Books like 'Drowning'
Readers who enjoyed Drowning by Margaret McHeyzer also liked the following books featuring the same tropes, story themes, relationship dynamics and character types.
contemporary psychological coming-of-age angst high-school female-mc
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One Moment by Linda Green
Rated: 4.39 of 5 stars · 18 ratingsFinn and Kaz are about to meet for the first time. Ten-year-old Finn, a quirky, sensitive boy who talks a lot and only eats at cafes with a 5-star hygiene rating, is having a tough time at school and home. Outspoken Kaz, 59, who has an acerbic sense of humour and a heart of gold, is working at the café when Finn and his mum come in... -
![Cross by Cora Brent]()
Cross by Cora Brent
Rated: 4.36 of 5 stars · 14 ratings"That pause between heartbeats can change everything. Everything."Two brothers...And the girl next door.A betrayal that severed the bonds of blood and loyalty.A tragedy that ended one life and shattered the rest.Everyone thought that because they knew how it ended they also knew how it started.They didn't.And neither do you.Warning: This one is not like the other stories. This one will hurt... -
![Test by Cora Brent]()
Test by Cora Brent
Rated: 4.36 of 5 stars · 14 ratings**TEST is the latest stand alone in the Gentry Boys universe from NYT and USA Today Bestselling Author Cora Brent** PAIGE People say Derek Gentry is arrogant, perpetually drunk and good for only one thing. Even from a distance he's like a neon sign that reads: ‘I AM THE WORST IDEA YOU EVER HAD.’ And I’m not tempted, no matter how hot he is. I’ve heard the rumors. I know his story... -
![Endless Love: by Nelle L'Amour]()
Endless Love: by Nelle L'Amour
Rated: 4.67 of 5 stars · 6 ratingsThe long-awaited sequel to New York Times bestselling author, Nelle L’Amour’s critically acclaimed masterpiece, Undying Love. “With love, there are no goodbyes.” The heart-wrenching words of Ryan Madewell’s beloved late wife. It’s been almost five years since Allee died, but Ryan, now a successful writer, hasn’t been able to move on... -
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![Secret Sundays by Judith Keim]()
Secret Sundays by Judith Keim
Rated: 4.50 of 5 stars · 8 ratingsThe women in the Fat Fridays group continue to come together for their Friday lunches—no calories counted—and to help each other deal with life’s complications. With her unexpected pregnancy and the support of the women in the group, Carol Ann breaks free from her dismal life with her parents... -
![Light in the Shadows by A. Meredith Walters]()
Light in the Shadows by A. Meredith Walters
Rated: 4.21 of 5 stars · 24 ratingsIn the bestselling sequel to Find You in the Dark, A. Meredith Walters continues the emotional story of Maggie, Clay, and the power of unconditional love.How do you keep going when you feel like your life is over?Maggie never thought she’d see Clay again. So, she attempts to put her life back together after her heart has been shattered to pieces... -
![The Only Alien on the Planet by Kristen D. Randle]()
The Only Alien on the Planet by Kristen D. Randle
Rated: 4.25 of 5 stars · 16 ratingsNew town, new school, new friends. It was difficult for Ginny at first, but her senior year is finally starting to feel kind of normal. That is, until she sees him—the beautiful mystery in her English class. He has never spoken a word to anyone. He moves through each day at school without making eye contact. His name is Smitty Tibbs, but everyone calls him the Alien... -
![Dirty Like Brody by Jaine Diamond]()
Dirty Like Brody by Jaine Diamond
Rated: 4.22 of 5 stars · 18 ratingsHe was all she ever wanted. Then she broke his heart… As longtime manager of Dirty, the hottest rock band on the planet, gorgeous and brooding Brody Mason has had his share of beautiful women. Yet the only one he’s ever wanted is the one he never had—the one who tore his heart out. Beautiful and elusive Jessa Mayes appears to have it all. Talent, money, and a glamorous life... -
![In Her Father's Shadow by Quinn Avery]()
In Her Father's Shadow by Quinn Avery
Rated: 4.50 of 5 stars · 6 ratingsSienna Rivers’s aspirations for a normal childhood came crashing down the night they discovered her father was a serial killer. Once her mother’s illusion of a perfect family is destroyed, Sienna is sent to live with the only other “family” she knows... -
![The Broken Sister by Leanne Davis]()
The Broken Sister by Leanne Davis
Rated: 4.50 of 5 stars · 6 ratingsSomething happened to Kylie McKinley during her freshman year in college. Something no one knows about... -
