Books like 'Chasing Tail Lights'
Readers who enjoyed Chasing Tail Lights by Patrick Jones also liked the following books featuring the same tropes, story themes, relationship dynamics and character types.
contemporary action / adventure north-america usa michigan realistic survival teens poverty friendship
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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...Categorized as:
coming-of-age family friendship high-school realistic survival teens action-adventure -
![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...Categorized as:
north-america usa realistic friendship family coming-of-age south-carolina middle-grade -
![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... -
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![A Gallagher Wedding by Ally Carter]()
A Gallagher Wedding by Ally Carter
Rated: 4.22 of 5 stars · 18 ratings...Categorized as:
coming-of-age family friendship high-school realistic teens action-adventure boarding-school -
![Wild Bird by Wendelin Van Draanen]()
Wild Bird by Wendelin Van Draanen
Rated: 4.22 of 5 stars · 18 ratings3:47 a.m. That's when they come for Wren Clemens. She's hustled out of her house and into a waiting car, then a plane, and then taken on a forced march into the desert. This is what happens to kids who've gone so far off the rails, their parents don't know what to do with them any more. This is wilderness therapy camp...Categorized as:
coming-of-age family friendship high-school realistic survival teens action-adventure -
![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... -
![Picture Perfect by Holly Smale]()
Picture Perfect by Holly Smale
Rated: 4.17 of 5 stars · 18 ratings"My name is Harriet Manners, and I'll always be a geek." It's the hilarious third book in the No.1 bestselling, award winning GEEK GIRL series! Harriet Manners knows more facts that most. She knows that New York is the most populous city in the United States. She knows that its official motto is "Ever Upward". She knows that 28% of Americans believe we never landed on the moon...Categorized as:
coming-of-age family friendship high-school realistic teens action-adventure audiobook -
![Yara's Spring by Jamal Saeed, Sharon McKay]()
Yara's Spring by Jamal Saeed, Sharon McKay
Rated: 4.33 of 5 stars · 6 ratingsComing of age against all odds in the midst of the Arab Spring.Growing up in Aleppo, Yara’s childhood has long been shadowed by the coming revolution. But when the Arab Spring finally arrives at Yara’s doorstep, it is worse than even her Nana imagined: sudden, violent, and deadly. When rescuers dig Yara out from under the rubble that was once her family’s home, she emerges to a changed world...Categorized as:
realistic family coming-of-age survival friendship high-school historical-fiction young-adult -
![What the Moon Saw by Laura Resau]()
What the Moon Saw by Laura Resau
Rated: 4.20 of 5 stars · 10 ratingsClara Luna's name means "clear moon" in Spanish. But lately, her head has felt anything but clear. One day a letter comes from Mexico, written in Spanish: Dear Clara, We invite you to our house for the summer. We will wait for you on the day of the full moon, in June, at the Oaxaca airport. Love, your grandparents. Fourteen-year-old Clara has never met her father's parents...Categorized as:
coming-of-age family friendship high-school realistic action-adventure book children -
![The Last Wish of Sasha Cade by Cheyanne Young]()
The Last Wish of Sasha Cade by Cheyanne Young
Rated: 4.20 of 5 stars · 10 ratingsThe day Raquel has been dreading for months has finally arrived. Sasha, her best friend in the whole world, has died of cancer. Overwhelmed and brokenhearted, Raquel can't even imagine life without her. And then a letter from Sasha arrives... -
![In Your Dreams by Robin Jones Gunn]()
In Your Dreams by Robin Jones Gunn
Rated: 4.20 of 5 stars · 10 ratingsFrom the bestselling author of The Christy Miller Series, this series centers around Christy Miller's friend Sierra Jensen. Sierra is a spunky and bold sixteen-year-old with big dreams and unconventional clothes. Today's teens can truly relate to what is going on in Sierra's life -- whether it's friendships, dating, or learning to trust in God...Categorized as:
coming-of-age family friendship realistic action-adventure book christian contemporary -
![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...Categorized as:
coming-of-age family friendship high-school realistic survival teens action-adventure -
![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... -
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![Kalahari by Jessica Khoury]()
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... -
![Thirteen Plus One by Lauren Myracle]()
Thirteen Plus One by Lauren Myracle
Rated: 4.13 of 5 stars · 16 ratingsWinnie has finally gotten the hang of junior highÑ gaining two fabulous BFFs and a perfect (OK, sometimes perfect) boyfriend in the process. And with graduation just around the corner, the countdown to high school has begun. Not that Winnie is obsessing about it, since she has a whole bunch of things to check off her To-Do-Before-High-School list...Categorized as:
coming-of-age family friendship high-school realistic action-adventure book children -
![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...Categorized as:
coming-of-age family friendship high-school realistic survival action-adventure book -
![Runaway by Wendelin Van Draanen]()
Runaway by Wendelin Van Draanen
Rated: 4.11 of 5 stars · 18 ratingsIt's a cold, hard, cruel fact that my mother loved heroin more than she loved me. Holly is in her fifth foster home in two years and she's had enough. She's run away before and always been caught quickly. But she's older and wiser now--she's twelve--and this time she gets away clean. Through tough and tender and angry and funny journal entries, Holly spills out her story... -
![Guitar Notes by Mary Amato]()
Guitar Notes by Mary Amato
Rated: 4.11 of 5 stars · 19 ratingsA "sweet story of two different loners finding their counterpoint" (School Library Journal) from a star of state master and children's choice lists making her YA debut. Clean YA with the emotional resonancy of John Green and Sarah Dessen.On odd days, Tripp Broody uses a school practice room to let loose on a borrowed guitar... -
![Notes from the Midnight Driver by Jordan Sonnenblick]()
Notes from the Midnight Driver by Jordan Sonnenblick
Rated: 4.10 of 5 stars · 21 ratingsFrom hot new talent Jordan Sonnenblick, a "Tuesdays with Morrie" for teens. Coincides with the publication of his new hardcover novel.16-year-old Alex decides to get even. His parents are separated, his father is dating his former third-grade teacher, and being 16 isn't easy, especially when it comes to girls...Categorized as:
coming-of-age family friendship high-school realistic teens action-adventure audiobook -
![Break Us by Jennifer Brown]()
Break Us by Jennifer Brown
Rated: 4.17 of 5 stars · 6 ratingsNikki Kill doesn’t see the world in black and white. Her synesthesia shades everything in view, transforming numbers, words, and emotions into colorful clues. Which means she’s a dangerous commodity to anyone with something to hide.Nikki has already taken on the Hollises—one of L.A.’s most powerful families—for murdering her half sister, Peyton... -
![Operation Redwood by S. Terrell French]()
Operation Redwood by S. Terrell French
Rated: 4.10 of 5 stars · 10 ratings"Sibley Carter is a moron and a worldclass jerk." When Julian Carter-Li intercepts an angry e-mail message meant for his greedy, high-powered uncle, it sets him on the course to stop an environmental crime!His uncle’s company plans to cut down some of the oldest remaining California redwood trees, and it’s up to Julian and a ragtag group of friends to figure out a way to stop them... -
![The Horse Charmer by Terri Farley]()
The Horse Charmer by Terri Farley
Rated: 4.10 of 5 stars · 10 ratingsDarby Carter loves horses, even though she's never actually ridden one. Darby's grandfather is an expert rider—in fact, he owns a horse ranch in Hawaii... -
![The Journey Back by Priscilla Cummings]()
The Journey Back by Priscilla Cummings
Rated: 4.08 of 5 stars · 12 ratingsEscaped and on the run, can Digger find redemption? His bold escape from a juvenile detention facility nearly kills him, but soon an angry fourteen-year-old Digger is on the run, hijacking a tractor trailer, "borrowing" a bicycle, and stealing a canoe. When injuries stop him, Digger hides at a riverside campground, where he befriends a young boy and a girl his own age... -
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![If You're Reading This by Trent Reedy]()
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 high-school north-america realistic usa action-adventure -
![Dime by E.R. Frank]()
Dime by E.R. Frank
Rated: 4.08 of 5 stars · 12 ratingsThe startling realities of teen prostitution are revealed in this eye-opening, heartbreaking story from the author of "America," which "Booklist "called a piercing, unforgettable novel and "Kirkus Reviews "deemed a work of sublime humanity. As a teen girl in Newark, New Jersey, lost in the foster care system, Dime just wants someone to care about her, to love her. A family... -
![If I Grow Up by Todd Strasser]()
If I Grow Up by Todd Strasser
Rated: 4.07 of 5 stars · 14 ratings"WHEN YOU GREW UP IN THE PROJECTS, THERE WERE NO CHOICES. NO GOOD ONES, AT LEAST." In the Frederick Douglass Project where DeShawn lives, daily life is ruled by drugs and gang violence. Many teenagers drop out of school and join gangs, and every kid knows someone who died. Gunshots ring out on a regular basis... -
![This Golden State by Marit Weisenberg]()
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... -
![Runner by Carl Deuker]()
Runner by Carl Deuker
Rated: 4.06 of 5 stars · 16 ratingsFrom the award-winning author of "Night Hoops" and "Painting the Black" comes this suspenseful, psychologically astute novel with themes of terrorism and patriotism, fear and courage... -
![Far from You by Lisa Schroeder]()
