Books like 'Rooftoppers'
Readers who enjoyed Rooftoppers by Katherine Rundell also liked the following books featuring the same tropes, story themes, relationship dynamics and character types.
historical fantasy action / adventure mystery historical-fiction children family realistic friendship magical-realism
-
Boy's Life by Robert McCammon
Rated: 4.39 of 5 stars · 42 ratingsAn Alabama boy’s innocence is shaken by murder and madness in the 1960s South in this novel by the New York Times–bestselling author of Swan Song. It’s 1964 in idyllic Zephyr, Alabama. People either work for the paper mill up the Tecumseh River, or for the local dairy. It’s a simple life, but it stirs the impressionable imagination of twelve-year-old aspiring writer Cory Mackenson... -
Echo by Pam Muñoz Ryan
Rated: 4.32 of 5 stars · 28 ratingsAn impassioned, uplifting, and virtuosic tour de force from a treasured storyteller!Lost and alone in a forbidden forest, Otto meets three mysterious sisters and suddenly finds himself entwined in a puzzling quest involving a prophecy, a promise, and a harmonica...Categorized as:
children coming-of-age family friendship historical-fiction magical-realism realistic survival -
The Assassin's Curse by Kevin Sands
Rated: 4.44 of 5 stars · 16 ratingsChristopher Rowe is back and there are more puzzles, riddles, and secrets to uncover in this third novel of the award-winning Blackthorn Key series.Wherever Christopher Rowe goes, adventure—and murder—follows. Even a chance to meet King Charles ends in a brush with an assassin.All that’s recovered from the killer is a coded message with an ominous sign-off: more attempts are coming...Categorized as:
children friendship historical-fiction humor action-adventure audiobook book children-books -
Cloud Cuckoo Land by Anthony Doerr
Rated: 4.30 of 5 stars · 52 ratingsAmong the most celebrated and beloved novels of 2021, Anthony Doerr's gorgeous third novel is a triumph of imagination and compassion, a soaring story about children on the cusp of adulthood in worlds in peril, who find resilience, hope--and a book... -
-
The Whispers in the Walls by Sophie Cleverly
Rated: 4.38 of 5 stars · 16 ratingsWhen the walls begin to speak, it is unwise to ignore what they have to say...At the bidding of their cold-hearted stepmother, twin sisters Scarlet and Ivy are sentenced to board for a year at Rookwood School. The headmaster is cruel, the hallways are drafty, and there seems to be a thief afoot...Categorized as:
children family historical-fiction realistic action-adventure boarding-school book children-books -
Profetian om Beatrice by Kate DiCamillo
Rated: 4.33 of 5 stars · 18 ratingsFrom two-time Newbery Medalist Kate DiCamillo and two-time Caldecott Medalist Sophie Blackall comes a fantastical meditation on fate, love, and the power of words to spell the world.We shall all, in the end, be led to where we belong. We shall all, in the end, find our way home.In a time of war, a mysterious child appears at the monastery of the Order of the Chronicles of Sorrowing...Categorized as:
children coming-of-age family friendship historical-fiction humor magical-realism realistic -
The Magic Faraway Tree by Enid Blyton
Rated: 4.25 of 5 stars · 28 ratingsJo, Bessie and Fanny take their cousin Rick on an adventure he'll never forget to the magic Faraway Tree, where he meets Moon-Face, Silky the fairy and Saucepan Man, and visits all the different lands at the top of the Faraway Tree...Categorized as:
children classics coming-of-age family friendship literary-fiction magical-realism 20th-century -
The Ruins of Gorlan by John Flanagan
Rated: 4.23 of 5 stars · 66 ratingsThey have always scared him in the past — the Rangers, with their dark cloaks and shadowy ways. The villagers believe the Rangers practice magic that makes them invisible to ordinary people. And now 15-year-old Will, always small for his age, has been chosen as a Ranger's apprentice. What he doesn't yet realize is that the Rangers are the protectors of the kingdom...Categorized as:
children coming-of-age family friendship historical-fiction humor survival action-adventure -
