Books like 'Darius the Great Deserves Better'

Readers who enjoyed Darius the Great Deserves Better by Adib Khorram also liked the following books featuring the same tropes, story themes, relationship dynamics and character types.

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  • November Blues by Sharon M. Draper

    November Blues by Sharon M. Draper

    Rated: 4.31 of 5 stars
    · 16 ratings
    When November Nelson loses her boyfriend, Josh, to a pledge stunt gone horribly wrong, she thinks her life can't possibly get any worse. But Josh left something behind that will change November's life forever, and now she's faced with the biggest decision she could ever imagine. How in the world will she tell her mom? And how will Josh's parents take the news? She's never needed a friend more...
  • Fight by Nicole Dykes

    Fight by Nicole Dykes

    Rated: 4.50 of 5 stars
    · 6 ratings
    It’s always been Shaw and Carter against the world. Life has never been easy, but they’ve found solace in each other. Together they are strong and combat the hell they were born into. School is ending, and choices must be made. But with change comes pain. And both seek a better life...
  • Something Like Lightning by Jay Bell

    Something Like Lightning by Jay Bell

    Rated: 4.25 of 5 stars
    · 12 ratings
    Never stop running. No matter how often life trips you up, or how many times your enemies knock you down, just get up and keep on moving until you find where you belong. Kelly Phillips has been out of the closet since he was a young teenager, and thanks to the gay youth group he frequents, he has never been short on friends or lovers...
  • Raise Your Glass by John Goode

    Raise Your Glass by John Goode

    Rated: 4.25 of 5 stars
    · 12 ratings
    Tales of Foster High - Sequel to The End of the Beginning Kyle Stilleno used to be the invisible student. Brad Graymark used to be the baseball star. Then they fell in love and Brad outed them both with a spectacular public display of affection, and now everything is different. After spending a few days lying low, Kyle and Brad are going back to school...
  • The Language of Seabirds by Will Taylor

    The Language of Seabirds by Will Taylor

    Rated: 4.25 of 5 stars
    · 12 ratings
    A sweet, tender middle-grade story of two boys finding first love with each other over a seaside summer.Jeremy is not excited about the prospect of spending the summer with his dad and his uncle in a seaside cabin in Oregon. It's the first summer after his parents' divorce, and he hasn't exactly been seeking alone time with his dad. He doesn't have a choice, though, so he goes..
  • Sorry For Your Loss by Jessie Ann Foley

    Sorry For Your Loss by Jessie Ann Foley

    Rated: 4.25 of 5 stars
    · 12 ratings
    Printz Honor winner and William Morris Award finalist Jessie Ann Foley’s latest YA novel is a comitragic coming-of-age story about an awkward teenage guy who, after the loss of his brother, finds healing and a sense of self where he least expected to.As the youngest of eight, painfully average Pup Flanagan is used to flying under the radar. He’s barely passing his classes...
  • Skater Boy by Anthony Nerada

    Skater Boy by Anthony Nerada

    Rated: 4.36 of 5 stars
    · 7 ratings
    In this YA pop-punk debut about queer romance and destroying labels, a teen risks everything to write his own story. Perfect for fans of Sonora Reyes and Adib Khorram. Stonebridge High’s resident bad boy, Wesley “Big Mac” Mackenzie, is failing senior year—thanks to his unchecked anger, rowdy friends, and a tendency to ditch his homework for skateboarding and a secret photography obsession...
  • Pumpkin by Julie Murphy

    Pumpkin by Julie Murphy

    Rated: 4.17 of 5 stars
    · 18 ratings
    Waylon 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...
  • The Sky Blues by Robbie Couch

    The Sky Blues by Robbie Couch

    Rated: 4.17 of 5 stars
    · 18 ratings
    Sky’s small town turns absolutely claustrophobic when his secret promposal plans get leaked to the entire school in this witty, “earnest, heartfelt” (Becky Albertalli, New York Times bestselling author), and ultimately hopeful debut novel for fans of What if it’s Us? and To All the Boys I’ve Loved Before...
  • Fearless by Chris O'Guinn

