Books like 'Goodbye Days'

Readers who enjoyed Goodbye Days by Jeff Zentner also liked the following books featuring the same tropes, story themes, relationship dynamics and character types.

contemporary  mystery  realistic  high-school  grief  friendship  family  coming-of-age  sad  drama 

  • Il tuo meraviglioso silenzio by Katja Millay

    Il tuo meraviglioso silenzio by Katja Millay

    Rated: 4.29 of 5 stars
    · 41 ratings
    I live in a world without magic or miracles. A place where there are no clairvoyants or shapeshifters, no angels or superhuman boys to save you. A place where people die and music disintegrates and things suck. I am pressed so hard against the earth by the weight of reality that some days I wonder how I am still able to lift my feet to walk...
  • Orbiting Jupiter by Gary D. Schmidt

    Orbiting Jupiter by Gary D. Schmidt

    Rated: 4.27 of 5 stars
    · 30 ratings
    When Jack meets his new foster brother, he already knows three things about him:Joseph almost killed a teacher.He was incarcerated at a place called Stone Mountain.He has a daughter. Her name is Jupiter. And he has never seen her.What Jack doesn’t know, at first, is how desperate Joseph is to find his baby girl.Or how urgently he, Jack, will want to help.But the past can’t be shaken off...
  • Mr. Terupt Falls Again by Rob Buyea

    Mr. Terupt Falls Again by Rob Buyea

    Rated: 4.30 of 5 stars
    · 20 ratings
    The kids and teacher of Because of Mr. Terupt are back in this warm-hearted sequel.Fifth-grade was full of unforgettable events for Mr. Terupt and his class at Snow Hill School. Seven students were particularly affected by Mr. Terupt...
  • You'd Be Home Now by Kathleen Glasgow

    You'd Be Home Now by Kathleen Glasgow

    Rated: 4.25 of 5 stars
    · 24 ratings
    From the New York Times bestselling author of Girl in Pieces comes a breathtaking story about a town, its tragedies, and the quiet beauty of everyday life.For all of Emory's life she's been told who she is. In town she's the rich one--the great-great-granddaughter of the mill's founder. At school she's hot Maddie Ward's younger sister...
  • Sam's Letters To Jennifer by James Patterson

    Sam's Letters To Jennifer by James Patterson

    Rated: 4.16 of 5 stars
    · 41 ratings
    Grief-stricken by a recent tragedy, Jennifer returns to the resort village where she grew up to help her beloved grandmother. There, Jennifer will discover new meaning in life and experience not one, but two of the most amazing love stories ever...
    Categorized as:
    crime  drama  family  grief  realistic  sad  21st-century  audiobook
  • Neanderthal Opens the Door to the Universe by Preston Norton

    Neanderthal Opens the Door to the Universe by Preston Norton

    Rated: 4.25 of 5 stars
    · 16 ratings
    Cliff Hubbard is a huge loser. Literally. His nickname at Happy Valley High School is Neanderthal because he's so enormous — 6'6" and 250 pounds to be exact. He has no one at school and life in his trailer park home has gone from bad to worse ever since his older brother's suicide.There's no one Cliff hates more than the nauseatingly cool quarterback, Aaron Zimmerman...
  • The Female of the Species by Mindy McGinnis

    The Female of the Species by Mindy McGinnis

    Rated: 4.17 of 5 stars
    · 29 ratings
    2017 Tayshas List Selection * YALSA Top 10 Best YA Fiction of 2017 * School Libray Journal Best of 2016 * Junior Library Guild Selection * The Globe and Mail Best Books of 2016 * Bustle's Best Young Adult Books of 2016 * Mashable's 8 Best YA Books of 2016 * Seventeen's 10 Best YA Books of 2016 * CCBC Choices 2017Edgar Award-winning author Mindy McGinnis delivers a relentless and riveting...
  • The Walk On by John Feinstein

