Books like 'The Girl Death Left Behind'
Readers who enjoyed The Girl Death Left Behind by Lurlene McDaniel also liked the following books featuring the same tropes, story themes, relationship dynamics and character types.
contemporary romance realistic family grief sad coming-of-age
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![A Dash of Christmas by Samantha Chase]()
A Dash of Christmas by Samantha Chase
Rated: 4.50 of 5 stars · 10 ratings"The perfect blend of heart and sass."—Publishers Weekly for Holiday Spice With a dash of Christmas magic... Two people who have spent most of their lives being rivals...Learn a little something about following their hearts... Carter Montgomery broke the family mold when he went to culinary school... -
![After the Rains by Deborah Raney]()
After the Rains by Deborah Raney
Rated: 4.42 of 5 stars · 12 ratingsLong ago, Natalie’s mother faced an agonizing choice between the two people she loved most, and the difficult resolution to her predicament affects Natalie throughout her young life–fueling a season of teenage rebellion that results in the death of her best friend... -
![Sunset by Jessie Cave]()
Sunset by Jessie Cave
Rated: 4.31 of 5 stars · 16 ratingsThe debut adult novel from Jessie Cave is a spry yet reflective comedy of sisterhood, loneliness and second chances as a rootless young woman starts to piece her life back together again.Sunset is an unconventional love story about putting yourself back together when the sky has fallen in.Ruth and Hannah are sisters. They build each other up, and tear each other down... -
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![No Place Like Home by Barbara Samuel]()
No Place Like Home by Barbara Samuel
Rated: 4.28 of 5 stars · 18 ratingsTwenty-one years ago, Jewel Sabatino left her childhood behind and never looked back. After a magical taste of fame, she found herself alone with a son to raise and very few options. Now she has left New York for the hills of Colorado, unsure if her family will welcome her back. For Jewel, coming home is falling into a world that smells of Italian restaurants and home-baked pies... -
![Maintenance Required: A small town romance by Giulia Lagomarsino]()
Maintenance Required: A small town romance by Giulia Lagomarsino
Rated: 4.50 of 5 stars · 8 ratingsEricI live my life by a certain standard. There are right and wrong ways to do things, and I always make sure that I'm on the right side. My brothers call me a wet blanket. They say I'm buttoned-up, boring, and that I don't know how to let loose. There's a reason I'm that way, and she just walked through my door. With one wild night, I've thrown all my moral guidelines out the window... -
![Differently Normal by Tammy Robinson]()
Differently Normal by Tammy Robinson
Rated: 4.40 of 5 stars · 10 ratingsEvery family has its issues. For Maddy, life is all about routine. It has to be, to keep her autistic sister happy and healthy. With just Maddy and her mother as Bee’s full time carers, there’s no time in Maddy’s life for complications like friends, let alone a boyfriend... -
![This is All: The Pillow Book of Cordelia Kenn by Aidan Chambers]()
This is All: The Pillow Book of Cordelia Kenn by Aidan Chambers
Rated: 4.29 of 5 stars · 14 ratingsSubtitled The Pillow Book of Cordelia Kenn this is the story of Cordelia from the time she is 15 until she is 20. She is pregnant and plans to give this account to her daughter on her 16th birthday so that they can share their youth together... -
![Finding Me by Judith Keim]()
Finding Me by Judith Keim
Rated: 4.29 of 5 stars · 14 ratingsSheena Sullivan Morelli and her sisters, Darcy and Regan, receive the unexpected news that their Uncle Gavin Sullivan, the black sheep of the family, has left them a hotel on the Gulf coast of Florida. The gift comes with a twist. They must live together for one year at the hotel and prepare the hotel to receive guests within a year... -
![A Rose for Melinda by Lurlene McDaniel]()
A Rose for Melinda by Lurlene McDaniel
Rated: 4.25 of 5 stars · 16 ratingsTold in letters, journal entries, e-mails, doctors’ reports, and instant messages, the heartbreaking story of an aspiring ballet dancer battling leukemia. From: Melinda Skye To: Readers Subject: Jesse Hi! I can’t believe it. What a surprise from Jesse... -
![The Beauty of Rain by Jamie Beck]()
The Beauty of Rain by Jamie Beck