Far from You by Lisa Schroeder
Rated: 4.06 of 5 stars · 16 ratingsLost and alone...down the rabbit hole.Years have passed since Alice lost her mother to cancer, but time hasn't quite healed the wound. Alice copes the best she can by writing her music, losing herself in her love for her boyfriend, and distancing herself from her father and his new wife... -
![Alabama Moon by Watt Key]()
Alabama Moon by Watt Key
Rated: 4.06 of 5 stars · 18 ratingsAfter the death of his father, ten-year-old Moon leaves their forest shelter home and is sent to an Alabama institution, becoming entangled in the outside world he has never known and making good friends, a relentless enemy, and finally a new life... -
![A French Girl in New York by Anna Adams]()
A French Girl in New York by Anna Adams
Rated: 4.06 of 5 stars · 18 ratingsMaude Laurent is a spirited sixteen-year-old orphan who grew up in a small, provincial town in the north of France with a passion for piano and a beautiful voice. One day in Paris, she is discovered by an American music producer who takes her to New York to live with him and his close-knit family while producing her first album, with help from teen pop star, Matt... -
![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...Categorized as:
coming-of-age family friendship high-school realistic survival action-adventure audiobook -
![Travel Team by Mike Lupica]()
Travel Team by Mike Lupica
Rated: 4.04 of 5 stars · 24 ratingsThe #1 Bestseller!Twelve-year-old Danny Walker may be the smallest kid on the basketball court -- but don't tell him that. Because no one plays with more heart or court sense. But none of that matters when he is cut from his local travel team, the very same team his father led to national prominence as a boy... -
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![A Solitary Blue by Cynthia Voigt]()
A Solitary Blue by Cynthia Voigt
Rated: 4.00 of 5 stars · 18 ratingsJeff Greene was only seven when Melody, his mother, left him with his reserved, undemonstrative father, the Professor. So when she reenters his life years later with an invitation to spend the summer with her in Charleston, Jeff is captivated by her free spirit and warmth, and he eagerly looks forward to returning for another visit the following year...Categorized as:
coming-of-age family friendship high-school realistic survival teens action-adventure -
![Summer Term at St Clare's by Enid Blyton]()
Summer Term at St Clare's by Enid Blyton
Rated: 4.00 of 5 stars · 18 ratingsSchooldays at St Clare's are never dull for twins Pat and Isabel O'Sullivan in Enid Blyton's much-loved boarding school series. In book three, Pat and Isabel look forward to their first summer term at St Clare's. They soon make friends with new girl Carlotta, who has a secret past that she's desperate to hide. But sneaky Prudence finds out and tells everybody...Categorized as:
coming-of-age family friendship high-school realistic teens 20th-century action-adventure -
![Torn Away by Jennifer Brown]()
Torn Away by Jennifer Brown
Rated: 4.00 of 5 stars · 18 ratingsJersey Cameron has always loved a good storm. Watching the clouds roll in and the wind pick up. Smelling the electricity in the air. Dancing barefoot in the rain. She lives in the Midwest, after all, where the weather is sure to keep you guessing. Jersey knows what to do when the tornado sirens sound. But she never could have prepared for this...Categorized as:
coming-of-age family friendship high-school realistic survival abuse action-adventure -
![Jackpot by Nic Stone]()
Jackpot by Nic Stone
Rated: 4.00 of 5 stars · 18 ratingsFrom the author of the New York Times bestseller Dear Martin --which Angie Thomas, the bestselling author of The Hate U Give, called "a must read"--comes a pitch-perfect romance that examines class, privilege, and how a stroke of good luck can change an entire life...Categorized as:
coming-of-age family friendship high-school poverty realistic action-adventure audiobook -
![Break the Rules by Joanna Philbin]()
Break the Rules by Joanna Philbin
Rated: 4.00 of 5 stars · 16 ratingsThe only daughter of supermodel Katia Summers, witty and thoughtful Lizzie Summers likes to stick to the sidelines. The sole heir to Metronome Media and daughter of billionaire Karl Jurgensen, outspoken Carina Jurgensen would rather climb mountains than social ladders. Daughter of chart-topping pop icon Holla Jones, stylish and sensitive Hudson Jones is on the brink of her own music breakthrough...Categorized as:
coming-of-age family friendship high-school realistic action-adventure book contemporary -
![Home is Where You Are by Tessa Marie]()
Home is Where You Are by Tessa Marie
Rated: 4.00 of 5 stars · 12 ratingsThey met in the unlikeliest of places and fell in love in the most unlikely way. Anna's always had a strict plan for her life. Get good grades, get into a good college, be successful. Falling in love with a homeless boy? Not exactly on her list. Dean has a plan too. Survive. After a difficult childhood, he now lives on the streets doing everything he can to get by... -
