Books like 'When You Were Here'
Readers who enjoyed When You Were Here by Daisy Whitney also liked the following books featuring the same tropes, story themes, relationship dynamics and character types.
contemporary romance action / adventure mystery realistic family grief male-mc friendship sad
-
In an Instant by Suzanne Redfearn
Rated: 4.36 of 5 stars · 61 ratingsLife is over in an instant for sixteen-year-old Finn Miller when a devastating car accident tumbles her and ten others over the side of a mountain. Suspended between worlds, she watches helplessly as those she loves struggle to survive.Impossible choices are made, decisions that leave the survivors tormented with grief and regret... -
Out of Sight, Out of Time by Ally Carter
Rated: 4.34 of 5 stars · 53 ratingsWith more than a million Gallagher Girls books sold, a legion of fans have fallen in love with the New York Times best-selling spy-girl series, and the fifth book delivers the most nerve-wracking, high-stakes adventure yet... -
United We Spy by Ally Carter
Rated: 4.45 of 5 stars · 31 ratingsDon't miss a moment of the beloved, bestselling series where spies-in-training navigate double crosses, secret missions, friendship, and first love-now with a bonus epilogue! Cammie Morgan has lost her father and her memory, but in the heart-pounding conclusion to the best-selling Gallagher Girls series, she finds her greatest mission yet... -
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...Categorized as:
coming-of-age drama family friendship high-school realistic season-summer 21st-century -
-
She's Up to No Good by Sara Goodman Confino
Rated: 4.31 of 5 stars · 26 ratingsFor two women generations apart, going home will change their lives in this funny, poignant, and life-affirming novel about family, secrets, and broken hearts by the author of For the Love of Friends.Four years into her marriage, Jenna is blindsided when her husband asks for a divorce... -
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... -
Seabreeze Inn by Jan Moran
Rated: 4.25 of 5 stars · 24 ratingsA widowed artist. An old crush. One summer to get her life back.Ivy Bay’s life implodes after discovering that her late husband had spent their life savings on a beach house. Strapped for cash as an art teacher and with nowhere to go, Ivy and her recently jilted sister head to Summer Beach to recreate their lives... -
Safe Haven by Nicholas Sparks
Rated: 4.18 of 5 stars · 45 ratingsFrom the #1 New York Times bestselling author comes a captivating love story filled with suspense and mystery.When a mysterious young woman named Katie appears in the small North Carolina town of Southport, her sudden arrival raises questions about her past... -
Eleventh Grade Burns by Heather Brewer, Z Brewer
Rated: 4.30 of 5 stars · 36 ratingsThings have taken a darker turn for the half-human teenager with an appetite for blood. Joss, a vampire slayer and Vlad's former friend, has moved back to Bathory. A mysterious and powerful new vampire, Dorian, appears with a shocking secret and an overwhelming desire to drink Vlad's blood. And Vlad's arch enemy, D'Ablo, has a sinister plan to eliminate Vlad once and for all...Categorized as:
coming-of-age drama family friendship high-school male-mc realistic action-adventure -
Walk the Edge by Katie McGarry
Rated: 4.25 of 5 stars · 20 ratingsOne moment of recklessness will change their worlds.Smart. Responsible. That's seventeen-year-old Breanna's role in her large family, and heaven forbid she put a toe out of line. Until one night of shockingly un-Breanna-like behavior puts her into a vicious cyber-bully's line of fire—and brings fellow senior Thomas "Razor" Turner into her life... -
So Over My Head by Jenny B. Jones
Rated: 4.29 of 5 stars · 14 ratingsNewly single, stalked by a killer, and in desperate need of some chic clown shoes--Bella is one skinny mocha frapp away from total meltdown. When the Fritz Family Carnival makes its annual appearance in Truman, Bella's keen reporter instincts tell her the bright lights hide more than they reveal. Her suspicions are confirmed when one of the stars is murdered...Categorized as:
family friendship high-school realistic action-adventure book christian contemporary -
Neanderthal Opens the Door to the Universe by Preston Norton
Rated: 4.25 of 5 stars · 16 ratingsCliff 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... -
A Gallagher Wedding by Ally Carter
Rated: 4.22 of 5 stars · 18 ratings...Categorized as:
coming-of-age family friendship high-school realistic action-adventure boarding-school book -
