Books like 'Fighting Words'
Readers who enjoyed Fighting Words by Kimberly Brubaker Bradley also liked the following books featuring the same tropes, story themes, relationship dynamics and character types.
contemporary action / adventure north-america usa tennessee realistic family friendship children bullying
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The Labors of Hercules Beal by Gary D. Schmidt
Rated: 4.50 of 5 stars · 18 ratingsFrom award-winning author Gary D. Schmidt, a warm and witty novel in the tradition of The Wednesday Wars, in which a seventh grader has to figure out how to fulfill an assignment to perform the Twelve Labors of Hercules in real life—and makes discoveries about friendship, community, and himself along the way. Herc Beal knows who he's named after—a mythical hero—but he's no superhero... -
![In an Instant by Suzanne Redfearn]()
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... -
![We Are Not From Here by Jenny Torres Sanchez]()
We Are Not From Here by Jenny Torres Sanchez
Rated: 4.44 of 5 stars · 18 ratingsA ripped-from-the-headlines novel of desperation, escape, and survival across the U.S.-Mexico border.Pulga, Chico, and Pequeña have no false illusions about the town they've grown up in and the dangers that surround them. Though their families--both biological and found--create a warm community for them, threats lurk around every corner... -
![내 토끼가 또 사라졌어! by Mo Willems]()
내 토끼가 또 사라졌어! by Mo Willems
Rated: 4.38 of 5 stars · 24 ratingsKorean edition of the last story of Knuffle Bunny series, KNUFFLE BUNNY FREE: An Unexpected Diversion by Mo Willems, the author of a three-time Caldecott Honor winner (for Don't Let the Pigeon Drive the Bus!, Knuffle Bunny, and Knuffle Bunny Too)...Categorized as:
children coming-of-age family friendship realistic sad 21st-century action-adventure -
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![Always You by Belle Brooks, Karen Harper]()
Always You by Belle Brooks, Karen Harper
Rated: 4.75 of 5 stars · 8 ratings“I will breathe for you.” Some people’s bodies are built to run marathons. Others to lift and labour. And some are made so graceful their footsteps are barely heard. My body was built to be a vessel. It was Always You. Maybelline Connors knows stars are not always as faultless as they appear... -
![The Running Dream by Wendelin Van Draanen]()
The Running Dream by Wendelin Van Draanen
Rated: 4.32 of 5 stars · 28 ratingsAn award-winning and inspiring novel. When Jessica's dreams are shattered, she puts herself back together—and learns to dream bigger than ever before. Jessica thinks her life is over when she loses a leg in a car accident. She's not comforted by the news that she'll be able to walk with the help of a prosthetic leg... -
![The Unteachables by Gordon Korman, Sarah Beth Goer]()
The Unteachables by Gordon Korman, Sarah Beth Goer
Rated: 4.33 of 5 stars · 24 ratingsA hilarious new middle grade novel from beloved and bestselling author Gordan Korman about what happens when the worst class of kids in school is paired with the worst teacher—perfect for fans of Ms. Bixby’s Last Day.The Unteachables are a notorious class of misfits, delinquents, and academic train wrecks...Categorized as:
bullying children coming-of-age family friendship realistic action-adventure audiobook -
![One for the Murphys by Lynda Mullaly Hunt]()
One for the Murphys by Lynda Mullaly Hunt
Rated: 4.31 of 5 stars · 26 ratingsTwelve-year-old Carley Connors can take a lot. Growing up in Las Vegas with her fun-loving mother, she's learned to be tough. But she never expected a betrayal that would land her in a foster care. When she's placed with the Murphys, a lively family with three boys, she's blindsided. Do happy families really exist? Carley knows she could never belong in their world, so she keeps her distance... -
![The Islanders by Mary Alice Monroe, Angela May]()
The Islanders by Mary Alice Monroe, Angela May
Rated: 4.46 of 5 stars · 13 ratingsAn instant New York Times bestseller! “Storytelling for young readers at its finest—equal parts summer adventure and environmental suspense…[a] love letter to family, friendship, and the natural world... -
![Unstoppable by Tim Green]()
Unstoppable by Tim Green