    Fearless by Chris O'Guinn

    Rated: 4.25 of 5 stars
    · 8 ratings
    At fifteen, Justin is already a cynic. He’s experienced too many betrayals, too many disappointments. He doesn’t want to be involved in anything. He doesn’t want to be popular. He doesn’t even want friends anymore, since they only ever let you down. He just wants to get through high school and the best way he can come up with to accomplish that goal is to simply be invisible...
    Categorized as:
    coming-of-age  family  friendship  high-school  lgbtq  mlm  sad  sports
  • Extras All For The Game by Nora Sakavic

    Extras All For The Game by Nora Sakavic

    Rated: 4.20 of 5 stars
    · 10 ratings
    EXTRAS ALL FOR THE GAME NOTE FROM TRANSLATORS: Nora uploaded extra content about the trilogy to her Tumblr page Korakos. You will be able to find information about the life of the Foxes after The King's Man, Andrew and Neil's content, Renee's past and things that you probably wondered when reading the trilogy...
    Categorized as:
    lgbtq  sports  mlm  realistic  male-mc  romance  fiction  contemporary
  • Henry Hamlet's Heart by Rhiannon Wilde

    Henry Hamlet's Heart by Rhiannon Wilde

    Rated: 4.17 of 5 stars
    · 12 ratings
    A 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...
  • The Book of David by Anonymous

    The Book of David by Anonymous

    Rated: 4.14 of 5 stars
    · 14 ratings
    A told B, and B told C, I'll meet you at the top of the coconut treeIn this lively alphabet rhyme, all the letters of the alphabet race each other up the coconut tree. Will there be enough room? Oh, no -- Chicka Chicka Boom Boom!The well-known authors of Barn Dance and Knots on a Counting Rope have created a rhythmic alphabet chant that rolls along on waves of fun...
  • Who Am I Without Him? by Sharon G. Flake

    Who Am I Without Him? by Sharon G. Flake

    Rated: 4.14 of 5 stars
    · 14 ratings
    There is "The Ugly One," whose only solace comes when she is locked inside her own head. In "Wanted: A Thug," a teenager seeks advice on how to steal her best friend's bad-guy boyfriend. And then there's Erika, who only likes white boys. Sharon Flake takes readers through the minds of girls trying to define themselves while struggling to remain relevant to the boys in their lives...
  • Shoot The Gap by Jordan Ford

    Shoot The Gap by Jordan Ford

    Rated: 4.17 of 5 stars
    · 6 ratings
    The 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...
  • Afterglow by Phil Stamper

    Afterglow by Phil Stamper

    Rated: 4.17 of 5 stars
    · 6 ratings
    After a summer of life-changing, these four friends are finally ready for senior year.Gabriel is thrilled to create his school's first LGBTQ+ advocacy group, but his long-distance relationship is fading from summer love to something else... Heath feels secure for the first time in years, but with his future riding on a baseball scholarship, each pitch triggers his anxiety..
  • Fake Dates and Mooncakes by Sher Lee

    Fake Dates and Mooncakes by Sher Lee

    Rated: 4.17 of 5 stars
    · 6 ratings
    Heartstopper meets Crazy Rich Asians in this heartfelt, joyful paperback original rom-com that follows an aspiring chef who discovers the recipe for love is more complicated than it seems when he starts fake-dating a handsome new customer...
    Categorized as:
    lgbtq  mlm  poc-mc  asian-mc  realistic  family  romance  young-adult
  • The Ballad of Darcy and Russell by Morgan Matson

    The Ballad of Darcy and Russell by Morgan Matson

    Rated: 4.17 of 5 stars
    · 6 ratings
    Darcy believes in love at first sight. Even though it’s never happened to her, she’s spent her whole life waiting for that magical moment, hoping that when she meets the right guy, everything will fall into place perfectly.But right now, her life is anything but perfect. Heading home from a music festival, engine trouble means she’s stranded at a Nevada bus station until morning...
  • Heartmates by Marcus Herzig

