Books like 'Lessons from a Dead Girl'
Readers who enjoyed Lessons from a Dead Girl by Jo Knowles also liked the following books featuring the same tropes, story themes, relationship dynamics and character types.
contemporary psychological mystery horror realistic lgbtq coming-of-age friendship bullying dark
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Different Seasons by Stephen King
Rated: 4.33 of 5 stars · 67 ratingsFrom the Magical Pen of Stephen King, Four Mesmerizing Novellas…“Rita Hayworth and the Shawshank Redemption”An unjustly imprisoned convict seeks a strange and startling revenge…the basis for the Best Picture Academy Award nominee The Shawshank Redemption...Categorized as:
coming-of-age dark drama friendship high-school literary-fiction realistic 20th-century -
Mystic River by Dennis Lehane
Rated: 4.17 of 5 stars · 41 ratingsWhen they were children, Sean Devine, Jimmy Marcus, and Dave Boyle were friends. But then a strange car pulled up to their street. One boy got into the car, two did not, and something terrible happened -- something that ended their friendship and changed all three boys forever.Twenty-five years later, Sean is a homicide detective. Jimmy is an ex-con who owns a corner store... -
Untitled by Dot Hutchison
Rated: 4.21 of 5 stars · 24 ratingsA fourth book is coming with a release date estimated Spring 2019... -
My Dark Vanessa by Kate Elizabeth Russell
Rated: 4.11 of 5 stars · 45 ratingsExploring the psychological dynamics of the relationship between a precocious yet naïve teenage girl and her magnetic and manipulative teacher, a brilliant, all-consuming read that marks the explosive debut of an extraordinary new writer. 2000... -
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Small Spaces by Sarah Epstein
Rated: 4.21 of 5 stars · 14 ratingsWe don’t pick and choose what to be afraid of. Our fears pick us.Tash Carmody has been traumatised since childhood, when she witnessed her gruesome imaginary friend Sparrow lure young Mallory Fisher away from a carnival. At the time nobody believed Tash, and she has since come to accept that Sparrow wasn’t real. Now fifteen and mute, Mallory’s never spoken about the week she went missing...Categorized as:
coming-of-age dark female-mc friendship high-school action-adventure book contemporary -
The Memory Wood by Sam Lloyd
Rated: 4.17 of 5 stars · 18 ratingsTHE MUST-READ RICHARD & JUDY BOOK CLUB PICK. Chilling, moving and unputdownable, The Memory Wood is a thriller like no other. 'Beautifully told, with two superbly drawn young protagonists, Lloyd is a rare new thriller talent' Daily Mail'Superbly creepy, with an unexpected twist' Guardian'Brilliant writing, a terrifying story, and characters so real it feels like you know them...Categorized as:
coming-of-age dark female-mc friendship literary-fiction abuse action-adventure adult -
Blood of My Blood by Barry Lyga
Rated: 4.29 of 5 stars · 21 ratingsJazz Dent has never been closer to catching his father.Jazz has been shot and left to die in New York. His girlfriend, Connie, is in the clutches of Jazz's monstrous father, Billy--the world's most notorious serial killer. And his best friend, Howie, is bleeding to death on the floor of Jazz's new home... -
The Last Child by John Hart
Rated: 4.11 of 5 stars · 28 ratingsThirteen year-old Johnny Merrimon had the perfect life: a warm home and loving parents; a twin sister, Alyssa, with whom he shared an irreplaceable bond. He knew nothing of loss, until the day Alyssa vanished from the side of a lonely street. Now, a year later, Johnny finds himself isolated and alone, failed by the people he'd been taught since birth to trust...Categorized as:
coming-of-age dark drama friendship literary-fiction realistic abuse action-adventure -
Game by Barry Lyga
Rated: 4.23 of 5 stars · 26 ratingsBilly grinned. “Oh, New York,” he whispered. “We’re gonna have so much fun.”I Hunt Killers introduced the world to Jazz, the son of history’s most infamous serial killer, Billy Dent.In an effort to prove murder didn’t run in the family, Jazz teamed with the police in the small town of Lobo’s Nod to solve a deadly case... -
Then She Was Gone by Lisa Jewell
