Books like 'Aquarium'
Readers who enjoyed Aquarium by David Vann also liked the following books featuring the same tropes, story themes, relationship dynamics and character types.
contemporary mystery action / adventure coming-of-age literary-fiction lgbtq family drama realistic female-mc
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Big Game by Stuart Gibbs
Rated: 4.56 of 5 stars · 18 ratingsWhen someone takes aim at Rhonda Rhino, FunJungle's pregnant (and endangered) Asian greater one-horned rhinoceros, the zoo steps up security measures in order to protect this rare animal and her baby.But the extra security isn't enough;someone is still getting too close for comfort...Categorized as:
animals children family literary-fiction outdoors realistic action-adventure anthropomorphism -
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... -
Boy Swallows Universe by Trent Dalton
Rated: 4.36 of 5 stars · 33 ratingsAn utterly wonderful debut novel of love, crime, magic, fate and a boy’s coming of age, set in 1980s Australia and infused with the originality, charm, pathos, and heart of Extremely Loud and Incredibly Close and The Curious Incident of the Dog in the Night-Time.The mind can take you anywhere you want to goEli Bell’s life is complicated...Categorized as:
bildungsroman coming-of-age drama family friendship lgbtq literary-fiction realistic -
Bad Blood by Jennifer Lynn Barnes
Rated: 4.38 of 5 stars · 24 ratingsWhen Cassie Hobbes joined the FBI's Naturals program, she had one goal: uncover the truth about her mother's murder. But now, everything Cassie thought she knew about what happened that night has been called into question. Her mother is alive, and the people holding her captive are more powerful—and dangerous—than anything the Naturals have faced so far... -
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The Midnight Gang by David Walliams
Rated: 4.40 of 5 stars · 20 ratingsWelcome to the Midnight Gang! Midnight is the time when all children are fast asleep, except of course for… the Midnight Gang. That is when their adventures are just beginning…When Tom gets hit on the head by a cricket ball, he finds himself at Lord Funt Hospital, and is greeted by a terrifying-looking porter...Categorized as:
children drama friendship literary-fiction realistic action-adventure audiobook book -
Lion Down by Stuart Gibbs
Rated: 4.44 of 5 stars · 16 ratingsTeddy Fitzroy returns as FunJungle’s resident sleuth when a lion is falsely accused of killing a distinguished dog in the latest novel in New York Times bestselling author Stuart Gibbs’s FunJungle series...Categorized as:
animals children drama friendship outdoors realistic action-adventure anthropomorphism -
Home for the Holidays by Heather Vogel Frederick
Rated: 4.39 of 5 stars · 18 ratingsThis Christmas season, join the girls of the mother-daughter book club for a variety of holiday-themed adventures! Becca, Megan, Emma, Cassidy and Jess have plenty of reading material to bring on their trips, too, because the book club is tackling the Betsy-Tacy series before their next meeting on New Year’s Eve. But unfortunately, nothing goes quite as planned for any of the girls... -
The Law of Finders Keepers by Sheila Turnage
Rated: 4.50 of 5 stars · 12 ratingsPirates, family, and the truth about Mo's Upstream Mother collide in the conclusion to the Newbery Honor and New York Times bestselling Three Times Lucky When the Colonel and Miss Lana share the clues about Mo's watery origins that they've been saving, it seems the time is finally right for the Desperado Detectives (aka Mo, Dale, and Harm) to tackle the mystery of Mo's Upstream Mother...Categorized as:
animals children coming-of-age family friendship realistic action-adventure audiobook -
Wish by Barbara O'Connor
Rated: 4.29 of 5 stars · 24 ratingsEleven-year-old Charlie Reese has been making the same secret wish every day since fourth grade. She even has a list of all the ways there are to make the wish, such as cutting off the pointed end of a slice of pie and wishing on it as she takes the last bite... -
Fresh Water for Flowers: A Novel by Valérie Perrin
Rated: 4.27 of 5 stars · 26 ratingsViolette Toussaint is the caretaker at a cemetery in a small town in Bourgogne. Casual mourners, regular visitors, and sundry colleagues—gravediggers, groundskeepers, and a priest—visit her to warm themselves in her lodge, where laughter, companionship, and occasional tears mix with the coffee she offers them. Her life is lived to the rhythms of their funny, moving confidences... -