Curse of the Blue Tattoo: Being an Account of the Misadventures of Jacky Faber, Midshipman and Fine Lady by L.A. Meyer
Rated: 4.25 of 5 stars · 24 ratingsAfter being forced to leave HMS Dolphin and Jaimy, her true love, Jacky Faber is making a new start at the elite Lawson Peabody School for Young Girls in Boston. But growing up on the streets of London and fighting pirates never prepared Jacky for her toughest battle yet: learning how to be a fine lady. Everything she does is wrong...Categorized as:
children coming-of-age family female-mc friendship historical-fiction humor realistic -
Pony by R.J. Palacio
Rated: 4.31 of 5 stars · 16 ratingsA story about a boy on a quest to rescue his father, with only a ghost as his companion, and a mysterious pony as his guide.Twelve-year-old Silas is awoken in the dead of night by three menacing horsemen who take his father away. Silas is left shaken, scared, and alone, except for the presence of his companion, Mittenwool . . . who happens to be a ghost...Categorized as:
children coming-of-age family friendship historical-fiction magical-realism realistic survival -
The Lost Twin by Sophie Cleverly
Rated: 4.31 of 5 stars · 16 ratingsIvy, I pray that it's you reading this. And if you are, well, I suppose you're the new me...When shy Ivy's troublemaking twin Scarlet vanishes from Rookwood boarding school, Ivy is invited to "take her place." But when Ivy arrives, she discovers the school's true intention; she has to pretend to be Scarlet. She must think like Scarlet, act like Scarlet, become Scarlet...Categorized as:
children coming-of-age family female-mc friendship historical-fiction realistic action-adventure -
Laurus by Eugene Vodolazkin
Rated: 4.28 of 5 stars · 18 ratingsIt is the late fifteenth century and a village healer in Russia is powerless to help his beloved as she dies in childbirth, unwed and without having received communion. Devastated and desperate, he sets out on a journey in search of redemption... -
The Runaway King by Jennifer A. Nielsen
Rated: 4.26 of 5 stars · 46 ratingsA kingdom teetering on the brink of destruction. A king gone missing. Who will survive? Just weeks after Jaron has taken the throne, an assassination attempt forces him into a deadly situation. Rumors of a coming war are winding their way between the castle walls, and Jaron feels the pressure quietly mounting within Carthya...Categorized as:
children coming-of-age family friendship historical-fiction humor survival action-adventure -
The Secret Garden by Frances Hodgson Burnett
Rated: 4.18 of 5 stars · 89 ratingsIn this beloved story, readers travel with Mary Lennox, a spoiled and sullen orphan, from colonial India to Misselthwaite Manor, a forbidding estate on the Yorkshire moors. There, in the unlikeliest of places, Mary discovers and helps restore an abandoned garden and, in the process, blossoms herself into a creature of loving kindness...Categorized as:
children classics coming-of-age family friendship historical-fiction literary-fiction realistic -
-
The False Prince by Jennifer A. Nielsen
Rated: 4.20 of 5 stars · 61 ratingsIn a discontent kingdom, civil war is brewing. To unify the divided people, Conner, a nobleman of the court, devises a cunning plan to find an impersonator of the king's long-lost son and install him as a puppet prince. Four orphans are recruited to compete for the role, including a defiant boy named Sage...Categorized as:
children coming-of-age family friendship historical-fiction humor realistic action-adventure -
The Royal Ranger: A New Beginning by John Flanagan
Rated: 4.26 of 5 stars · 39 ratingsAfter a senseless tragedy destroys his life, Will is obsessed with punishing those responsible - even if it means leaving the Ranger Corps. His worried friends must find a way to stop him taking such a dark path. It is Halt who suggests the solution: Will must take an apprentice. The candidate Halt has in mind surprises everyone - and it's a request Will cannot refuse...Categorized as:
children coming-of-age family friendship historical-fiction humor action-adventure audiobook -
Journey to the River Sea by Eva Ibbotson
