Books like 'Ash Wednesday'
Readers who enjoyed Ash Wednesday by Ethan Hawke also liked the following books featuring the same tropes, story themes, relationship dynamics and character types.
contemporary romance north-america usa realistic literary-fiction classics coming-of-age family
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Peer e Kamil by Umera Ahmed
Rated: 4.45 of 5 stars · 20 ratingsImama belongs to Ahmedi religion, a community that is deemed non-Muslim under the constitution of Pakistan and also Shariah laws. Salaar is young man of supreme intelligence and an IQ of 150+. Instead of using his IQ for a good purpose, Salaar considers it a curse and indulges in all kinds of sins, great and small... -
![Pretty Beach Posies by Polly Babbington]()
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![Coming Home by Judith Keim, Angela Dawe]()
Coming Home by Judith Keim, Angela Dawe
Rated: 4.60 of 5 stars · 10 ratingsLength: 8 hrs 15 minCamilla “Cami” Chandler comes home from France to take over the Chandler Hill Inn and Winery for her recently-deceased grandmother, Lettie, as she’d always promised... -
![To Dream by Carolyn Brown]()
To Dream by Carolyn Brown
Rated: 4.43 of 5 stars · 14 ratingsGreta Fields had planned to stay one night in Murray County, Oklahoma, to attend her brother's wedding, even though she thought he was making the biggest mistake of his life for the second time. But on her way out of town, she caused a three car pileup when she dropped her cell phone and tried to retrieve it while traveling ninety miles an hour... -
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![Someone To Love Me by Anne Schraff]()
Someone To Love Me by Anne Schraff
Rated: 4.38 of 5 stars · 16 ratingsWelcome to Bluford High. This widely acclaimed teen series set in an urban high school features engaging, accessible writing and appealing, contemporary storylines.At first, Bobby Wallace was everything Cindy Gibson hoped for. He was friendly, seemingly mature, and hansome--the perfect escape from her problems in school and even bigger troubles at home... -
![Table for Five by Izzy Bromley]()
Table for Five by Izzy Bromley
Rated: 4.38 of 5 stars · 16 ratingsWhen your life falls apart, all you need is a friend…Abbie Finch loves her job.Unfortunately, her boss doesn’t love her.When she finds herself unexpectedly unemployed, Abbie realises that she’s let all her friendships fall by the wayside and has no one to turn to.Lost and lonely, Abbie decides to leave her comfort zone and join the neighbourhood café’s community table...Categorized as:
literary-fiction realistic family coming-of-age fiction audiobook womens-fiction contemporary -
![Nashville Dreams by Pamela M. Kelley]()
Nashville Dreams by Pamela M. Kelley
Rated: 4.29 of 5 stars · 14 ratingsYoung love torn apart by amnesia and a scheming billionaire.Laura Scott lives in a trailer park in Charleston, SC, with her alcoholic but very sweet mother. She is a senior in high school when this story begins and is madly in love with her best friend and soul mate Cole Dawson. His father is Dalton Dawson, a real estate billionaire and junior senator with ambitions to be Governor... -
![Cánh Đồng Bất Tận by Nguyễn Ngọc Tư]()
Cánh Đồng Bất Tận by Nguyễn Ngọc Tư
Rated: 4.25 of 5 stars · 16 ratingsCánh đồng bất tận bao gồm những truyện hay và mới nhất của nhà văn Nguyễn Ngọc Tư. Đây là tác phẩm đang gây xôn xao trong đời sống văn học, bởi ở đó người ta tìm thấy sự dữ dội, khốc liệt của đời sống thôn dã qua cái nhìn của một cô gái. Bi kịch về nỗi mất mát, sự cô đơn được đẩy lên đến tận cùng, khiến người đọc có lúc cảm thấy nhói tim.. -
![A Good Life by Virginie Grimaldi, Hildegarde Serle]()
A Good Life by Virginie Grimaldi, Hildegarde Serle
Rated: 4.25 of 5 stars · 16 ratingsLaughter, tears, the transformative power of love, unexpected revelations, and striking natural these are the ingredients that combine to make best-selling author Virginie Grimaldi’s English debut the feel-good read of 2024. Grimaldi is among France’s top ten contemporary authors and her uplifting, unputdownable literary novels have quickly garnered her millions of adoring fans...Categorized as:
literary-fiction family coming-of-age romance fiction contemporary audiobook season-summer -
![The House on the Beach by Linda Barrett]()
The House on the Beach by Linda Barrett
Rated: 4.22 of 5 stars · 18 ratingsSea View House in Pilgrim Cove offers its residents the sea, the sun, the sound of the surf and the call of the gulls. But sometimes serenity is only an illusion....Laura McCloud has come back to Pilgrim Cove—the source of her fondest childhood memories—to pick up the pieces of her life. The solitude of Sea View House is just what she needs... -
![Katie's Choice by Amy Lillard]()
Katie's Choice by Amy Lillard
Rated: 4.50 of 5 stars · 6 ratingsKatie Rose Fisher loved Samuel Beachy with an intensity that shook their Amish district. No one doubted they would one day marry, until Samuel turned his back on the church and joined the world of the English. Alone now in Clover Ridge, Katie Rose dedicates her life to God and the school children she teaches each day... -
![The Language of Seabirds by Will Taylor]()
The Language of Seabirds by Will Taylor
Rated: 4.25 of 5 stars · 12 ratingsA sweet, tender middle-grade story of two boys finding first love with each other over a seaside summer.Jeremy is not excited about the prospect of spending the summer with his dad and his uncle in a seaside cabin in Oregon. It's the first summer after his parents' divorce, and he hasn't exactly been seeking alone time with his dad. He doesn't have a choice, though, so he goes.. -
![The Candid Life of Meena Dave by Namrata Patel]()
The Candid Life of Meena Dave by Namrata Patel
Rated: 4.13 of 5 stars · 24 ratingsA woman embarks on an unexpected journey into her past in an engrossing novel about identity, family secrets, and rediscovering the need to belong.Meena Dave is a photojournalist and a nomad. She has no family, no permanent address, and no long-term attachments, preferring to observe the world at a distance through the lens of her camera... -
![Love Still Stands by Kelly Irvin]()
Love Still Stands by Kelly Irvin
Rated: 4.33 of 5 stars · 6 ratingsReaders of Kelly Irvin's Bliss Creek Amish novels will be overjoyed to discover her new series for lovers of Amish fiction: The New Hope Amish. In the first installment, Love Still Stands, a group of dedicated families leaves Bliss Creek to establish a new community in Missouri. Among them is Bethel Graber, a beautiful young woman with a passion for teaching... -
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![All My Tomorrows by Rochelle Alers]()
All My Tomorrows by Rochelle Alers
Rated: 4.33 of 5 stars · 6 ratingsDisenchanted with the politics of working in an upscale Washington, D.C. restaurant, twenty-seven-year-old chef Lydia Lord resigns from her job and resolves to make it on her own... -
![Intermezzo by Sally Rooney]()
Intermezzo by Sally Rooney
Rated: 4.33 of 5 stars · 6 ratingsAn exquisitely moving story about grief, love, and family, from the global phenomenon Sally Rooney. Aside from the fact that they are brothers, Peter and Ivan Koubek seem to have little in common.Peter is a Dublin lawyer in his thirties—successful, competent, and apparently unassailable... -
![Sunset on Whisling Island by Julia Clemens]()
Sunset on Whisling Island by Julia Clemens
Rated: 4.14 of 5 stars · 14 ratingsJust off the coast of Washington state, a visit to beautiful Whisling Island will change you. Its residents will give you reasons to laugh, cry, and rejoice. Bess Wilder's entire life changes with one sentence: "I'm so sorry, Bess." Her husband, Jon, has betrayed her, and she isn't sure what to do or feel. Her entire life was dedicated to Jon and her children... -
![Who Am I Without Him? by Sharon G. Flake]()
Who Am I Without Him? by Sharon G. Flake
