Books like 'Fish in Exile'
Readers who enjoyed Fish in Exile by Vi Khi Nao also liked the following books featuring the same tropes, story themes, relationship dynamics and character types.
contemporary psychological literary-fiction family grief poc-mc wlw romantic-love
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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... -
![Waiting to Begin by Amanda Prowse]()
Waiting to Begin by Amanda Prowse
Rated: 4.25 of 5 stars · 24 ratingsFrom the bestselling author of The Girl in the Corner comes a story that asks: what would you risk for a shot at happiness?1984. Bessie is a confident sixteen-year-old girl with the world at her feet, dreaming of what life will bring and what she’ll bring to this life. Then everything comes crashing down... -
![Life Goes On by Kelly Moore]()
Life Goes On by Kelly Moore
Rated: 4.67 of 5 stars · 6 ratingsHappy go lucky Olivia McDill adores her fairy-tale life, married to the man of her dreams. It’s a love that should’ve lasted a lifetime…then in the blink of an eye, everything changed. She learns too quickly that life can be unfair, and she’s left trying to pick up the pieces and make sense of things on her own... -
![The Boy Under the Table by Nicole Trope]()
The Boy Under the Table by Nicole Trope
Rated: 4.31 of 5 stars · 16 ratingsTina is a young woman hiding from her grief on the streets of the Cross. On a cold night in the middle of winter she breaks all her own rules when she agrees to go home with a customer.What she finds in his house will change her life forever.Across the country Sarah and Doug are trapped in limbo, struggling to accept the loss that now governs their lives... -
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![The Other Son by Nick Alexander, Imogen Church]()
The Other Son by Nick Alexander, Imogen Church
Rated: 4.17 of 5 stars · 24 ratingsFrom the outside, Alice’s marriage looks successful. It’s true that Ken was never her first choice, but four decades in, she’s learned to tolerate him. Their two sons have chosen their own paths, Tim as a successful banker and Matt a carefree globetrotter she can’t keep up with... -
![Frozen Statues by L.E. Fraser]()
Frozen Statues by L.E. Fraser
Rated: 4.25 of 5 stars · 12 ratingsA gripping psychological thriller with shocking twistsIn the bitter cold of a Canadian winter, seven university freshmen vanish without a trace. Soon afterwards, police discover a ghastly crime scene—the victim is frozen solid and his eyes are missing, replaced with black stones. A week later, they find a second frozen statue at an identical crime scene... -
![The Brighton Mermaid by Dorothy Koomson]()
The Brighton Mermaid by Dorothy Koomson
Rated: 4.17 of 5 stars · 18 ratingsBrighton Beach, 1993Teenagers Nell and Jude find the body of a young woman and when no one comes to claim her, she becomes known as the Brighton Mermaid. Nell is still struggling to move on when, three weeks later, Jude disappears.Twenty-five years on, Nell is forced to quit her job to find out who the Brighton Mermaid really was - and what happened to her best friend that summer... -
![Gratitude by Delphine de Vigan]()
Gratitude by Delphine de Vigan
Rated: 4.15 of 5 stars · 18 ratingsMarie owes Michka more than she can say - but Michka is getting older, and can't look after herself any more. So Marie has moved her to a home where she'll be safe. But Michka doesn't feel any safer; she is haunted by strange figures who threaten to unearth her most secret, buried guilt, guilt that she's carried since she was a little girl... -
![His Uptown Girl by Liz Talley]()
His Uptown Girl by Liz Talley
Rated: 4.33 of 5 stars · 6 ratingsLife doesn't follow rules... Jazz pianist Dez Batiste knows this all too well. It's taken him years to return to New Orleans after Hurricane Katrina swept away what mattered most. His musician's soul is still lost in the wreckage, but he's after a brand-new future by opening an Uptown jazz club. Too bad the distractingly sexy Eleanor Theriot is getting in his way... -
![The Collected Regrets of Clover by Mikki Brammer]()
The Collected Regrets of Clover by Mikki Brammer
Rated: 4.25 of 5 stars · 8 ratingsMikki Brammer's The Collected Regrets of Clover is a big-hearted and life-affirming debut about a death doula who, in caring for others at the end of their life, has forgotten how to live her own, for readers of The Midnight Library... -
![The Forgetting by Hannah Beckerman]()
The Forgetting by Hannah Beckerman