Rated: 4.38 of 5 stars · 16 ratingsNew York Times bestselling author Tim Green has written an unforgettable story—inspired by interviews with real-life cancer survivors and insider sports experience—showing a brave boy who learns what it truly means to be unstoppable."Absolutely heroic, and something every guy should read... -
![Allie and Bea by Catherine Ryan Hyde]()
Allie and Bea by Catherine Ryan Hyde
Rated: 4.27 of 5 stars · 26 ratingsBea has barely been scraping by since her husband died. After falling for a telephone scam, she loses everything and is forced to abandon her trailer. With only two-thirds of a tank in her old van, she heads toward the Pacific Ocean with her cat—on a mission to reclaim what’s rightfully hers, even if it means making others pay for what she lost... -
![Life, Loss, and Puffins by Catherine Ryan Hyde]()
Life, Loss, and Puffins by Catherine Ryan Hyde
Rated: 4.50 of 5 stars · 10 ratingsAn exhilarating and emotional novel about grief, hope, friendship, and taking life one beautiful and spontaneous day at a time by New York Times bestselling author Catherine Ryan Hyde.Freakishly smart. That’s the unwelcome box Ru Evans is put into for life. After all, she taught herself Euclidean geometry at age seven, has an eidetic memory, and is about to enter college at thirteen years old... -
![You'd Be Home Now by Kathleen Glasgow]()
You'd Be Home Now by Kathleen Glasgow
Rated: 4.25 of 5 stars · 24 ratingsFrom 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... -
![Across the Desert by Dusti Bowling]()
Across the Desert by Dusti Bowling
Rated: 4.50 of 5 stars · 8 ratingsOne girl sets out on a journey across the treacherous Arizona desert to rescue a young pilot stranded after a plane crash in this gripping story of survival, friendship, and rescue from a bestselling and award-winning author... -
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![Ms. Bixby's Last Day by John David Anderson]()
Ms. Bixby's Last Day by John David Anderson
Rated: 4.25 of 5 stars · 20 ratings" New York Times Book Review Editor's Choice Kids won't just love this book. They need it. --Soman Chainani, New York Times bestselling author of The School for Good and EvilEach page crackles as we embark on the greatest adventure of all. --Gary D. Schmidt, Newbery Honor winner and author of Okay for NowEveryone knows there are different kinds of teachers... -
![The Truth as Told by Mason Buttle by Leslie Connor]()
The Truth as Told by Mason Buttle by Leslie Connor
Rated: 4.25 of 5 stars · 20 ratingsMason Buttle is the biggest, sweatiest kid in his grade, and everyone knows he can barely read or write. Mason’s learning disabilities are compounded by grief. Fifteen months ago, Mason’s best friend, Benny Kilmartin, turned up dead in the Buttle family’s orchard... -
![How to Stay Invisible by Maggie C. Rudd]()
How to Stay Invisible by Maggie C. Rudd
Rated: 4.36 of 5 stars · 11 ratingsMy Side of the Mountain meets How to Steal a Dog in this high-stakes and heartfelt middle-grade story of a young boy and his dog surviving on their own in the woods.Being alone is something Raymond is used to.Twelve-year-old Raymond Hurley has never had a place to call home...Categorized as:
survival realistic friendship children coming-of-age bullying middle-grade action-adventure -
![Coyote Lost and Found by Dan Gemeinhart]()
Coyote Lost and Found by Dan Gemeinhart
Rated: 4.44 of 5 stars · 18 ratingsFrom #1 New York Times-bestselling author Dan Gemeinhart comes a standalone companion to the critically-acclaimed The Remarkable Journey of Coyote Sunrise about a father and daughter who venture on a moving, uplifting, and rollicking cross-country road trip. It's been almost a year since Coyote and her dad left the road behind and settled down in a small Oregon town. . -
![Louder Than Hunger by John Schu]()
Louder Than Hunger by John Schu
Rated: 4.44 of 5 stars · 18 ratingsRevered teacher, librarian, and story ambassador John Schu explores anorexia—and self-expression as an act of survival—in a wrenching and transformative novel-in-verse. But another voice inside me says, We need help. We’re going to die. Jake volunteers at a nursing home because he likes helping people... -
![Out of My Heart by Sharon M. Draper]()
Out of My Heart by Sharon M. Draper
