Books like 'Wise Young Fool'
Readers who enjoyed Wise Young Fool by Sean Beaudoin also liked the following books featuring the same tropes, story themes, relationship dynamics and character types.
contemporary romance realistic coming-of-age humor lgbtq family friendship high-school male-mc
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There's Something About Mira by Sonali Dev
Rated: 4.28 of 5 stars · 18 ratingsFrom USA Today bestselling author Sonali Dev comes the heartfelt story of a woman determined to reunite a lost ring with its owner, who ends up finding herself along the way.Mira Salvi has the perfect life—a job she loves, a fiancé everyone adores, and the secure future she’s always imagined for herself... -
Pumpkin by Julie Murphy
Rated: 4.17 of 5 stars · 18 ratingsWaylon Russell Brewer is a fat, openly gay boy stuck in the small West Texas town of Clover City. His plan is to bide his time until he can graduate, move to Austin with his twin sister, Clementine, and finally go Full Waylon, so that he can live his Julie-the-hills-are-alive-with-the-sound-of-music-Andrews truth... -
We, The Wildflowers by L.B. Simmons
Rated: 4.25 of 5 stars · 8 ratings“Their strength and ferocity stem from below the surface where their roots are forever tangled, interwoven in such a way that for the remainder of time they bloom together …”GenesisAdamChloeLukasNo one loves them, no one cares about them, no one even sees them until they end up in Mary Rodriguez’s home, an outpost for Sacred Heart’s troubled youth program... -
Henry Hamlet's Heart by Rhiannon Wilde
Rated: 4.17 of 5 stars · 12 ratingsA sparkling queer YA romance set in Brisbane, Henry Hamlet’s Heart follows one guy and his sometimes hilarious, sometimes heartbreaking journey to love.Henry Hamlet doesn’t know what he wants after school ends. It’s his last semester of year twelve and all he’s sure of is his uncanny ability to make situations awkward. Luckily, he can always hide behind his enigmatic best friend, Len... -
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Heartmates by Marcus Herzig
Rated: 4.17 of 5 stars · 6 ratingsAs childhood friends, Lars and Connor were inseparable. Now, in the social gauntlet of high school, neither boy can even muster a single word to the other. When Connor enters a romantic relationship with Jaden-Dominic Choi, the hottest social influencer in school, a barely healed wound is torn wide open again... -
Carter's Unfocused, One-Track Mind by Brent Crawford
Rated: 4.13 of 5 stars · 8 ratingsAfter an eventful freshman year and disastrous summer, fifteen-year-old Will Carter returns to Merrian High none the wiser. His sophomore year will present a host of new problems: the return of Scary Terry from juvie, the pregnant presence of Amber Lee, friends-with-benefits negotiations with Abby, prom night expectations, and the ever-constant harassment from his boys... -
How to Convince a Boy to Kiss You by Tara Eglington
Rated: 4.13 of 5 stars · 8 ratingsThe course of true love never did run smooth. For a girl who shares her name with a princess (a.k.a Aurora from Sleeping Beauty) Aurora Skye’s life seem fathoms away from a fairytale. Sure, she’s landed Hayden Paris, Potential Prince extraordinaire. And she got her wish -- one first kiss with all the knee-trembling, butterfly-inducing gloriousness she’d hoped for... -
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 Good Girl & the Bad Boy by M.L. Collins
Rated: 4.10 of 5 stars · 10 ratingsWhat happens when Jackson High’s Good Girl and Bad Boy are forced to work together? I’ll tell you:I destroy his guitar. (Accidentally!)He uses my guilt to trick me into doing his work.For three weeks!Until I find out he lied. Oh, heck no. This bad boy has crossed the wrong girl.I call him out on it. In front of the whole school.Check mate, bad boy. “It feels good to be bad,” he whispers... -
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... -
The Truth Project by Dante Medema
