Books like

Books like The Girl He Used to Know

12 books with a reading profile close to The Girl He Used to Know by Tracey Garvis Graves. Practical, inward-looking and clear-cut; an easy read.

1

The Henna Wars

by Adiba Jaigirdar

Also practical and inward-looking · romance, narrative

Nishat is a teenage girl living in Dublin who decides to come out to her Bengali parents, only to be met with a silent refusal to acknowledge her identity.
2

Instructions for Dancing

by Nicola Yoon

Also practical and inward-looking · romance, narrative

Evie Thomas gains a supernatural ability to witness the entire trajectory of a couple’s romance, from the first spark to the eventual breakup, just by watching them kiss.
3

Boy Meets Boy

by David Levithan

Also inward-looking and clear-cut · romance, narrative

Paul Ames lives in a fictional town where being gay is unremarkable, the high school homecoming queen is a star quarterback named Infinite Darlene, and the Boy Scouts are inclusive.
4

Frankly in Love

by David Yoon

Also inward-looking and clear-cut · romance, narrative

Frank Li is a Korean American high school senior living in California, navigating the strict expectations of his traditional immigrant parents.
5

Nick & Norah's Infinite Playlist

by Rachel Cohn

Also practical and inward-looking · romance, narrative

Nick and Norah meet in a crowded Manhattan punk club when Nick asks a total stranger to be his girlfriend for five minutes to avoid his ex.
6

A Very Large Expanse of Sea

by Tahereh Mafi

Also practical and inward-looking · romance, narrative

Set in 2002, one year after the 9/11 attacks, the story follows Shirin, a sixteen-year-old Persian-American girl navigating a suburban high school.
7

Hecha de estrellas

by Ashley Herring Blake

Also practical and inward-looking · romance, narrative

Mara and her twin brother, Owen, share an inseparable bond until their classmate, Hannah, accuses Owen of rape.
8

Finding Audrey

by Sophie Kinsella

Also practical and inward-looking · romance, narrative

Fourteen-year-old Audrey Turner lives trapped behind dark sunglasses inside her house, struggling with a severe anxiety disorder and agoraphobia following a traumatic bullying incident at school.
9

When We Collided

by Emery Lord

Also practical and inward-looking · romance, narrative

Jonah Daniels lives in the coastal town of Verona Cove, where he handles the responsibilities of his family’s restaurant and cares for his younger siblings following his father’s sudden death.
10

Once and for All

by Sarah Dessen

Also practical and inward-looking · romance, narrative

Louna Barrett spends her summers working for her mother’s wedding planning business, navigating the logistics of high-end ceremonies while maintaining a cynical outlook on romance.
11

The Rest of the Story

by Sarah Dessen

Also practical and inward-looking · romance, narrative

Emma Saylor Northup spends her summer at North Lake, the childhood home of her mother, who died from an overdose years earlier.
12

Twenty Boy Summer

by Sarah Ockler

Also inward-looking and clear-cut · romance, narrative

Anna and her best friend Frankie, both fifteen, spend a summer with Frankie's family at a beach house in California.

Get picks matched to your own reading on papr.

Get papr

Your library, beautifully understood.