    The Walk On by John Feinstein

    Rated: 4.30 of 5 stars
    · 10 ratings
    Bestselling sportswriter John Feinstein kicks off a new series for middle grade featuring Alex Myers, a student athlete who tries to take on the sports establishment in his new town.   Alex Myers is a quarterback, but from the first day of football practice, it’s clear that that position is very much filled by the coach’s son, Matt...
  • Jude by Kate Morgenroth

    Jude by Kate Morgenroth

    Rated: 4.25 of 5 stars
    · 12 ratings
    When fifteen-year-old Jude's father is brutally murdered, Jude is a witness. But to save his own life, he can't tell the police what he knows. Still, Jude is determined to clear his name and win the approval of his mother -- the district attorney he has not seen since he was an infant. At the urging of his mother's longtime companion, Jude agrees to a crazy scheme to protect her political future...
  • The Rescue by Nicholas Sparks

    The Rescue by Nicholas Sparks

    Rated: 4.11 of 5 stars
    · 41 ratings
    When confronted by raging fires or deadly accidents, volunteer fireman Taylor McAden feels compelled to take terrifying risks; but there is one leap of faith Taylor can't bring himself to make: He can't fall in love...
  • The Coach Trip by Izzy Bromley

    The Coach Trip by Izzy Bromley

    Rated: 4.21 of 5 stars
    · 14 ratings
    In this heartwarming story of hope and second chances, Emma and Mel are about to discover that sometimes life is about the journey, not the destination…Classic forgetful Emma—she’s done it again, this time accidentally ruining a Valentine’s Day surprise for her best friend Mel. Desperate to make up for it, she promises Mel a birthday trip to Edinburgh—a girls’ weekend to end all girls’ weekends...
  • Amelia Unabridged by Ashley Schumacher

    Amelia Unabridged by Ashley Schumacher

    Rated: 4.19 of 5 stars
    · 16 ratings
    Sparks fly between two teens as they grapple with grief, love, and the future.Eighteen-year-old Amelia Griffin is obsessed with the famous Orman Chronicles, written by the young and reclusive prodigy N. E. Endsley. They’re the books that brought her and her best friend Jenna together after Amelia’s father left and her family imploded...
  • The How & the Why by Cynthia Hand

    The How & the Why by Cynthia Hand

    Rated: 4.19 of 5 stars
    · 16 ratings
    A poignant exploration of family and the ties that bind, perfect for fans of Far From the Tree, from New York Times bestselling author Cynthia Hand.Today Melly had us writing letters to our babies…Cassandra McMurtrey has the best parents a girl could ask for. They’ve given Cass a life she wouldn’t trade for the world. She has everything she needs—except maybe the one thing she wants...
  • Moonrise by Sarah Crossan

    Moonrise by Sarah Crossan

    Rated: 4.17 of 5 stars
    · 18 ratings
    Seventeen-year-old Joe hasn't seen his brother in ten years. Ed didn't walk out on the family, not exactly. It's something more brutal.Ed's locked up -- on death row.Now his execution date has been set, and the clock is ticking. Joe is determined to spend those last weeks with his brother, no matter what other people think ... and no matter whether Ed committed the crime...
  • Lost and Found by Anne Schraff

    Lost and Found by Anne Schraff

    Rated: 4.17 of 5 stars
    · 18 ratings
    Welcome to Bluford High. This widely acclaimed teen series set in an urban high school features engaging, accessible writing and appealing, contemporary storylines.Darcy Wills is in big trouble. And she does not know where to turn for help. First there was the mysterious stranger who started following her. Then there was the threatening note left on her desk at Bluford High School...
  • The Keeper of Stories by Sally Page

    The Keeper of Stories by Sally Page

    Rated: 4.13 of 5 stars
    · 24 ratings
    A charming, uplifting debut novel—full of humor and depth—that has taken readers around the world by surprise. Everyone has a story to tell. But does Janice have the power to unlock her own?She can’t recall what started her collection...
    Categorized as:
    coming-of-age  drama  family  friendship  humor  adult  audiobook  book
  • What They Don't Know by Nicole Maggi