Redeeming Ryker by Kelly Collins
Rated: 4.50 of 5 stars · 10 ratingsImagine finding out that everything about your life is a lie. Imagine falling for the man who thinks he killed you. Imagine having to remain dead so you can keep him. Twenty-four-year-old Ana Barrett knows who she is. She’s a struggling artist, a loyal friend, an orphan raised by loving grandparents... -
Lies that Bind by Ashley Farley
Rated: 4.36 of 5 stars · 14 ratingsA missing young woman. A grieving mother. An investigative journalist determined to find answers. From the bestselling author of the Sweet Tea Tuesdays and Only One Life comes a suspenseful story of three women who, in search of freedom from the lies that bind them, experience personal growth, discovery, and forgiveness...Categorized as:
domestic-drama drama family female-mc literary-fiction action-adventure adult audiobook -
A Mother's Secret by Caroline Finnerty
Rated: 4.31 of 5 stars · 16 ratingsA gripping, emotional book that asks the question: What does it take to be a parent?In one split second, Aidan Whelan’s perfect world is changed forever when his wife Rowan and three-year old daughter Milly are involved in tragic accident...Categorized as:
coming-of-age domestic-drama family female-mc friendship action-adventure adult audiobook -
A Cottage Full of Secrets by Jane Lovering
Rated: 4.31 of 5 stars · 16 ratingsCottage Two, Bracken Ridge Farm sits at the end of a pitted track, with the glorious Yorkshire moors stretching behind it. Just a simple two up, two down, the cottage holds the promise of a new start for two very different women, but it is also full of secrets. Fifty years ago, newly-wed Stella is relishing making the little cottage a happy home... -
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Through the Storm by Diane Greenwood Muir
Rated: 4.33 of 5 stars · 12 ratingsOnce things start falling apart around Polly Giller, chaos takes over and all she can do is hold on for the ride. Sylvie Donovan has finished school and things are supposed to be rainbows and unicorns. Not in Bellingwood. Her oldest son, Jason, has just started high school and isn't handling the transition well... -
13 Gifts by Wendy Mass
Rated: 4.21 of 5 stars · 24 ratingsWendy Mass turns to another magical birthday: 13!When Tara, a self-proclaimed shrinking violet, steals the school mascot, a goat, in order to make some friends with the popular crowd and gets caught, she gets herself in a heap of trouble... -
Leaving Blythe River by Catherine Ryan Hyde
Rated: 4.21 of 5 stars · 24 ratingsNew York Times bestselling author Catherine Ryan Hyde returns with an unforgettable story of courage. Seventeen-year-old Ethan Underwood is totally unprepared to search for his father in the Blythe River National Wilderness. Not only is he small, scrawny, and skittish but he’s barely speaking to the man after a traumatic betrayal...Categorized as:
coming-of-age drama family friendship literary-fiction outdoors survival action-adventure -
The Mountain Between Us by Charles Martin
Rated: 4.18 of 5 stars · 31 ratingsWhen a blizzard strands them in Salt Lake City, two strangers agree to charter a plane together, hoping to return home; Ben Payne is a gifted surgeon returning from a conference, and Ashley Knox, a magazine writer, is en route to her wedding... -
Some Kind of Happiness by Claire Legrand
Rated: 4.31 of 5 stars · 30 ratingsTHINGS FINLEY HART DOESN’T WANT TO TALK ABOUT• Her parents, who are having problems. (But they pretend like they’re not.)• Being sent to her grandparents’ house for the summer.• Never having met said grandparents.• Her blue days—when life feels overwhelming, and it’s hard to keep her head up. (This happens a lot... -
The Odds of Getting Even by Sheila Turnage
Rated: 4.29 of 5 stars · 14 ratingsHumor and action abound in this second follow-up to the Newbery honor winner and New York Times bestseller, Three Times LuckyThe trial of the century has come to Tupelo Landing, NC. Mo and Dale, aka Desperado Detectives, head to court as star witnesses against Dale's daddy--confessed kidnapper Macon Johnson. Dale's nerves are jangled, but Mo, who doesn't mind getting even with Mr...Categorized as:
animals children coming-of-age family female-mc friendship realistic action-adventure -