Rated: 4.25 of 5 stars · 16 ratingsTwo devoted sisters at a tragic breaking point discover the beautiful and painful truths of being alive in a powerful novel by Wall Street Journal and USA Today bestselling author Jamie Beck.Winning the lottery changed Amy Walsh’s life, but the cost was greater than she could bear. In the aftermath, she struggles to find joy and purpose... -
![Finding Forever by L.L. Collins]()
Finding Forever by L.L. Collins
Rated: 4.50 of 5 stars · 6 ratingsLacey Russell has had enough heartbreak and loss for one lifetime. Turning tragedy into motivation, she becomes a veterinarian to honor her mother’s memory. She knows the path her life is on and she decided long ago that falling in love is not part of that plan. She’s seen firsthand that all it does is cause sorrow and pain... -
![Finding Forever by J.L. Perry]()
Finding Forever by J.L. Perry
Rated: 4.50 of 5 stars · 6 ratingsNobody said it would be easy, nothing worth having ever is.LOGANAt first glance, she stole all the air from my lungs, and a year later, nothing has changed. There’s no doubt in my mind Brooke’s the one I’ve been longing for. She’s awoken something inside me … something that’s been lying dormant for ten long years... -
![Chaos Theory by Nic Stone]()
Chaos Theory by Nic Stone
Rated: 4.30 of 5 stars · 10 ratingsThe #1 New York Times bestselling author of Dear Martin, delivers a gripping romance about two teens: a certified genius living with bipolar disorder and a politician's son who is running from his own addiction and grief. Don't miss this gut punch of a novel about mental illness, loss, and discovering you are worthy of love.Scars exist to remind us of what we've survived...Categorized as:
realistic grief family coming-of-age romance young-adult mental-illness contemporary -
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![A Hundred and One Reasons by Bianca Salindong]()
A Hundred and One Reasons by Bianca Salindong
Rated: 4.25 of 5 stars · 12 ratingsThere are still many things Ann needed to know, to explore and live the life she'd always imagined. But everything turned upside down when she learned that she is sick. Not cough and colds sick. No, something much complicated than that. Ann decides that she'd rather fight when she knows she had no chances of winning... -
![Little Universes by Heather Demetrios]()
Little Universes by Heather Demetrios
Rated: 4.25 of 5 stars · 12 ratingsOne wave: that’s all it takes for the rest of Mae and Hannah Winters’ lives to change.When a tsunami strikes the island where their parents are vacationing, it soon becomes clear that their mom and dad are never coming home... -
![Save the Cupcake! by Lisa Papademetriou]()
Save the Cupcake! by Lisa Papademetriou
Rated: 4.21 of 5 stars · 14 ratingsThis delicious new series from New York Times bestselling author Lisa Papademetriou is a real treat -- full of humor and heart and cupcakes!Confession: My life is soooo not sprinkles and sunshine . . . Hayley's world is far from perfect: her parents have divorced, her mom has lost her job, and she and her sister Chloe are stuck sharing a bedroom in their grandmother's apartment... -
![Amelia Unabridged by Ashley Schumacher]()
Amelia Unabridged by Ashley Schumacher
Rated: 4.19 of 5 stars · 16 ratingsSparks 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... -
![I Want to Live by Lurlene McDaniel]()
I Want to Live by Lurlene McDaniel
Rated: 4.19 of 5 stars · 16 ratingsDawn Rochelle has just turned fourteen, and her cancer has been in remission for almost a year. This summer, as she helps prepare for her brother's wedding and goes to camp, her life seems almost normal again.But when Dawn returns home from camp, she's suddenly tired all the time. Her latest test results show that the worst has happened: Her leukemia is no longer in remission... -
![Love, Lucas by Chantele Sedgwick]()
Love, Lucas by Chantele Sedgwick
Rated: 4.19 of 5 stars · 16 ratingsWhen Oakley Nelson loses her older brother, Lucas, to cancer, she thinks she’ll never recover. Between her parents’ arguing and the battle she’s fighting with depression, she feels nothing inside but a hollow emptiness. When Mom suggests they spend a few months in California with Aunt Jo, Oakley isn’t sure a change of scenery will alter anything, but she’s willing to give it a try... -
![Saving Wishes by G.J. Walker-Smith]()
Saving Wishes by G.J. Walker-Smith