Rated: 4.25 of 5 stars · 16 ratingsMelody faces her fears to follow her passion in this stunning sequel to the acclaimed, New York Times bestselling middle grade novel Out of My Mind.Melody, the huge-hearted heroine of Out of My Mind, is now a year older and a year braver. But not as brave as she wants to be, as she’s terrified of horses. Even though she loves horses—loves loves loves them—from afar... -
![Paper Butterflies by Lisa Heathfield]()
Paper Butterflies by Lisa Heathfield
Rated: 4.25 of 5 stars · 16 ratingsJune's life at home with her stepmother and stepsister is a dark one—and a secret one. She is trapped like a butterfly in a net. But then June meets Blister, a boy in the woods. In him she recognises the tiniest glimmer of hope that perhaps she can find a way to fly far, far away from her home and be free. Because every creature in this world deserves their freedom.. -
![The Ethan I Was Before by Ali Standish]()
The Ethan I Was Before by Ali Standish
Rated: 4.25 of 5 stars · 16 ratingsEthan had been many things. He was always ready for adventure and always willing to accept a dare, especially from his best friend, Kacey. But that was before. Before the accident that took Kacey from him. Before his family moved from Boston to the small town of Palm Knot, Georgia.Palm Knot may be tiny, but it’s the home of possibility and second chances... -
![The Shape of Thunder by Jasmine Warga]()
The Shape of Thunder by Jasmine Warga
Rated: 4.25 of 5 stars · 16 ratingsAn extraordinary new novel from Jasmine Warga, Newbery Honor–winning author of Other Words for Home, about loss and healing—and how friendship can be magical. Cora hasn’t spoken to her best friend, Quinn, in a year. Despite living next door to each other, they exist in separate worlds of grief... -
![The Canyon's Edge by Dusti Bowling]()
The Canyon's Edge by Dusti Bowling
Rated: 4.22 of 5 stars · 18 ratingsA novel in verse about a young girl's struggle for survival after a climbing trip with her father goes terribly wrong.One year after a random shooting changed their family forever, Nora and her father are exploring a slot canyon deep in the Arizona desert, hoping it will help them find peace... -
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![Love, Aubrey by Suzanne LaFleur]()
Love, Aubrey by Suzanne LaFleur
Rated: 4.17 of 5 stars · 24 ratingsA beautifully written and deeply moving middle-grade novel with characters to cherish and a story that deals with tragedy and loss in a fresh way. Aubrey has suffered an unbelievable loss, and goes to live with her grandmother in Vermont in order to heal. There she makes new friends, learns to cope with what has happened, and begins to figure out how to move on... -
![One by Sarah Crossan]()
One by Sarah Crossan
Rated: 4.17 of 5 stars · 24 ratingsGrace and Tippi. Tippi and Grace. Two sisters. Two hearts. Two dreams. Two lives. But one body.Grace and Tippi are conjoined twins, joined at the waist, defying the odds of survival for sixteen years. They share everything, and they are everything to each other. They would never imagine being apart. For them, that would be the real tragedy.But something is happening to them... -
![Train I Ride by Paul Mosier]()
Train I Ride by Paul Mosier
Rated: 4.25 of 5 stars · 12 ratingsRydr is on a train heading east, leaving California, where her gramma can’t take care of her anymore, and traveling to Chicago to live with an unknown relative. She brings with her a suitcase, memories both happy and sad, and a box containing something very important.As Rydr meets her fellow passengers and learns their stories, her own past begins to emerge... -
![My Jasper June by Laurel Snyder]()
My Jasper June by Laurel Snyder
Rated: 4.21 of 5 stars · 14 ratingsThe school year is over, and it is summer in Atlanta. The sky is blue, the sun is blazing, and the days brim with possibility. But Leah feels. . . lost. She has been this way since one terrible afternoon a year ago, when everything changed. Since that day, her parents have become distant, her friends have fallen away, and Leah’s been adrift and alone... -
![The Midnight Children by Dan Gemeinhart]()
The Midnight Children by Dan Gemeinhart
Rated: 4.19 of 5 stars · 16 ratingsAn extraordinary story about a family of runaways who take up residence in a small town, and the outcast boy who finds his voice and his people.In the dead of night, a truck arrives in Slaughterville, a small town curiously named after its windowless slaughterhouse... -