Rated: 4.07 of 5 stars · 14 ratingsSeventeen-year-old Cordelia Koenig was sure of many things going into her last year of high school. For one, she wasn’t going to stress over the senior project all her peers were dreading—she’d just use the same find-your-roots genealogy idea that her older sister used for hers... -
Life in Outer Space by Melissa Keil
Rated: 4.00 of 5 stars · 19 ratingsSam Kinnison is a geek, and he’s totally fine with that. He has his horror movies, his nerdy friends, World of Warcraft – and until Princess Leia turns up in his bedroom, he doesn’t have to worry about girls. Then Sam meets Camilla. She’s beautiful, friendly and completely irrelevant to his life... -
True Letters from a Fictional Life by Kenneth Logan
Rated: 4.00 of 5 stars · 17 ratingsIf you asked anyone in his small Vermont town, they'd tell you the facts: James Liddell, star athlete, decent student and sort-of boyfriend to cute, peppy Theresa, is a happy, funny, carefree guy.But whenever James sits down at his desk to write, he tells a different story... -
Twenty-Four Seconds from Now...A Love Story by Jason Reynolds
Rated: 4.11 of 5 stars · 18 ratingsJason Reynolds tackles it—you know…it—from the guy’s perspective in this stream of consciousness story of a teen boy about to experience a huge first.Twenty-four months ago: Neon gets chased by a dog all around the parking lot of a church. Not his finest moment. And definitely one he would have loved to forget if it weren’t for the dog’s owner: Aria... -
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Donuts and Other Proclamations of Love by Jared Reck
Rated: 4.14 of 5 stars · 14 ratingsThe future is anything but certain in this alternately funny and heartbreaking contemporary story about food trucks, festivals, and first loves.It's easy to look at high school senior Oscar Olsson and think: lost. He hates school, struggles to read, and wants nothing to do with college. But Oscar is anything but lost---he knows exactly what he wants and exactly how to get it... -
Almost Alice by Phyllis Reynolds Naylor
Rated: 4.00 of 5 stars · 12 ratingsIs it possible to be too good a friend -- too understanding, too always there, too much like a doormat? Alice has always been a good friend to Pamela and Liz, a best friend to Pamela and Liz...Categorized as:
coming-of-age friendship high-school humor realistic book contemporary female-author -
The First Third by Will Kostakis
Rated: 4.00 of 5 stars · 12 ratingsLife 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... -
Take a Bow, Noah Mitchell by Tobias Madden
Rated: 4.00 of 5 stars · 10 ratingsThere Are No Cheat Codes for ShowmanceSeventeen-year-old gaymer Noah Mitchell only has one friend the wonderful, funny, strictly online-only MagePants69. After years playing RPGs together, they know everything about each other, except anything that would give away their real life identities. And Noah is certain that if they could just meet in person, they would be soulmates... -
The Renaissance of Gwen Hathaway by Ashley Schumacher
Rated: 4.00 of 5 stars · 10 ratings"Ashley Schumacher's latest novel is a delightful read, with diverse characters and an irresistible setting. The Renaissance of Gwen Hathaway proves that there's no better place to find yourself than at a Renaissance Faire... -
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... -
Access Denied: And Other Eighth Grade Error Messages by Denise Vega
Rated: 4.00 of 5 stars · 8 ratingsComputer whiz Erin Swift is ready to start eighth grade. The Year of Humiliating Events (aka, seventh grade) is behind her and she's ready to rule the school. But eight grade comes with its own set of problems for Erin to navigate, including her first boyfriend, her first break-up, and the fact that her mom has been treating her more like an eight year old than an eighth grader... -
Friends With Benefits: An absolutely uplifting, feel-good romcom by Lisa Swift
Rated: 4.00 of 5 stars · 6 ratingsCould Mr Right-Now actually be Mr Right?Lexie Whittle thought she had life all sewn up, with a gorgeous husband, a beautiful home and a delightful teenage stepson. Until husband Daryl left to work overseas…and everything changed.A year later, Daryl and Lexie’s marriage is over...Categorized as:
humor family lgbtq coming-of-age friendship contemporary womens-fiction friends-to-lovers -
Noah Goes Nuclear by Simon James Green
Rated: 4.00 of 5 stars · 6 ratingsNoah Grimes is back, in a new, original short story!Noah is v excited: his class have been shipped off to a hotel in the Lake District to study a nearby Nuclear Power Station! On arrival, all Noah wants to do is settle in to his crisp hotel sheets and get proper rest, but his conniving secret half-brother Eric Smith has other plans... -
The Stand-In Boyfriend by Christina Benjamin
Rated: 4.00 of 5 stars · 6 ratingsSometimes the person you're meant to be with is standing right in front of you.Parker Reed has been in love with Beth Bennett since he was four years old. She grew up next door to him, holding his hand and now his heart. The problem is, Beth has no idea Parker is in love with her. He’s stuck in the friend zone, forced to stand by while Beth dates a parade of losers... -
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Dessert First by Dean Gloster
Rated: 4.00 of 5 stars · 6 ratingsUpbeat--that's Kat, the girl in the family who everyone turns to when things get difficult. Especially now, when her beloved younger brother Beep is in his second leukemia relapse, and a bone marrow transplant from Kat may be his only chance... -
With or Without You by Brian Farrey
Rated: 3.92 of 5 stars · 12 ratingsEighteen-year-old Evan and his best friend, Davis, get beaten up for being loners. For being gay. For just being themselves. But as rough as things often seem, at least Evan can take comfort in his sweet, sexy boyfriend Erik - whom he’s kept secret from everyone for almost a year. Then Evan and Davis are recruited to join the Chasers, a fringe crowd that promises them protection and status... -
Living with Jackie Chan by Jo Knowles
Rated: 3.92 of 5 stars · 12 ratingsAfter fathering a baby, a teenager moves in with his karate-loving uncle and tries to come to terms with his guilt — and find a way to forgive. This isn’t how Josh expected to spend senior year. He thought he’d be hanging out with his best friends, Dave and Caleb, driving around, partying, just like always... -
No Big Deal by Bethany Rutter
Rated: 3.92 of 5 stars · 12 ratings'It's not my body that's holding me back. I think it's more of a problem that people tell me my body should hold me back.'Meet Emily Daly, a stylish, cute, intelligent and hilarious seventeen-year-old about to start her last year at school. Emily is also fat. She likes herself and her body. When she meets Joe at a house party, he instantly becomes The Crush of Her Life. Everything changes... -
Carter's Big Break by Brent Crawford
Rated: 3.90 of 5 stars · 10 ratingsAfter surviving freshman year (just barely), Carter is craving his summer break. Unfortunately, when he and his girlfriend, Abby, part ways, it looks as though summer just might break him. Things start to look up when he's unexpectedly cast in an independent film opposite the world's biggest tween sensation, Hilary Idaho. With Hollywood knocking on his door, Carter gets a taste of the good life... -
A Really Nice Prom Mess by Brian Sloan
Rated: 3.90 of 5 stars · 10 ratingsWell, in summary, your fake date's in the bathroom with a hangover and a crispy hairdo, while my fake date is out wandering the Willard, searching for his heterosexuality or something. High school senior Cameron Hayes gets coerced into going to the prom with a girl, even though he'd rather be with his boyfriend... -
Call the Shots by Don Calame
Rated: 3.90 of 5 stars · 10 ratingsAnd . . . action! As the uproarious trio returns, sensitive Sean takes the spotlight — scripting a low-low-budget film while fielding unexpected female fans. Coop is cooking up another sure-misfire scheme (big surprise), and this time the comedy plays out from Sean’s point of view... -
We Could Be Something by Will Kostakis
