Books like 'We Were Here'
Readers who enjoyed We Were Here by Matt de la Peña also liked the following books featuring the same tropes, story themes, relationship dynamics and character types.
contemporary action / adventure mystery realistic coming-of-age family friendship poc-mc latinx-mc grief
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American Dirt by Jeanine Cummins
Rated: 4.37 of 5 stars · 45 ratingsJeanine Cummins's American Dirt, the #1 New York Times bestseller and Oprah Book Club pick that has sold over two million copies, is finally available in paperback.Lydia lives in Acapulco. She has a son, Luca, the love of her life, and a wonderful husband who is a journalist... -
![Fresh Water for Flowers: A Novel by Valérie Perrin]()
Fresh Water for Flowers: A Novel by Valérie Perrin
Rated: 4.27 of 5 stars · 26 ratingsViolette Toussaint is the caretaker at a cemetery in a small town in Bourgogne. Casual mourners, regular visitors, and sundry colleagues—gravediggers, groundskeepers, and a priest—visit her to warm themselves in her lodge, where laughter, companionship, and occasional tears mix with the coffee she offers them. Her life is lived to the rhythms of their funny, moving confidences... -
![A Heart in a Body in the World by Deb Caletti]()
A Heart in a Body in the World by Deb Caletti
Rated: 4.30 of 5 stars · 20 ratingsWhen everything has been taken from you, what else is there to do but run?So that’s what Annabelle does—she runs from Seattle to Washington, DC, through mountain passes and suburban landscapes, from long lonely roads to college towns. She’s not ready to think about the why yet, just the how—muscles burning, heart pumping, feet pounding the earth... -
![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... -
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![Grown by Tiffany D. Jackson, Joniece Abbott-Pratt]()
Grown by Tiffany D. Jackson, Joniece Abbott-Pratt
Rated: 4.23 of 5 stars · 26 ratings8 hours, 18 minutes Award-winning author Tiffany D. Jackson delivers another riveting, ripped-from-the-headlines mystery that exposes horrific secrets hiding behind the limelight and embraces the power of a young woman’s voice.When legendary R&B artist Korey Fields spots Enchanted Jones at an audition, her dreams of being a famous singer take flight... -
![Heroine by Mindy McGinnis, Brittany Pressley]()
Heroine by Mindy McGinnis, Brittany Pressley
Rated: 4.25 of 5 stars · 20 ratingsA captivating and powerful exploration of the opioid crisis—the deadliest drug epidemic in American history—through the eyes of a college-bound softball star. Edgar Award-winning author Mindy McGinnis delivers a visceral and necessary novel about addiction, family, friendship, and hope... -
![Walk the Edge by Katie McGarry]()
Walk the Edge by Katie McGarry
Rated: 4.25 of 5 stars · 20 ratingsOne moment of recklessness will change their worlds.Smart. Responsible. That's seventeen-year-old Breanna's role in her large family, and heaven forbid she put a toe out of line. Until one night of shockingly un-Breanna-like behavior puts her into a vicious cyber-bully's line of fire—and brings fellow senior Thomas "Razor" Turner into her life... -
![Believe Like a Child by Paige Dearth]()
Believe Like a Child by Paige Dearth
Rated: 4.29 of 5 stars · 14 ratingsHome isn't safe for young Alessa because her uncle lives there...unfortunately neither are the streets.Alessa's uncle is a child predator, and she's one of his victims.At sixteen, after the death of her only friend, Alessa finds herself isolated at home with her uncle. Unable to live there, she runs away.Alone on the streets of North Philadelphia, she encounters more people who hurt her... -
![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 -
![Perfect by Cecelia Ahern]()
Perfect by Cecelia Ahern
