drawing her. His older brother doesn’t approve of these sketches, but Jordie’s determined to capture the person she used to be... -
Multiple Me's by Sasha Wright
Rated: 4.13 of 5 stars · 8 ratingsMoneca Robinson had to grow up fast when, at a young age, she was forced to care for her mother after a nervous breakdown. Living the fast life way before her adult years, she finally met her match when she fell in love with Rex. Although she thought he was everything she’d been missing, she soon learned Rex was not the man she thought... -
Five Steps to Happy by Ella Dove
Rated: 4.07 of 5 stars · 14 ratings'An up-lit treasure' Red magazine Life can change in a heartbeat... When struggling actress Heidi has a life-changing accident aged 32, her world falls apart. Stuck in hospital and unable to walk, her only companion is Maud, the elderly lady in the bed next to hers... -
We Own the Sky by Luke Allnutt
Rated: 4.06 of 5 stars · 18 ratings“We looked down at the cliff jutting into the sea, a rubber boat full of kids going under the arch, and then you started running and jumping through the grass, dodging the rabbit holes, shouting at the top of your voice, so I started chasing you, trying to catch you, and we were laughing so hard as we ran and ran, kicking up rainbow showers in the leaves... -
Friend of My Youth by Alice Munro
Rated: 4.06 of 5 stars · 18 ratings**Winner of the Nobel Prize in Literature**A woman haunted by dreams of her dead mother. An adulterous couple stepping over the line where the initial excitement ends and the pain begins. A widow visiting a Scottish village in search of her husband's past - and instead discovering unsettling truths about a total stranger...Categorized as:
classics drama family historical-fiction literary-fiction 20th-century adult anthologies -
Goodnight, Beautiful by Dorothy Koomson
Rated: 4.05 of 5 stars · 20 ratingsFrom the author of the internationally bestselling novels My Best Friend’s Girl and Marshmallows for Breakfast comes an incredibly moving, powerfully written new novel about motherhood, love, loss, and new beginnings. Nova will do anything for her closest friend, Mal, whom she has known since childhood... -
Schoolgirl by Osamu Dazai
Rated: 4.05 of 5 stars · 20 ratingsThe novella that first propelled Dazai into the literary elite of post-war Japan. Essentially the start of Dazai's career, Schoolgirl gained notoriety for its ironic and inventive use of language. Now it illuminates the prevalent social structures of a lost time, as well as the struggle of the individual against them--a theme that occupied Dazai's life both personally and professionally... -
Secrets She Left Behind by Diane Chamberlain
Rated: 4.00 of 5 stars · 24 ratingsOne afternoon, single mother Sara Weston says she's going to the store--and never returns. In her absence, she leaves her teenage son alone with his damaged past and a legacy of secrets...Categorized as:
drama family female-mc historical-fiction literary-fiction realistic adult audiobook -
-
The First Wife's Secret by Claire Amarti
Rated: 4.00 of 5 stars · 18 ratingsDinah Spencer is back in her childhood home for one stressful weekend. It’s the twenty-five-year anniversary of her father’s marriage to her stepmother...Categorized as:
family literary-fiction classics coming-of-age female-mc fiction contemporary thriller -
Linden Hills by Gloria Naylor
Rated: 4.00 of 5 stars · 16 ratingsA world away from Brewster Place, yet intimately connected to it, lies Linden Hills. With its showcase homes, elegant lawns, and other trappings of wealth, Linden Hills is not unlike other affluent black communities. But residence in this community is indisputable evidence of "making it...Categorized as:
black-mc classics drama family historical-fiction literary-fiction magical-realism poc-mc -
What We Owe by Golnaz Hashemzadeh Bonde
Rated: 4.00 of 5 stars · 14 ratingsNahid has six months left to live. Or so the doctors say. But Nahid is not the type to trust anyone. She resents the cancer diagnosis she has been given and the doctor who has given it to her. Bubbling inside her is also resentment toward life as it turned out, and the fact that it will go on without her. She feels alone, alone with her illness and alone with her thoughts...Categorized as:
drama family female-mc grief historical-fiction literary-fiction poc-mc 21st-century -
The Quiet You Carry by Nikki Barthelmess
Rated: 4.00 of 5 stars · 10 ratingsVictoria Parker knew her dad's behavior toward her was a little unusual, but she convinced herself everything was fine--until she found herself locked out of the house at 3:00 a.m., surrounded by flashing police lights... -
Secret Lives of Mothers & Daughters by Anita Kushwaha
Rated: 4.00 of 5 stars · 10 ratingsFor readers of Shilpi Somaya Gowda’s "Secret Daughter" and Nancy Richler’s "The Imposter Bride", a breathtaking novel from Anita Kushwaha about the ties that bind mothers and daughters together and the secrets that tear them apartVeena, Mala and Nandini are three very different women with something in common...Categorized as:
literary-fiction realistic family coming-of-age female-mc fiction contemporary audiobook -