Rated: 4.20 of 5 stars · 25 ratingsSent in 1910 to live with distant relatives who own a rubber plantation along the Amazon River, English orphan Maia is excited. She believes she is in for brightly colored macaws, enormous butterflies, and "curtains of sweetly scented orchids trailing from the trees." Her British classmates warn her of man-eating alligators and wild, murderous Indians...Categorized as:
children classics coming-of-age family female-mc friendship historical-fiction journey -
The Enchanted Wood by Enid Blyton
Rated: 4.19 of 5 stars · 26 ratingsJo, Bessie and Fanny move to the country and find an Enchanted Wood right on their doorstep. In the magic Faraway Tree live the magical characters that soon become their new friends – Moon-Face, Silky the fairy, and Saucepan Man...Categorized as:
children classics coming-of-age family friendship humor literary-fiction 20th-century -
The Unmapped Sea by Maryrose Wood
Rated: 4.25 of 5 stars · 16 ratingsFans of Lemony Snicket and the Mysterious Benedict Society books will devour the Incorrigible Children of Ashton Place series, about a governess and her three charges--children who have been raised by wolves.In The Interrupted Tale, the fourth title in the acclaimed and hilarious mystery series, Miss Penelope Lumley's sixteenth birthday is not quite sweet...Categorized as:
children family female-mc friendship historical-fiction humor action-adventure alpha-mc -
The Shadow Throne by Jennifer A. Nielsen
Rated: 4.25 of 5 stars · 38 ratingsOne war.Too many deadly battles.Can a king save his kingdom, when his own survival seems unlikely?War has come to Carthya. It knocks at every door and window in the land. And when Jaron learns that King Vargan of Avenia has kidnapped Imogen in a plot to bring Carthya to its knees, Jaron knows it is up to him to embark on a daring rescue mission. But everything that can go wrong does...Categorized as:
children coming-of-age family friendship historical-fiction humor survival action-adventure -
The Ice Monster by David Walliams
Rated: 4.22 of 5 stars · 18 ratingsHailed as “the heir to Roald Dahl” by The Spectator, the UK’s #1 bestselling children’s author, David Walliams, will have fans of Jeff Kinney and Rachel Renee Russell in stitches! David Walliams burst on to the American scene with his New York Times bestseller Demon Dentist, and now he’s bringing his signature humor to this story of a ten-year-old orphan and a 10,000-year-old mammoth...Categorized as:
children family female-mc historical-fiction humor action-adventure animals anthropomorphism -
The Forgotten Sisters by Shannon Hale
Rated: 4.19 of 5 stars · 21 ratingsAfter a year at the king's palace, Miri has learned all about being a proper princess. But the tables turn when the student must become the teacher!Instead of returning to her beloved Mount Eskel, Miri is ordered to journey to a distant swamp and start a princess academy for three sisters, cousins of the royal family...Categorized as:
children coming-of-age family female-mc friendship historical-fiction humor action-adventure -
Vespers Rising by Rick Riordan, Gordon Korman
Rated: 4.14 of 5 stars · 29 ratingsThe Cahills aren't the only family searching for the Clues. . . .The Cahills thought they were the most powerful family the world had ever known. They thought they were the only ones who knew about Gideon Cahill and his Clues. The Cahills were wrong.Powerful enemies --the Vespers-- have been waiting in the shadows. Now it's their time to rise and the world will never be the same...Categorized as:
children family historical-fiction realistic survival action-adventure audiobook book -
Captain Nemo: 20,000 Leagues Under the Sea and the Mysterious Island by Jules Verne
Rated: 4.25 of 5 stars · 12 ratingsHere in one binding are both of Jules Verne's Captain Nemo novels. In 20,000 Leagues Under the Sea we meet the enigmatic Captain Nemo and The Nautilus. Even after many adventures and much derring-do Nemo's secrets remain his own, and at the end of the novel we are left with many mysteries concering this mysterious and tragic man. In The Mysterious Island we once again encounter Captain Nemo...Categorized as:
children classics historical-fiction literary-fiction action-adventure book children-books crime -
-
Silent Night by Clifford Riley
Rated: 4.25 of 5 stars · 12 ratingsA brand new holiday adventure from the world of The 39 Clues! The year is 1914 and war is raging in Europe. Eager to win glory for the Lucian branch, sixteen-year-old Rupert Davenport (Ian Kabra's ancestor) sneaks off to France to join the fighting. But the reality of battle is unlike anything Rupert imagined...Categorized as:
children family historical-fiction action-adventure audiobook book children-books fiction -
The Prisoner of Heaven by Carlos Ruiz Zafón
Rated: 4.11 of 5 stars · 40 ratingsBarcelona, 1957. It is Christmas, and Daniel Sempere and his wife Bea have much to celebrate. They have a beautiful new baby son named Julian, and their close friend Fermín Romero de Torres is about to be wed. But their joy is eclipsed when a mysterious stranger visits the Sempere bookshop and threatens to divulge a terrible secret that has been buried for two decades in the city's dark past...Categorized as:
classics family friendship historical-fiction journey literary-fiction magical-realism 20th-century -
The Last Musketeer by Stuart Gibbs
Rated: 4.21 of 5 stars · 14 ratingsThe first book in the thrilling time travel adventure trilogy from New York Times bestselling Spy School author Stuart Gibbs! Before they were legends, they were friends. All for one and one for all!On a family trip to Paris, Greg Rich's parents disappear. They're not just missing from the city—they're missing from the century... -
The 1000 Year Old Boy by Ross Welford
Rated: 4.19 of 5 stars · 16 ratingsA heartstopping, poignant, epic adventure story about a boy destined to live forever, who only wants to grow up. Without death, life is just existence.Have you ever wondered what it would be like to live forever? Well, Alfie Monk can tell you...Categorized as:
children coming-of-age family friendship historical-fiction humor journey magical-realism -
Redwall by Brian Jacques
Rated: 4.13 of 5 stars · 66 ratingsA quest to recover a legendary lost weapon by bumbling young apprentice monk, mouse Matthias. Redwall Abbey, tranquil home to a community of peace-loving mice, is threatened by Cluny the Scourge savage bilge rat warlord and his battle-hardened horde. But the Redwall mice and their loyal woodland friends combine their courage and strength...Categorized as:
children classics coming-of-age friendship historical-fiction humor quest 20th-century -
Peter and the Sword of Mercy by Dave Barry, Ridley Pearson
Rated: 4.20 of 5 stars · 36 ratingsThe year is 1902 - it's been twenty-three years since Peter and the Lost Boys returned from Rundoon. Since then, nobody on the island has grown a day older, and the Lost Boys continue their friendship with the Mollusk tribe, and their rivalry with Captain Hook. Meanwhile in London, Molly has married George Darling and is raising three children: Wendy, Michael, and John...Categorized as:
children classics family friendship historical-fiction humor action-adventure audiobook -
Legacy by Clifford Riley
Rated: 4.16 of 5 stars · 19 ratingsThe first of seven brand new 39 clues stories, leading up to one explosive reveal.Time is running out for Grace Cahill as she struggles to make the most important choice of her life: a decision that will shape the future of the Cahill family... and the world at large...Categorized as:
children family historical-fiction realistic action-adventure book children-books fiction -
The Black Book of Buried Secrets by Mallory Kass, Rick Riordan
Rated: 4.12 of 5 stars · 25 ratingsFor the past five hundred years, the Cahills have silently dominated the world. Their desperate hunt for the 39 Clues lies behind some of history’s biggest enigmas – the curse of the Hope diamond, the race to summit Mt. Everest, the wild life and death of Harry Houdini. And now – finally – the secrets are out...Categorized as:
children family historical-fiction realistic action-adventure book children-books fiction -
The Changeling by Zilpha Keatley Snyder