Rated: 4.17 of 5 stars · 24 ratingsCelestine North is Flawed.Ever since Judge Crevan declared her the number one threat to the public, she has been a ghost, on the run with Carrick, the only person she can trust. But Celestine has a secret—one that could bring the entire Flawed system crumbling to the ground. A secret that has already caused countless people to go missing... -
![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... -
![Love & Gelato by Jenna Evans Welch]()
Love & Gelato by Jenna Evans Welch
Rated: 4.11 of 5 stars · 39 ratings“I made the wrong choice.”Lina is spending the summer in Tuscany, but she isn’t in the mood for Italy’s famous sunshine and fairy-tale landscape. She’s only there because it was her mother’s dying wish that she get to know her father. But what kind of father isn’t around for sixteen years? All Lina wants to do is go back home... -
![On the Jellicoe Road by Melina Marchetta]()
On the Jellicoe Road by Melina Marchetta
Rated: 4.13 of 5 stars · 30 ratingsI'm dreaming of the boy in the tree. I tell him stories. About the Jellicoe School and the Townies and the Cadets from a school in Sydney. I tell him about the war between us for territory. And I tell him about Hannah, who lives in the unfinished house by the river. Hannah, who is too young to be hiding away from the world. Hannah, who found me on the Jellicoe Road six years ago... -
![Small Spaces by Sarah Epstein]()
Small Spaces by Sarah Epstein
Rated: 4.21 of 5 stars · 14 ratingsWe don’t pick and choose what to be afraid of. Our fears pick us.Tash Carmody has been traumatised since childhood, when she witnessed her gruesome imaginary friend Sparrow lure young Mallory Fisher away from a carnival. At the time nobody believed Tash, and she has since come to accept that Sparrow wasn’t real. Now fifteen and mute, Mallory’s never spoken about the week she went missing... -
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![Let Me Hear a Rhyme by Tiffany D. Jackson]()
Let Me Hear a Rhyme by Tiffany D. Jackson
Rated: 4.17 of 5 stars · 18 ratingsIn this striking new novel by the critically acclaimed author of Allegedly and Monday’s Not Coming, Tiffany D. Jackson tells the story of three Brooklyn teens who plot to turn their murdered friend into a major rap star by pretending he's still alive. Brooklyn, 1998. Biggie Smalls was right: Things done changed... -
![Among the Enemy by Margaret Peterson Haddix]()
Among the Enemy by Margaret Peterson Haddix
Rated: 4.13 of 5 stars · 24 ratingsHIDE OR FIGHT?Matthias, an illegal third child, is caught in the cross fire between rebels and the Population Police. When he unwittingly saves a Population Police officer, Matthias is brought to Population Police headquarters to train as an officer himself. There he meets Nina, another third-born who enlists his help in a plot to undermine the Population Police... -
![Among the Brave by Margaret Peterson Haddix]()
Among the Brave by Margaret Peterson Haddix
Rated: 4.12 of 5 stars · 26 ratingsA Reluctant HeroTrey may have saved Luke's life, but he still thinks of himself as a coward who can barely stand to be outdoors. Now Trey finds out Luke has been taken prisoner at Population Police headquarters. Trey is terrified, but he knows that if he doesn't rescue his friend, no one will.At police headquarters, Trey impersonates an officer to try getting to Luke... -
![Since You've Been Gone by Morgan Matson]()
Since You've Been Gone by Morgan Matson
Rated: 4.09 of 5 stars · 43 ratingsIt was Sloane who yanked Emily out of her shell and made life 100% interesting. But right before what should have been the most epic summer, Sloane just…disappears. All she leaves behind is a to-do list.On it, thirteen Sloane-inspired tasks that Emily would normally never try. But what if they could bring her best friend back?Apple picking at night? Okay, easy enough.Dance until dawn? Sure... -
![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... -
![This Adventure Ends by Emma Mills]()
This Adventure Ends by Emma Mills