Rated: 4.14 of 5 stars · 14 ratingsThere is "The Ugly One," whose only solace comes when she is locked inside her own head. In "Wanted: A Thug," a teenager seeks advice on how to steal her best friend's bad-guy boyfriend. And then there's Erika, who only likes white boys. Sharon Flake takes readers through the minds of girls trying to define themselves while struggling to remain relevant to the boys in their lives... -
![the truth about fragile things by Regina Sirois]()
the truth about fragile things by Regina Sirois
Rated: 4.17 of 5 stars · 6 ratingsBryon died fifty years before his time. Charlotte grew up angry. I grew up scared. And Phillip- well, he never grew up. And now we are all bound together into one painful heap of humanity. Broken, but bound. And maybe it is only the fact that we are tangled in one terrible knot that will hold us together until we heal. This is unfortunately, and miraculously, my story...Categorized as:
coming-of-age literary-fiction realistic book contemporary female-author fiction young-adult -
![Perfection: The MacGregor Grooms / A Perfect Neighbor by Nora Roberts]()
Perfection: The MacGregor Grooms / A Perfect Neighbor by Nora Roberts
Rated: 4.17 of 5 stars · 6 ratingsThe MacGregor Grooms(1998)Daniel MacGregor sets his matchmaking skills against three of his grandsons - D.C., Duncan, and Ian.A Perfect Neighbor(1999)Daniel MacGregor is matchmaking again when he encourages playwright Preston McQuinn to move in across the hall from his granddaughter Cybill Campbell... -
![Someone to Love by Donna Alward]()
Someone to Love by Donna Alward
Rated: 4.17 of 5 stars · 6 ratingsSOME WISHES DO COME TRUE Ethan Gallagher is a firefighter in Darling, Vermont, who followed tradition and pledged his love on the Kissing Bridge to ensure lifelong happiness. A few years later, he s a widower with two rambunctious boys who no longer believes in magic. But even he has to admit that free-spirited Willow Dunaway fills him with wonder and an attraction he cannot deny... -
![Missing Beats by K.L. Shandwick]()
Missing Beats by K.L. Shandwick
Rated: 4.17 of 5 stars · 6 ratingsTo Jo, rock stars = Fame. Money. Music. Sex. A lifestyle she literally has no respect for. Josie Carmichael's no rock star. She's not even famous and she doesn't particularly like musicians, but when a boy from her childhood reconnects unexpectedly, her life is put on hold...Categorized as:
coming-of-age family literary-fiction adult book contemporary fiction friends-to-lovers -
![McKellan's Run by Nicole Hurley-Moore]()
McKellan's Run by Nicole Hurley-Moore
Rated: 4.17 of 5 stars · 6 ratingsYears ago, Violet Beckett made the mistake of falling for the wrong McKellan brother and both she and her younger sister, Lily, paid the price. Now eight years later, fate has brought Violet and her daughter, Holly, back to the house Violet grew up in. As soon as Violet runs into James 'Mac' McKellan, she wonders if she should run all the way back to the city... -
![Mrs. Quinn's Rise to Fame by Olivia Ford]()
Mrs. Quinn's Rise to Fame by Olivia Ford
Rated: 4.17 of 5 stars · 6 ratings“One of those books you just want to hug to your chest. I loved it so much... -
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![The Ballad of Darcy and Russell by Morgan Matson]()
The Ballad of Darcy and Russell by Morgan Matson
Rated: 4.17 of 5 stars · 6 ratingsDarcy believes in love at first sight. Even though it’s never happened to her, she’s spent her whole life waiting for that magical moment, hoping that when she meets the right guy, everything will fall into place perfectly.But right now, her life is anything but perfect. Heading home from a music festival, engine trouble means she’s stranded at a Nevada bus station until morning... -
![Standing Against the Wind by Traci L. Jones]()
Standing Against the Wind by Traci L. Jones