Rated: 4.17 of 5 stars · 18 ratingsFor Charli Blake, being seventeen is a tough gig.She's been branded a troublemaker, her reputation is in tatters and she's stuck in Pipers Cove, a speck of a town on the coast of Tasmania. Thankfully, it's temporary. Her lifelong dream of travelling the world is just months away from becoming reality... -
![Feel like Makin' Love by Barbara S. Stewart]()
Feel like Makin' Love by Barbara S. Stewart
Rated: 4.33 of 5 stars · 6 ratingsAndy Stevens was a ‘Rock God’ of the music world in the 1970s and 80s. He lived his life on the road, going from one concert venue to the next. And then he met the sweet girl-next-door, Beth Morgan, his “Bethy”... -
![Gemma's Bluff by Karly Lane]()
Gemma's Bluff by Karly Lane
Rated: 4.33 of 5 stars · 6 ratingsGemma's life has always been a foregone conclusion: school, uni, then into the family business. Her best friend, Jasmine, is a whole other story. She thrives on spontaneity, her room is always a mess and she rarely sits down and plans anything in her life... -
![Finding Him by J.L. Perry]()
Finding Him by J.L. Perry
Rated: 4.25 of 5 stars · 8 ratingsThere’s never a wrong time for the right person. BROOKENot everything in life is supposed to be beautiful or long-lasting. I truly believe that we don’t meet people by accident—they come into our lives for a reason.Although things were definitely changing for the worst in my marriage, I still thought Jake was the person I was going to grow old with... -
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![Never Let Me Go by Elena Aitken]()
Never Let Me Go by Elena Aitken
Rated: 4.25 of 5 stars · 8 ratingsHe’s not looking for love, but she’s the sunshine to his grump and six months is a long time to deny his desire. Chase never fit in with his big tight-knit family. Always on the outside looking in, as soon as he could, he left small-town life—and his family—behind. Now, a clause in his father’s will has forced him home for Six. Long. Months... -
![Breaking Walls by Tracie Puckett]()
Breaking Walls by Tracie Puckett
Rated: 4.20 of 5 stars · 10 ratingsIt’s not about the rules anymore. It’s about the sacrifice. She’s already given up too much to lose faith now. Gabe has walked away, and Mandy’s fate with the Raddick Initiative is hanging in the balance. Media attention has the whole town talking. Friends are making wild assumptions, and one of her own teammates has turned on her... -
![Meeting Mr. Wright by Cassie Cross]()
Meeting Mr. Wright by Cassie Cross
Rated: 4.20 of 5 stars · 10 ratingsCallie Kirkpatrick promised herself she’d never fall in love again. After catching her boyfriend Ethan cheating on her, Callie decides to retire from the dating game at the ripe old age of twenty-four. Unfortunately for Callie, she’s going to have to see Ethan at her best friend’s upcoming wedding... -
![Ballads of Suburbia by Stephanie Kuehnert]()
Ballads of Suburbia by Stephanie Kuehnert
Rated: 4.17 of 5 stars · 12 ratingsAn aspiring film writer tells about her troubled teen years in the Chicago suburbs when she and her friends tried to escape the pain of their lives through rock music and drugs... -
![Some Other Now by Sarah Everett]()
Some Other Now by Sarah Everett
Rated: 4.17 of 5 stars · 12 ratingsThis Is Us for teens, this luminous and heartbreaking contemporary novel follows a girl caught between two brothers as the three of them navigate family, loss, and love over the course of two summers. For fans of Far From the Tree, Emergency Contact, and Nina LaCour... -
![Gray by Pete Wentz, James Montgomery]()
Gray by Pete Wentz, James Montgomery
Rated: 4.14 of 5 stars · 14 ratingsSometimes, late at night in the hotel room, after the lights have gone out and the mistakes have already been made, when it is heavy and silent and still, I lie awake and listen to my pulse on the pillow… Imagine you are on a tour bus, the miles whistling away beneath you as you sleep. Tomorrow you will wake up in downtown Somewhere. It doesn’t matter. All the skylines look the same... -
![Maggie's Way by Linda Bradley]()
Maggie's Way by Linda Bradley
Rated: 4.14 of 5 stars · 14 ratingsMiddle-aged, Maggie Abernathy just wants to recuperate from cancer during the solitude of summer vacation after a tiresome year of teaching second grade. Maggie’s plans are foiled when precocious seven-year-old Chloe McIntyre moves in next door with her dad, John. Maggie’s life changes in a way she could never imagine when the pesky new neighbors steal her heart... -