Rated: 3.88 of 5 stars · 8 ratingsPart Coming-Out Story.Part falling-in-love story.Part falling-apart story.Harvey's dads are splitting up. It's been on the cards for a while, but it's still sudden. Woken-by-his-father-to-catch-a-red-eye sudden. Now he's restarting His Life In A New City, Living Above A Cafe With The Extended Greek Family He Barely Knows.Sotiris is a rising star... -
The Infinite Pieces of Us by Rebekah Crane
Rated: 3.89 of 5 stars · 18 ratingsFrom the author of The Odds of Loving Grover Cleveland comes a hilarious and heartbreaking novel about coming apart, getting it together--and moving on. It's just a two-hour drive--Pondering math problems is Esther Ainsworth's obsession. If only life's puzzles required logic. Her stepfather's solution? Avoidance... -
Suffer Love by Ashley Herring Blake
Rated: 3.86 of 5 stars · 14 ratings“Just let it go.”That’s what everyone keeps telling Hadley St. Clair after she learns that her father cheated on her mother. But Hadley doesn’t want to let it go. She wants to be angry and she wants everyone in her life—her dad most of all—to leave her alone.Sam Bennett and his family have had their share of drama too... -
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Goodbye, Rebel Blue by Shelley Coriell
Rated: 3.86 of 5 stars · 14 ratingsRebecca Blue is a rebel with an attitude whose life is changed by a chance encounter with a soon-to-be dead girl. Rebel (as she’s known) decides to complete the dead girl’s bucket list to prove that choice, not chance, controls her fate. In doing so, she unexpectedly opens her mind and heart to a world she once dismissed—a world of friendships, family, and faith... -
Mean Girls by Micol Ostow
Rated: 3.83 of 5 stars · 12 ratingsYou know the story--or do you? Cady Heron grew up home-schooled in Africa with scientist parents as her teachers, monkeys as her classmates and the African plains as her playground. But when her family moves to the suburbs of Illinois, she finds herself a stranger in a strange land: high school. With no prior research to guide her, Cady's forced to figure out North Shore High all on her own... -
The Theory of Everything by J.J. Johnson
Rated: 3.83 of 5 stars · 12 ratingsJust because everyone else thinks you should be over it doesn't mean you are. Last year, Sarah's best friend Jamie died in a freak accident. Back then, everyone was sad; now they're just ready for Sarah to get over it and move on. But Sarah's not ready to move on. She can't stop reliving what happened, struggling with guilt, questioning the meaning of life, and missing her best friend... -
A Shot at Normal by Marisa Reichardt
Rated: 3.90 of 5 stars · 10 ratingsDr. Villapando told me to get a good attorney. He wasn't serious. But I am. I'm going to sue my parents.Juniper Jade's parents are hippies. They didn’t attend the first Woodstock, but they were there for the second one. The Jade family lives an all-organic homeschool lifestyle that means no plastics, no cell phones, and no vaccines... -
Tin Heart by Shivaun Plozza
Rated: 3.80 of 5 stars · 10 ratingsBestselling author of All the Bright Places Jennifer Niven calls emerging talent Shivaun Plozza’s charming and romantic second YA novel, Tin Heart, “from cover to cover swoon-worthy, moving, deep, and funny”!When Marlowe gets a heart transplant and a second chance at life, all she wants to do is to thank her donor’s family. Maybe then she can move on... -
Rock On by Denise Vega
Rated: 3.80 of 5 stars · 10 ratingsOri Taylor is the lead singer, guitarist, and songwriter of the Band To Be Named Later, a garage band he started with his friends. After years of being known only as the kid brother of sports star Del, Ori is looking forward to stepping out of his older brother's shadow, learning to perform in public, and rocking the Battle of the Bands contest... -
Crying Laughing by Lance Rubin
Rated: 3.80 of 5 stars · 10 ratingsA tragicomic story of bad dates, bad news, bad performances, and one girl's determination to find the funny in high school from the author of Denton Little's Deathdate .Winnie Friedman has been waiting for the world to catch on to what she already she's hilarious.It might be a long wait, though. After bombing a stand-up set at her own bat mitzvah, Winnie has kept her jokes to herself... -
