Books like 'Good Kings Bad Kings'
Readers who enjoyed Good Kings Bad Kings by Susan Nussbaum also liked the following books featuring the same tropes, story themes, relationship dynamics and character types.
contemporary psychological north-america usa illinois urban literary-fiction coming-of-age realistic lgbtq
-
The Light Through the Leaves by Glendy Vanderah
Rated: 4.39 of 5 stars · 28 ratingsOne unbearable mistake at the edge of the forest.In a moment of crisis, Ellis Abbey leaves her daughter, Viola, unattended—for just a few minutes. But when she returns, Viola is gone. A breaking point in an already fractured marriage, Viola’s abduction causes Ellis to disappear as well—into grief, guilt, and addiction...Categorized as:
coming-of-age friendship literary-fiction north-america realistic usa action-adventure adult -
![The Invisible Boy by Trudy Ludwig]()
The Invisible Boy by Trudy Ludwig
Rated: 4.44 of 5 stars · 18 ratingsA simple act of kindness can transform an invisible boy into a friend…Meet Brian, the invisible boy. Nobody ever seems to notice him or think to include him in their group, game, or birthday party... until, that is, a new kid comes to class.When Justin, the new boy, arrives, Brian is the first to make him feel welcome...Categorized as:
friendship poc-mc realistic bullying children children-books contemporary disability -
![Ruby Finds a Worry by Tom Percival]()
Ruby Finds a Worry by Tom Percival
Rated: 4.50 of 5 stars · 14 ratingsA sensitive and reassuring story about what to do when a worry won't leave you alone. Meet Ruby—a happy, curious, imaginative girl. But one day, she finds something unexpected: a Worry. It's not such a big Worry, at first. But every day, it grows a little bigger... And a little bigger... Until eventually, the Worry is ENORMOUS and is all she can think about... -
![For colored girls who have considered suicide/When the rainbow is enuf by Ntozake Shange]()
For colored girls who have considered suicide/When the rainbow is enuf by Ntozake Shange
Rated: 4.29 of 5 stars · 31 ratingsIn celebration of its highly anticipated Broadway revival, Ntozake Shange’s classic, award-winning play centering the wide-ranging experiences of Black women, now with introductions by two-time National Book Award winner Jesmyn Ward and Broadway director Camille A. Brown...Categorized as:
coming-of-age lgbtq literary-fiction poc-mc politics social-commentary university 20th-century -
-
![Another Country by James Baldwin]()
Another Country by James Baldwin
Rated: 4.29 of 5 stars · 24 ratingsNominated as one of America’s best-loved novels by PBS’s The Great American ReadSet in Greenwich Village, Harlem, and France, among other locales, Another Country is a novel of passions--sexual, racial, political, artistic--that is stunning for its emotional intensity and haunting sensuality, depicting men and women, blacks and whites, stripped of their masks of gender and race by love and...Categorized as:
friendship lgbtq literary-fiction poc-mc politics realistic social-commentary university -
![Life After by Katie Ganshert]()
Life After by Katie Ganshert
Rated: 4.29 of 5 stars · 14 ratingsIt could have been me. Snow whirls around an elevated train platform in Chicago. A distracted woman boards the train, takes her seat, and moments later a fiery explosion rips through the frigid air, tearing the car apart in a horrific attack on the city’s transit system. One life is spared. Twenty-two are lost... -
![Erasure by Percival Everett]()
Erasure by Percival Everett
Rated: 4.22 of 5 stars · 18 ratings"Thelonious (Monk) Ellison has never allowed race to define his identity. But as both a writer and an African American, he is offended and angered by the success of We's Lives in Da Ghetto, the exploitative debut novel of a young, middle-class black woman who once visited "some relatives in Harlem for a couple of days...Categorized as:
lgbtq literary-fiction poc-mc realistic social-commentary university 21st-century adult -
![Starfish by Akemi Dawn Bowman]()
Starfish by Akemi Dawn Bowman