![All Our Broken Pieces by L.D. Crichton]()
All Our Broken Pieces by L.D. Crichton
Rated: 4.14 of 5 stars · 14 ratings"You can’t keep two people who are meant to be together apart for long...”Lennon Davis doesn’t believe in much, but she does believe in the security of the number five. If she flicks the bedroom light switch five times, maybe her new L.A. school won’t suck. But that doesn’t feel right, so she flicks the switch again. And again...Categorized as:
realistic family coming-of-age grief romance contemporary young-adult mental-illness -
![You and Me and Us by Alison Hammer]()
You and Me and Us by Alison Hammer
Rated: 4.13 of 5 stars · 16 ratingsThe heartbreaking, yet hopeful, story of a mother and daughter struggling to be a family without the one person who holds them together—a perfect summer read for fans of JoJo Moyes and Marisa de los Santos.Alexis Gold knows how to put the “work” in working mom. It’s the “mom” part that she’s been struggling with lately... -
![Six Months to Live by Lurlene McDaniel]()
Six Months to Live by Lurlene McDaniel
Rated: 4.11 of 5 stars · 18 ratingsWhen 13-year-old Dawn Rochelle is diagnosed with leukemia, she's scared. While in the hospital undergoing chemotherapy, Dawn meets Sandy, who also has cancer. Dawn and Sandy battle the disease together, and remain best friends even after they both go into remission and return home. But when Sandy gets sick again, Dawn wonders what the future holds both for Sandy and herself... -
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![My Underachieving Seatmate Doesn’t Need Any Comforting 学渣同桌不需要安慰 by Long Qi, 龙柒]()
My Underachieving Seatmate Doesn’t Need Any Comforting 学渣同桌不需要安慰 by Long Qi, 龙柒
Rated: 4.20 of 5 stars · 5 ratings正文完结~欢迎吃糖！拼命熬夜刻苦学习的乔韶又是全班倒数第一。成天睡觉也能考满分的贺深买了瓶饮料打算安慰下傻同桌。然后他看到了乔韶落下的手机里弹出的信息——爸爸：儿子不慌，考不好没事，爸刚给你订了辆新跑车。爷爷：孙儿不急，考不好没事，爷爷给你买了辆新游艇，快去散散心。姥爷：外孙不哭，考不好没事，姥爷的几十亿家产都是你的。贺深面无表情地把两块五一瓶的饮料丢垃圾桶。安慰？拉倒吧。离家出走穷得吃土高智商攻X千宠万宠真少爷就是考试不及格受。贺深X乔韶Qiao Shao, who worked hard to stay up all night and study, was first in class — if you count from the bottom... -
![The Year of Chasing Dreams by Lurlene McDaniel]()
The Year of Chasing Dreams by Lurlene McDaniel
Rated: 4.17 of 5 stars · 6 ratings"Readers will swoon over this story of love despite impossible odds."--Romantic TimesFrom the author of Don't Die, My Love comes this young adult novel that intertwines a family saga with a grand love story. This novel stands alone or can be read as the companion to The Year of Luminous Love and Wishes and Dreams. For fans of Sarah Dessen's The Moon and More and Ann Brashares's Forever in Blue... -
![Shoot The Gap by Jordan Ford]()
Shoot The Gap by Jordan Ford
Rated: 4.17 of 5 stars · 6 ratingsThe final book in a young adult romance series about a small town football team and the girls who win their hearts. Tyler Schumann has always been known as Nelson High’s goofy clown, the guy with the big mouth...Categorized as:
sad coming-of-age family romance young-adult contemporary high-school friends-to-lovers -
![The Half Orphan's Handbook by Joan F. Smith]()
The Half Orphan's Handbook by Joan F. Smith
Rated: 4.17 of 5 stars · 6 ratingsFor fans of John Green and Emily X.R. Pan, The Half-Orphan's Handbook by Joan F. Smith is a coming-of-age story and an empathetic, authentic exploration of grief with a sharp sense of humor and a big heart.It’s been three months since Lila lost her father to suicide. Since then, she’s learned to protect herself from pain by following two unbreakable rules:1... -
![Midnights with You by Clare Osongco]()
Midnights with You by Clare Osongco
Rated: 4.17 of 5 stars · 6 ratingsTwo high school seniors with family trauma keeping them up at night fall in love over a series of secret late-night driving lessons.“An achingly beautiful coming-of-age story…Midnights With You is everything I’ve ever wanted in a book.” —Ann Liang, New York Times best-selling author of I Hope This Doesn’t Find You***“Where were you thinking of going?”“Nowhere... -
![The Art of Holding On and Letting Go by Kristin Bartley Lenz]()
The Art of Holding On and Letting Go by Kristin Bartley Lenz