    What They Don't Know by Nicole Maggi

    Rated: 4.25 of 5 stars
    · 8 ratings
    Three secrets. One decision. A friendship that will change everything.Mellie has always been the reliable friend, the good student, the doting daughter. But when an unspeakable act leads her to withdraw from everyone she loves, she is faced with a life-altering choice―a choice she must face alone.Lise stands up―and speaks out―for what she believes in...
  • Tonight We Rule the World by Zack Smedley

    Tonight We Rule the World by Zack Smedley

    Rated: 4.20 of 5 stars
    · 10 ratings
    Includes an exclusive reader's guide from Zack SmedleyFrom the critically acclaimed author of Deposing Nathan comes an explosive examination of identity, voice, and the indelible ways our stories are rewritten by others.In the beginning, Owen’s story was blank . . . then he was befriended by Lily, the aspiring author who helped him find his voice...
  • This Adventure Ends by Emma Mills

    This Adventure Ends by Emma Mills

    Rated: 4.11 of 5 stars
    · 18 ratings
    Sloane isn't expecting to fall in with a group of friends when she moves from New York to Florida—especially not a group of friends so intense, so in love, so all-consuming. Yet that's exactly what happens. Sloane becomes closest to Vera, a social-media star who lights up any room, and Gabe, Vera's twin brother and the most serious person Sloane's ever met...
  • The Last Summer in Ireland: A gripping and emotional page-turner by Noëlle Harrison

    The Last Summer in Ireland: A gripping and emotional page-turner by Noëlle Harrison

    Rated: 4.17 of 5 stars
    · 6 ratings
    A lost girl. A mysterious house in Ireland. An invitation that changes everything.Twenty years ago, at the end of a long hot Irish summer, three sisters submerge themselves in the cool lake at their home, Swan Hall. As Maeve and Aisling watch their beautiful younger sister Nuala laughing and splashing, droplets of water clinging to her dark hair, it is hard to hide their envy of her...
    Categorized as:
    grief  family  lgbtq  friendship  humor  murder  mystery  female-mc
  • Love on the D-List by J.R. Barker

    Love on the D-List by J.R. Barker

    Rated: 4.17 of 5 stars
    · 6 ratings
    Actor William Chapman is beyond canceled. He doesn’t remember attacking his handsome co-star, but he does remember waking up in handcuffs.Now, ten years later, William hopes to mount a comeback and enlists the help of his mother’s hunky dog-sitter, James, who is all too happy to pretend to be William’s stable boyfriend...
    Categorized as:
    lgbtq  grief  friendship  family  crime  humor  romance  mlm
  • Almost True by Keren David

    Almost True by Keren David

    Rated: 4.13 of 5 stars
    · 8 ratings
    Ruthless killers are hunting Ty so the police move him and his mum to a quiet seaside town. But a horrific attack and a bullet meant for Ty prove that he's not safe.On the road again, Ty's in hiding with complete strangers . . . who seem to know a lot about him. Meanwhile he's desperate to see his girlfriend Claire, and terrified that she may betray him...
  • Candy Colored Sky by Ginger Scott

    Candy Colored Sky by Ginger Scott

    Rated: 4.13 of 5 stars
    · 8 ratings
    Jonah Wydner has been in love with his neighbor Eleanor Trombley for years. He has watched her life play out from the sidelines—homecoming dances, football parties, and first dates. Her life seemed easy…simple…perfect. The complete opposite of his own...
  • You Don't Even Know by Sue Lawson

    You Don't Even Know by Sue Lawson

    Rated: 4.13 of 5 stars
    · 8 ratings
    Alex Hudson is a good guy. He plays water polo. He has a part-time job. He’s doing okay at school.Then the thing that anchors Alex is ripped away and his life seems pointless...
  • Freeze Frame by Heidi Ayarbe