All They Need to Know by Eileen Goudge
Rated: 4.25 of 5 stars · 16 ratingsA woman escaping a violent past finds new friendships, romance, and tenuous sanctuary in an emotionally gripping novel by New York Times bestselling author Eileen Goudge.On the run from her abusive husband, Kyra Smith hits the road. Destination unknown...Categorized as:
literary-fiction family domestic-drama female-mc friendship romance fiction contemporary -
Runaway Twin by Peg Kehret
Rated: 4.22 of 5 stars · 18 ratingsThirteen-year-old Sunny runs away from her current foster parent in search of her twin sister, from whom she was separated ten years earlier. On the way, shell face a tornado, bullies, and a stray dog and the fact that her sister may not be who Sunny hoped she would be...Categorized as:
animals children coming-of-age family friendship realistic survival action-adventure -
Cryptid Hunters by Roland Smith
Rated: 4.21 of 5 stars · 19 ratingsAfter their parents are lost in an accident, thirteen-year old twins Grace and Marty are whisked away to live with their Uncle Wolfe-an uncle that they didn't even know they had! The intimidating Uncle Wolfe is an anthropologist who has dedicated his life to finding cryptids, mysterious creatures believed to be long extinct... -
Hush Little Baby by Suzanne Redfearn
Rated: 4.20 of 5 stars · 20 ratingsIf I stay, he will kill me. If I leave, he'll destroy Addie and Drew.Jillian Kane appears to have it all - a successful career, a gorgeous home, a loving husband, and two wonderful children. The reality behind closed doors is something else entirely... -
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Thicker Than Water by Melissa Good
Rated: 4.38 of 5 stars · 8 ratingsThis sequel to Red Sky at Morning is the continuing saga of Dar Roberts and Kerry Stuart. It starts off with Kerry involved in the church group of girls. Kerry is forced to acknowledge her own feelings/experience toward/with her folks as she and Dar assist a teenager from the group who gets jailed because her parents tossed her out onto the streets when they find out she is gay... -
Love, Aubrey by Suzanne LaFleur
Rated: 4.17 of 5 stars · 24 ratingsA beautifully written and deeply moving middle-grade novel with characters to cherish and a story that deals with tragedy and loss in a fresh way. Aubrey has suffered an unbelievable loss, and goes to live with her grandmother in Vermont in order to heal. There she makes new friends, learns to cope with what has happened, and begins to figure out how to move on... -
These Silent Woods by Kimi Cunningham Grant
Rated: 4.17 of 5 stars · 24 ratingsNo electricity, no family, no connection to the outside world. For eight years, Cooper and his young daughter, Finch, have lived in isolation in a remote cabin in the northern Appalachian woods. And that's exactly the way Cooper wants it, because he's got a lot to hide. Finch has been raised on the books filling the cabin’s shelves and the beautiful but brutal code of life in the wilderness... -
Girl in Pieces by Kathleen Glasgow
Rated: 4.14 of 5 stars · 32 ratingsCharlotte Davis is in pieces. At seventeen she’s already lost more than most people lose in a lifetime. But she’s learned how to forget. The thick glass of a mason jar cuts deep, and the pain washes away the sorrow until there is nothing but calm. You don’t have to think about your father and the river. Your best friend, who is gone forever. Or your mother, who has nothing left to give you... -
Among the Free by Margaret Peterson Haddix
Rated: 4.16 of 5 stars · 25 ratingsENOUGH GAMES.Luke Garner is a third-born in a restrictive society that allows only two children per family. Risking his life, he came out of hiding to fight against the Population Police laws. Now, in the final volume of Margaret Peterson Haddix's suspenseful Shadow Children series, Luke inadvertently sets off a rebellion that results in the overthrow of the government... -
Tales of Fosterganj by Ruskin Bond
Rated: 4.30 of 5 stars · 10 ratingsNew novel by one of Indias most beloved storytellers.Set in a fictional suburb on the outskirts of Mussourie, which he has made famous with his near legendary stories.Vintage Ruskin Bond that is bound to delight his readers with his understated humour, wit and effortless storytelling... -
Mrs. Frisby and the Rats of NIMH by Robert C. O'Brien