Rated: 4.08 of 5 stars · 45 ratingsTHENShe was fifteen, her mother's golden girl. She had her whole life ahead of her. And then, in the blink of an eye, Ellie was gone. NOW It’s been ten years since Ellie disappeared, but Laurel has never given up hope of finding her daughter.And then one day a charming and charismatic stranger called Floyd walks into a café and sweeps Laurel off her feet... -
The Naturals by Jennifer Lynn Barnes
Rated: 4.19 of 5 stars · 32 ratingsSeventeen-year-old Cassie is a natural at reading people. Piecing together the tiniest details, she can tell you who you are and what you want. But it’s not a skill that she’s ever taken seriously. That is, until the FBI come knocking: they’ve begun a classified program that uses exceptional teenagers to crack infamous cold cases, and they need Cassie... -
This Is Our Story by Ashley Elston
Rated: 4.10 of 5 stars · 20 ratingsFive went in. Four came out.No one knows what happened that morning at River Point. Five boys went hunting. Four came back. The boys won’t say who fired the shot that killed their friend; the evidence shows it could have been any one of them... -
We Need to Talk About Kevin by Lionel Shriver
Rated: 4.06 of 5 stars · 40 ratingsThe gripping international bestseller about motherhood gone awry.Eva never really wanted to be a mother - and certainly not the mother of the unlovable boy who murdered seven of his fellow high school students, a cafeteria worker, and a much-adored teacher who tried to befriend him, all two days before his sixteenth birthday... -
Don't Look Back by Jennifer L. Armentrout
Rated: 4.07 of 5 stars · 28 ratingsSamantha is a stranger in her own life. Until the night she disappeared with her best friend, Cassie, everyone said Sam had it all - popularity, wealth, and a dream boyfriend. Sam has resurfaced, but she has no recollection of who she was or what happened to her that night. As she tries to piece together her life from before, she realizes it's one she no longer wants any part of... -
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Boy Parts by Eliza Clark
Rated: 4.05 of 5 stars · 20 ratingsIrina obsessively takes explicit photographs of the average-looking men she persuades to model for her, scouted from the streets of Newcastle.Placed on sabbatical from her dead-end bar job, she is offered an exhibition at a fashionable London gallery, promising to revive her career in the art world and offering an escape from her rut of drugs, alcohol, and extreme cinema...Categorized as:
coming-of-age dark female-mc lgbtq literary-fiction realistic 21st-century audiobook -
After the End by Clare Mackintosh
Rated: 4.04 of 5 stars · 26 ratingsMax and Pip are the strongest couple you know. They're best friends, lovers—unshakable. But then their son gets sick and the doctors put the question of his survival into their hands. For the first time, Max and Pip can't agree. They each want a different future for their son... -
Deadly Little Lies by Laurie Faria Stolarz
Rated: 4.00 of 5 stars · 24 ratingsLast fall, sixteen-year-old Camelia fell for Ben, a new boy at school who had a very mysterious gift – psychometry, the ability to sense the future through touch. But just as Camelia and Ben's romance began to heat up, he abruptly left town. Brokenhearted, Camelia has spent the last few months studying everything she can about psychometry and experiencing strange brushes with premonition... -
Asking For It by Louise O'Neill
Rated: 4.00 of 5 stars · 24 ratingsIn a small town, where everyone knows everyone, Emma O'Donovan is different. She is the special one - beautiful, popular, powerful. And she works hard to keep it that way.Until that night...Now, she's an embarrassment. Now, she is a slut. Now, she is nothing.And those pictures - those pictures that everyone has seen - mean she can never forget... -
Deadly Little Games by Laurie Faria Stolarz
Rated: 4.00 of 5 stars · 20 ratingsHigh school juniors Camelia and Ben have discovered a powerful bond: They both possess the power of psychometry, the ability to see the future through touch. For Ben, the gift is a frightening liability. When he senses a strong threat or betrayal, he risks losing control. Camelia's gift is more mysterious. When she works with clay, her hands sculpt messages her mind doesn't yet comprehend...Categorized as:
coming-of-age dark drama female-mc friendship high-school realistic action-adventure -
The First Day of Spring by Nancy Tucker
Rated: 4.00 of 5 stars · 20 ratings"So that was all it took," I thought. "That was all it took for me to feel like I had all the power in the world. One morning, one moment, one yellow-haired boy. It wasn't so much after all."Meet Chrissie... Chrissie is eight and she has a secret: she has just killed a boy. The feeling made her belly fizz like soda pop... -
Pretty Girl-13 by Liz Coley
Rated: 4.00 of 5 stars · 18 ratingsPretty Girl-13 is a disturbing and powerful psychological thriller about a girl who must piece together the story of her kidnapping and captivity and then piece together her own identity.When thirteen-year-old Angela Gracie Chapman looks in the mirror, someone else looks back--a thin, pale stranger, a sixteen-year-old with haunted eyes... -
Right Behind You by Gail Giles
Rated: 4.00 of 5 stars · 18 ratingsWhen he was nine, Kip set another child on fire. Now, after years in a juvenile ward, he is ready for a fresh start. But the ghosts of his past soon demand justice, and he must reveal his painful secret... -
Clean by Alia Trabucco Zerán, Sophie Hughes
Rated: 4.00 of 5 stars · 18 ratingsINTERNATIONAL BESTSELLER!From a global star and International Booker Prize finalist, a razor-sharp, unforgettable novel about a maid who’s seen too much and a family at a breaking pointA young girl has died and the family’s maid is being interrogated. She must tell the whole story before arriving at the girl’s death... -
Anatomy of a Murderer by Tim Floreen
Rated: 4.00 of 5 stars · 12 ratingsA teenage sociopath is “fixed” after he gets an implant that’s supposed to cure him in this thrilling coming-of-age tale from the author of Willful Machines.A year ago, Rem Braithwaite watched his classmate Franklin Kettle commit a horrific crime.Now, apart from the nightmares, life has gone back to normal for Rem. Franklin was caught, convicted, and put away in juvenile detention for what he did... -
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Carrie by Stephen King
Rated: 4.00 of 5 stars · 81 ratingsA modern classic, Carrie introduced a distinctive new voice in American fiction -- Stephen King. The story of misunderstood high school girl Carrie White, her extraordinary telekinetic powers, and her violent rampage of revenge, remains one of the most barrier-breaking and shocking novels of all time.Make a date with terror and live the nightmare that is.. -
The Death and Life of Charlie St. Cloud by Ben Sherwood
Rated: 4.01 of 5 stars · 50 ratingsThe Death and Life of Charlie St. Cloud tells the haunting story of a young man who narrowly survives a terrible car wreck that kills his little brother. Years later, the brothers’ bond remains so strong that it transcends the normal boundaries separating life and death. Charlie St. Cloud lives in a snug New England fishing village...Categorized as:
coming-of-age drama high-school literary-fiction realistic sad action-adventure afterlife -
Rage by Kimberly A. Bettes
Rated: 4.00 of 5 stars · 6 ratingsBrian Boozer is a good kid in a bad situation. At thirteen, he's already endured the pain of losing his father and the agony of living with a step-father who hates and abuses him. At school, Brian suffers even more torment, delivered by bullies who seem to enjoy making his life miserable. The only bright spot in Brian's life is Carly, the girl on whom he's had a crush for years... -
Marrow by Tarryn Fisher
Rated: 3.96 of 5 stars · 24 ratingsIn the Bone there is a house. In the house there is a girl. In the girl there is a darkness. Margo is not like other girls. She lives in a derelict neighborhood called the Bone, in a cursed house, with her cursed mother, who hasn’t spoken to her in over two years. She lives her days feeling invisible... -
I Hunt Killers by Barry Lyga
Rated: 4.02 of 5 stars · 30 ratingsWhat if the world's worst serial killer...was your dad?Jasper "Jazz" Dent is a likable teenager. A charmer, one might say.But he's also the son of the world's most infamous serial killer, and for Dear Old Dad, Take Your Son to Work Day was year-round. Jazz has witnessed crime scenes the way cops wish they could—from the criminal's point of view.And now bodies are piling up in Lobo's Nod... -
