Books like

Books like The House on Mango Street

12 books with a reading profile close to The House on Mango Street by Sandra Cisneros. Inward-looking and thought-provoking; an easy read.

1

Dandelion Wine

by Ray Bradbury

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

Set in the summer of 1952 in Green Town, Illinois, the narrative follows twelve-year-old Douglas Spaulding as he awakens to the conscious realization that he is alive.
2

The Body

by Stephen King

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

Four twelve-year-old boys in a small Maine town in 1960, Gordie, Chris, Teddy and Vern, set off along the railroad tracks to find the body of a missing boy, Ray Brower, who was hit by a train.
3

Of Mice and Men

by John Steinbeck, J. Steinbeck

Also thought-provoking · narrative, accessible

Set during the Great Depression in California’s Salinas Valley, the story follows George Milton and Lennie Small, two displaced ranch hands seeking manual labor.
4

The Pearl

by John Steinbeck

Also thought-provoking · narrative, accessible

Kino, a poor diver in a coastal Mexican village, discovers a massive pearl that he believes will secure his family’s future and provide medical treatment for his son, Coyotito.
5

The Outsiders

by S.E. Hinton

Also inward-looking · narrative, accessible

Ponyboy Curtis lives on the east side of town, where being a Greaser means constant conflict with the wealthy Socs.
6

Are You There God? It’s Me, Margaret

by Judy Blume

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

Eleven-year-old Margaret Simon moves from New York City to the New Jersey suburbs, where she joins a secret club with three other girls to discuss boys, bras, and the onset of puberty.
7

To Kill a Mockingbird

by Harper Lee

Also thought-provoking · narrative, accessible

Set in the Alabama town of Maycomb during the Great Depression, the story follows young Scout Finch and her brother Jem.
8

The Mothers

by Brit Bennett

Also inward-looking and thought-provoking · narrative, classic literature

Set in a Black community in Oceanside, California, the story follows Nadia Turner, a grieving seventeen-year-old who begins a secret relationship with the pastor’s son, Luke Sheppard.
9

La tregua

by Mario Benedetti

Also inward-looking and thought-provoking · narrative, classic literature

Martín Santomé, a widowed Montevideo office worker, is nearing retirement.
10

The Hundred Dresses

by Eleanor Estes

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

Wanda Petronski, a Polish immigrant girl in a small American town, wears the same faded blue dress to school every day.
11

Red at the Bone

by Jacqueline Woodson

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

The narrative begins at a 2001 debutante ball in a Brooklyn brownstone, celebrating the sixteenth birthday of Melody.
12

Charlotte’s Web

by E.B. White

Also thought-provoking · narrative, accessible

After Fern Arable saves a runt pig named Wilbur from her father’s axe, the animal is moved to a nearby farm where he faces an eventual winter slaughter.

Get picks matched to your own reading on papr.

Get papr

Your library, beautifully understood.