Books like

Books like How the García girls lost their accents

12 books with a reading profile close to How the García girls lost their accents by Julia Alvarez. Inward-looking and thought-provoking; a moderate read.

1

Salvage the Bones

by Jesmyn Ward

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

Set in the humid landscape of Bois Sauvage, Mississippi, the narrative follows fifteen-year-old Esch and her three brothers during the twelve days leading up to Hurricane Katrina.
2

The Master Butchers Singing Club

by Louise Erdrich

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

Fidelis Waldvogel returns to Germany from the First World War with a sniper's skill and a plan to become a butcher like his father.
3

Drown

by Junot Díaz

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

Drown is a debut short story collection told mostly by Yunior, who grows up between a poor neighborhood in the Dominican Republic and the industrial towns of New Jersey.
4

Mayflies

by Andrew O'Hagan

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

The story begins in 1986, following teenager James Noble and his charismatic friend Tully Dawson in a small Scottish town.
5

March

by Geraldine Brooks

Also thought-provoking · narrative, literary

This novel reimagines the American Civil War from the perspective of John March, the absent father from Louisa May Alcott’s Little Women.
6

Behind the Scenes at the Museum

by Kate Atkinson

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

Ruby Lennox begins her story at the moment of her conception in 1951 in York, and narrates her family's history through her own eyes.
7

Inseparable

by Simone de Beauvoir

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

This autobiographical novel tracks the intense friendship between Sylvie and Andrée, fictionalized versions of Simone de Beauvoir and Elisabeth "Zaza" Lacoin.
8

The Mighty Red

by Louise Erdrich

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

Set in the Red River Valley of North Dakota during the 2008 financial crisis, the narrative centers on Kismet Poe, a teenager caught between two suitors: a star athlete and a fragmented loner.
9

Clear

by Carys Davies

Also thought-provoking · narrative, literary

Set in 1843 during the final stages of the Highland Clearances, the story follows John Ferguson, an impoverished minister sent to a remote Shetland island to evict its last remaining inhabitant.
10

The Secret Lives of Church Ladies

by Deesha Philyaw

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

Deesha Philyaw’s short story collection centers on the private lives of Black women navigating the tension between traditional Christian morality and their own physical desires.
11

The Wife

by Meg Wolitzer

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

Joan Castleman has stood beside her husband Joe, a celebrated novelist, for decades.
12

The Lone Ranger and Tonto Fistfight in Heaven

by Sherman Alexie

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

Sherman Alexie's linked stories follow Native American characters on and around the Spokane Indian Reservation in Washington State.

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