Rated: 4.13 of 5 stars · 8 ratingsIn her debut novel, Traci L. Jones presents a girl with grit she never knew she had, and a boy so inspired by her that he begins to take pride in his own abilities.Patrice dreams of a first-class education, but right now she's just got to survive the walk to school.Patrice Williams was happy living in Georgia with her grandmother...then her mother lured her to Chicago and ended up in jail... -
![Kiss The Bride by Rachael Johns]()
Kiss The Bride by Rachael Johns
Rated: 4.10 of 5 stars · 10 ratingsIt seems that wedding fever has hit the little town of Marietta... And that suits single mom, Magdalena Davis, just fine. It means the local gossips will stop hounding her about returning to town and the secret she’s kept for fifteen years. Home to make peace with her sick mother, the last thing Mags wants is to get involved in Marietta’s big celebrity wedding... -
![Now I'll Tell You Everything by Phyllis Reynolds Naylor]()
Now I'll Tell You Everything by Phyllis Reynolds Naylor
Rated: 4.08 of 5 stars · 12 ratingsIt's Alice—for the rest of her life! Yes, the very last Alice book, and it reveals every last bit you'd want to know about Alice, including whether she spends the rest of her life with Patrick! "This is the book where Alice, every girl’s girl, turns into every lady’s lady" (VOYA).Alice McKinley is going to college! And everything, from her room to her classes to her friends, is about to change... -
![The Butterfly Garden by Mary Campisi]()
The Butterfly Garden by Mary Campisi
Rated: 4.08 of 5 stars · 12 ratingsIt’s all about that second chance… The Butterfly Garden is Book Six of That Second Chance Series. (These are stand-alone stories tied together by a common theme— belief in the beauty of that second chance.) Sometimes love happens when you least expect it… Jenny Romano has never been a white-picket-fence, happily-ever-after girl...Categorized as:
family literary-fiction coming-of-age romance contemporary womens-fiction fiction small-town -
![Kendra by Coe Booth]()
Kendra by Coe Booth
Rated: 4.07 of 5 stars · 14 ratingsThe acclaimed author of TYRELL returns to PUSH with a striking novel about a mother and daughter who are only fourteen years apart, but need to learn to understand each other before it's too late.Kendra's mom, Renee, had her when she was only 14 years old. Renee and her mom made a deal -- Renee could get an education, and Kendra would live with her grandmother... -
![The Temptation to Be Happy by Lorenzo Marone, Shaun Whiteside]()
The Temptation to Be Happy by Lorenzo Marone, Shaun Whiteside
Rated: 4.06 of 5 stars · 18 ratingsCesare is a seventy-seven-year-old widower and cynical troublemaker, a man who has always struggled to care for others and has given up trying. Aside from an intermittent fling with a nurse called Rossana, he avoids contact with his neighbours and even his own children. One day, the enigmatic Emma moves into the neighbouring flat with her strange and sinister husband... -
![Troubled Waters by AnnaLisa Grant]()
Troubled Waters by AnnaLisa Grant
Rated: 4.00 of 5 stars · 18 ratingsCollege life for Layla Weston isn’t starting the way she’d intended. She’s revisiting the plans she once had to be the reclusive girl she wanted to be at Heyward Prep, and Layla is more than confident in her ability to succeed this time. After all, she’s got a whole new bag of secrets to keep. Still reeling from Will’s disappearance, Layla is doing her best to adjust to life back in Florida... -
![The World of Normal Boys by K.M. Soehnlein]()
The World of Normal Boys by K.M. Soehnlein
Rated: 4.00 of 5 stars · 16 ratingsIn his stunning debut novel, The World Of Normal Boys, K.M. Soehnlein captures the spirit of a generation and an era, embodied in the haunting, unstoppable voice of thirteen-year-old Robin MacKenzie, a modern-day Holden Caulfield, whose struggle for a place in the world is as ferocious as it is real.The time is the late 1970s--an age of gas shortages, head shops, and Saturday Night Fever...Categorized as:
classics coming-of-age family literary-fiction realistic anthologies bildungsroman contemporary -
![Our Italian Summer by Jennifer Probst]()