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... -
-
The Hawthorne Legacy by Jennifer Lynn Barnes
Rated: 4.20 of 5 stars · 41 ratingsIntrigue, riches, and romance abound in this thrilling sequel to the New York Times bestselling The Inheritance Games perfect for fans of Karen McManus and Holly Jackson... -
Love & Gelato by Jenna Evans Welch
Rated: 4.11 of 5 stars · 39 ratings“I made the wrong choice.”Lina is spending the summer in Tuscany, but she isn’t in the mood for Italy’s famous sunshine and fairy-tale landscape. She’s only there because it was her mother’s dying wish that she get to know her father. But what kind of father isn’t around for sixteen years? All Lina wants to do is go back home... -
On the Jellicoe Road by Melina Marchetta
Rated: 4.13 of 5 stars · 30 ratingsI'm dreaming of the boy in the tree. I tell him stories. About the Jellicoe School and the Townies and the Cadets from a school in Sydney. I tell him about the war between us for territory. And I tell him about Hannah, who lives in the unfinished house by the river. Hannah, who is too young to be hiding away from the world. Hannah, who found me on the Jellicoe Road six years ago... -
Me (Moth) by Amber McBride
Rated: 4.21 of 5 stars · 14 ratingsMoth has lost her family in an accident. Though she lives with her aunt, she feels alone and uprooted.Until she meets Sani, a boy who is also searching for his roots. If he knows more about where he comes from, maybe he’ll be able to understand his ongoing depression. And if Moth can help him feel grounded, then perhaps she too will discover the history she carries in her bones... -
A French Affair by Jennifer Bohnet
Rated: 4.21 of 5 stars · 14 ratings*Brand new from the bestselling author of Villa of Sun and Secrets*What will be will be...Belinda Marshall’s idyllic teenage life in Brittany, France, fell apart when her parents dramatically separated and her mother took her backto England.Fast forward thirty-five years when Belinda’s world is once again turned upside down... -
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... -
Gives Light by Rose Christo
Rated: 4.19 of 5 stars · 16 ratings"Skylar is my name, tragically."Sixteen-year-old Skylar is witty, empathetic, sensitive--and mute. Skylar hasn't uttered a single word since his mother died eleven years ago, a senseless tragedy he's grateful he doesn't have to talk about... -
In Plain Sight by Fern Michaels
Rated: 4.19 of 5 stars · 16 ratingsTHE BOND OF SISTERHOOD For years Myra Rutledge and Annie de Silva, founding members of the Sisterhood, have funded an underground network run by former Supreme Court Justice Pearl Barnes to help women escape abusive relationships... -
Long Way Home by Katie McGarry
Rated: 4.17 of 5 stars · 18 ratingsSeventeen-year-old Violet has always been expected to sit back and let the boys do all the saving.It’s the code her father, a member of the Reign of Terror motorcycle club, raised her to live by. Yet when her dad is killed carrying out Terror business, Violet knows it’s up to her to do the saving...Categorized as:
coming-of-age drama family friendship high-school male-mc realistic action-adventure -
The Lucky One by Nicholas Sparks
Rated: 4.09 of 5 stars · 44 ratingsWhen U.S. Marine Logan Thibault finds a photograph of a smiling young woman half-buried in the dirt during his third tour of duty in Iraq, his first instinct is to toss it aside. Instead, he brings it back to the base for someone to claim, but when no one does, he finds himself always carrying the photo in his pocket... -
-
Since You've Been Gone by Morgan Matson
Rated: 4.09 of 5 stars · 43 ratingsIt was Sloane who yanked Emily out of her shell and made life 100% interesting. But right before what should have been the most epic summer, Sloane just…disappears. All she leaves behind is a to-do list.On it, thirteen Sloane-inspired tasks that Emily would normally never try. But what if they could bring her best friend back?Apple picking at night? Okay, easy enough.Dance until dawn? Sure... -
Faith's Crossing by Carrie L. Carr
Rated: 4.33 of 5 stars · 6 ratingsIn the sequel to Destiny's Bridge, new lovers Lexington Walters and Amanda Cauble have withstood many things to be together. When Amanda decides to move to Texas for good, she goes back to her family's California home to get the rest of her things, taking Lex with her. Even though her parents have never understood her "lifestyle", they've not exactly fought against it... -
More Than Life by Mary Calmes
