Books like 'Dear Zoe'
Readers who enjoyed Dear Zoe by Philip Beard also liked the following books featuring the same tropes, story themes, relationship dynamics and character types.
contemporary psychological realistic coming-of-age literary-fiction family grief drama
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Next to Normal by Brian Yorkey, Tom Kitt
Rated: 4.38 of 5 stars · 16 ratings"A brave and breathtaking musical... -
![I Hid My Voice by Parinoush Saniee]()
I Hid My Voice by Parinoush Saniee
Rated: 4.33 of 5 stars · 18 ratingsThis is the story, based on fact, of a boy who couldn’t speak until the age of seven. Now twenty, he describes the events of his life.Four-year-old Shahaab has not started talking. The family doctor believes there is no cause for concern; nevertheless, Shahaab is ridiculed by others who call him "dumb... -
![A Boy Made of Blocks by Keith Stuart]()
A Boy Made of Blocks by Keith Stuart
Rated: 4.25 of 5 stars · 24 ratingsDiscover a unique, funny and moving debut that will make you laugh, cry and smile. Meet thirtysomething dad, AlexHe loves his wife Jody, but has forgotten how to show it. He loves his son Sam, but doesn't understand him. Something has to change. And he needs to start with himself.Meet eight-year-old SamBeautiful, surprising, autistic. To him the world is a puzzle he can't solve on his own... -
![Sabtu Bersama Bapak by Adhitya Mulya]()
Sabtu Bersama Bapak by Adhitya Mulya
Rated: 4.28 of 5 stars · 18 ratings“Hai, Satya! Hai, Cakra!” Sang Bapak melambaikan tangan. “Ini Bapak. Iya, benar kok, ini Bapak. Bapak cuma pindah ke tempat lain. Gak sakit. Alhamdulillah, berkat doa Satya dan Cakra. … Mungkin Bapak tidak dapat duduk dan bermain di samping kalian. Tapi, Bapak tetap ingin kalian tumbuh dengan Bapak di samping kalian. Ingin tetap dapat bercerita kepada kalian... -
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![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...Categorized as:
coming-of-age drama family literary-fiction audiobook book contemporary domestic-drama -
![The Eye of the Sheep by Sofie Laguna]()
The Eye of the Sheep by Sofie Laguna
Rated: 4.17 of 5 stars · 18 ratingsAn alternative cover edition for the ISBN can be found here."Ned was beside me, his messages running easily through him, with space between each one, coming through him like water. He was the go-between, going between the animal kingdom and this one. I watched the waves as they rolled and crashed towards us, one after another, never stopping, always changing...Categorized as:
coming-of-age drama family literary-fiction audiobook book contemporary female-author -
![Here One Moment by Liane Moriarty]()
Here One Moment by Liane Moriarty
Rated: 4.10 of 5 stars · 30 ratingsIf you knew your future, would you try to fight fate? Aside from a delay, there will be no problems. The flight will be smooth, it will land safely. Everyone who gets on the plane will get off. But almost all of them will be forever changed. Because on this ordinary, short, domestic flight, something extraordinary happens. People learn how and when they are going to die... -
![Hunger for Life by Andy Marr]()
Hunger for Life by Andy Marr
Rated: 4.25 of 5 stars · 8 ratingsOn the day of his graduation, James says goodbye to the future and moves back to his parents’ house in Myreton, the sleepy village of his childhood. He’s not happy, but the thought of continuing his life anywhere else seems unthinkable while his sister, Emma, continues to suffer with the illness that’s plagued her since she was a child...Categorized as:
family coming-of-age literary-fiction drama romance fiction contemporary mental-illness -
![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:
realistic family coming-of-age grief romance contemporary young-adult mental-illness -
![The House of Gazes by Daniele Mencarelli]()
The House of Gazes by Daniele Mencarelli
Rated: 4.31 of 5 stars · 16 ratingsWinner of the 2019 John Fante First Novel Prize The critically acclaimed novel from the author of Everything Calls for Salvation , adapted into a Netflix Original series, is a powerful coming-of-age story about loss, identity, and rebirth Daniele is a young poet plagued by an unknown darkness, “an invisible disease of the heart, or of the mind...Categorized as:
literary-fiction drama coming-of-age fiction contemporary audiobook psychological book -
![I’m Sorry You Feel That Way by Rebecca Wait]()
I’m Sorry You Feel That Way by Rebecca Wait
Rated: 4.13 of 5 stars · 16 ratingsFrom the author of the Waterstones Book of the Month Our Fathers comes a compelling domestic comedy about complex family dynamics, mental health and the intricacies of sibling relationships.For Alice and Hanna, saint and sinner, growing up is a trial. There is their mother, who takes a divide and conquer approach to child-rearing, and their father, who takes an absent one...Categorized as:
literary-fiction realistic family fiction contemporary mental-illness audiobook psychological -
![Shtum by Jem Lester]()
Shtum by Jem Lester
Rated: 4.11 of 5 stars · 18 ratingsPowerful, darkly funny and heart-breaking, Shtum is a story about fathers and sons, autism, and dysfunctional relationships.Ben Jewell has hit breaking point. His ten-year-old son Jonah has severe autism and Ben and his wife, Emma, are struggling to cope... -
![The Art of Hiding by Amanda Prowse]()
The Art of Hiding by Amanda Prowse
Rated: 4.08 of 5 stars · 24 ratingsWhat would you do if you learned that the life you lived was a lie? Nina McCarrick lives the perfect life, until her husband, Finn, is killed in a car accident and everything Nina thought she could rely on unravels.Alone, bereft and faced with a mountain of debt, Nina quickly loses her life of luxury and she begins to question whether she ever really knew the man she married... -
![How to Make Friends with the Dark by Kathleen Glasgow]()
How to Make Friends with the Dark by Kathleen Glasgow
Rated: 4.08 of 5 stars · 25 ratingsHere is what happens when your mother dies.It’s the brightest day of summer and it’s dark outside. It’s dark in your house, dark in your room, and dark in your heart. You feel like the darkness is going to split you apart.That’s how it feels for Tiger. It’s always been Tiger and her mother against the world. Then, on a day like any other, Tiger’s mother dies. And now it’s Tiger, alone... -
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![My Mother's Eyes: A Short Story by Jeremy Ray]()
My Mother's Eyes: A Short Story by Jeremy Ray
Rated: 4.17 of 5 stars · 6 ratings“You’re wrong, Jordie. You’ll see. Draw me just one more time.”No one knows if his mother will come out of her coma, so fourteen-year-old Jordie memorializes her in the only way he knows how: by drawing her. His older brother doesn’t approve of these sketches, but Jordie’s determined to capture the person she used to be... -
![Learning Not to Drown by Anna Shinoda]()
Learning Not to Drown by Anna Shinoda
Rated: 4.07 of 5 stars · 14 ratingsFamily secrets cut to the bone in this mesmerizing debut novel about a teen whose drug-addicted brother is the prodigal son one time too many.There is a pecking order to every family. Seventeen-year old Clare is the overprotected baby; Peter is the typical, rebellious middle child; and Luke is the oldest, the can’t-do-wrong favorite. To their mother, they are a normal, happy family... -
![We Own the Sky by Luke Allnutt]()
We Own the Sky by Luke Allnutt
Rated: 4.06 of 5 stars · 18 ratings“We looked down at the cliff jutting into the sea, a rubber boat full of kids going under the arch, and then you started running and jumping through the grass, dodging the rabbit holes, shouting at the top of your voice, so I started chasing you, trying to catch you, and we were laughing so hard as we ran and ran, kicking up rainbow showers in the leaves... -
![My Struggle: Book 1 by Karl Ove Knausgård]()
My Struggle: Book 1 by Karl Ove Knausgård
Rated: 4.04 of 5 stars · 28 ratingsMy Struggle: Book One introduces American listeners to the audacious, addictive, and profoundly surprising international literary sensation that is the provocative and brilliant six-volume autobiographical novel by Karl Ove Knausgaard. It has already been anointed a Proustian masterpiece and is the rare work of dazzling literary originality that is intensely, irresistibly readable... -
![The Ones We Choose by Julie Clark]()
The Ones We Choose by Julie Clark
Rated: 4.02 of 5 stars · 18 ratingsLisa Genova meets 23andMe in this exploration of the genetic and emotional ties that bind, as debut author Julie Clark delivers a compelling read about a young boy desperate to find his place in this world, a mother coming to terms with her own past, and the healing power of forgiveness... -