    Heartmates by Marcus Herzig

    Rated: 4.17 of 5 stars
    · 6 ratings
    As 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...
  • Cinderella dan Empat Kesatria by Baek Myo

    Cinderella dan Empat Kesatria by Baek Myo

    Rated: 4.13 of 5 stars
    · 8 ratings
    Eun Ha Won benar-benar seperti Cinderella. Sungguh tak disangka, kakek yang ditolong Ha Won di jalan ternyata Direktur Kang—pengusaha Korea yang sangat kaya. Dan dia bersedia membantu mewujudkan keinginan Ha Won: keluar dari rumah yang ditinggalinya bersama sang ibu tiri. Ha Won pun kemudian tinggal di rumah mewah bersama tiga cucu tampan sang direktur dan pengawal pribadi yang keren...
  • Carter's Unfocused, One-Track Mind by Brent Crawford

    Carter's Unfocused, One-Track Mind by Brent Crawford

    Rated: 4.13 of 5 stars
    · 8 ratings
    After 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...
  • Beating Heart Baby by Lio Min

    Beating Heart Baby by Lio Min

    Rated: 4.13 of 5 stars
    · 8 ratings
    Lio Min’s Beating Heart Baby is a love letter to internet friendships, anime, and indie rock When artistic and sensitive Santi arrives at his new high school, everyone in the wildly talented marching band welcomes him with open arms. Everyone except for the prickly, proud musical prodigy Suwa, who doesn’t think Santi has what it takes to be in the band...
  • As You Walk On By by Julian Winters

    As You Walk On By by Julian Winters

    Rated: 4.13 of 5 stars
    · 8 ratings
    The Breakfast Club meets Can't Hardly Wait with an unforgettable ensemble cast in another swoony YA contemporary from award-winning author Julian Winters! Seventeen-year-old Theo Wright has it all figured out...
  • Standing Against the Wind by Traci L. Jones

    Standing Against the Wind by Traci L. Jones

    Rated: 4.13 of 5 stars
    · 8 ratings
    In her debut novel, Traci L. Jones presents a girl with grit she never knew she had, and a boy so inspired by her that he begins to take pride in his own abilities.Patrice dreams of a first-class education, but right now she's just got to survive the walk to school.Patrice Williams was happy living in Georgia with her grandmother...then her mother lured her to Chicago and ended up in jail...
  • The Impossibility of Us by Katy Upperman

    The Impossibility of Us by Katy Upperman

    Rated: 4.10 of 5 stars
    · 10 ratings
    The last thing Elise wants is to start her senior year in a new town. But after her brother’s death in Afghanistan, she and her mother move from San Francisco to a sleepy coastal village.When Elise meets Mati, they quickly discover how much they have in common. Mati is new to town too, visiting the U.S. with his family...
  • The Blue-Haired Boy by Courtney C. Stevens

    The Blue-Haired Boy by Courtney C. Stevens

    Rated: 4.10 of 5 stars
    · 10 ratings
    Set 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 . .
  • How to Build a Heart by Maria Padian

    How to Build a Heart by Maria Padian

    Rated: 4.10 of 5 stars
    · 10 ratings
    This heartfelt novel follows one young woman's journey to find her place in the world as the carefully separated strands of her life—family, money, school, and love—begin to overlap and tangle. All sixteen-year-old Izzy Crawford wants is to feel like she really belongs somewhere...
  • Kendra by Coe Booth

    Kendra by Coe Booth

    Rated: 4.07 of 5 stars
    · 14 ratings
    The acclaimed author of TYRELL returns to PUSH with a striking novel about a mother and daughter who are only fourteen years apart, but need to learn to understand each other before it's too late.Kendra's mom, Renee, had her when she was only 14 years old. Renee and her mom made a deal -- Renee could get an education, and Kendra would live with her grandmother...
  • 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 ratings
    Fans 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...
  • Rainbow High by Alex Sanchez