Rated: 4.11 of 5 stars · 18 ratingsSloane isn't expecting to fall in with a group of friends when she moves from New York to Florida—especially not a group of friends so intense, so in love, so all-consuming. Yet that's exactly what happens. Sloane becomes closest to Vera, a social-media star who lights up any room, and Gabe, Vera's twin brother and the most serious person Sloane's ever met... -
![Accidental Heroes by Danielle Steel]()
Accidental Heroes by Danielle Steel
Rated: 4.10 of 5 stars · 20 ratingsA decorated former Air Force pilot. A pregnant flight attendant. A dedicated TSA agent. The fates of these three, and many others, converge in Danielle Steel's gripping new novel--a heart-stopping thriller that engages ordinary men and women in the fight of their lives during a flight from New York to San Francisco. On a beautiful May morning at New York's John F... -
![Reservoir Dogs by Quentin Tarantino]()
Reservoir Dogs by Quentin Tarantino
Rated: 4.33 of 5 stars · 12 ratingsQuentin Tarantino's films have single-handedly revived and redefined American noir, bringing to Hollywood a new energy, irony, and cool. Tarantino has won awards and accolades around the world, earned a devoted following among critics, actors, and audiences, and paved the way for a new generation of young filmmakers... -
![The Rise by Shari King, Shari Low]()
The Rise by Shari King, Shari Low
Rated: 4.22 of 5 stars · 18 ratingsWhen we bury our secrets, they always come back to haunt us...Their rise was meteoric.Only a few years before, they had been three friends from Glasgow, just trying to survive tough lives of danger and dysfunction.But on one Hollywood evening in 1993, they were on the world’s biggest stage, accepting their Oscar in front of the watching world.That night was the beginning of their careers... -
![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... -
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![Almost True by Keren David]()
Almost True by Keren David
Rated: 4.13 of 5 stars · 8 ratingsRuthless killers are hunting Ty so the police move him and his mum to a quiet seaside town. But a horrific attack and a bullet meant for Ty prove that he's not safe.On the road again, Ty's in hiding with complete strangers . . . who seem to know a lot about him. Meanwhile he's desperate to see his girlfriend Claire, and terrified that she may betray him... -
![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... -
![How Not to Disappear by Clare Furniss]()
How Not to Disappear by Clare Furniss
Rated: 4.07 of 5 stars · 14 ratingsOur memories are what make us who we are. Some are real. Some are made up. But they are the stories that tell us who we are. Without them we are nobody.Hattie's summer isn't going as planned. Her two best friends have abandoned her: Reuben has run off to Europe to 'find himself" and Kat is in Edinburgh with her new girlfriend... -
![Aftermath by Kelley Armstrong]()
Aftermath by Kelley Armstrong
Rated: 4.06 of 5 stars · 16 ratingsThree years after losing her brother Luka in a school shooting, Skye Gilchrist is moving home. But there's no sympathy for Skye and her family because Luka wasn't a victim; he was a shooter. Jesse Mandal knows all too well that the scars of the past don't heal easily. The shooting cost Jesse his brother and his best friend--Skye... -
![Count All Her Bones by April Henry]()
Count All Her Bones by April Henry
Rated: 4.06 of 5 stars · 16 ratingsCheyenne sets out to save her former captor in this much-anticipated sequel to Girl, Stolen.Six months ago, Griffin Sawyer meant to steal a car, but he never meant to steal the girl asleep in the backseat. Panicked, he took her home. His father, Roy, decided to hold Cheyenne―who is blind―for ransom. Griffin helped her escape, and now Roy is awaiting trial... -
![Trouble Makes a Comeback by Stephanie Tromly]()
Trouble Makes a Comeback by Stephanie Tromly