![The Waiting Room by Emily Bleeker]()
The Waiting Room by Emily Bleeker
Rated: 4.00 of 5 stars · 24 ratingsFrom the bestselling author of When I’m Gone and Working Fire comes a gripping novel about a mother, her missing daughter, and the dark secrets that engulf them.Ever since her husband’s death collided with the birth of her daughter, postpartum depression has taken hold of Veronica Shelton. She can’t sleep, can’t work, and can’t bear to touch her beautiful baby girl... -
![Crazy by Han Nolan]()
Crazy by Han Nolan
Rated: 4.00 of 5 stars · 17 ratingsFifteen-year-old Jason has fallen upon bad times—his mother has died and his father has succumbed to mental illness. As he tries to hold his crazy father and their crumbling home together, Jason relies on a host of imaginary friends for guidance as he stumbles along trying not to draw attention to his father’s deteriorating condition... -
![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 family coming-of-age fiction contemporary audiobook psychological -
![These Gentle Wounds by Helene Dunbar]()
These Gentle Wounds by Helene Dunbar
Rated: 4.00 of 5 stars · 10 ratingsSometimes I wish I’d lost a leg or something. Everyone can understand that. They never get it when what’s been broken is inside your head.Five years after an unspeakable tragedy that changed him forever, Gordie Allen has made a new home with his half-brother Kevin...Categorized as:
realistic family coming-of-age grief romance young-adult contemporary mental-illness -
![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 -
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![Ten Birthdays by Kerry Wilkinson]()
Ten Birthdays by Kerry Wilkinson
Rated: 4.00 of 5 stars · 8 ratings*Winner of the Romantic Novelists' Association Young Adult Novel of the Year 2018*"There are going to be so many things I wish I could’ve told you in person, Poppy. I won’t get the chance to do that, so perhaps this is my only way…"It’s Poppy Kinsey’s birthday... -
![A Sliver of Hope by Karla J. Nellenbach]()
A Sliver of Hope by Karla J. Nellenbach
Rated: 4.00 of 5 stars · 6 ratingsMy twin sister was the only person in the world I thought I’d known inside and out. Apparently, I was wrong. Twin sisters share a unique bond, one that can't be broken by miles, time, or even death. Hannah and Hope Morton are no exception. When Hope takes her own life, Hannah loses a sister and a best friend, a catastrophe she isn't sure she'll survive herself... -
![The Horse Dancer by Jojo Moyes]()
The Horse Dancer by Jojo Moyes
Rated: 3.96 of 5 stars · 26 ratingsFrom the New York Times bestselling author of The Giver of Stars, a novel about a lost girl and her horse, the enduring strength of friendship, and how even the smallest choices can change everythingWhen Sarah's grandfather gives her a beautiful horse named Boo--hoping that one day she'll follow in his footsteps to join an elite French riding school, away from their gritty London...Categorized as:
coming-of-age drama family literary-fiction realistic action-adventure adult animals -
![Rabbit Cake by Annie Hartnett]()
Rabbit Cake by Annie Hartnett
Rated: 3.95 of 5 stars · 20 ratingsThis is a darkly comic novel about a young girl named Elvis trying to figure out her place in a world without her mother. Twelve-year-old Elvis Babbitt has a head for the facts: she knows science proves yellow is the happiest color, she knows a healthy male giraffe weighs about 3,000 pounds, and she knows that the naked mole rat is the longest living rodent... -
![The Fifth Floor by Julie Oleszek]()
The Fifth Floor by Julie Oleszek
Rated: 4.08 of 5 stars · 12 ratingsOne secret. A decade of silence.Seven-year-old Anna loves the constant commotion of her big family. Most of all, Anna adores her ten-year-old sister Liz. They build forts, climb trees, and stick together, no matter what. One moment the two girls are dangling from their backyard swing set; the next, everything changes… Anna will never be the same...Categorized as:
drama literary-fiction family coming-of-age grief fiction young-adult mental-illness -
![Saving Grace by Lee Smith]()
Saving Grace by Lee Smith