    Rainbow High by Alex Sanchez

    Rated: 4.00 of 5 stars
    · 18 ratings
    Jason Carrillo, the best-looking athlete in school, has had his eyes on the prize from day one: a scholarship for college. But then his eyes turn to love -- and Kyle. Kyle Meeks, swim team star and all-around good guy, is finally in the relationship he wanted. Being in love feels so good, in fact, that he can't imagine giving it up to go to Princeton...
  • True Letters from a Fictional Life by Kenneth Logan

    True Letters from a Fictional Life by Kenneth Logan

    Rated: 4.00 of 5 stars
    · 17 ratings
    If 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...
  • Be Dazzled by Ryan La Sala

    Be Dazzled by Ryan La Sala

    Rated: 4.00 of 5 stars
    · 16 ratings
    Raffy has a passion for bedazzling. Not just bedazzling, but sewing, stitching, draping, pattern making—for creation. He's always chosen his art over everything—and everyone—else and is determined to make his mark at this year's biggest cosplay competition. If he can wow there, it could lead to sponsorship, then art school, and finally earning real respect for his work...
  • Anything But Fine by Tobias Madden

    Anything But Fine by Tobias Madden

    Rated: 4.00 of 5 stars
    · 16 ratings
    All it takes is one missed step for your life to change forever.Luca Mason knows exactly who he is and what he In six months, he’s going to be accepted into the Australian Ballet School, leave his fancy private high school, and live his life as a star of the stage―at least that’s the plan until he falls down a flight of stairs and breaks his foot in a way he can never recover from...
  • The Bridge by Bill Konigsberg

    The Bridge by Bill Konigsberg

    Rated: 4.00 of 5 stars
    · 16 ratings
    Two teenagers, strangers to each other, have decided to jump from the same bridge at the same time.Aaron and Tillie don't know each other, but they are both feeling suicidal, and arrive at the George Washington Bridge at the same time, intending to jump. Aaron is a gay misfit struggling with depression and loneliness...
    Categorized as:
    lgbtq  realistic  grief  bullying  friendship  sad  high-school  family
  • Twenty-Four Seconds from Now...A Love Story by Jason Reynolds

    Twenty-Four Seconds from Now...A Love Story by Jason Reynolds

    Rated: 4.11 of 5 stars
    · 18 ratings
    Jason 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...
  • How to Be Remy Cameron by Julian Winters

    How to Be Remy Cameron by Julian Winters

    Rated: 4.00 of 5 stars
    · 12 ratings
    Everyone on campus knows Remy Cameron. He's the out-and-proud, super-likable guy who friends, faculty, and fellow students alike admire for his cheerful confidence. The only person who isn't entirely sure about Remy Cameron is Remy himself...
  • The [Un]popular Vote by Jasper Sanchez

    The [Un]popular Vote by Jasper Sanchez

    Rated: 4.00 of 5 stars
    · 12 ratings
    Vaseline on the teeth makes a smile shine. It’s a cheap stunt, but Mark Adams knows it’s optics that can win or ruin an election.Everything Mark learned about politics, he learned from his father, the congressman who still pretends he has a daughter and not a son. To protect his father’s image, Mark promises to keep his past hidden and pretend to be the cis guy everyone assumes he is...
  • Here to Stay by Sara Farizan

    Here to Stay by Sara Farizan

    Rated: 4.00 of 5 stars
    · 12 ratings
    “A powerful YA novel about identity and prejudice...
  • The Red Sheet by Mia Kerick, C. Kennedy

    The Red Sheet by Mia Kerick, C. Kennedy

    Rated: 4.00 of 5 stars
    · 10 ratings
    One October morning, high school junior Bryan Dennison wakes up a different person helpful, generous, and chivalrous a person whose new admirable qualities he doesn't recognize. Stranger still is the urge to tie a red sheet around his neck like a cape.Bryan soon realizes this compulsion to wear a red cape is accompanied by more unusual behavior...
  • Take a Bow, Noah Mitchell by Tobias Madden

    Take a Bow, Noah Mitchell by Tobias Madden

    Rated: 4.00 of 5 stars
    · 10 ratings
    There 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...
  • Roam by C.H. Armstrong