    Freeze Frame by Heidi Ayarbe

    Rated: 4.10 of 5 stars
    · 10 ratings
    No matter how many times Kyle rewrites the scene, he can't get it right. He tries it in the style of Hitchcock, Tarantino, Eastwood, all of his favorite directors—but regardless of the style, he can't remember what happened that day in the shed. The day Jason died...
  • Invisible by Jeff Erno

    Invisible by Jeff Erno

    Rated: 4.08 of 5 stars
    · 12 ratings
    Chase Devereaux is a fifteen year old boy under a great deal of stress. He has to give a speech today for his Oral Communications class, and he's terrified of public speaking. Worse yet, he's being bullied by one of the most popular kids at school. He just has to make it through his third-hour gym class and then give his speech, and everything will be all right...
  • Faker by Gordon Korman

    Faker by Gordon Korman

    Rated: 4.08 of 5 stars
    · 12 ratings
    The story of a family of liars... and the son who wants to break the family tradition.Trey knows the routine. His dad gets him into a school full of kids with rich parents. Trey makes friends, and his dad makes connections. Soon, there's the con, where Trey's dad suckers the other parents into investing in one of his schemes...
  • Learning Not to Drown by Anna Shinoda

    Learning Not to Drown by Anna Shinoda

    Rated: 4.07 of 5 stars
    · 14 ratings
    Family secrets cut to the bone in this mesmerizing debut novel about a teen whose drug-addicted brother is the prodigal son one time too many.There is a pecking order to every family. Seventeen-year old Clare is the overprotected baby; Peter is the typical, rebellious middle child; and Luke is the oldest, the can’t-do-wrong favorite. To their mother, they are a normal, happy family...
  • Alex in Wonderland by Simon James Green

    Alex in Wonderland by Simon James Green

    Rated: 4.06 of 5 stars
    · 16 ratings
    A novel that will have you laughing out loud one minute, and swooning the next!In the town of Newsands, painfully shy Alex is abandoned by his two best friends for the summer. But he unexpectedly lands a part-time job at Wonderland, a run-down amusement arcade on the seafront, where he gets to know the other teen misfits who work there...
  • Skin Deep by Laura Jarratt

    Skin Deep by Laura Jarratt

    Rated: 4.06 of 5 stars
    · 16 ratings
    An against-the-odds love story at the heart of a book for teens about prejudice, courage, and a dark, compelling mystery—shortlisted for a Romantic Novelists Association AwardUgly people don’t have feelings. They’re not like everyone else. They don’t notice if you stare at them and turn away. And if they did notice, it wouldn’t hurt them. They’re not like real people...
  • What I Lost by Alexandra Ballard

    What I Lost by Alexandra Ballard

    Rated: 4.05 of 5 stars
    · 19 ratings
    A searing yet ultimately uplifting young adult novel about a teenage girl's recovery from anorexia.Sixteen-year-old Elizabeth has honed a dangerous skill: starving herself. Even when her parents send her to a treatment center, she can't stop. Then she begins receiving packages from someone she doesn't know...
  • What to Say Next by Julie Buxbaum

    What to Say Next by Julie Buxbaum

    Rated: 4.00 of 5 stars
    · 25 ratings
    Two struggling teenagers find an unexpected connection just when they need it most.Sometimes a new perspective is all that is needed to make sense of the world.KIT: I don’t know why I decide not to sit with Annie and Violet at lunch. It feels like no one here gets what I’m going through. How could they? I don’t even understand...
  • Call It What You Want by Brigid Kemmerer, Christopher Ragland

    Call It What You Want by Brigid Kemmerer, Christopher Ragland

    Rated: 4.00 of 5 stars
    · 22 ratings
    When his dad is caught embezzling funds from half the town, Rob goes from popular lacrosse player to social pariah. Even worse, his father’s failed suicide attempt leaves Rob and his mother responsible for his care.Everyone thinks of Maegan as a typical overachiever, but she has a secret of her own after the pressure got to her last year...
  • The Strange Fascinations of Noah Hypnotik by David Arnold