Rated: 3.93 of 5 stars · 14 ratingsSurrounded all of her life by zealous religious figures, Florida Grace Shepherd recounts a story that begins with her father's revival meetings and ends at Uncle Slidell's Christian Fun Golf course... -
![Birds in Fall by Brad Kessler]()
Birds in Fall by Brad Kessler
Rated: 3.92 of 5 stars · 12 ratingsOne fall night off the coast of a remote island in Nova Scotia, an airplane plummets to the sea as an innkeeper watches from the shore. Miles away in New York City, ornithologist Ana Gathreaux works in a darkened room full of sparrows, testing their migratory instincts. Soon, Ana will be bound for Trachis Island, along with other relatives of victims who converge on the site of the tragedy... -
![On Little Wings by Regina Sirois]()
On Little Wings by Regina Sirois
Rated: 3.92 of 5 stars · 12 ratingsThis is a story of the countless ways we get love wrong. And why, despite every disappointment, we keep fighting to get it right. Jennifer must do the impossible – bring her mother home. When a family is torn apart by death, two sisters take violently divergent paths and the story of their family appears to end terribly and abruptly... -
![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:
realistic grief literary-fiction coming-of-age drama north-america usa north-carolina -
![Beach Plum Island by Holly Robinson]()
Beach Plum Island by Holly Robinson
Rated: 3.90 of 5 stars · 10 ratings“Your brother should know the truth.” These are the last cryptic words that Ava Barrett’s father says before he dies. But Ava doesn’t have a brother, as far as she knows, so how can she tell him the truth? She dismisses the conversation and dedicates herself to bringing her family together for her father’s funeral... -
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![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... -
![Signal Fires by Dani Shapiro]()
Signal Fires by Dani Shapiro
Rated: 3.92 of 5 stars · 26 ratingsA GRIPPING NEW NOVEL FROM THE BESTSELLING AUTHOR OF INHERITANCEOne Night. One Fateful Choice. A Constellation of Lives Changed Forever.SIGNAL FIRES opens on a summer night in 1985. Three teenagers have been drinking. One of them gets behind the wheel of a car, and, in an instant, everything on Division Street changes...Categorized as:
literary-fiction family grief coming-of-age drama fiction historical-fiction audiobook -
![Ordinary People by Judith Guest]()
Ordinary People by Judith Guest
Rated: 3.92 of 5 stars · 24 ratingsCalvin is a determined, successful provider and Beth an organized, efficient wife. They had two sons, Conrad and Buck, but now they have one. This novel inspired Robert Redford’s Oscar-winning film of the same name starring Donald Sutherland and Mary Tyler Moore. source: judithguest... -
![Probation by Tom Mendicino]()
Probation by Tom Mendicino
Rated: 3.88 of 5 stars · 8 ratingsAll it took to destroy Andy Nocera's seemingly perfect life was an anonymous tryst at an Interstate rest area. Sentenced to probation and thrown out by his wife, he spends his week as a traveling salesman, and his weekends at his mother's house where no questions are asked--and no explanations are offered... -
![All the Little Animals by Walker Hamilton]()
All the Little Animals by Walker Hamilton
Rated: 3.83 of 5 stars · 6 ratingsA beguiling, unsettling and ultimately moving modern fable set on the byways of rural Cornwall; a story about running away, the search for acceptance and burying road-kill.Bobby is a 31 year old man with the mind of a small, frightened boy. He has run away from his privileged but abusive London home to rural Cornwall...Categorized as:
coming-of-age drama literary-fiction action-adventure adult book contemporary fiction -
![Thaw by Satya Robyn]()
Thaw by Satya Robyn
Rated: 3.83 of 5 stars · 6 ratingsRuth is thirty two years old and doesn't know if she wants to be thirty three. Her meticulously-ordered lonely life as a microbiologist is starved of pleasure and devoid of meaning. She decides to give herself three months to decide whether or not to end her life, and we read her daily diary as she struggles to make sense of her past and grapples with the pain of the present... -
![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... -
![Harmonic Feedback by Tara Kelly]()