Our Italian Summer by Jennifer Probst
Rated: 4.00 of 5 stars · 16 ratingsThree generations of women in the Ferrari family must heal the broken pieces of their lives on a trip of a lifetime through picturesque Italy from New York Times bestselling author Jennifer Probst Workaholic, career-obsessed Francesca is fiercely independent and successful in all areas of her life except one: family...Categorized as:
coming-of-age family literary-fiction realistic action-adventure adult audiobook book -
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![Some Mistakes Were Made by Kristin Dwyer, Karissa Vacker]()
Some Mistakes Were Made by Kristin Dwyer, Karissa Vacker
Rated: 4.00 of 5 stars · 16 ratings"Heartbreaking, painfully romantic, and deeply human." --Stephanie Garber, #1 bestselling author of CaravalFrom bestselling authors to booksellers and librarians, early readers are obsessed with this debut YA romance pitched as Sarah Dessen meets Adam Silvera, told in alternate timelines and perfect for fans of messy, complicated relationships...Categorized as:
coming-of-age family realistic book contemporary fiction friends-to-lovers friendship -
![One on One by Tabitha King, Stephen King]()
One on One by Tabitha King, Stephen King
Rated: 4.00 of 5 stars · 12 ratingsA high school basketball star and a defiant outcast discover a profound love that sustains them through a triumphant but painful year... -
![Whisper by Chrissie Perry]()
Whisper by Chrissie Perry
Rated: 4.00 of 5 stars · 12 ratingsI'm always trying to figure out what's really going on. Always having to fill in the gaps, but never getting all the details. It's like trying to do a jigsaw when I don't even know what the picture is, and I'm missing one of the vital middle pieces... -
![The Life List by Chrissy Anderson]()
The Life List by Chrissy Anderson
Rated: 4.00 of 5 stars · 10 ratingsWhen she was just sixteen, Chrissy Anderson made a life list… …The outcome is a dream husband, a career to envy, and the kind of best friends every girl wants. Then out of nowhere…an affair. What would you do if you realized the life you created wasn’t right for you? You think you know the answer? Think again... -
![Undertow by Amber Lynn Natusch]()
Undertow by Amber Lynn Natusch
Rated: 4.00 of 5 stars · 10 ratingsHow far does a girl have to run to escape a lifetime of pain and loss at the hands of Alaska's notoriously unforgiving Bering Sea? Twenty-seven-year-old Aesa Fredriksen thought landlocked Columbus, Ohio would suffice, and it does until the fear of regret drives her to return to Dutch Harbor in a final attempt to make amends with her nearly-estranged father... -
![Last Will by Bryn Greenwood]()
Last Will by Bryn Greenwood
Rated: 4.00 of 5 stars · 10 ratingsBernie Raleigh is a failure at nearly everything he touches. Nobody notices a loser, and after being kidnapped for ransom as a child, Bernie has spent his adult life trying to avoid being noticed. That's impossible now that he's inherited his grandfather's enormous fortune. The inheritance comes complete with a mansion, a lot of obligations, and a very problematic housekeeper named Meda Amos... -
![Don't Forget Me by Victoria Stevens]()
Don't Forget Me by Victoria Stevens
Rated: 4.00 of 5 stars · 8 ratingsSeventeen-year-old Hazel Clarke is no stranger to heartbreaks, and being sent to live with a father she’s never met is the latest in a string of them. Even the beauty of eastern Australia isn’t enough to take her mind off her mother and the life she had to leave behind in England... -
![And Then Came You: Sam's Story by Maureen Child, Maureen Childs]()
And Then Came You: Sam's Story by Maureen Child, Maureen Childs
Rated: 4.00 of 5 stars · 6 ratingsNine years ago, Samantha Marconi was swept away in a whirlwind wedding...even though she'd only known her new husband for a month. When Jeff left her just weeks after the wedding-she found out she was pregnant and had nowhere to turn. So Sam did the only thing she thought she could do. She placed her daughter up for adoption and tried to forget the past-until her past came knocking on her door.. -