Rated: 4.13 of 5 stars · 8 ratingsA Junior Library Guild Fall 2016 Selection“When every piece falls into place, it’s like a dance, a delicate but powerful balancing act. The art of holding on and letting go at the same time.” Competitive climber Cara Jenkins feels most at home high off the ground, clinging to a rock wall by her fingertips... -
![Perception of Life by Shandi Boyes]()
Perception of Life by Shandi Boyes
Rated: 4.10 of 5 stars · 10 ratingsNoah Taylor is on the cusp of stardom with his band 'Rise Up'. Noah's soul has been shattered beyond repair after a series of devastating family events. The last thing that Noah wants is a committed relationship. But Noah soon learns that life doesn't always work out the way you plan. Sometimes life can take you on a small detour... -
![Last Dance by Lurlene McDaniel]()
Last Dance by Lurlene McDaniel
Rated: 4.10 of 5 stars · 10 ratingsRachel Deering's dream of becoming a professional ballet dancer has to be put on hold when she finds out that she has diabetes, but the lessons she learns in managing her disease help her take control of her life... -
![The Blue-Haired Boy by Courtney C. Stevens]()
The Blue-Haired Boy by Courtney C. Stevens
Rated: 4.10 of 5 stars · 10 ratingsSet before the events of Courtney C. Stevens's debut novel, Faking Normal, this digital short story focuses on Bodee Lennox, otherwise known as the Kool-Aid Kid.Bodee Lennox has secrets. About where he got the four-inch scar on his leg. About the bruises on his back. About what it's really like to live in the Lennox household. These are things he doesn't share with anyone . . -
![The Summer I Saved the World . . . in 65 Days by Michele Weber Hurwitz]()
The Summer I Saved the World . . . in 65 Days by Michele Weber Hurwitz
Rated: 4.08 of 5 stars · 12 ratingsIt's the summer before freshman year in high school and Nina decides to follow what someone said at her middle-school graduation: "Be unnoticed, but be remarkable." Her best friend Jorie is focusing on boys, clothes, and popularity, her lawyer parents are diving into a new case, and this is the first summer without her beloved Grandma, so she's is feeling a little lost... -
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![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... -
![Let Him Live by Lurlene McDaniel]()
Let Him Live by Lurlene McDaniel
Rated: 4.08 of 5 stars · 12 ratingsYOU DON'T KNOW ME, BUT I KNOW ABOUT YOU ... I CAN'T MAKE YOU LIVE LONGER, I CAN'T STOP YOU FROM HURTING. BUT I CAN GIVE YOU ONE WISH, AS SOMEONE DID FOR ME. Being a candy striper isn't Megan Charnell's idea of an exciting summer, but she's volunteered and can't get out of it... -
![Arthur and Teddy Are Coming Out by Ryan Love]()
Arthur and Teddy Are Coming Out by Ryan Love
Rated: 4.08 of 5 stars · 12 ratingsWhen 79-year-old Arthur Edwards gathers his family together to share some important news, no one is prepared for the bombshell he drops: he's gay, and after a lifetime in the closet, he's finally ready to come out. Arthur's 21-year-old grandson, Teddy, has a secret of his own: he's also gay, and developing serious feelings for his colleague Ben... -
![Sixteen and Dying by Lurlene McDaniel]()
Sixteen and Dying by Lurlene McDaniel
Rated: 4.07 of 5 stars · 14 ratingsYou don't know me, but I know about you.... I can't make you live longer. I can't stop you from hurting. But I can give you one wish, as someone did for me. It's hard for Anne Wingate and her father to accept the doctors' diagnosis: Anne is HIV positive. Seven years earlier, before blood screening was required, Anne received a transfusion to save her life, and the blood was tainted... -
![Three Things I Know Are True by Betty Culley]()
Three Things I Know Are True by Betty Culley
Rated: 4.07 of 5 stars · 14 ratingsFans of Jandy Nelson and Marieke Nijkamp will love this deeply moving novel in verse about the aftermath of a gun accident. Life changes forever for Liv when her older brother, Jonah, accidentally shoots himself with his best friend Clay’s father’s gun... -
![Faceless by Alyssa B. Sheinmel]()
Faceless by Alyssa B. Sheinmel
Rated: 4.06 of 5 stars · 18 ratingsWhen Maisie Winters wakes up, she’s in the hospital.The last thing she remembers is running through the hills of her neighborhood one misty morning. Slowly, she puts the pieces together. Before she could make it home, a storm gathered. Lightning hit a power line and sparks rained down, the hot-burning electrical fire consuming her. Destroying her face...
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