Rated: 4.17 of 5 stars · 12 ratingsFrom the bestselling author of If Only I Could Tell You comes the story of two women determined to uncover the truth. But how can you trust the present if you can't remember the past?“Left me gasping. Brilliant.” —Alex Michaelides“Has one of the best story twists I have ever read…superb writing.” —Ruth Jones“Resonates long after you turn the final page... -
![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... -
![A Life Worth Living by Louise Guy]()
A Life Worth Living by Louise Guy
Rated: 4.13 of 5 stars · 16 ratingsAre some white lies simply too big to forgive?Eve and Leah are identical twins—but beyond that, they’re polar opposites. Struggling journalist Leah envies Eve’s seemingly perfect life—the loyal husband, the beautiful twin daughters, the stellar career—little knowing that what Eve longs for most is Leah’s independence... -
![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 family fiction contemporary mental-illness realistic audiobook psychological -
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![The Passing Storm by Christine Nolfi]()
The Passing Storm by Christine Nolfi
Rated: 4.10 of 5 stars · 20 ratingsA gripping, openhearted novel about family, reconciliation, and bringing closure to the secrets of the past.Early into the tempestuous decade of her thirties, Rae Langdon struggles to work through a grief she never anticipated. With her father, Connor, she tends to their Ohio farm, a forty-acre spread that itself has enjoyed better days... -
![The Book of Form and Emptiness by Ruth Ozeki]()
The Book of Form and Emptiness by Ruth Ozeki
Rated: 4.15 of 5 stars · 30 ratingsAfter the tragic death of his beloved musician father, fourteen-year-old Benny Oh begins to hear voices. The voices belong to the things in his house - a sneaker, a broken Christmas ornament, a piece of wilted lettuce... -
![Nonfiction by Julie Myerson]()
Nonfiction by Julie Myerson
Rated: 4.17 of 5 stars · 6 ratingsThis is definitely not a ghost story. But for a while after you’re gone, I see you everywhere. Every ragged young person sitting huddled on a pavement, every stretched-out body under cardboard in a shop doorway.Two parents stand by powerlessly as their only child seems intent on destroying herself...Categorized as:
literary-fiction family fiction contemporary mental-illness substance-abuse psychological book -
![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—-... -
![Never Say Goodbye by Susan Lewis]()
Never Say Goodbye by Susan Lewis
Rated: 4.08 of 5 stars · 12 ratingsFor readers of Jodi Picoult, Heather Gudenkauf, and Elizabeth Flock comes a deeply moving novel of finding friendship and love in the most unexpected of places. Josie Clarke, a loving wife and mother, struggles to make ends meet by cleaning homes and working at a diner while her husband drives a taxi. Josie’s joy is her two children, just entering adulthood... -
![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... -
![The Index of Self-Destructive Acts by Christopher R. Beha]()
The Index of Self-Destructive Acts by Christopher R. Beha
Rated: 4.07 of 5 stars · 14 ratings“Beha tackles finance, faith, war, entitlement, and no end of self-destructive acts. I greatly admired both the writing and the ambition... -
![The Family Trap by Lorna Dounaeva]()
The Family Trap by Lorna Dounaeva
Rated: 4.06 of 5 stars · 16 ratingsPrudence welcomed Zoe into her home. Now she’s fighting to survive.Two simple words shatter Prudence Ahern’s world - “I’m pregnant.”Her son Nathan is only eighteen when his new girlfriend Zoe drops that little bombshell. Prudence feels she has to support her son and asks Zoe to move in with them.Right from the start, Prudence knows something isn’t right...Categorized as:
family literary-fiction psychological fiction contemporary suspense thriller children -
![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... -
![What Remains True by Janis Thomas]()
What Remains True by Janis Thomas
Rated: 4.00 of 5 stars · 20 ratingsIn this mesmerizing drama, one life-altering event catapults a family into turmoil, revealing secrets that may leave them fractured forever . . . or bind them together tighter than ever before.From the outside, the Davenports look like any other family living a completely ordinary life—until that devastating day when five-year-old Jonah is killed, and the family is torn apart... -
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![After She Left by Claire Amarti]()
After She Left by Claire Amarti