Rated: 4.06 of 5 stars · 16 ratings“How do you like life in the fast lane?” Digby said. “Is it everything you thought it would be?”Good question.Achieving high school “normal” wasn’t as hard as Zoe Webster expected, but she’s beginning to think Hollywood oversold how much fun it all is... -
![I Am the Messenger by Markus Zusak]()
I Am the Messenger by Markus Zusak
Rated: 4.04 of 5 stars · 67 ratingsprotect the diamondssurvive the clubsdig deep through the spadesfeel the heartsEd Kennedy is an underage cabdriver without much of a future. He's pathetic at playing cards, hopelessly in love with his best friend, Audrey, and utterly devoted to his coffee-drinking dog, the Doorman. His life is one of peaceful routine and incompetence until he inadvertently stops a bank robbery... -
![Q & A by Vikas Swarup]()
Q & A by Vikas Swarup
Rated: 4.00 of 5 stars · 29 ratingsVikas Swarup's spectacular debut novel opens in a jail cell in Mumbai, India, where Ram Mohammad Thomas is being held after correctly answering all twelve questions on India's biggest quiz show, Who Will Win a Billion? It is hard to believe that a poor orphan who has never read a newspaper or gone to school could win such a contest... -
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![Just One Day by Gayle Forman]()
Just One Day by Gayle Forman
Rated: 3.99 of 5 stars · 38 ratingsA breathtaking journey toward self-discovery and true love, from the author of If I Stay.When sheltered American good girl Allyson "LuLu" Healey first meets laid-back Dutch actor Willem De Ruiter at an underground performance of Twelfth Night in England, there's an undeniable spark... -
![I'll Be There by Holly Goldberg Sloan]()
I'll Be There by Holly Goldberg Sloan
Rated: 4.00 of 5 stars · 20 ratingsEmily Bell believes in destiny. To her, being forced to sing a solo in the church choir--despite her average voice--is fate: because it's while she's singing that she first sees Sam. At first sight, they are connected.Sam Border wishes he could escape, but there's nowhere for him to run. He and his little brother, Riddle, have spent their entire lives constantly uprooted by their unstable father... -
![She Rides Shotgun by Jordan Harper]()
She Rides Shotgun by Jordan Harper
Rated: 4.00 of 5 stars · 18 ratingsEleven-year-old Polly is smart far beyond her years. But she's a loner. Her mother tells her she has 'gunfighter eyes', like the father she's never met. In prison, about to be released, Nate runs afoul of the powerful leader of the Aryan Brotherhood. Marked for death on his release, Nate soon realizes that everyone he has ever loved is a target - including his daughter, Polly... -
![Right Behind You by Gail Giles]()
Right Behind You by Gail Giles
Rated: 4.00 of 5 stars · 18 ratingsWhen he was nine, Kip set another child on fire. Now, after years in a juvenile ward, he is ready for a fresh start. But the ghosts of his past soon demand justice, and he must reveal his painful secret... -
![Violent Ends by Beth Revis, Blythe Woolston]()
Violent Ends by Beth Revis, Blythe Woolston
Rated: 4.00 of 5 stars · 18 ratingsIn a one-of-a-kind collaboration, seventeen of the most recognizable YA writers—including Shaun David Hutchinson, Neal and Brendan Shusterman, and Beth Revis—come together to share the viewpoints of a group of students affected by a school shooting... -
![In the Age of Love and Chocolate by Gabrielle Zevin]()
In the Age of Love and Chocolate by Gabrielle Zevin
Rated: 4.00 of 5 stars · 16 ratingsAll These Things I’ve Done, the first novel in the Birthright series, introduced us to timeless heroine Anya Balanchine, a plucky sixteen year old with the heart of a girl and the responsibilities of a grown woman. Now eighteen, life has been more bitter than sweet for Anya... -
![Underwater by Marisa Reichardt]()
Underwater by Marisa Reichardt
Rated: 4.00 of 5 stars · 16 ratingsIn order to move on after a traumatic experience, Morgan must learn to forgive - first someone who did something that might be unforgivable, and then herself.But Morgan can't move on. She can't even move beyond the front door of the apartment she shares with her mother and little brother. Morgan feels like she's underwater, unable to surface. Unable to see her friends. Unable to go to school... -