![The Day She Came Back by Amanda Prowse]()
The Day She Came Back by Amanda Prowse
Rated: 4.17 of 5 stars · 24 ratingsWhen her loving, free-spirited grandmother Primrose passes away, Victoria is bereft, yet resilient—she has survived tragedy before. But even her strength is tested when a mysterious woman attends Prim’s funeral and claims to be the mother Victoria thought was dead... -
![If He Had Been with Me by Laura Nowlin]()
If He Had Been with Me by Laura Nowlin
Rated: 4.15 of 5 stars · 26 ratingsIf he had been with me everything would have been different...I wasn't with Finn on that August night. But I should've been. It was raining, of course. And he and Sylvie were arguing as he drove down the slick road. No one ever says what they were arguing about. Other people think it's not important. They do not know there is another story. The story that lurks between the facts... -
![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... -
![Fred & Breakfast by Phoebe MacLeod]()
Fred & Breakfast by Phoebe MacLeod
Rated: 4.21 of 5 stars · 14 ratingsPerfect for fans of Portia MacIntosh, Milly Johnson and Sophie Kinsella. Daisy's life is going nowhere, but that's just how she likes it. Unable to move on from the tragic accident that killed her parents ten years ago, she's living each day as it comes...Categorized as:
coming-of-age female-mc romance audiobook contemporary womens-fiction psychological sad -
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![How to Disappear by Sharon Huss Roat]()
How to Disappear by Sharon Huss Roat
Rated: 4.19 of 5 stars · 16 ratingsVicky Decker has perfected the art of hiding in plain sight, quietly navigating the halls of her high school undetected except by her best (and only) friend, Jenna. But when Jenna moves away, Vicky’s isolation becomes unbearable.So she decides to invent a social life by Photoshopping herself into other people’s pictures, posting them on Instagram under the screen name Vicurious... -
![Crank by Ellen Hopkins]()
Crank by Ellen Hopkins
Rated: 4.18 of 5 stars · 41 ratingsIn Crank, Ellen Hopkins chronicles the turbulent and often disturbing relationship between Kristina, a character based on her own daughter, and the "monster," the highly addictive drug crystal meth, or "crank." Kristina is introduced to the drug while visiting her largely absent and ne'er-do-well father... -
![Let the Light Shine by Nick Alexander, Penelope Rawlins]()
Let the Light Shine by Nick Alexander, Penelope Rawlins
Rated: 4.15 of 5 stars · 20 ratingsFrom Nick Alexander, the number one best-selling author of The Photographer's Wife and The Other Son.Penny and Victoria are about as different as two siblings can be, one with a smart London lifestyle, the other struggling to make ends meet. But they are joined by more than blood, and their shared tragic past is affecting the present more than they realise... -
![Christina by Leanne Davis]()
Christina by Leanne Davis
Rated: 4.33 of 5 stars · 6 ratingsMy entire life I’ve lived with shadows lurking behind what otherwise appears like the perfect family. My mother often disappears into her bedroom for days at a time because her life becomes too much to deal with. I never understood it. I know there are family secrets. I hear the whispers and innuendos. But no one wants me to know the truth. The thing is: I’m not a little girl anymore... -
![The Girl of Diamonds and Rust by Andrea McKay]()
The Girl of Diamonds and Rust by Andrea McKay
Rated: 4.33 of 5 stars · 6 ratings“Maybe this is love. Protecting the part of yourself most important to you and knowing when to let go so that you can keep a small piece of that person alive and real in your heart.”~~Chrissie Parker “He will never need you the way I need you. He will never want you as I want you. He will never love you the way I love you. I don’t care if you are in love with Alan. I am in love with you... -
![The Girl in the Comfortable Quiet by Susan Ward, Andrea McKay]()
The Girl in the Comfortable Quiet by Susan Ward, Andrea McKay
Rated: 4.33 of 5 stars · 6 ratings“Some secrets are meant to be kept forever. What no one ever tells you is that secrets hurt you and never the ones you lie to. They are your solitary hurt and shame. The people you withhold them from go on with their lives. They live. They fuck. They love. They are unharmed by your silence and the words you haven’t yet shared.” ~Chrissie Parker “We have a perfect life together... -
![The Rebound: A Novel by J.R. Rogue]()