Rated: 4.00 of 5 stars · 20 ratingsAbigail Gibson is gone. The morning after Christmas Day, she walks out of her home in the leafy suburbs of Westchester, New York, leaving behind a strange note on the kitchen table… and her ten-year-old son, Sam.When her sister Gillian gets the call, she can barely believe it...Categorized as:
family literary-fiction fiction contemporary suspense thriller psychological female-mc -
![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:
family romantic-love literary-fiction fiction contemporary thriller psychological classics -
![What We Owe by Golnaz Hashemzadeh Bonde]()
What We Owe by Golnaz Hashemzadeh Bonde
Rated: 4.00 of 5 stars · 14 ratingsNahid has six months left to live. Or so the doctors say. But Nahid is not the type to trust anyone. She resents the cancer diagnosis she has been given and the doctor who has given it to her. Bubbling inside her is also resentment toward life as it turned out, and the fact that it will go on without her. She feels alone, alone with her illness and alone with her thoughts... -
![The Girl in the Woods by Lorna Dounaeva]()
The Girl in the Woods by Lorna Dounaeva
Rated: 4.00 of 5 stars · 14 ratingsShe finally had the family she had always wanted, so why did she feel as though someone had stepped on her grave?Suzannah and Noel are desperate for a child so when they get the chance to adopt a young girl called Orchid, they jump at the chance. They have been warned that it will take time for Orchid to settle into their family, but the problems they encounter seem out of the ordinary... -
![The River Home by Hannah Richell]()
The River Home by Hannah Richell
Rated: 4.00 of 5 stars · 12 ratingsFrom beloved international bestselling author Hannah Richell comes a spellbinding novel about the secrets brought to the surface when a large family gathers for a wedding... -
![On the Divinity of Second Chances by Kaya McLaren, Allyson Ryan]()
On the Divinity of Second Chances by Kaya McLaren, Allyson Ryan
Rated: 4.00 of 5 stars · 10 ratingsA broken family finds its way back together in this captivating story from the author of Church of the Dog A charismatic author with a voice and message all her own, Kaya McLaren has become beloved in the book world as much for her upbeat energy as for her rich storytelling...Categorized as:
family literary-fiction action-adventure adult anthologies audiobook contemporary epic -
![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 family fiction contemporary realistic audiobook psychological coming-of-age -
![Scouting for the Reaper by Jacob M. Appel]()
Scouting for the Reaper by Jacob M. Appel
Rated: 4.00 of 5 stars · 8 ratingsEach of the characters in Scouting for the Reaper faces an unanticipated challenge: transporting a truckload of penguins across the country, arranging a proper Jewish burial for the remains of Gregor Samsa, selling tombstones dressed as a Girl Scout. These stories explore the domestic and professional adventures of people in over their heads, while leavening their struggles with humor.Jacob M... -
![War Against the Animals by Paul Russell]()
War Against the Animals by Paul Russell
Rated: 4.00 of 5 stars · 6 ratingsCameron Barnes, formerly of New York City, lives in a small town in upstate New York. After having nearly succumbed to AIDS, he's recently regained a measure of his health but his long-term lover has moved away, and Cameron faces the daunting prospect of learning how to live with the idea of a future in mind again... -
![My Mother's Daughter by Ann O'Loughlin]()
My Mother's Daughter by Ann O'Loughlin
Rated: 4.00 of 5 stars · 6 ratingsCounty Wicklow, Ireland. Margo has just lost her husband Conor and is grieving his passing, unsure how she and her daughter Elsa will survive without him. Then she receives a letter that turns everything she thought she knew on its head. Not only has she lost her husband, but now Margo fears she could lose her daughter as well. Ohio, United States... -
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![The Color of Ice by Barbara Linn Probst]()
The Color of Ice by Barbara Linn Probst
Rated: 4.00 of 5 stars · 6 ratingsA story of love and redemption set among the glaciers and thermal lagoons of Iceland, and framed by the evocative art of glassblowing . . .Cathryn McAllister, a freelance photographer, travels to Iceland for a photo shoot with an enigmatic artist who wants to capture the country's iconic blue icebergs in glass...Categorized as:
literary-fiction family romance fiction contemporary womens-fiction mystery female-mc -
![At the Waterfall by Smardline S.]()
At the Waterfall by Smardline S.