The Love We Share Without Knowing by Christopher Barzak
Rated: 4.00 of 5 stars · 8 ratingsOn a train filled with quietly sleeping passengers, a young man’s life is forever altered when he is miraculously seen by a blind man. In a quiet town an American teacher who has lost her Japanese lover to death begins to lose her own self. On a remote road amid fallow rice fields, four young friends carefully take their own lives—and in that moment they become almost as one...Categorized as:
coming-of-age literary-fiction magical-realism realistic adult anthologies contemporary epic -
Ten Birthdays by Kerry Wilkinson
Rated: 4.00 of 5 stars · 8 ratings*Winner of the Romantic Novelists' Association Young Adult Novel of the Year 2018*"There are going to be so many things I wish I could’ve told you in person, Poppy. I won’t get the chance to do that, so perhaps this is my only way…"It’s Poppy Kinsey’s birthday... -
A Sliver of Hope by Karla J. Nellenbach
Rated: 4.00 of 5 stars · 6 ratingsMy twin sister was the only person in the world I thought I’d known inside and out. Apparently, I was wrong. Twin sisters share a unique bond, one that can't be broken by miles, time, or even death. Hannah and Hope Morton are no exception. When Hope takes her own life, Hannah loses a sister and a best friend, a catastrophe she isn't sure she'll survive herself... -
My Mother's Daughter by Ann O'Loughlin
Rated: 4.00 of 5 stars · 6 ratingsCounty Wicklow, Ireland. Margo has just lost her husband Conor and is grieving his passing, unsure how she and her daughter Elsa will survive without him. Then she receives a letter that turns everything she thought she knew on its head. Not only has she lost her husband, but now Margo fears she could lose her daughter as well. Ohio, United States... -
The Horse Dancer by Jojo Moyes
Rated: 3.96 of 5 stars · 26 ratingsFrom the New York Times bestselling author of The Giver of Stars, a novel about a lost girl and her horse, the enduring strength of friendship, and how even the smallest choices can change everythingWhen Sarah's grandfather gives her a beautiful horse named Boo--hoping that one day she'll follow in his footsteps to join an elite French riding school, away from their gritty London...Categorized as:
coming-of-age drama family female-mc historical-fiction literary-fiction realistic action-adventure -
-
Father of the Rain by Lily King
Rated: 3.94 of 5 stars · 18 ratingsIn her most ambitious novel to date, critically acclaimed author Lily King sets her sharply insightful family drama in an upper-middle-class East Coast suburb where she traces a complex and volatile father-daughter relationship from the 1970s to the present day...Categorized as:
coming-of-age family female-mc historical-fiction literary-fiction realistic audiobook book -
The Secrets Mothers Keep by Jacquie Underdown
Rated: 4.08 of 5 stars · 12 ratingsIn the enchanting landscapes of Tasmania, "The Secrets Mothers Keep" unravels a captivating tale of three generations bound by a shared purpose—to restore the family manor into a charming bed and breakfast. But beneath the surface lies a lifetime of concealed truths that threaten to tear them apart...Categorized as:
family literary-fiction historical-fiction drama female-mc fiction contemporary mystery -
The Fifth Floor by Julie Oleszek
Rated: 4.08 of 5 stars · 12 ratingsOne secret. A decade of silence.Seven-year-old Anna loves the constant commotion of her big family. Most of all, Anna adores her ten-year-old sister Liz. They build forts, climb trees, and stick together, no matter what. One moment the two girls are dangling from their backyard swing set; the next, everything changes… Anna will never be the same...Categorized as:
drama literary-fiction family coming-of-age grief fiction young-adult mental-illness -
Putney by Sofka Zinovieff
Rated: 3.94 of 5 stars · 16 ratingsIn the spirit of Notes on a Scandal and Zoe Whittall's The Best Kind of People, an explosive, powerful and timely novel about the far-reaching repercussions of an illicit relationship between a young girl and a man twenty years her senior...Categorized as:
coming-of-age dark drama female-mc historical-fiction literary-fiction realistic 21st-century -
The House of Memories by Monica McInerney
Rated: 3.93 of 5 stars · 14 ratingsSometimes the hardest lessons to learn are those that matter most. Following a tragic accident, Ella O'Hanlon flees to the other side of the world in an attempt to escape her grief, leaving behind the two people she blames for her loss: Aidan, the love of her life, and Jess, her spoilt half-sister... -
Saving Grace by Lee Smith
Rated: 3.93 of 5 stars · 14 ratingsSurrounded all of her life by zealous religious figures, Florida Grace Shepherd recounts a story that begins with her father's revival meetings and ends at Uncle Slidell's Christian Fun Golf course...Categorized as:
coming-of-age drama family historical-fiction literary-fiction realistic audiobook bildungsroman
Or - use our amazing romance book finder to get recommendations based on your favorite content tropes and themes. Mix and match at will.