The Rebound: A Novel by J.R. Rogue
Rated: 4.33 of 5 stars · 6 ratingsSome love affairs aren’t meant for the public eye. Some love affairs won’t survive the fallout. Calliope das Dores is not the perfect rebound, even if her name means "muse". She is not who I should be running to. But I want her anyway. She keeps telling me my squeaky-clean image can’t handle the scandal, but this want between us is not black and white, and it never will be... -
![The Girl of Tokens and Tears by Susan Ward]()
The Girl of Tokens and Tears by Susan Ward
Rated: 4.25 of 5 stars · 8 ratings“I should never had fallen in love with Alan. He is like a drug, my secret addiction, and I am trapped in the hold of him.” ~Chrissie Parker “When I call, you’ll come. You won’t be able to stop yourself. We’re spending the rest of our lives together in bed, Chrissie. Get used to the idea.” ~Alan Manzone “We’re both in love with people who are not good for us. People we can’t be with... -
![Prove Me Right by Anna Brooks]()
Prove Me Right by Anna Brooks
Rated: 4.25 of 5 stars · 8 ratingsOne weakness can change everything. Meara and Liam were friends before they could talk, in love since they could drive, and planning their future before they graduated high school. In order to start the life they’ve always dreamed of, Liam just has to finish his tour with the band. He doesn't want anyone else. Liam's only ever had eyes for Meara, and he can't wait to finally get home to her... -
![Sassy Saturdays by Judith Keim]()
Sassy Saturdays by Judith Keim
Rated: 4.17 of 5 stars · 12 ratingsSassy Saturdays –The Fat Fridays Group – Book 2 Tiffany Wright begins her independent life supported by her friends in the Fat Fridays group. Singing at The Glass Slipper lounge on Saturday nights gives her the freedom to find herself and recover from a broken marriage to Beau, a man she still loves... -
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![Ugly by Margaret McHeyzer]()
Ugly by Margaret McHeyzer
Rated: 4.14 of 5 stars · 14 ratings*To watch the trailer, click on my author name above. If I were dead, I wouldn't be able to see.If I were dead, I wouldn't be able to feel.If I were dead, he'd never raise his hand to me again.If I were dead, his words wouldn't cut as deep as they do.If I were dead, I'd be beautiful and I wouldn't be so...ugly.I'm not dead...but I wish I was.*This is a dark YA/NA standalone, full-length novel... -
![How It Ends by Laura Wiess]()
How It Ends by Laura Wiess
Rated: 4.14 of 5 stars · 14 ratingsFollowing her stunning and critically acclaimed novels Such a Pretty Girl and Leftovers, Laura Wiess crafts a riveting and emotionally powerful tale of beauty, destruction...and love.Seventeen-year-old Hanna has been in love with Seth for as long as she can remember, but now that she and Seth are in an actual relationship, love isn’t all it’s cracked up to be... -
![All Our Broken Pieces by L.D. Crichton]()
All Our Broken Pieces by L.D. Crichton
Rated: 4.14 of 5 stars · 14 ratings"You can’t keep two people who are meant to be together apart for long...”Lennon Davis doesn’t believe in much, but she does believe in the security of the number five. If she flicks the bedroom light switch five times, maybe her new L.A. school won’t suck. But that doesn’t feel right, so she flicks the switch again. And again...Categorized as:
high-school coming-of-age romance contemporary young-adult mental-illness realistic fiction -
![Temptation Street by Shari Low]()
Temptation Street by Shari Low
Rated: 4.13 of 5 stars · 16 ratingsSuze has a niggling feeling that her husband Karl's marital sat-nav has taken a wrong turn and led him down the road to temptation. What's a suspicious wife to do? Mel knows that her sweet, docile husband Joe would never, ever cheat. But when Suze, her sister-in-law, hires a honeytrap to test Karl, the results blow Mel's world apart... -
![Letting Ana Go by Anonymous]()
Letting Ana Go by Anonymous
Rated: 4.10 of 5 stars · 20 ratingsIn the tradition of Go Ask Alice and Lucy in the Sky, a harrowing account of anorexia and addiction.She was a good girl from a good family, with everything she could want or need. But below the surface, she felt like she could never be good enough. Like she could never live up to the expectations that surrounded her. Like she couldn’t do anything to make a change... -
![Unforgettable by Eva Charles]()
Unforgettable by Eva Charles
