Books like

Books like Flowers for Algernon

12 books with a reading profile close to Flowers for Algernon by Daniel Keyes. Deep, inward-looking, contemplative and thought-provoking; a moderate read.

1

The Solitude of Prime Numbers

by Paolo Giordano

Also inward-looking and contemplative · narrative, accessible

Alice and Mattia first meet as teenagers in an Italian town.
2

Bewilderment

by Richard Powers

Also inward-looking and thought-provoking · narrative, science fiction

Astrobiologist Theo Byrne searches for signs of life on light-years-distant planets while raising his neurodivergent nine-year-old son, Robin, following the death of his wife.
3

Tell the Wolves I'm Home

by Carol Rifka Brunt

Also inward-looking and contemplative · narrative, accessible

Fourteen-year-old June Elbus struggles to navigate a world that feels increasingly narrow after the death of her uncle, Finn Weiss, a renowned painter who dies from AIDS in 1987.
4

Dear Edward

by Ann Napolitano

Also inward-looking and contemplative · narrative, accessible

Twelve-year-old Edward Adler is the sole survivor of a commercial plane crash that kills 191 people, including his parents and older brother.
5

Almond

by Sohn Won-Pyung

Also inward-looking and contemplative · narrative, accessible

Yunjae is born with alexithymia, a neurological condition caused by underdeveloped amygdalae that prevents him from feeling fear, anger, or affection.
6

The Perks of Being a Wallflower

by Stephen Chbosky, Stephen Chbosky

Also inward-looking and contemplative · narrative, accessible

Charlie is an introverted high school freshman who narrates his life through a series of anonymous letters.
7

A Monster Calls

by Patrick Ness

Also deep and inward-looking · narrative, accessible

Thirteen-year-old Conor O’Malley is managing his household while his mother undergoes failing treatments for terminal cancer.
8

The Most Fun We Ever Had

by Claire Lombardo

Also inward-looking · narrative, accessible

The story spans several decades, tracking Marilyn and David Sorenson and their four adult daughters in suburban Chicago.
9

Still Alice

by Lisa Genova

Also inward-looking and contemplative · narrative, accessible

Alice Howland is a fifty-year-old linguistics professor at Harvard whose life centers on the mastery of language and cognitive performance.
10

Three Women

by Lisa Taddeo

Also inward-looking · narrative, accessible

Lisa Taddeo documents the intimate lives of three American women to map the landscape of female desire and social stigma.
11

Turtles All the Way Down

by John Green

Also inward-looking and thought-provoking · narrative, accessible

Sixteen-year-old Aza Holmes lives within the tightening spiral of her own intrusive thoughts and compulsive behaviors.
12

We Are Okay

by Nina LaCour

Also inward-looking and contemplative · narrative, accessible

Marin leaves her California life behind without a word, fleeing to a New York college dormitory to spend winter break alone.

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