The Writing Retreat by Julia Bartz
Rated: 3.95 of 5 stars · 11 ratingsThe Plot meets Please Join Us in this psychological suspense debut about a young author at an exclusive writer’s retreat that descends into a nightmare.Alex has all but given up on her dreams of becoming a published author when she receives a once-in-a-lifetime opportunity: attend an exclusive, month-long writing retreat at the estate of feminist horror writer Roza Vallo... -
One of Us Is Next by Karen M. McManus, Карен М. Макманус
Rated: 3.95 of 5 stars · 43 ratingsCome on, Bayview, you know you've missed this.A ton of copycat gossip apps have popped up since Simon died, but in the year since the Bayview four were cleared of his shocking death, no one's been able to fill the gossip void quite like he could. The problem is no one has the facts.Until now. This time it's not an app, though—it's a game. Truth or Dare.Phoebe's the first target... -
Penance by Kanae Minato
Rated: 3.95 of 5 stars · 20 ratingsA chilling Japanese psychological thriller and Edgar Award finalist about four women, forever connected by one horrible day in their childhood -- fifteen years later, someone wants to make sure they never forget. When they were girls, Sae, Maki, Akiko and Yuko were tricked into leaving their friend Emily with a mysterious stranger... -
The Mary Shelley Club by Goldy Moldavsky, Голди Молдавски
Rated: 3.94 of 5 stars · 18 ratingsNew girl Rachel Chavez is eager to make a fresh start at Manchester Prep. But as one of the few scholarship kids, Rachel struggles to fit in, and when she gets caught up in a prank gone awry, she ends up with more enemies than friends... -
Nearly Gone by Elle Cosimano
Rated: 3.94 of 5 stars · 18 ratingsKeeping secrets is second nature to Nearly Boswell. Living in a trailer park outside Washington, DC, with a mom who works as an exotic dancer, she knows better than to share anything that would make her a target with her classmates... -
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Dead Girls Don't Lie by Jennifer Shaw Wolf
Rated: 3.94 of 5 stars · 18 ratingsRachel died at two a.m . . . Three hours after Skyler kissed me for the first time. Forty-five minutes after she sent me her last text. Jaycee and Rachel were best friends. But that was before. . .before that terrible night at the old house. Before Rachel shut Jaycee out. Before Jaycee chose Skyler over Rachel. Then Rachel is found dead... -
Stained by Cheryl Rainfield
Rated: 3.92 of 5 stars · 12 ratingsAn intensely powerful account of a teen, bullied for her port-wine stain, who must summon her personal strength to survive abduction and horrific abuse at the hands of a deranged killer.Sixteen-year-old Sarah Meadows longs for "normal." Born with a port wine stain covering half her face, all her life she's been plagued by stares, giggles, bullying, and disgust... -
Secret Whispers by V.C. Andrews
Rated: 3.92 of 5 stars · 12 ratingsThere's no place like home...On the eve of her graduation from an exclusive private school, shy wallflower Semantha Heavenstone is caught in a whirl of scandal and betrayal. Now, she's returned to the grand Kentucky mansion where painful memories of her mother and her older sister, Cassie, are as potent as newly mown bluegrass... -
Two Can Keep a Secret by Karen M. McManus
Rated: 3.93 of 5 stars · 42 ratingsEcho Ridge is small-town America. Ellery's never been there, but she's heard all about it. Her aunt went missing there at age seventeen. And only five years ago, a homecoming queen put the town on the map when she was killed. Now Ellery has to move there to live with a grandmother she barely knows.The town is picture-perfect, but it's hiding secrets... -
Before She Was Found by Heather Gudenkauf
Rated: 3.92 of 5 stars · 25 ratingsA gripping thriller about three young girlfriends, a dark obsession and a chilling crime that shakes up a quiet Iowa town, from the New York Times bestselling author of The Weight of Silence .For twelve-year-old Cora Landry and her friends Violet and Jordyn, it was supposed to be an ordinary sleepover--movies and Ouija and talking about boys... -
The Wicker King by K. Ancrum