Rated: 4.40 of 5 stars · 10 ratingsSome journeys are memorable...Few are Unforgettable Gabe:I should stay away from her. I know better.But instead, I treat every single day like it's my damn birthday, and she's a luscious devil’s food cake slathered in creamy icing.Helena:I spent my entire life being cautious. Never take any real risks. And I do it to shield the people I love from needless worry. To protect them... -
![The Last Summer by Ruthie Luhnow]()
The Last Summer by Ruthie Luhnow
Rated: 4.17 of 5 stars · 6 ratings"It's not even really a first kiss if you're practicing on a friend." Trapped in a conservative prairie town, Alfie Alder has spent his whole life enduring bullying from his classmates and indifference from his teachers. Only one person has ever seen past Alfie's sarcastic, standoffish exterior—his best friend and the love of his life, Wynn... -
![Home to the Riverview Inn by Molly O'Keefe, Tanya Eby]()
Home to the Riverview Inn by Molly O'Keefe, Tanya Eby
Rated: 4.17 of 5 stars · 6 ratings6 hours, 25 minutes Divorced single-mom Daphne likes her life just the way it is. Her organic farm is booming. Her daughter is sassy and happy, she’s got two good friends in Delia and Alice at The Riverview, and yes, her mother is trying to convince her to get back in the dating pool - but Daphne is not interested. She’s done with drama... -
![Alice on a Friday Night: A Novel of Addictions and Dreams by Dessi Nikko, Diana Naneva]()
Alice on a Friday Night: A Novel of Addictions and Dreams by Dessi Nikko, Diana Naneva
Rated: 4.17 of 5 stars · 6 ratingsNational Award for Debut Fiction (Bulgaria) * Eastern European Bestseller * Deliciously Illustrated She is youwhen youwere lost...Love is an addiction. Trying to understand people is an addiction. As are drugs, alcohol, and eating disorders. And every addiction is a whole new world worth exploring.So Alice explores... -
![Early from the Dance by David Payne]()
Early from the Dance by David Payne
Rated: 4.13 of 5 stars · 8 ratingsCary and Adam are best friends from opposite sides of the Killdeer, N.C., tracks. Then Jane McCrae comes into their lives like a hurricane. When Cary falls in love with her, the boy's twosome becomes a tightly knit group of three, and they make plans for their summer after high school graduation... -
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![Imperfect Love by Ajme Williams]()
Imperfect Love by Ajme Williams
Rated: 4.13 of 5 stars · 8 ratingsA broken marriage.A broken heart.A broken home.Brayden and I have everything going against us.There was a time when we were madly in love.Our laughter still echoes in my ears.They say marriage is built on trust.They said love is the foundation.I wonder if we have either of those now.And what’s worse?I’ve been diagnosed with a life-threatening illness.Divorce or death... -
![Roam by Anna Brooks]()
Roam by Anna Brooks
Rated: 4.13 of 5 stars · 8 ratingsShe was my daughter’s best friend. She stood next to me and held my hand while my little girl’s pink casket was lowered into the ground. The last time I saw her she was chasing me down the street as I left the town that was slowly suffocating me to death. But now she’s a woman and she needs my help. So I’ll save her and ask for nothing in return... -
![Love & Ruin by J.A. Owenby]()
Love & Ruin by J.A. Owenby
Rated: 4.10 of 5 stars · 10 ratingsThe shadows have always been my safe place. I prefer to hide, stay under the radar.In a rare burst of bravery,I decide to go to college far away.But people are cruel everywhere, and even though I’m far from home, I still want to hide.Until Hendrix.He sees me. Defends me.At first he seems too good to be true, but he wins my trust, makes me feel safe in his presence...Categorized as:
female-mc coming-of-age romance contemporary new-adult university fiction enemies-to-lovers -
![Beautiful Disaster by Laura Spinella]()
Beautiful Disaster by Laura Spinella
Rated: 4.08 of 5 stars · 12 ratingsRead Laura Spinella's blogs and other content on the Penguin Community. A story of love lost...and found. Mia Wells's eco-friendly career goals are about to become a reality-but her life-altering moment is interrupted when an unexpected call ushers in her tremulous past... -
![Five Steps to Happy by Ella Dove]()
Five Steps to Happy by Ella Dove
Rated: 4.07 of 5 stars · 14 ratings'An up-lit treasure' Red magazine Life can change in a heartbeat... When struggling actress Heidi has a life-changing accident aged 32, her world falls apart. Stuck in hospital and unable to walk, her only companion is Maud, the elderly lady in the bed next to hers... -
![My Sister and Other Liars by Ruth Dugdall]()
My Sister and Other Liars by Ruth Dugdall