![Surrender Your Sons by Adam Sass]()
Surrender Your Sons by Adam Sass
Rated: 4.00 of 5 stars · 14 ratingsConnor Major’s summer break is turning into a nightmare. His SAT scores bombed, the old man he delivers meals to died, and when he came out to his religious zealot mother, she had him kidnapped and shipped off to a secluded island. His final destination: Nightlight Ministries, a conversion therapy camp that will be his new home until he “changes.” But Connor’s troubles are only beginning... -
![Muted by Tami Charles]()
Muted by Tami Charles
Rated: 4.00 of 5 stars · 12 ratingsA ripped-from-the-headlines novel of ambition, music, and innocence lost, perfect for fans of Elizabeth Acevedo and Jason Reynolds!Be bold. Get seen. Be Heard.For seventeen-year-old Denver, music is everything. Writing, performing, and her ultimate goal: escaping her very small, very white hometown... -
![Everlasting Nora by Marie Miranda Cruz]()
Everlasting Nora by Marie Miranda Cruz
Rated: 4.00 of 5 stars · 10 ratingsAn uplifting young reader debut about perseverance against all odds, Marie Miranda Cruz's debut Everlasting Nora follows the story of a young girl living in the real-life shantytown inside the Philippines' Manila North Cemetery... -
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![Rape Girl by Alina Klein]()
Rape Girl by Alina Klein
Rated: 4.00 of 5 stars · 8 ratingsValerie always wanted to be the smart girl. The pretty girl. The popular girl.But not the rape girl.That’s who she is now. Rape Girl. Because everyone seems to think they know the truth about what happened with Adam that day, and they don’t think Valerie’s telling it.Before, she had a best friend, a crush, and a close-knit family... -
![Walk Two Moons by Sharon Creech]()
Walk Two Moons by Sharon Creech
Rated: 4.00 of 5 stars · 67 ratings"How about a story? Spin us a yarn."Instantly, Phoebe Winterbottom came to mind. "I could tell you an extensively strange story," I warned."Oh, good!" Gram said. "Delicious!"And that is how I happened to tell them about Phoebe, her disappearing mother, and the lunatic... -
![Saving June by Hannah Harrington]()
Saving June by Hannah Harrington
Rated: 3.96 of 5 stars · 24 ratings‘If she’d waited less than two weeks, she’d be June who died in June. But I guess my sister didn’t consider that.’Harper Scott’s older sister has always been the perfect one — so when June takes her own life a week before her high school graduation, sixteen-year-old Harper is devastated. Everyone’s sorry, but no one can explain why... -
![I Hunt Killers by Barry Lyga]()
I Hunt Killers by Barry Lyga
Rated: 4.02 of 5 stars · 30 ratingsWhat if the world's worst serial killer...was your dad?Jasper "Jazz" Dent is a likable teenager. A charmer, one might say.But he's also the son of the world's most infamous serial killer, and for Dear Old Dad, Take Your Son to Work Day was year-round. Jazz has witnessed crime scenes the way cops wish they could—from the criminal's point of view.And now bodies are piling up in Lobo's Nod... -
![Skink--No Surrender by Carl Hiaasen]()
Skink--No Surrender by Carl Hiaasen
Rated: 3.95 of 5 stars · 20 ratingsReaders are always thrilled to see a new book from the master of snarky satire, but they will be doubly excited for this book as Carl introduces young readers to Skink—an ex-governor of Florida gone feral, and one of the most iconic characters in Hiaasen's adult novels... -
![Holes by Louis Sachar]()
Holes by Louis Sachar
Rated: 3.97 of 5 stars · 92 ratings(Librarian's Note: Alternate Cover Edition for ISBN 9780440414803)Stanley Yelnats is under a curse. A curse that began with his no-good-dirty-rotten-pig-stealing-great-great-grandfather and has since followed generations of Yelnatses...
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