Rated: 3.98 of 5 stars · 23 ratingsWhen August learns that his best friend, Jack, shows signs of degenerative hallucinatory disorder, he is determined to help Jack cope. Jack’s vivid and long-term visions take the form of an elaborate fantasy world layered over our own—a world ruled by the Wicker King... -
Keep This to Yourself by Tom Ryan
Rated: 3.90 of 5 stars · 15 ratingsIt's been a year since the Catalog Killer terrorized the sleepy seaside town of Camera Cove, killing four people before disappearing without a trace. Like everyone else in town, eighteen-year-old Mac Bell is trying to put that horrible summer behind him—easier said than done since Mac's best friend Connor was the murderer's final victim... -
The Night She Disappeared by April Henry
Rated: 3.89 of 5 stars · 18 ratingsGabie drives a Mini Cooper. She also works part-time as a delivery girl at Pete's Pizza. One night, Kayla—another delivery girl—goes missing. To her horror, Gabie learns that the supposed kidnapper had asked if the girl in the Mini Cooper was working.Gabie can't move beyond the fact that Kayla's fate was really meant for her... -
Missing by Kelley Armstrong
Rated: 3.88 of 5 stars · 16 ratingsEveryone knows they left. No one knows they're...m i s s i n gReeve's End is the kind of town every kid can't wait to escape. Each summer, a dozen kids leave, and at least a quarter never come back. I don't blame them - I'll do the same in another year. We thought it was just something that happened in town like ours.We were wrong... -
The Dogs by Allan Stratton
Rated: 3.88 of 5 stars · 16 ratingsOut of the corner of my eye, I catch something moving by the barn.When I look, it disappears. Wait. There it is again, at the cornfield. Some movement, some thing. Mom and I have been on the run for years. Every time he catches up with us, we move to a new place and start over.But this place is different.This place is full of secrets. And they won't leave me alone... -
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Midnight Is the Darkest Hour by Ashley Winstead
Rated: 4.00 of 5 stars · 5 ratingsFrom the critically acclaimed author of In My Dreams I Hold A Knife and The Last Housewife comes a gothic Southern thriller about a killer haunting a small Louisiana town, where two outcasts—the preacher's daughter and the boy from the wrong side of the tracks—hold the key to uncovering the truth... -
What Waits in the Woods by Kieran Scott
Rated: 3.86 of 5 stars · 14 ratingsSeeing things. You were just seeing things. For city girl Callie Velasquez, nothing sounds more terrifying than a night out in the wilderness. But, wanting to bond with her popular new friends, Lissa and Penelope, she agrees to join them on a camping trip. At least Callie's sweet new boyfriend, Jeremy, will be coming too. But nothing goes as planned. The group loses half their food supply... -
When We Were Lost by Kevin Wignall
Rated: 3.86 of 5 stars · 14 ratingsWhen their plane crashes in a remote rainforest with no adults left alive, a group of high school students struggles to survive against sinister threats from the jungle—and one another—in this tense thriller... -
Jawbone by Mónica Ojeda
Rated: 3.86 of 5 stars · 14 ratings“Was desire something like being possessed by a nightmare?”Fernanda and Annelise are so close they are practically sisters: a double image, inseparable... -
Little Monsters by Kara Thomas
Rated: 3.88 of 5 stars · 26 ratingsKacey is the new girl in Broken Falls. When she moved in with her father, she stepped into a brand-new life. A life with a stepbrother, a stepmother, and strangest of all, an adoring younger half sister.Kacey’s new life is eerily charming compared with the wild highs and lows of the old one she lived with her volatile mother... -
Try Not to Breathe by Holly Seddon
Rated: 3.88 of 5 stars · 24 ratingsFor fans of Lianne Moriarty, Paula Hawkins, and Tana French, an arresting debut novel of psychological suspense: a young journalist struggles to keep the demons of her alcoholism at bay as she finds her purpose again in tackling the mystery of a shocking headline-making crime, still unsolved after fifteen years.Amy Stevenson was the biggest news story of 1995...
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