    Roam by C.H. Armstrong

    Rated: 4.00 of 5 stars
    · 10 ratings
    Seventeen year-old Abby Lunde and her family are living on the streets. They had a normal life back in Omaha, but thanks to her mother’s awful mistake, they had to leave what little they had behind for a new start in Rochester. Abby tries to be an average teenager—fitting into school, buoyed by dreams of a boyfriend, college, and a career in music...
  • Riding with Brighton by Haven Francis

    Riding with Brighton by Haven Francis

    Rated: 4.00 of 5 stars
    · 10 ratings
    In 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...
  • Gloves Off by Louisa Reid

    Gloves Off by Louisa Reid

    Rated: 4.00 of 5 stars
    · 10 ratings
    Nominated for the Carnegie MedalShortlisted for the Bristol Teen Book AwardShortlisted for the Hounslow and Ealing Teen ReadShortlisted for the Warwickshire Secondary Book AwardLonglisted for the UKLA Book Awards 2021Longlisted for ABA 2021Read for Empathy Pick 2021A page-turning and immersive YA novel in verse, telling the story of Lily who is mercilessly bullied at school and who turns to...
  • To Wish for Impossible Things by John Goode

    To Wish for Impossible Things by John Goode

    Rated: 4.00 of 5 stars
    · 8 ratings
    A Special Lost Tale of Foster HighAfter coming out to the whole school, Brad Greymark and Kyle Stilleno could use some downtime. They should be studying, but soon their focus wanders to the pursuit of the impossible. Together, they just might find where they belong...
  • Someone Is Watching by Mark A. Roeder

    Someone Is Watching by Mark A. Roeder

    Rated: 4.00 of 5 stars
    · 8 ratings
    Someone Is Watching. Someone Knows. It was a nightmare come true for seventeen-year-old Ethan. It's hard hiding a secret. It's even harder keeping that secret when someone else knows...
  • Surviving High School by M. Doty

    Surviving High School by M. Doty

    Rated: 4.00 of 5 stars
    · 8 ratings
    What's the secret to surviving your freshman year of high school? Emily Kessler thinks she has it all figured out. She eats, sleeps and trains for competitive swimming. All she has to do is keep her grades high and swim times short -- short enough to live up to her sister Sara's. But walking the crowded maze of unfamiliar high school hallways is like diving headfirst into shark-infested waters...
  • The Knockout by S.A. Patel, Sajni Patel

    The Knockout by S.A. Patel, Sajni Patel

    Rated: 4.00 of 5 stars
    · 8 ratings
    A rising star in Muay Thai figures out what (and who) is worth fighting for in this #ownvoices YA debut full of heart.If seventeen-year-old Kareena Thakkar is going to alienate herself from the entire Indian community, she might as well do it gloriously. She’s landed the chance of a lifetime, an invitation to the US Muay Thai Open, which could lead to a spot on the first-ever Olympic team...
  • Don't Forget Me by Victoria Stevens

    Don't Forget Me by Victoria Stevens

    Rated: 4.00 of 5 stars
    · 8 ratings
    Seventeen-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...
  • Kings of B'more by R. Eric Thomas

    Kings of B'more by R. Eric Thomas

    Rated: 4.00 of 5 stars
    · 8 ratings
    Two Black, queer best friends face their last day together with an epic journey through Baltimore in this magnetic YA debut by celebrated cultural critic and bestselling Here For It author R. Eric Thomas. With junior year starting in the fall, Harrison feels like he's on the precipice of, well, everything...
  • Here's to You, Zeb Pike by Johanna Parkhurst

    Here's to You, Zeb Pike by Johanna Parkhurst

    Rated: 4.00 of 5 stars
    · 6 ratings
    Fact: When Zebulon Pike attempted to climb what is now known as Pikes Peak, he got stuck in waist-deep snow and had to turn back.That's the last thing Dusty Porter learns in his Colorado history class before appendicitis ruins his life...
Darius the Great Deserves Better by Adib Khorram
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