Harmonic Feedback by Tara Kelly
Rated: 3.88 of 5 stars · 16 ratingsSixteen-year-old, music- and sound design-obsessed Drea doesn’t have friends. She has, as she’s often reminded, issues. Drea’s mom and a rotating band of psychiatrists have settled on "a touch of Asperger’s.”Having just moved to the latest in a string of new towns, Drea meets two other outsiders. And Naomi and Justin seem to actually like Drea... -
![Skin by Adrienne Maria Vrettos]()
Skin by Adrienne Maria Vrettos
Rated: 3.88 of 5 stars · 16 ratingsI'M TELLING YOU THIS BECAUSE YOU DIDN'T ASK. I'VE GOT IT ALL HERE, GROWING LIKE A TUMOR IN MY THROAT.I'm telling you because if I don't, I will choke on it. Everybody knows what happened, but nobody asks. And Elvis the EMT doesn't count because when he asked, he didn't even listen to me answer because he was listening to my sister's heart not beat with his stethoscope. I want to tell... -
![Fortunate Son by Walter Mosley]()
Fortunate Son by Walter Mosley
Rated: 3.88 of 5 stars · 16 ratingsIn spite of remarkable differences, Eric and Tommy are as close as brothers. Eric, a Nordic Adonis, is graced by a seemingly endless supply of good fortune. Tommy is a lame black boy, cursed with health problems, yet he remains optimistic and strong... -
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![Dancing on the Edge by Han Nolan]()
Dancing on the Edge by Han Nolan
Rated: 3.86 of 5 stars · 14 ratingsMiracle McCloy comes from an unusual family: Her father, Dane is a prodigy who published his first book at age thirteen; her grandmother, Gigi, is clairvoyant; and her mother was dead when her "miracle" daughter was pulled from her womb. Having been raised according to a set of mystical rules and beliefs, Miracle is unable to cope in the real world...Categorized as:
coming-of-age drama family realistic children-books contemporary female-author female-mc -
![Staggerford by Jon Hassler]()
Staggerford by Jon Hassler
Rated: 3.86 of 5 stars · 14 ratingsIt is only a week in the life of a 35-year old bachelor school teacher in a small Minnesota town. But it is an extraodinary week, filled with the poetry of living, the sweetness of expectation, and the glory of surprise that can change a life forever... -
![Sal by Mick Kitson]()
Sal by Mick Kitson
Rated: 3.86 of 5 stars · 14 ratingsSal planned it for almost a year before they ran. She nicked an Ordnance Survey map from the school library. She bought a compass, a Bear Grylls knife, waterproofs, and a first aid kit from Amazon using stolen credit cards. She read the SAS Survival Handbook and watched loads of YouTube videos. And now Sal knows a lot of stuff...Categorized as:
coming-of-age drama family literary-fiction realistic abuse action-adventure audiobook -
![Life Without Summer: A Novel by Lynne Griffin, Tanya Eby]()
Life Without Summer: A Novel by Lynne Griffin, Tanya Eby
Rated: 3.86 of 5 stars · 14 ratingsTessa Gray’s life changes forever when she loses her four-year-old daughter, Abby, in a hit-and-run accident outside her preschool. Once a vivacious, joyful mother and wife, Tessa now spends her days holed up in Abby’s room, sleeping in her bed, clutching Abby’s Tootsie Rabbit stuffed animal—anything to keep her memories close... -
![The Boys by Katie Hafner]()
The Boys by Katie Hafner
Rated: 3.86 of 5 stars · 14 ratings“Hafner’s taut and utterly delightful debut is a novel of multitudes…. What a wonder of storytelling.” ― Weike Wang , New York TimesNew York Times Editor’s Choice | Good Morning America Reading Pick | LitHub Most Anticipated Book | Christian Science Monitor Summer Reading PickA delicious summer read filled with humor and surprise for readers of Anne Tyler and Kevin Wilson... -
![The Center of Winter by Marya Hornbacher]()
The Center of Winter by Marya Hornbacher
Rated: 3.86 of 5 stars · 14 ratingsThe luminous first novel by Marya Hornbacher, the acclaimed author of Wasted: A Memoir of Anorexia and Bulimia , is a moving and passionate story of a death from despair -- and a stricken family's passage through grief toward the hope, solace, and understanding that waits for them somewhere beyond the center of winter...Categorized as:
drama family grief literary-fiction fiction mental-illness contemporary psychological
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