Rated: 4.20 of 5 stars · 20 ratingsA William C. Morris Award Finalist A New York Public Library Best Book for Teens of 2017 A Junior Library Guild Selection “An empowering novel that will speak to many mixed-race teens.” —Publishers Weekly (starred review) “Dazzling.” —Bustle “One of the most compelling reads of the year.” —Paste Magazine “This book is a gem...Categorized as:
coming-of-age friendship literary-fiction poc-mc realistic university abuse asian-mc -
![Everything Calls for Salvation by Daniele Mencarelli]()
Everything Calls for Salvation by Daniele Mencarelli
Rated: 4.17 of 5 stars · 18 ratingsWINNER OF THE 2020 YOUTH STREGA PRIZEFrom one of the most exciting voices in a new generation of Italian writers, a powerful and moving novel that explores both the darkest recesses and the most luminous regions of the human heartJune 1994. Twenty-year-old Daniele wakes up in a hospital room, confused and surrounded by strangers... -
![Bianca Torre Is Afraid of Everything by Justine Pucella Winans]()
Bianca Torre Is Afraid of Everything by Justine Pucella Winans
Rated: 4.29 of 5 stars · 7 ratingsMurder most fowl? In this sardonic and campy YA thriller, an anxious, introverted nonbinary teen birder somehow finds themself solving a murder mystery with their neighbor/fellow anime lover, all while falling for a cute girl from their birding group . . . and trying not to get murdered... -
![Edinburgh by Alexander Chee]()
Edinburgh by Alexander Chee
Rated: 4.13 of 5 stars · 16 ratingsTwelve-year-old Fee is a gifted Korean-American soprano in a boys' choir in Maine whose choir director reveals himself to be a serial pedophile. Fee and his friends are forced to bear grief, shame, and pain that endure long after the director is imprisoned...Categorized as:
coming-of-age lgbtq literary-fiction poc-mc realistic romantic-love university 21st-century -
![The Recess Queen by Alexis O'Neill]()
The Recess Queen by Alexis O'Neill
Rated: 4.13 of 5 stars · 16 ratingsOh, would that all bullying problems could be solved so easily! Mean Jean is the reigning Recess Queen, pushing and smooshing, hammering and slammering the other kids whenever they cross her. And then one day a puny new girl shows up on the playground and catches Mean Jean completely off-guard...Categorized as:
friendship realistic social-commentary bullying children children-books contemporary fiction -
![More or Less Maddy by Lisa Genova]()
More or Less Maddy by Lisa Genova
Rated: 4.21 of 5 stars · 24 ratingsA breathless, riveting novel about a young woman diagnosed with bipolar disorder who rejects the stability and approval found in a traditionally “normal” life for a career in stand-up comedy.Maddy Banks is just like any other stressed-out freshman at NYU. Between schoolwork, exams, navigating life in the city, and a recent breakup, it’s normal to be feeling overwhelmed...Categorized as:
north-america usa urban literary-fiction realistic coming-of-age connecticut new-york-state -
![Summer Fun by Jeanne Thornton]()
Summer Fun by Jeanne Thornton
Rated: 4.13 of 5 stars · 8 ratingsFrom acclaimed author Jeanne Thornton, an epic, singular look at fandom, creativity, longing, and trans identityGala, a young trans woman, works at a hostel in Truth or Consequences, New Mexico. She is obsessed with the Get Happies, the quintessential 1960s Californian band, helmed by its resident genius, B—-... -
-
![On the Inside by Kim Cano]()
On the Inside by Kim Cano
Rated: 4.08 of 5 stars · 12 ratingsShe didn't know what she stood to lose - until hope was all she had left.Kristen was living the dream - a loving husband, adorable children, a successful career. Why hadn't it been enough? She's had a lot of time to ponder the answer - behind bars.It was a little fudging of the numbers, just once to cover some unpaid bills... -
![Dreams from Bunker Hill by John Fante]()
Dreams from Bunker Hill by John Fante
Rated: 4.06 of 5 stars · 18 ratingsMy first collision with fame was hardly memorable. I was a busboy at Marx's Deli. The year was 1934. The place was Third and Hill, Los Angeles. I was twenty-one years old, living in a world bounded on the west by Bunker Hill, on the east by Los Angeles Street, on the south by Pershing Square, and on the north by Civic Center... -
![Once a Runner by John L. Parker Jr.]()
Once a Runner by John L. Parker Jr.