![Outrunning The Darkness by Anne Schraff]()
Outrunning The Darkness by Anne Schraff
Rated: 4.00 of 5 stars · 6 ratingsThemes: Hi-Lo, High school, neighborhoods, family, loyalty, friendship, urban teen fiction, self esteem, teen relationships, unrequited love. Written for young adults, the Urban Underground series confronts issues that are of great importance to teens, such as friendship, loyalty, drugs, gangs, abuse, urban blight, bullies, and self-esteem to name a few... -
![Rose by Diane Schwemm]()
Rose by Diane Schwemm
Rated: 4.00 of 5 stars · 6 ratingsThis is me and my three younger sisters. Being the oldest has never been easy, but it was especially hard the year I turned sixteen. That was the year that the things I thought would always be the same changed forever. After Dad died, Mom needed me to pitch in more--get a job and help take care of my sisters. I was working so hard to care for my family, I forgot to look out for myself... -
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![Teenie by Christopher Grant]()
Teenie by Christopher Grant
Rated: 4.00 of 5 stars · 6 ratingsHigh school freshman Martine (Teenie for short) is a good student, with a bright future ahead of her. She's desperate to be accepted into a prestigious study abroad program in Spain so that she can see what life is like beyond the streets of Brooklyn. She wouldn't mind escaping from her strict (though lovable) parents for awhile either... -
![The Days Between by Robin Morris]()
The Days Between by Robin Morris
Rated: 4.00 of 5 stars · 6 ratingsIn a South Florida beach town, a chance meeting unravels a web of secrets in this gripping novel about the consequences of lying to protect the ones we love.Andrew Williams’s perfect Delray Beach house has become a pressure cooker. He and his wife, Amy, are struggling to conceive, and it’s fracturing their marriage... -
![The Favorite Daughter by Patti Callahan Henry]()
The Favorite Daughter by Patti Callahan Henry
Rated: 3.94 of 5 stars · 16 ratingsFrom the New York Times bestselling author of The Bookshop at Water's End, here is a lush, heart-wrenching novel about the power of memory, the meaning of family, and learning to forgive. Ten years ago, Lena Donohue experienced a wedding-day betrayal so painful that she fled the small town of Watersend, South Carolina, and reinvented herself in New York City... -
![Things We Do Not Tell The People We Love by Huma Qureshi]()
Things We Do Not Tell The People We Love by Huma Qureshi
Rated: 3.93 of 5 stars · 14 ratingsA collection about mothers and daughters, children lost, unborn, grown up, grown apart, and the dissonance between lovers. It exposes the silences in families and the parts of ourselves we rarely reveal...Categorized as:
literary-fiction family classics romance fiction contemporary anthologies parenthood -
![Alice on Her Way by Phyllis Reynolds Naylor]()
Alice on Her Way by Phyllis Reynolds Naylor
Rated: 3.92 of 5 stars · 12 ratingsFreedom! It's the moment Alice has been looking forward to for years -- her sixteenth birthday is coming up, and that means getting her driver's licence, with the freedom that entails. And before that important milestone, there's another delicious taste of freedom awaiting Alice and her friends -- a class trip to New York City, promising some serious partying once chaperones have gone to bed... -
![Full Flight by Ashley Schumacher]()
Full Flight by Ashley Schumacher
Rated: 3.92 of 5 stars · 12 ratingsA YA contemporary novel told in alternating perspectives, about an exuberant girl and a solitary boy who are forced to work together on a duet in their small-town marching band. With rumors flying and time running out before the big competition, the two must perfect their music while coming to terms with the loneliness they are both battling...
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