![Nerd Camp by Elissa Brent Weissman]()
Nerd Camp by Elissa Brent Weissman
Rated: 4.00 of 5 stars · 12 ratingsTen-year-old Gabe has just been accepted to the Summer Center for Gifted Enrichment. That means he’ll be spending six weeks at sleepaway camp, writing poetry and perfecting logic proofs. SCGE has been a summer home of some legendary middle-school smarty-pants (and future Jeopardy! contestants), but it also has a reputation for being, well, a nerd camp. Gabe isn’t a nerd...Categorized as:
coming-of-age family friendship realistic action-adventure book children children-books -
![Caged Warrior by Alan Sitomer]()
Caged Warrior by Alan Sitomer
Rated: 4.00 of 5 stars · 10 ratingsMcCutcheon Daniels' life is full of bone-cracking violence. As a star fighter in the gritty underground Mixed Martial Arts circuit in the poorest section of Detroit, McCutcheon fights under the tutelage of his volatile and violent father, not so much for himself but to survive as protector of his beloved five-year old sister, Gemma... -
![Chasing Forever Down by Nikki Chartier]()
Chasing Forever Down by Nikki Chartier
Rated: 4.00 of 5 stars · 10 ratingsWhen seventeen-year-old Haley Sullivan is dragged to a corporate party with her parents, she's searching for one thing - the nearest exit. Instead, she finds a mysterious stranger who plays by his own rules and chases his own dreams, and he's definitely cute enough to disappear with for the night...Categorized as:
coming-of-age high-school north-america realistic usa action-adventure book california -
![Riding with Brighton by Haven Francis]()
Riding with Brighton by Haven Francis
Rated: 4.00 of 5 stars · 10 ratingsIn the small town of Spring Valley, molds weren’t made to be broken, and high school senior Jay Hall’s been living comfortably in his popular jock one since adolescence. If it weren’t for the colorful, outspoken artistic anomaly Brighton Bello-Adler, he might have been willing to remain there... -
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![Swim That Rock by John Rocco, Jay Primiano]()
Swim That Rock by John Rocco, Jay Primiano
Rated: 4.00 of 5 stars · 8 ratingsA young working-class teen fights to save his family’s diner after his father is lost in a fishing-boat accident. When his dad goes missing in a fishing-boat accident, fourteen-year-old Jake refuses to think he may have lost his father forever. But suddenly, nothing seems certain in Jake’s future, and now his family’s diner may be repossessed by loan sharks...Categorized as:
coming-of-age family friendship high-school realistic survival action-adventure book -
![Painting the Black by Carl Deuker]()
Painting the Black by Carl Deuker
Rated: 4.00 of 5 stars · 8 ratingsWhen a hard ball is coming at you fast, and when it's dancing, too, every single nerve in your body is alert and ready. Your eyes are wide open, and the adrenaline is pumping. It's not a feeling you want to give up, any more than you want to get off a roller coaster...Categorized as:
family friendship high-school realistic action-adventure book children-books contemporary -
![14 Hollow Road by Jenn Bishop]()
14 Hollow Road by Jenn Bishop
Rated: 4.00 of 5 stars · 6 ratingsA warm summer novel about a community banding together in the wake of a tornado, perfect for fans of Lynda Mullaly Hunt, Kate Messner, and Jeanne Birdsall. The night of the sixth-grade dance is supposed to be perfect for Maddie: she’ll wear her perfect new dress, hit the dance floor with her friends, and her crush, Avery, will ask her to dance... -
![Spies, Lies, and Allies: A Love Story by Lisa Brown Roberts]()
Spies, Lies, and Allies: A Love Story by Lisa Brown Roberts
Rated: 4.00 of 5 stars · 6 ratingsSummers are supposed to be fun, right? Not mine. I’ve got a job at my dad’s company, which is sponsoring a college scholarship competition. I just found out that, in addition to my job assisting the competing interns, I’m supposed to vote for the winner. Totally not what I signed up for.My boss is running the competition like it’s an episode of Survivor... -
![Voyage of the Defiance by S.E. Smith]()
Voyage of the Defiance by S.E. Smith
Rated: 4.00 of 5 stars · 6 ratingsAn act of defiance that will either kill her or change her life forever… Sixteen year old Makayla Summerlin enjoyed one thing in her crazy, messed-up existence: hanging with her friends at school. Her life is uprooted when she suddenly finds herself forced to live with the grandfather she barely remembers... -
![How to Ruin a Summer Vacation by Simone Elkeles]()
How to Ruin a Summer Vacation by Simone Elkeles
Rated: 3.96 of 5 stars · 24 ratingsMoshav? What’s a moshav? Is it “shopping mall” in Hebrew? I mean, from what Jessica was telling me, Israeli stores have the latest fashions from Europe. That black dress Jessica has is really awesome. I know I’d be selling out if I go with the Sperm Donor to a mall, but I keep thinking about all the great stuff I could bring back home...
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