Rated: 4.00 of 5 stars · 6 ratingsTwo strangers. One cabin. A summer fling .Grief and fear aren’t strangers to Jake and Mia. Jake, a climber addicted to control, lives for the next thrill but avoids love at all costs.He has his Never sleeps with the same girl twice.No exchanging names.No staying over—can't risk anyone catching feelings.That is until he’s forced to share a cabin with princess and her no-noise-before-8-AM rule...Categorized as:
poc-mc literary-fiction romance contemporary multi-pov psychological fiction fantasy -
![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... -
![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... -
![The House of Memories by Monica McInerney]()
The House of Memories by Monica McInerney
Rated: 3.93 of 5 stars · 14 ratingsSometimes the hardest lessons to learn are those that matter most. Following a tragic accident, Ella O'Hanlon flees to the other side of the world in an attempt to escape her grief, leaving behind the two people she blames for her loss: Aidan, the love of her life, and Jess, her spoilt half-sister... -
![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... -
![Sundog by Jim Harrison]()
Sundog by Jim Harrison
Rated: 3.92 of 5 stars · 12 ratingsA “feisty, passionate novel” (Newsday) from a writer whose “storytelling instincts are nearly flawless” (The New York Times). The New York Times–bestselling author of thirty-nine books of fiction, non-fiction, and poetry including Legends of the Fall, Dalva, and Returning to Earth, Jim Harrison was one of our most beloved and acclaimed writers, adored by both readers and critics... -
![The Choice by Susan Lewis]()
The Choice by Susan Lewis
Rated: 3.92 of 5 stars · 12 ratingsSometimes the choice is too hard to bear...Nikki Grant is only twenty-one when she discovers she's pregnant. Despite her parents' disappointment and anger, she welcomes the news with joy. The baby will complete the happy home she shares with the man she adores, Spencer James. Baby Zac arrives and is perfect in every way... -
![Dandelion by Jamie Chai Yun Liew]()
Dandelion by Jamie Chai Yun Liew
Rated: 3.90 of 5 stars · 10 ratingsWhen Lily was eleven years old, her mother, Swee Hua, walked away from the family, never to be seen or heard from again. Now, as a new mother herself, Lily becomes obsessed with finding out what happened to Swee Hua...Categorized as:
literary-fiction poc-mc family romantic-love fiction contemporary audiobook mental-illness -
![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 fiction historical-fiction audiobook contemporary mystery -
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![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... -
![The Invented Part by Rodrigo Fresán]()
The Invented Part by Rodrigo Fresán
Rated: 3.83 of 5 stars · 6 ratings“A kaleidoscopic, open-hearted, shamelessly polymathic storyteller, the kind who brings a blast of oxygen into the room... -
![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... -
![King of Joy by Richard Chiem]()
King of Joy by Richard Chiem
Rated: 3.83 of 5 stars · 6 ratingsCorvus has always had an overactive imagination. Growing up, she develops a unique coping mechanism: she can imagine herself out of any situation, no matter how terrible. To get through each day, Corvus escapes into scenes from fantasy novels, pop songs, and action/adventure movies, and survives by turning the everyday into just another role to play in the movie of her life...Categorized as:
literary-fiction grief romantic-love family fiction contemporary mental-illness tragedy -
![The Museum of Modern Love by Heather Rose]()
The Museum of Modern Love by Heather Rose
Rated: 3.90 of 5 stars · 20 ratingsAn Amazon Editors’ Best Book of December 2018 “Art will wake you up. Art will break your heart. There will be glorious days. If you want eternity you must be fearless.” —from The Museum of Modern Love Arky Levin has reached a dead end. Unexpectedly separated from his wife, he suddenly has the space he needs to work composing film scores—but none of the peace of mind he needs to create... -
![The Octopus Man by Jasper Gibson]()
The Octopus Man by Jasper Gibson
Rated: 4.00 of 5 stars · 10 ratingsOnce an outstanding law student Tom is now lost in the machinery of the British mental health system, talking to a voice no one else can the voice of Malamock, the Octopus God - sometimes cruel, sometimes loving, but always there to guide him.After a florid psychotic break, the pressure builds for Tom to take part in an experimental drugs trial that promises to silence the voice forever...Categorized as:
literary-fiction family fiction mental-illness contemporary psychological fantasy book
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