10 Things I Hate About Prom by Elle Gonzalez Rose
Rated: 3.88 of 5 stars · 8 ratingsA fun, fresh contemporary rom-com that covers all the ways in which prom is overrated, and the biggest ways to sabotage your lovable best friend’s promposals to the school’s most popular girl.The best things in life come in pairs. Peanut butter has jelly, Taylor has Selena, and Ivelisse Santos has Joaquin Romero. They are not only next-door neighbors; they’re platonic soulmates... -
Words and Their Meanings by Kate Bassett
Rated: 3.75 of 5 stars · 8 ratingsAnna O’Mally doesn’t believe in the five stages of grief. Her way of dealing with death equates to daily bouts of coffin yoga and fake-tattooing Patti Smith quotes onto her arms. Once a talented writer, Anna no longer believes words matter, until shocking discoveries– in the form of origami cranes– force her to redefine family and love... -
Love: And Other Uses for Duct Tape by Carrie Jones
Rated: 3.75 of 5 stars · 8 ratingsPraise for Tips on Having a Gay (ex) Boyfriend "From the first sentence of Carrie Jones' novel, I could tell that here was a bright new writer who was going to set the world of young adult letters aflame." -Kathi Appelt, award-winning poet and author"Provocative...The author's poetic prose ably captures her heroine's emotional upheavals... -
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Will by Maria Boyd
Rated: 3.75 of 5 stars · 8 ratingsTHE CRIME It all started when Will mooned the girls' school bus. It wasn't his finest moment. And it's the last time William Armstrong will sully the St. Andrew's community, says Principal Waddlehead-er, Waverton. THE PUNISHMENT That's when a teacher worried about Will's home situation comes up with an idea... -
A Short History of the Girl Next Door by Jared Reck
Rated: 3.83 of 5 stars · 18 ratingsThe unrequited love of the girl next door is the centerpiece of this fiercely funny, yet heart-breaking debut novel.Fifteen-year-old Matt Wainwright is in turmoil... -
The Wedding Cake Girl by Anne Pfeffer
Rated: 3.67 of 5 stars · 6 ratingsSeventeen year old Alexandra spends so much time helping others realize their dreams that she never has time for her own. An expert ocean diver and reluctant maker of wedding cakes, she longs to leave roses and frosting behind to study oceanography. Alex’s mother won’t have it—needy and dependent, Mom can’t run the family wedding cake business on her own... -
Intruder by Christine Bongers
Rated: 3.67 of 5 stars · 6 ratingsIf you like Fiona Wood, Cath Crowley or Jaclyn Moriarty, you'll love Christine Bongers' gripping new coming of age story, Intruder. I don't walk past the house next door. I wish the woman who lives in it was dead. Which makes it hard . . . because she was the one who came running when I screamed. Kat Jones is woken by an Intruder looming over her bed... -
Andy Squared by Jennifer Lavoie
Rated: 3.67 of 5 stars · 6 ratingsSeventeen-year-old twins, Andrew and Andrea Morris, have always been close. They share everything—from their friends to a room—and they both enjoy star positions on their high school’s soccer teams. All’s right with the twins...or is it? When new student Ryder Coltrane moves from Texas to their small New York town, he spins Andrew’s world upside down... -
Art Boss by Kayla Cagan
Rated: 3.67 of 5 stars · 6 ratingsArtist Piper Perish has moved from her hometown of Houston, Texas, to New York City. Her days are spent exploring; her nights are filled with painting. It's her lifelong dream come true . . . . Except life in the city isn't as glamorous as it looks from afar. Piper's high-pressure work as an assistant to a famous modern artist takes away time from her own art...Categorized as:
coming-of-age realistic friendship lgbtq high-school romance young-adult contemporary
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