Rated: 4.14 of 5 stars · 71 ratingsMrs. Frisby, a widowed mouse with four small children, must move her family to their summer quarters immediately, or face almost certain death. But her youngest son, Timothy, lies ill with pneumonia and must not be moved. Fortunately, she encounters the rats of NIMH, an extraordinary breed of highly intelligent creatures, who come up with a brilliant solution to her dilemma... -
Vegas Rich by Fern Michaels
Rated: 4.21 of 5 stars · 14 ratingsWith a heart full of dreams, Sallie Coleman leaves Texas and heads west determined to get as far from the squalor of her dirt poor beginnings. With its shifting sands, smoky saloons and bingo palaces, Las Vegas seems like a paradise. A paradise where an extraordinary twist of fate makes Sallie the most powerful businesswoman in Nevada. Suddenly she is rich...Categorized as:
domestic-drama drama family female-mc friendship literary-fiction action-adventure adult -
The Seventh Wish by Kate Messner
Rated: 4.19 of 5 stars · 16 ratingsCharlie feels like she's always coming in last. From her Mom's new job to her sister's life at college, everything seems more important than Charlie. Then one day while ice fishing, Charlie makes a discovery that will change everything . . . in the form of a floppy fish offering to grant a wish in exchange for freedom...Categorized as:
animals children coming-of-age domestic-drama family friendship realistic action-adventure -
Alone by Megan E. Freeman
Rated: 4.19 of 5 stars · 16 ratingsWhen twelve-year-old Maddie hatches a scheme for a secret sleepover with her two best friends, she ends up waking up to a nightmare. She’s alone—left behind in a town that has been mysteriously evacuated and abandoned.With no one to rely on, no power, and no working phone lines or internet access, Maddie slowly learns to survive on her own... -
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The Midnight Children by Dan Gemeinhart
Rated: 4.19 of 5 stars · 16 ratingsAn extraordinary story about a family of runaways who take up residence in a small town, and the outcast boy who finds his voice and his people.In the dead of night, a truck arrives in Slaughterville, a small town curiously named after its windowless slaughterhouse... -
Where the Forest Meets the Stars by Glendy Vanderah
Rated: 4.13 of 5 stars · 70 ratingsAfter the loss of her mother and her own battle with breast cancer, Joanna Teale returns to her graduate research on nesting birds in rural Illinois, determined to prove that her recent hardships have not broken her... -
Abduction! by Peg Kehret
Rated: 4.17 of 5 stars · 18 ratingsMatt is missing. Bonnie's brother left his classroom to use thebathroom —and disappeared. A police dog traces his scent to the curb, where he apparently got into a vehicle. But why would Matt go anywhere with a stranger? Overwhelmed with fear, Bonnie discovers that her dog is gone, too. Was Pookie used as a lure for Matt? Bonnie makes one big mistake in her attempt to find her brother... -
Among the Enemy by Margaret Peterson Haddix
Rated: 4.13 of 5 stars · 24 ratingsHIDE OR FIGHT?Matthias, an illegal third child, is caught in the cross fire between rebels and the Population Police. When he unwittingly saves a Population Police officer, Matthias is brought to Population Police headquarters to train as an officer himself. There he meets Nina, another third-born who enlists his help in a plot to undermine the Population Police... -
Among the Brave by Margaret Peterson Haddix
Rated: 4.12 of 5 stars · 26 ratingsA Reluctant HeroTrey may have saved Luke's life, but he still thinks of himself as a coward who can barely stand to be outdoors. Now Trey finds out Luke has been taken prisoner at Population Police headquarters. Trey is terrified, but he knows that if he doesn't rescue his friend, no one will.At police headquarters, Trey impersonates an officer to try getting to Luke... -
Among the Impostors by Margaret Peterson Haddix
Rated: 4.11 of 5 stars · 27 ratingsLuke Garner is terrified.Out of hiding for the first time in his life, he knows that any minute one of his new classmates at Hendricks School for Boys could discover his secret: that he's a third child passing as the recently deceased Lee Grant... -
Winterborne Home for Mayhem and Mystery by Ally Carter
