Books like

Books like Lizzie Bright and the Buckminster Boy

12 books with a reading profile close to Lizzie Bright and the Buckminster Boy by Gary D. Schmidt. Inward-looking, contemplative and thought-provoking; a moderate read.

1

The Master Butchers Singing Club

by Louise Erdrich

Also inward-looking and contemplative · 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.
2

How the García girls lost their accents

by Julia Alvarez

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

The narrative follows the four García sisters—Carla, Sandra, Yolanda, and Sofía—as they flee the Trujillo dictatorship in the Dominican Republic to settle in New York City.
3

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.
4

Inseparable

by Simone de Beauvoir

Also inward-looking and contemplative · narrative, literary

This autobiographical novel tracks the intense friendship between Sylvie and Andrée, fictionalized versions of Simone de Beauvoir and Elisabeth "Zaza" Lacoin.
5

Mayflies

by Andrew O'Hagan

Also inward-looking and contemplative · narrative, literary

The story begins in 1986, following teenager James Noble and his charismatic friend Tully Dawson in a small Scottish town.
6

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.
7

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.
8

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.
9

Dream Count

by Chimamanda Ngozi Adichie

Also inward-looking and contemplative · narrative, literary

The novel centers on Chiamaka, a Nigerian travel writer living in America during the pandemic, as she examines the intersections of her past romances and her current desires.
10

Dancing girls and other stories

by Margaret Atwood

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

This debut short fiction collection tracks the displacement of Canadian urbanites and expatriates navigating the social shifts of the 1970s.
11

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.
12

Stone Mattress: Nine Tales

by Margaret Atwood

Also thought-provoking · narrative, literary

Margaret Atwood's 2014 collection gathers nine stories about aging, grudges and the lingering consequences of old choices.

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