Rated: 4.06 of 5 stars · 16 ratingsSam is seventeen, starving herself and longing for oblivion. Her sister, Jena, is mentally scarred and desperate to remember. Between them, they share secrets too terrible to recall. Eighteen months earlier, Sam was still full of hope: hope that she could piece together Jena's fragmented memory after the vicious attack that changed their family forever... -
![In Her Wake by K.A. Tucker]()
In Her Wake by K.A. Tucker
Rated: 4.06 of 5 stars · 18 ratingsBefore you knew him as Trent in Ten Tiny Breaths, he was Cole Reynolds—and he had it all. Until one night when he makes a fatal, wrong decision…and loses everything.When a drunken night out at a Michigan State college party results in the death of six people, Cole must come to terms with his part in the tragedy... -
![Some Boys by Patty Blount]()
Some Boys by Patty Blount
Rated: 4.05 of 5 stars · 20 ratingsSome boys go too far. Some boys will break your heart. But one boy can make you whole.When Grace meets Ian she's afraid. Afraid he'll reject her like the rest of the school, like her own family. After she accuses the town golden boy of rape, everyone turns against Grace. They call her a slut and a liar. But...Ian doesn't. He's funny and kind with secrets of his own... -
![Hold Still by Nina LaCour, Nina Schindler]()
Hold Still by Nina LaCour, Nina Schindler
Rated: 4.00 of 5 stars · 27 ratingsAn arresting story about starting over after a friend’s suicide, from a breakthrough new voice in YA fiction.dear caitlin, there are so many things that i want so badly to tell you but i just can’t.Devastating, hopeful, hopeless, playful . . . in words and illustrations, Ingrid left behind a painful farewell in her journal for Caitlin... -
![What It Seems by Emily Bleeker]()
What It Seems by Emily Bleeker
Rated: 4.00 of 5 stars · 18 ratingsA page-turning novel of suspense about the perfect family, and the perfect lies, by the bestselling author of When I’m Gone and The Waiting Room.Adopted by her controlling foster mother at the age of eight, twenty-year-old Tara has seen little of the outside world. Lonely, punished for the slightest offense, her only distraction comes from watching the Feely family’s online videos... -
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![The First Wife's Secret by Claire Amarti]()
The First Wife's Secret by Claire Amarti
Rated: 4.00 of 5 stars · 18 ratingsDinah Spencer is back in her childhood home for one stressful weekend. It’s the twenty-five-year anniversary of her father’s marriage to her stepmother...Categorized as:
coming-of-age female-mc fiction contemporary family thriller psychological romantic-love -
![Finding Alice by Melody Carlson]()
Finding Alice by Melody Carlson
Rated: 4.00 of 5 stars · 14 ratingsSliding into the Rabbit Hole… Would She Ever Return? On the surface, Alice Laxton seems no different from any other college girl: bright, inquisitive, excited about the life ahead of her. But for years, a genetic time bomb has been ticking away. Because of Alice’s near-genius intelligence, teachers and counselors have always made excuses for her “little idiosyncrasies... -
![My Daughter's Secret by Nicole Trope]()
My Daughter's Secret by Nicole Trope
Rated: 4.00 of 5 stars · 14 ratingsMy baby girl, I’ll never forget you – your smile, your laugh, the way your hair sparkles in the sun. I cannot comprehend this pain. I cannot breathe through it.In the middle of the night, Claire wakes up to discover that her beloved daughter, Julia, is dead – and life, as she knows it, is over... -
![The Quiet You Carry by Nikki Barthelmess]()
The Quiet You Carry by Nikki Barthelmess
Rated: 4.00 of 5 stars · 10 ratingsVictoria Parker knew her dad's behavior toward her was a little unusual, but she convinced herself everything was fine--until she found herself locked out of the house at 3:00 a.m., surrounded by flashing police lights... -
![Bloom by Cassia Leo]()
Bloom by Cassia Leo
Rated: 4.00 of 5 stars · 10 ratingsThe series is complete! Bloom is the heart-pounding, emotional conclusion to the Evergreen Series from New York Times bestselling author Cassia Leo. Where flowers bloom, love grows. With Jack determined to correct his past mistakes, and to help me cope with the news about Junior’s murderer, I find myself hardly able to function, my soul weighed down by renewed grief and crippling guilt... -
![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:
coming-of-age female-mc fiction contemporary literary-fiction realistic family audiobook
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