Rated: 4.20 of 5 stars · 10 ratingsFive orphans. Two sword-wielding vigilantes. One mansion. No rules. April thought she had her happy ending. After all, she has her new house and new friends and new guardian. But she also has a very big new secret. The kids of Winterborne House are the only ones who know that Gabriel Winterborne—famous billionaire and terrible cook—is really a sword-wielding vigilante...Categorized as:
children coming-of-age family female-mc friendship realistic action-adventure audiobook -
Deep Water by Watt Key
Rated: 4.17 of 5 stars · 12 ratingsA middle grade survival story about a scuba dive gone wrong and two enemies who must unite to survive.It's the most important rule of scuba diving: If you don't feel right, don't go down.So after her father falls ill, twelve-year-old Julie Sims must take over and lead two of his clients on a dive miles off the coast of Alabama while her father stays behind in the boat... -
Beetle Boy by M.G. Leonard
Rated: 4.14 of 5 stars · 14 ratingsThe glorious start to a middle-grade trilogy about a brilliant boy, his loyal friends, and some amazingly intelligent beetles that brings together adventure, humor, and real science! Darkus Cuttle's dad mysteriously goes missing from his job as Director of Science at the Natural History Museum...Categorized as:
animals children coming-of-age family friendship outdoors action-adventure audiobook -
Dolphin Song by Lauren St. John
Rated: 4.14 of 5 stars · 14 ratingsJust as Martine is settling into life on the wildlife game reserve, she is whisked away on a school trip. She must leave her white giraffe, Jemmy, for 2 weeks! Her class is going on an ocean voyage to witness the Sardine Run, a spectacular natural phenomenon, off the coast of South Africa... -
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Kalahari by Jessica Khoury
Rated: 4.13 of 5 stars · 16 ratingsDeep in the Kalahari Desert, a Corpus lab protects a dangerous secret…But what happens when that secret takes on a life of its own? When an educational safari goes wrong, five teens find themselves stranded in the Kalahari Desert without a guide... -
The Language of Flowers by Vanessa Diffenbaugh
Rated: 4.09 of 5 stars · 70 ratingsThe Victorian language of flowers was used to convey romantic expressions: honeysuckle for devotion, asters for patience, and red roses for love. But for Victoria Jones, it’s been more useful in communicating mistrust and solitude. After a childhood spent in the foster-care system, she is unable to get close to anybody, and her only connection to the world is through flowers and their meanings... -
Eight Keys by Suzanne LaFleur
Rated: 4.11 of 5 stars · 19 ratingsElise and Franklin have always been best friends. Elise has always lived in the big house with her loving Uncle and Aunt, because Elise's parents died when she was too young to remember them. There's always been a barn behind the house with eight locked doors on the second floor.When Elise and Franklin start middle school, things feel all wrong. Bullying. Not fitting in... -
Accidental Heroes by Danielle Steel
Rated: 4.10 of 5 stars · 20 ratingsA decorated former Air Force pilot. A pregnant flight attendant. A dedicated TSA agent. The fates of these three, and many others, converge in Danielle Steel's gripping new novel--a heart-stopping thriller that engages ordinary men and women in the fight of their lives during a flight from New York to San Francisco. On a beautiful May morning at New York's John F... -
Among the Barons by Margaret Peterson Haddix
Rated: 4.08 of 5 stars · 26 ratingsLuke Garner, an illegal third child, spent his first twelve years in hiding. For the past four months Luke has lived among others, using the identity of Lee Grant, at the Hendricks School for Boys. But just as things are finally starting to go right, Lee's little brother Smits arrives at the school and Luke finds himself caught in a tangle of lies that gets more complex with every passing day... -
16 Lighthouse Road by Debbie Macomber
Rated: 4.08 of 5 stars · 26 ratingsOlivia Lockhart Cedar Cove, WashingtonDear Reader,You don't know me yet, but in a few hours that's going to change. You see, I'm inviting you to my home and my town of Cedar Cove because I want you to meet my family, friends and neighbors. Come and hear their stories—maybe even their secrets!I have to admit that my own secrets are pretty open...Categorized as:
domestic-drama drama family female-mc friendship literary-fiction realistic action-adventure
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