Rated: 4.18 of 5 stars · 12 ratingsIvy Carson belonged to the notorious Carson family, which lived in a run-down house in suburban Rosewood. But Ivy was not a typical Carson. There was something wonderful about her. Ivy explained it by saying that she was a changeling, a child of supernatural parents who had been exchanged for the real Ivy Carson at birth. This classic book was first published in 1970...Categorized as:
children classics coming-of-age family friendship magical-realism realistic 20th-century -
The Girl Who Fell Beneath Fairyland and Led the Revels There by Catherynne M. Valente
Rated: 4.17 of 5 stars · 33 ratingsSeptember has longed to return to Fairyland after her first adventure there. And when she finally does, she learns that its inhabitants have been losing their shadows—and their magic—to the world of Fairyland Below. This underworld has a new ruler: Halloween, the Hollow Queen, who is September's shadow. And Halloween does not want to give Fairyland's shadows back...Categorized as:
children coming-of-age female-mc friendship historical-fiction humor magical-realism 21st-century -
-
Watch Your Tail! by Geronimo Stilton
Rated: 4.20 of 5 stars · 10 ratingsGeronimo Stilton meets the Stone Age in this NEW spin-off series!Geronimo Stilton's ancient ancestor Geronimo Stiltonoot stars in the Cavemice series!Geronimo Stiltonoot wakes up to a terrible morning...Categorized as:
children historical-fiction humor action-adventure animals book children-books fiction -
Moonlocket by Peter Bunzl
Rated: 4.17 of 5 stars · 12 ratingsIt’s hard to escape the secrets from the past. Storm clouds gather over Lily and Robert’s summer when criminal mastermind the Jack of Diamonds appears. Jack is searching for the mysterious Moonlocket—but that’s not the only thing he’s after. Suddenly, dark secrets from Robert’s past plunge him into danger. Jack is playing a cruel game that Robert is wrapped up in...Categorized as:
children family friendship historical-fiction action-adventure audiobook book children-books -
Marianne Dreams by Catherine Storr
Rated: 4.17 of 5 stars · 12 ratingsIll and bored with having to stay in bed, Marianne picks up a pencil and starts doodling - a house, a garden, a boy at the window. That night she has an extraordinary dream. She is transported into her own picture, and as she explores further she soon realises she is not alone...Categorized as:
children classics coming-of-age friendship survival 20th-century action-adventure book -
Fireworks by Clifford Riley
Rated: 4.17 of 5 stars · 12 ratingsThe last of seven brand new 39 Clues stories, with an explosive secret revealed!The holidays can be hard for any family, but they're particularly tough for the Cahills. Amy Cahill is exhausted from her training. Dan can't forget the tragedies he witnessed on the Clue hunt. Ian and Natalie Kabra are trying to enjoy the London festivities, but it's hard without their parents...Categorized as:
children family historical-fiction realistic action-adventure book children-books fiction -
The Celestial Globe by Marie Rutkoski
Rated: 4.14 of 5 stars · 14 ratingsAfter stealing her father’s eyes back from Prince Rodolfo, Petra Kronos lives in constant danger. She and her tin spider, Astrophil, end up hiding out in London, where she learns more about her magical abilities. London has its charms (like Petra’s attractive fencing master), but Petra needs to get back to Bohemia and her father...Categorized as:
children family female-mc friendship historical-fiction quest action-adventure alternate-history -
The Good Thieves by Katherine Rundell
Rated: 4.14 of 5 stars · 14 ratingsFrom award-winning author Katherine Rundell comes a fast-paced, sharp-turning, and utterly thrilling adventure, one driven at its heart by an extraordinarily powerful evocation of the loyalty and love between a grandfather and his granddaughter...Categorized as:
children family friendship historical-fiction humor magical-realism realistic action-adventure -
Crushed by Clifford Riley
Rated: 4.13 of 5 stars · 16 ratingsIan Kabra has an embarrassing secret. It's not that he once accidentally ate at Burger King. It's not that he still has his childhood teddy bear, Mr Buttons. It's that he can't stop thinking about a certain grubby American orphan...Categorized as:
children family historical-fiction action-adventure book fiction historical law-enforcement -
Starry River of the Sky by Grace Lin
Rated: 4.10 of 5 stars · 20 ratingsThe moon is missing from the remote Village of Clear Sky, but only a young boy named Rendi seems to notice! Rendi has run away from home and is now working as a chore boy at the village inn... -
Airman by Eoin Colfer
Rated: 4.15 of 5 stars · 35 ratingsOne dark night on the island of Great Saltee, fourteen-year-old Conor is framed for a terrible crime he didn’t commit. Thrown into prison by the dastardly Hugo Bonvilain, Conor is trapped in a seaswept dungeon and branded a traitor. He must escape and clear his name; he wants his old life back – his family, his friends . . . and his princess.Conor knows there is only one way out...Categorized as:
children coming-of-age family friendship historical-fiction realistic survival 21st-century -
Den of Thieves by Julia Golding
Rated: 4.21 of 5 stars · 23 ratingsCat Royal finds herself homeless, travels to Paris, becomes an underground reporter, nearly gets hung for being a traitor to the revolution, and is baffled by attention from numerous suitors - all the while being disguised as a prissy ballerina! As the French Royal family flee, Cat discovers the power of the people...Categorized as:
children female-mc historical-fiction realistic action-adventure alpha-mc book children-books -
-
The Tale of Despereaux by Kate DiCamillo
Rated: 4.05 of 5 stars · 42 ratingsA brave mouse, a covetous rat, a wishful serving girl, and a princess named Pea come together in Kate DiCamillo's Newbery Medal–winning tale.Welcome to the story of Despereaux Tilling, a mouse who is in love with music, stories, and a princess named Pea. It is also the story of a rat called Roscuro, who lives in the darkness and covets a world filled with light... -
Max in the Land of Lies: A Tale of World War II by Adam Gidwitz
Rated: 4.50 of 5 stars · 8 ratingsMax Bretzfeld's dangerous mission begins when he returns home to Berlin as a British spy in the much-anticipated second book in Adam Gidwitz's duology that began with Max in the House of Spies.Max was on a mission. Well, two missions. One mission his British spymasters knew about: infiltrating the Funkhaus, the center of Nazi radio and propaganda. The other, they did not: finding his parents...Categorized as:
historical-fiction family humor magical-realism friendship middle-grade fantasy fiction -
The Ten Thousand Doors of January by Alix E. Harrow
Rated: 4.06 of 5 stars · 69 ratingsIn a sprawling mansion filled with peculiar treasures, January Scaller is a curiosity herself. As the ward of the wealthy Mr. Locke, she feels little different from the artifacts that decorate the halls: carefully maintained, largely ignored, and utterly out of place.Then she finds a strange book... -
The Jade Bones by Lani Forbes
Rated: 4.17 of 5 stars · 6 ratingsCast into the underworld after an act of shattering betrayal, Mayana and Ahkin must overcome unimaginable odds if they are to return home and reclaim the throne of the Chicome. A river of blood and demons disguised as children are only two of the challenges standing in their way. Fortunately, they are not unequipped... -
Wormwood Mire by Judith Rossell
Rated: 4.13 of 5 stars · 8 ratingsThis spine-tingling sequel to Withering-by-Sea sees Stella sent away to the moldering old family estate, where she discovers two odd cousins—and a mystery.Eleven-year-old Stella Montgomery has always wondered about her family... -
Rose and the Magician's Mask by Holly Webb
Rated: 4.10 of 5 stars · 10 ratingsA precious mask of unimaginable power has been stolen from the royal palace. Rose suspects that dark magicians are at work – and that danger looms...The race to stop the evil thieves will take Rose to the mysterious city of Venice, where nothing is quite what it seems..Categorized as:
children coming-of-age family female-mc friendship historical-fiction action-adventure book
Or - use our amazing romance book finder to get recommendations based on your favorite content tropes and themes. Mix and match at will.