    The Strange Fascinations of Noah Hypnotik by David Arnold

    Rated: 4.00 of 5 stars
    · 16 ratings
    This is Noah Oakman → sixteen, Bowie believer, concise historian, disillusioned swimmer, son, brother, friend. Then Noah → gets hypnotized. Now Noah → sees changes—inexplicable scars, odd behaviors, rewritten histories—in all those around him. All except his Strange Fascinations . .
  • The Survival Kit by Donna Freitas

    The Survival Kit by Donna Freitas

    Rated: 4.00 of 5 stars
    · 16 ratings
    When Rose’s mom dies, she leaves behind a brown paper bag labeled Rose’s Survival Kit. Inside the bag, Rose finds an iPod, with a to-be-determined playlist; a picture of peonies, for growing; a crystal heart, for loving; a paper star, for making a wish; and a paper kite, for letting go...
  • The First Third by Will Kostakis

    The First Third by Will Kostakis

    Rated: 4.00 of 5 stars
    · 12 ratings
    Life is made up of three parts: in the first third, you're embarrassed by your family; in the second, you make a family of your own; and in the end, you just embarrass the family you've made. That's how Billy's grandmother explains it, anyway. She's given him her bucket list (cue embarrassment), and now, it's his job to glue their family back together. No pressure or anything...
  • The Pause by John Larkin

    The Pause by John Larkin

    Rated: 4.00 of 5 stars
    · 10 ratings
    Declan seems to have it all: a family that loves him, friends he’s known for years, a beautiful girlfriend he would go to the ends of the earth for. But there’s something in Declan’s past that just won’t go away, that pokes and scratches at his thoughts when he’s at his most vulnerable. Declan feels as if nothing will take away that pain that he has buried deep inside for so long...
  • Boys Against Girls by Phyllis Reynolds Naylor

    Boys Against Girls by Phyllis Reynolds Naylor

    Rated: 4.00 of 5 stars
    · 10 ratings
    Abaguchie mania! Caroline Malloy thrills when Wally Hatford tells her that a strange animal called the abaguchie was spotted in their area. Wally warns Caroline not to search alone, but she is bent on finding the abaguchie. Wally and his brothers try to foil the plan, but Caroline and her sisters plan to outfox them once and for all...
  • All This Time by Mikki Daughtry, Rachael Lippincott

    All This Time by Mikki Daughtry, Rachael Lippincott

    Rated: 3.96 of 5 stars
    · 26 ratings
    Kyle and Kimberly have been the perfect couple all through high school, but when Kimberly breaks up with him on the night of their graduation party, Kyle’s entire world upends—literally. Their car crashes and when he awakes, he has a brain injury. Kimberly is dead. And no one in his life could possibly understand.Until Marley. Marley is suffering from her own loss, a loss she thinks was her fault...
  • Kids of Appetite by David Arnold

    Kids of Appetite by David Arnold

    Rated: 3.94 of 5 stars
    · 18 ratings
    The bestselling author of Mosquitoland brings us another batch of unforgettable characters in this tragicomedy about first love and devastating loss. Victor Benucci and Madeline Falco have a story to tell.It begins with the death of Vic’s father.It ends with the murder of Mad’s uncle.The Hackensack Police Department would very much like to hear it...
  • The Orphans of Race Point: A Novel by Patry Francis

    The Orphans of Race Point: A Novel by Patry Francis

    Rated: 3.94 of 5 stars
    · 18 ratings
    Set on Cape Cod, Massachusetts, a suspenseful page-turning saga of love, murder, and the true meaning of faith from the author of the acclaimed The Liar’s Diary...
    Categorized as:
    coming-of-age  crime  drama  family  grief  realistic  abuse  audiobook
  • Dead Ends by Erin Jade Lange