Rated: 4.04 of 5 stars · 24 ratingsOnce a Runner captures the essence of what it means to be a competitive runner; to devote your entire existence to a single-minded pursuit of excellence. It has become one of the most beloved sports novels ever written...Categorized as:
coming-of-age literary-fiction north-america realistic university usa action-adventure adult -
![Yolk by Mary H.K. Choi]()
Yolk by Mary H.K. Choi
Rated: 4.00 of 5 stars · 26 ratingsFrom New York Times bestselling author Mary H.K. Choi comes a funny and emotional story about two estranged sisters switching places and committing insurance fraud to save one of their lives.Jayne Baek is barely getting by. She shuffles through fashion school, saddled with a deadbeat boyfriend, clout-chasing friends, and a wretched eating disorder that she’s not fully ready to confront...Categorized as:
coming-of-age friendship literary-fiction poc-mc realistic university urban asian-mc -
![Tell the Truth, Shame the Devil by Melina Marchetta]()
Tell the Truth, Shame the Devil by Melina Marchetta
Rated: 4.00 of 5 stars · 18 ratingsWhen Bish Ortley, a suspended cop, receives word that a bus carrying his daughter has been bombed, he rushes to her side. A suspect has already been singled out: a 17-year-old girl who has since disappeared from the scene.The press has now revealed that she is the youngest member of one of London's most notorious families...Categorized as:
coming-of-age friendship lgbtq poc-mc politics realistic social-commentary 21st-century -
![The Art of Fielding by Chad Harbach]()
The Art of Fielding by Chad Harbach
Rated: 3.98 of 5 stars · 41 ratingsAt Westish College, a small school on the shore of Lake Michigan, baseball star Henry Skrimshander seems destined for big league stardom. But when a routine throw goes disastrously off course, the fates of five people are upended. Henry's fight against self-doubt threatens to ruin his future. College president Guert Affenlight, a longtime bachelor, has fallen unexpectedly and helplessly in love...Categorized as:
coming-of-age friendship lgbtq literary-fiction north-america realistic university usa -
![Secret Lives of Mothers & Daughters by Anita Kushwaha]()
Secret Lives of Mothers & Daughters by Anita Kushwaha
Rated: 4.00 of 5 stars · 10 ratingsFor readers of Shilpi Somaya Gowda’s "Secret Daughter" and Nancy Richler’s "The Imposter Bride", a breathtaking novel from Anita Kushwaha about the ties that bind mothers and daughters together and the secrets that tear them apartVeena, Mala and Nandini are three very different women with something in common...Categorized as:
literary-fiction realistic coming-of-age fiction contemporary family audiobook psychological -
![The Love We Share Without Knowing by Christopher Barzak]()
The Love We Share Without Knowing by Christopher Barzak
Rated: 4.00 of 5 stars · 8 ratingsOn a train filled with quietly sleeping passengers, a young man’s life is forever altered when he is miraculously seen by a blind man. In a quiet town an American teacher who has lost her Japanese lover to death begins to lose her own self. On a remote road amid fallow rice fields, four young friends carefully take their own lives—and in that moment they become almost as one...Categorized as:
coming-of-age literary-fiction realistic adult anthologies contemporary epic fiction -
![Runaway Train by Lee Matthew Goldberg]()
Runaway Train by Lee Matthew Goldberg
Rated: 4.00 of 5 stars · 6 ratingsThey told me I was an out-of-control train about to crash…Everything changed when the police officer knocked on the door to tell me – a 16-year-old – that my older sister Kristen had died of a brain aneurysm. Cue the start of my parents neglecting me and my whole life spiraling out of control.I decided now was the perfect time to skip town... -
![Deliver Me by Elle Nash]()
Deliver Me by Elle Nash
Rated: 4.00 of 5 stars · 6 ratings“To read the work of Elle Nash is to be restored to faith in the wildness, wetness, and visceral power of contemporary American fiction. Deliver Me is a barbed liturgy of bugs, babies, meat, the gospel, women lusting women, women lusting men, and the human body. Get saved.” — MELISSA BRODER, author of Milk Fed , The Pisces , and Death Valley “.. -