Rated: 4.14 of 5 stars · 14 ratingsHart Jarrett was only supposed to be passing through Jackson Hole, Wyoming. He wasn’t supposed to get involved, no emotional entanglements to tie him down. Setting down roots was never part of the plan, not until he opened himself up to love. Too bad the man he bet on bailed and left Hart holding the ranch. There were two choices after that: run away, or stay and build something real from nothing... -
Middle Ground by Katie Kacvinsky, Katie Ray
Rated: 4.18 of 5 stars · 30 ratingsFor four weeks Maddie has been living in Los Angeles, trying to be good. But no matter how hard she tries, something inside her won't be sated. She can't live a life of half-truths and false pretenses. So one night, she says how she really feels.That's all it takes. One night... -
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... -
This Adventure Ends by Emma Mills
Rated: 4.11 of 5 stars · 18 ratingsSloane 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... -
Chasing River by K.A. Tucker
Rated: 4.11 of 5 stars · 18 ratingsArmed with two years' worth of savings and the need to experience life outside the bubble of her Oregon small town, twenty-five-year old Amber Welles is prepared for anything. Except dying in Dublin. Had it not been for the bravery of a stranger, she might have. But he takes off before she has the chance to offer her gratitude. Twenty-four-year-old River Delaney is rattled... -
So Not Happening by Jenny B. Jones
Rated: 4.11 of 5 stars · 18 ratingsNew York's social darling just woke up in a nightmare: Oklahoma. Problem is, it's right where God wants her. Bella Kirkwood had it all: A-list friends at her prestigious private school, Broadway in her backyard, and Daddy's MasterCard in her wallet. Then her father, a plastic surgeon to the stars, decided to trade her mother in for a newer model... -
The Probability of Violet & Luke by Jessica Sorensen
Rated: 4.10 of 5 stars · 20 ratingsLuke Price and Violet Hayes haven’t seen each other in a couple of months, not since they discovered Luke’s mother’s connection to Violet’s parent’s murders. But when Luke gets into some gambling trouble with the wrong people, destiny decides to throw the two of them together and they head out to Vegas to try and settle Luke’s debt... -
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... -
-
The Program by Suzanne Young
Rated: 4.05 of 5 stars · 31 ratingsIn Sloane’s world, true feelings are forbidden, teen suicide is an epidemic, and the only solution is The Program.Sloane knows better than to cry in front of anyone. With suicide now an international epidemic, one outburst could land her in The Program, the only proven course of treatment. Sloane’s parents have already lost one child; Sloane knows they’ll do anything to keep her alive... -
The Rise by Shari King, Shari Low
Rated: 4.22 of 5 stars · 18 ratingsWhen we bury our secrets, they always come back to haunt us...Their rise was meteoric.Only a few years before, they had been three friends from Glasgow, just trying to survive tough lives of danger and dysfunction.But on one Hollywood evening in 1993, they were on the world’s biggest stage, accepting their Oscar in front of the watching world.That night was the beginning of their careers... -
If You're Reading This by Trent Reedy
Rated: 4.08 of 5 stars · 12 ratingsMike was seven when his father was killed in mysterious circumstances in Afghanistan. Eight years later, the family still hasn't recovered: Mike's mom is overworked and overprotective; his younger sister Mary feels no connection to the father she barely remembers; and in his quest to be "the man of the family," Mike knows he's missing out on everyday high school life...Categorized as:
coming-of-age family friendship grief high-school realistic action-adventure audiobook -
This Golden State by Marit Weisenberg
Rated: 4.07 of 5 stars · 14 ratingsThe Winslow family lives by five principles:1. No one can know your real name.2. Don’t stay in one place too long.3. If you sense anything is wrong, go immediately to the meeting spot.4. Keeping our family together is everything.5. We wish we could tell you who we are, but we can’t. Please—do not ask... -
How Not to Disappear by Clare Furniss
Rated: 4.07 of 5 stars · 14 ratingsOur memories are what make us who we are. Some are real. Some are made up. But they are the stories that tell us who we are. Without them we are nobody.Hattie's summer isn't going as planned. Her two best friends have abandoned her: Reuben has run off to Europe to 'find himself" and Kat is in Edinburgh with her new girlfriend... -
Nowhere But Here by Katie McGarry