    Dead Ends by Erin Jade Lange

    Rated: 3.93 of 5 stars
    · 14 ratings
    Dane Washington is one suspension away from expulsion. In a high school full of “haves,” being a “have not” makes Dane feel like life is hurtling toward one big dead end. Billy D. spends his high school days in Special Ed and he’s not exactly a “have” himself. The biggest thing Billy’s missing? His dad...
  • The Protected by Claire Zorn

    The Protected by Claire Zorn

    Rated: 3.93 of 5 stars
    · 14 ratings
    I have three months left to call Katie my older sister. Then the gap will close and I will pass her. I will get older. But Katie will always be fifteen, eleven months and twenty-one days old.Hannah's world is in pieces and she doesn't need the school counsellor to tell her she has deep-seated psychological issues...
  • When I Was Joe by Keren David

    When I Was Joe by Keren David

    Rated: 3.92 of 5 stars
    · 12 ratings
    When Ty witnesses a stabbing, his own life is in danger from the criminals he's named, and he and his mum have to go into police protection. Ty has a new name, a new look and a cool new image - life as Joe is good, especially when he gets talent spotted as a potential athletics star, special training from an attractive local celebrity and a lot of female attention...
  • Frankie by Shivaun Plozza

    Frankie by Shivaun Plozza

    Rated: 3.90 of 5 stars
    · 10 ratings
    Shivaun Plozza’s debut novel, Frankie, is a genre-hopping, darkly funny novel about searching for the truth, finding yourself, and falling in loveFrankie Vega is angry. Just ask the guy whose nose she broke. Or the cop investigating the burglary she witnessed, or her cheating ex-boyfriend, or her aunt who's tired of giving second chances...
  • Wild and Crooked by Leah Thomas

    Wild and Crooked by Leah Thomas

    Rated: 3.90 of 5 stars
    · 10 ratings
    Critically acclaimed author Leah Thomas blends a small-town setting with the secrets of a long-ago crime, in a compelling novel about breaking free from the past.In Samsboro, Kentucky, Kalyn Spence's name is inseparable from the brutal murder her father committed when he was a teenager. Forced to return to town, Kalyn must attend school under a pseudonym . .
  • My Whole Truth by Mischa Thrace

    My Whole Truth by Mischa Thrace

    Rated: 3.88 of 5 stars
    · 8 ratings
    Seventeen-year-old Seelie Stanton never wanted to kill someone. She never wanted to be invisible in her own family, never wanted to crush on her best friend Alyssa, and she definitely never wanted to know how effectively a mallet could destroy someone’s head. But the universe doesn’t care what she wants. Shane Mayfield doesn’t care what Seelie wants either...
  • Solving Zoe by Barbara Dee

    Solving Zoe by Barbara Dee

    Rated: 3.88 of 5 stars
    · 8 ratings
    Zoe Bennett feels lost at her fancy private school.She's not the star drama queen like her sister, or a brainiac math genius like her brother. Luckily her best friend, Dara, is just as content as Zoe is to stay in the shadows -- or is she? When Dara gets a part in the school musical, Zoe feels abandoned. What's worse, Zoe's practically being stalked by the weird new kid, Lucas...
  • Ultimatum by K.M. Walton

    Ultimatum by K.M. Walton

    Rated: 3.88 of 5 stars
    · 8 ratings
    One decision will change both of their lives.It’s not Oscar’s fault that he’s misunderstood. Ever since his mother died, he’s been disrespected by his father and bullied by his self-absorbed older brother, so he withdraws from his fractured family, seeking refuge in his art.Vance wishes his younger brother would just loosen up and be cool...
  • The Namesake by Steven Parlato

    The Namesake by Steven Parlato

    Rated: 3.88 of 5 stars
    · 8 ratings
    Gifted artist? Standout student? All his teachers are sure certain that Evan Galloway can be the graduate who brings glory to small, ordinary St. Sebastian's School. As for Evan, however, he can't be bothered anymore. Since the shock of his young father's suicide last spring, Evan no longer cares about the future. In fact, he believes that he spent the first fifteen years of his life living a lie...
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