-
![Exposure by Ava Dellaira]()
Exposure by Ava Dellaira
Rated: 4.00 of 5 stars · 6 ratingsA life-changing moment encompasses conflicting truths that echo across time, in this powerful, provocative debut.One night, two people, four sides of a story.In 2004, Juliette Marker, a white college freshman, and Noah King, a Black high school senior, are two lonely souls who enter each other’s orbit, forge a connection, and, after a chance meeting, go home together...Categorized as:
literary-fiction lgbtq friendship coming-of-age fiction audiobook contemporary season-spring -
![The Girls at 17 Swann Street by Yara Zgheib]()
The Girls at 17 Swann Street by Yara Zgheib
Rated: 3.96 of 5 stars · 24 ratingsThe chocolate went first, then the cheese, the fries, the ice cream. The bread was more difficult, but if she could just lose a little more weight, perhaps she would make the soloists’ list. Perhaps if she were lighter, danced better, tried harder, she would be good enough. Perhaps if she just ran for one more mile, lost just one more pound... -
![The Women's Room by Marilyn French]()
The Women's Room by Marilyn French
Rated: 3.95 of 5 stars · 20 ratingsThe bestselling feminist novel that awakened both women and men, The Women's Room follows the transformation of Mira Ward and her circle as the women's movement begins to have an impact on their lives...Categorized as:
friendship lgbtq literary-fiction politics realistic social-commentary university 20th-century -
![Am I Blue?: Coming Out from the Silence by Marion Dane Bauer, Lois Lowry]()
Am I Blue?: Coming Out from the Silence by Marion Dane Bauer, Lois Lowry
Rated: 3.94 of 5 stars · 18 ratingsEach of these stories is original, each is by a noted author for young adults, and each honestly portrays its subject and theme--growing up gay or lesbian, or with gay or lesbian parents or friends. Includes:"Michael's Little Sister" / C. S... -
![Big Swiss by Jen Beagin]()
Big Swiss by Jen Beagin
Rated: 3.94 of 5 stars · 17 ratingsA brilliantly original and funny novel about a sex therapist’s transcriptionist who falls in love with a client while listening to her sessions. When they accidentally meet in real life, an explosive affair ensues.Greta lives with her friend Sabine in an ancient Dutch farmhouse in Hudson, New York. She spends her days transcribing therapy sessions for a sex coach who calls himself Om... -
![Egalia's Daughters: A Satire of the Sexes by Gerd Brantenberg]()
Egalia's Daughters: A Satire of the Sexes by Gerd Brantenberg
Rated: 3.94 of 5 stars · 16 ratingsWelcome to the land of Egalia, where gender roles are topsy-turvy as "wim" wield the power and "menwim" light the home fires...Categorized as:
coming-of-age lgbtq literary-fiction politics romantic-love social-commentary university wlw -
![Controle by Natalia Borges Polesso]()
Controle by Natalia Borges Polesso
Rated: 4.13 of 5 stars · 8 ratingsNatalia Borges Polesso apresenta, em Controle, uma narrativa impactante sobre relações homoafetivas entre mulheres, o poder do desafio e, acima de tudo, as escolhas que precisam ser feitas para que as pessoas se tornem quem elas querem ser.A protagonista, Nanda, é epilética. Cercada de cuidado pelos pais, ela evita ao máximo o contato humano — exceto pela amiga, Joana... -
![Your Voice Is All I Hear by Leah Scheier]()
Your Voice Is All I Hear by Leah Scheier
Rated: 3.92 of 5 stars · 13 ratingsI was the one he trusted. I was the one he loved, the only one who believed him, even when his own mother had locked him up and thrown away the key.And now, I was going to pass down the white tiled hallway, knock on his doctor’s office door, slam his secret notebook on her desk and make her read it, make her understand what he was hiding, make her see what only I had seen... -
![The Edge of Anything by Nora Shalaway Carpenter]()
The Edge of Anything by Nora Shalaway Carpenter
Rated: 3.92 of 5 stars · 12 ratingsA *Kirkus Reviews* Best Book of 2020One of A Mighty Girl's Best Books of the YearFinalist for the Cybils AwardsLen is a loner teen photographer haunted by a past that’s stagnated her work and left her terrified she’s losing her mind. Sage is a high school volleyball star desperate to find a way around her sudden medical disqualification. Both girls need college scholarships...Categorized as:
north-america usa realistic friendship literary-fiction coming-of-age north-carolina young-adult -
![Fig by Sarah Elizabeth Schantz]()
Fig by Sarah Elizabeth Schantz
Rated: 3.90 of 5 stars · 10 ratingsAn NPR Best Book of 2015Love and sacrifice intertwine in this brilliant debut of rare beauty about a girl dealing with her mother’s schizophrenia and her own mental illness.Fig’s world lies somewhere between reality and fantasy.But as she watches Mama slowly come undone, it becomes hard to tell what is real and what is not, what is fun and what is frightening...Categorized as:
north-america usa realistic coming-of-age literary-fiction arkansas kansas young-adult -
-
![The Realm of Possibility by David Levithan]()
The Realm of Possibility by David Levithan
Rated: 3.92 of 5 stars · 25 ratingsOne school. Twenty voices.Endless possibilities.There's the girl who is in love with Holden Caulfield. The boy who wants to be strong who falls for the girl who's convinced she needs to be weak. The girl who writes love songs for a girl she can't have. The two boys teetering on the brink of their first anniversary. And everyone in between... -
![Thank You for Smoking by Christopher Buckley]()
Thank You for Smoking by Christopher Buckley
Rated: 3.92 of 5 stars · 24 ratingsNick Naylor likes his job. In the neo-puritanical nineties, it's a challenge to defend the rights of smokers and a privilege to promote their liberty. Sure, it hurts a little when you're compared to Nazi war criminals, but Nick says he's just doing what it takes to pay the mortgage and put his son through Washington's elite private school St. Euthanasius...Categorized as:
literary-fiction politics realistic social-commentary university urban 20th-century adult -
![Highly Illogical Behavior by John Corey Whaley]()
Highly Illogical Behavior by John Corey Whaley
Rated: 3.92 of 5 stars · 24 ratingsSixteen-year-old Solomon is agoraphobic. He hasn’t left the house in three years, which is fine by him.Ambitious Lisa desperately wants to get into the second-best psychology program for college (she’s being realistic). But is ambition alone enough to get her in?Enter Lisa... -
![Punk Like Me by J.D. Glass]()
Punk Like Me by J.D. Glass
Rated: 3.83 of 5 stars · 6 ratingsA coming of age story, a love story…a brave, brilliant story of strength and seldiscovery. Twenty-one year old Nina writes lyrics and plays guitar in the rock band, Adam’s Rib, and she doesn’t always play by the rules. And, oh yeah—she has a way with the girls. Even her brother Nicky’s girlfriends think she’s hot... -
![Fish in Exile by Vi Khi Nao]()
Fish in Exile by Vi Khi Nao
Rated: 4.00 of 5 stars · 8 ratingsThe loss of a child takes mythological, magical casts—distortions that allow us to see the contours of grief more clearly.How do you grieve the death of a child? With fishtanks and jellyfish burials, Persephone’s pomegranate seeds, and affairs with the neighbors...Categorized as:
literary-fiction poc-mc wlw romantic-love fiction contemporary audiobook 21st-century -
![The Motel Life by Willy Vlautin]()
The Motel Life by Willy Vlautin
Rated: 3.88 of 5 stars · 16 ratingsWith "echoes of Of Mice and Men" (The Bookseller, UK), The Motel Life explores the frustrations and failed dreams of two Nevada brothers — on the run after a hit-and-run accident — who, forgotten by society, and short on luck and hope, desperately cling to the edge of modern life...Categorized as:
coming-of-age literary-fiction north-america usa 21st-century book contemporary crime -
![What Happened to My Sister by Elizabeth Flock]()
What Happened to My Sister by Elizabeth Flock
Rated: 3.88 of 5 stars · 16 ratingsFrom the author of Me & Emma comes a dazzling novel of two unforgettable families bound together by their deepest secrets and haunted pasts—perfect for fans of The Secret Life of CeeCee Wilkes and The Book of Bright Ideas.Nine-year-old Carrie Parker and her mother, Libby, are making a fresh start in the small town of Hartsville, North Carolina, ready to put their turbulent past behind them... -
![What We Keep by Elizabeth Berg]()