![Mr Stink by David Walliams]()
Mr Stink by David Walliams
Rated: 4.21 of 5 stars · 35 ratingsMr Stink stank. He also stunk. And if it was correct English to say he stinked, then he stinked as well…” Chloe sees Mr Stink every day, but she’s never spoken to him. Which isn’t surprising, because he’s a tramp, and he stinks. But there’s more to Mr Stink than meets the eye (or nose) and before she knows it, Chloe has an unusual new friend hiding in her garden shed... -
![Tyrell by Coe Booth]()
Tyrell by Coe Booth
Rated: 4.17 of 5 stars · 18 ratingsAn astonishing new voice in teen literature, writing what is sure to be one of the most talked-about debuts of the year.Tyrell is a young, African American teen who can't get a break. He's living (for now) with his spaced-out mother and little brother in a homeless shelter. His father's in jail... -
![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... -
![Merci Suárez Changes Gears by Meg Medina]()
Merci Suárez Changes Gears by Meg Medina
Rated: 4.17 of 5 stars · 18 ratingsThoughtful, strong-willed sixth-grader Merci Suarez navigates difficult changes with friends, family, and everyone in between in a resonant new novel from Meg Medina.Merci Suarez knew that sixth grade would be different, but she had no idea just how different... -
![Shouting at the Rain by Lynda Mullaly Hunt]()
Shouting at the Rain by Lynda Mullaly Hunt
Rated: 4.17 of 5 stars · 18 ratingsDelsie loves tracking the weather--lately, though, it seems the squalls are in her own life. She's always lived with her kindhearted Grammy, but now she's looking at their life with new eyes and wishing she could have a "regular family." Delsie observes other changes in the air, too--the most painful being a friend who's outgrown her... -
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![Gather by Kenneth M. Cadow]()
Gather by Kenneth M. Cadow
Rated: 4.43 of 5 stars · 14 ratingsA resourceful teenager in rural Vermont struggles to hold on to the family home while his mom recovers from addiction in this striking debut novel.Ian Gray isn’t supposed to have a dog, but a lot of things that shouldn’t happen end up happening anyway... -
![Dear Edward by Ann Napolitano]()
Dear Edward by Ann Napolitano
Rated: 4.09 of 5 stars · 42 ratingsOne summer morning, twelve-year-old Edward Adler, his beloved older brother, his parents, and 183 other passengers board a flight in Newark headed for Los Angeles... -
![Being Magdalene by Fleur Beale]()
Being Magdalene by Fleur Beale
Rated: 4.20 of 5 stars · 10 ratingsThe gripping sequel to the award-winning and bestselling YA novels I Am Not Esther and I am Rebecca.Being Magdalene revisits the Pilgrim family and its closed religious community, The Children of the Faith.Four years have passed since Rebecca ran away... -
![My Best Friend by Julie Fogliano]()
My Best Friend by Julie Fogliano
Rated: 4.20 of 5 stars · 10 ratingsA story of first friendship.she is my best friend i think i never had a best friend so i’m not sure but i think she is a really good best friend because when we were drawing she drew me and i drew her... -
![Hunting the Hunter by Gordon Korman]()
Hunting the Hunter by Gordon Korman
Rated: 4.22 of 5 stars · 24 ratingsIT'S NOT OVER...Hairless Joe. Aiden and Meg Falconer have known him as a threat. A killer. A madman. But now they've discovered that he holds the key to freeing their parents from prison.The Falconer kids know what they have to do: Hunt the hunter and trap the killer - even if he's armed and very dangerous. It's their only chance, and they're going to take it... and risk everything... -
![Bang! by Sharon G. Flake]()
Bang! by Sharon G. Flake
Rated: 4.14 of 5 stars · 14 ratingsAs violence continues in his community, a 13-year-old boy must make some difficult choices to set his life on another course.Bang! Guns really sound like that, you know. Bang! And people bleed from everywhere, and blood is redder than you think. And little kids look funny in caskets. That's 'cause they ain't meant to be in one, I guess... -
![24 Hours in Nowhere by Dusti Bowling]()
24 Hours in Nowhere by Dusti Bowling