Rated: 4.04 of 5 stars · 24 ratingsAn unforgettable new series from acclaimed author Katie McGarry about taking risks, opening your heart, and ending up in a place you never imagined possible. Seventeen-year-old Emily likes her life the way it is: doting parents, good friends, good school in a safe neighbourhood... -
Love & Olives by Jenna Evans Welch
Rated: 4.04 of 5 stars · 24 ratingsSantorini felt like an island holding its breath. As if it were keeping in a secret...Liv Varanakis doesn’t like to think about her father much, which makes sense—he fled to Greece when she was only eight, leaving her with just a few painful memories of their shared love for the lost city of Atlantis...Categorized as:
coming-of-age family friendship high-school realistic season-summer action-adventure audiobook -
The Love Song of Miss Queenie Hennessy by Rachel Joyce
Rated: 4.04 of 5 stars · 26 ratingsWhen Queenie Hennessy discovers that Harold Fry is walking the length of England to save her, and all she has to do is wait, she is shocked. Her note had explained she was dying. How can she wait? A new volunteer at the hospice suggests that Queenie should write again; only this time she must tell Harold everything... -
Made You Up by Francesca Zappia
Rated: 4.04 of 5 stars · 28 ratingsReality, it turns out, is often not what you perceive it to be—sometimes, there really is someone out to get you. Made You Up tells the story of Alex, a high school senior unable to tell the difference between real life and delusion. Alex fights a daily battle to figure out the difference between reality and delusion... -
Looking for Alaska by John Green
Rated: 4.02 of 5 stars · 56 ratingsFirst drink. First prank. First friend. First love. Last words.Miles Halter is fascinated by famous last words--and tired of his safe life at home. He leaves for boarding school to seek what the dying poet François Rabelais called the "Great Perhaps". Much awaits Miles at Culver Creek, including Alaska Young, who will pull Miles into her labyrinth and catapult him into the Great Perhaps... -
-
The Rosie Project by Graeme Simsion
Rated: 4.02 of 5 stars · 47 ratingsAn international sensation, this hilarious, feel-good novel is narrated by an oddly charming and socially challenged genetics professor on an unusual quest: to find out if he is capable of true love.Don Tillman, professor of genetics, has never been on a second date... -
Q & A by Vikas Swarup
Rated: 4.00 of 5 stars · 29 ratingsVikas Swarup's spectacular debut novel opens in a jail cell in Mumbai, India, where Ram Mohammad Thomas is being held after correctly answering all twelve questions on India's biggest quiz show, Who Will Win a Billion? It is hard to believe that a poor orphan who has never read a newspaper or gone to school could win such a contest... -
The Storyteller by Antonia Michaelis
Rated: 4.06 of 5 stars · 34 ratingsAnna and Abel couldn’t be more different. They are both seventeen and in their last year of school, but while Anna lives in a nice old town house and comes from a well-to-do family, Abel, the school drug dealer, lives in a big, prisonlike tower block at the edge of town. Anna is afraid of him until she realizes that he is caring for his six-year-old sister on his own... -
The Catastrophic History of You and Me by Jess Rothenberg
Rated: 4.00 of 5 stars · 24 ratingsDying of a broken heart is just the beginning.... Welcome to forever. Brie's life ends at sixteen: Her boyfriend tells her he doesn't love her, and the news breaks her heart—literally. But now that she's D&G (dead and gone), Brie is about to discover that love is way more complicated than she ever imagined. Back in Half Moon Bay, her family has begun to unravel... -
Just One Day by Gayle Forman
Rated: 3.99 of 5 stars · 38 ratingsA breathtaking journey toward self-discovery and true love, from the author of If I Stay.When sheltered American good girl Allyson "LuLu" Healey first meets laid-back Dutch actor Willem De Ruiter at an underground performance of Twelfth Night in England, there's an undeniable spark... -
I'll Be There by Holly Goldberg Sloan
Rated: 4.00 of 5 stars · 20 ratingsEmily Bell believes in destiny. To her, being forced to sing a solo in the church choir--despite her average voice--is fate: because it's while she's singing that she first sees Sam. At first sight, they are connected.Sam Border wishes he could escape, but there's nowhere for him to run. He and his little brother, Riddle, have spent their entire lives constantly uprooted by their unstable father...
Or - use our amazing romance book finder to get recommendations based on your favorite content tropes and themes. Mix and match at will.