What We Keep by Elizabeth Berg
Rated: 3.88 of 5 stars · 24 ratingsDo you ever really know your mother, your daughter, the people in your family? In this rich and rewarding new novel by the beloved bestselling author of Talk Before Sleep and The Pull of the Moon, a reunion between two sisters and their mother reveals how the secrets and complexities of the past have shaped the lives of the women in a family... -
![The Angel of History by Rabih Alameddine]()
The Angel of History by Rabih Alameddine
Rated: 3.83 of 5 stars · 12 ratingsFollowing the critical and commercial success of An Unnecessary Woman, Alameddine delivers a spectacular portrait of a man and an era of profound political and social upheaval... -
![A Bit Much by Sarah Jackson]()
A Bit Much by Sarah Jackson
Rated: 3.80 of 5 stars · 10 ratingsFor fans of Sally Rooney and Ottessa Moshfegh, A Bit Much is a darkly funny novel about the complexity of friendships, the agony of insecurity, and the beautiful and embarrassing nature of loving someone.Alice is twenty-four and falling apart. She’s lost her job, her appetite, her ability to sleep... -
-
![Target by Kathleen Jeffrie Johnson]()
Target by Kathleen Jeffrie Johnson
Rated: 3.75 of 5 stars · 8 ratingsWhy had the men chosen him? Savagely violated by two strangers, sixteen-year-old Grady West retreats into silence. Some hells just can't be shared. Searing and powerful, Target shows that people can go through unspeakable things and emerge whole-- and sometimes your friends can save you. Another "provocative tale" ( Booklist ) by Kathleen Jeffrie Johnson, author of The Parallel Universe of Liars... -
![Stephen Florida by Gabe Habash]()
Stephen Florida by Gabe Habash
Rated: 3.81 of 5 stars · 16 ratingsFoxcatcher meets The Art of Fielding, Stephen Florida follows a college wrestler in his senior season, when every practice, every match, is a step closer to greatness and a step further from sanity. Profane, manic, and tipping into the uncanny, it's a story of loneliness, obsession, and the drive to leave a mark...Categorized as:
coming-of-age friendship literary-fiction north-america university usa 21st-century audiobook -
![Futureproof by N. Frank Daniels]()
Futureproof by N. Frank Daniels
Rated: 3.67 of 5 stars · 6 ratingsNo past. No future. Only now.Originally a self-publishing success launched on N. Frank Daniels's MySpace page, the novel Futureproof tells the story of Luke and his friends as they navigate Atlanta’s subculture of delinquents. In short order, the seemingly harmless high from his first cigarette sends Luke on a downward spiral that ends only after years of self-abuse...Categorized as:
coming-of-age literary-fiction realistic book contemporary female-mc fiction male-mc -
![Art and Lies by Jeanette Winterson]()
Art and Lies by Jeanette Winterson
Rated: 3.86 of 5 stars · 26 ratingsHandel is a failed priest but abiding Catholic with elitist tendencies whose work as a doctor forces him to consider social questions that he would probably rather avoid. Picasso, as she calls herself, is a young artist who has been sexually abused by her brother but whose family thinks she is at fault for her dark moods... -
![Lighthousekeeping by Jeanette Winterson]()
Lighthousekeeping by Jeanette Winterson
Rated: 3.86 of 5 stars · 32 ratingsLighthousekeeping tells the tale of Silver ("My mother called me Silver. I was born part precious metal, part pirate."), an orphaned girl who is taken in by blind Mr. Pew, the mysterious and miraculously old keeper of a lighthouse on the Scottish coast. Pew tells Silver stories of Babel Dark, a nineteenth-century clergyman... -
![The Taqwacores by Michael Muhammad Knight]()
The Taqwacores by Michael Muhammad Knight
Rated: 3.75 of 5 stars · 12 ratingsLibrarian's Note: this is an alternate cover edition - ISBN 13: 9781593762292 with Black CoverA Muslim punk house in Buffalo, New York, inhabited by burqa-wearing "riot grrrls," mohawked Sufis, straightedge Sunnis, Shi'a skinheads, Indonesian skaters, Sudanese rude boys, gay Muslims, drunk Muslims, and feminists...
Or - use our amazing romance book finder to get recommendations based on your favorite content tropes and themes. Mix and match at will.