Rated: 4.14 of 5 stars · 14 ratingsWhen you come from Nowhere, can you ever really make it anywhere? Author Dusti Bowling (Insignificant Events in the Life of a Cactus) returns to the desert to create a gripping story about friendship, hope, and finding the power we all have within ourselves. Welcome to Nowhere, Arizona, the least livable town in the United States... -
![Froggy Goes to School by Jonathan London]()
Froggy Goes to School by Jonathan London
Rated: 4.13 of 5 stars · 16 ratingsFroggy's mother knows that everyone's nervous on the first day of school. "Not me!" says Froggy, and together they leapfrog to the bus stop -- flop flop flop. Froggy's exuberant antics, complete with sound effects, will delight his many fans and reassure them that school can be fun."This is a great read-aloud with sounds and words that encourage active participation... -
![Bound to be Bad by Annie Barrows]()
Bound to be Bad by Annie Barrows
Rated: 4.13 of 5 stars · 16 ratingsThe adventures of Ivy and Bean continue in the latest installment from series creators Annie Barrows and Sophie Blackall. In Ivy and Bean Bound to Be Bad the two girls decide to be so good and kind and pure of thought that wild animals will befriend them. When this doesn't work, they decide that perhaps a little badness can be good... -
![Everything Beautiful Is Not Ruined by Danielle Younge-Ullman]()
Everything Beautiful Is Not Ruined by Danielle Younge-Ullman
Rated: 4.13 of 5 stars · 16 ratingsWild meets The Breakfast Club in this story of a girl who must survive an extreme wilderness experience to prove to her mother that she has the strength to pursue her dreams. Then Ingrid traveled all over Europe with her opera star mother, Margot-Sophia. Life was beautiful and bright, and every day soared with music... -
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![The Other Side of Lost by Jessi Kirby]()
The Other Side of Lost by Jessi Kirby
Rated: 4.13 of 5 stars · 16 ratingsGirl Online meets Wild in this emotionally charged story of girl who takes to the wilderness to rediscover herself and escape the superficial persona she created on social media.Mari Turner’s life is perfect. That is, at least to her thousands of followers who have helped her become an internet starlet... -
![The Fort by Gordon Korman]()
The Fort by Gordon Korman
Rated: 4.28 of 5 stars · 18 ratingsFrom the bestselling author of RESTART, the story of a middle-school "band of brothers" -- five friends who need to stick together after they set up a hideout in an abandoned bomb shelter and discover that the only way to be true friends is to reveal their secrets and help each other out... -
![Coming Home by Lauren Brooke]()
Coming Home by Lauren Brooke
Rated: 4.11 of 5 stars · 18 ratingsThis powerful series follows Amy Fleming through the loss of her mother and her struggle to continue the work at Heartland-a refuge for abused and abandoned horses... -
![Eight Keys by Suzanne LaFleur]()
Eight Keys by Suzanne LaFleur
Rated: 4.11 of 5 stars · 19 ratingsElise and Franklin have always been best friends. Elise has always lived in the big house with her loving Uncle and Aunt, because Elise's parents died when she was too young to remember them. There's always been a barn behind the house with eight locked doors on the second floor.When Elise and Franklin start middle school, things feel all wrong. Bullying. Not fitting in...Categorized as:
realistic coming-of-age family friendship bullying children middle-grade young-adult -
![House Arrest by K.A. Holt]()
House Arrest by K.A. Holt
Rated: 4.08 of 5 stars · 25 ratingsStealing is bad.Yeah.I know.But my brother Levi is always so sick, and his medicine is always so expensive.I didn’t think anyone would notice,if I took that credit card,if, in one stolen second,I bought Levi’s medicine.But someone did notice.Now I have to prove I’m not a delinquent, I’m not a total bonehead... -
![Bridge to Terabithia by Katherine Paterson, Katherine Paterson]()
Bridge to Terabithia by Katherine Paterson, Katherine Paterson
Rated: 4.05 of 5 stars · 44 ratingsThis powerful adaptation, supported by a lyrical score, focuses the humor, warmth, and emotional intensity of Katherine Paterson's Newbery Award-winning novel. Jesse, alienated from the pragmatism of his family and rural Virginian culture, draws and dreams of becoming something special...
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