Books like The Thing About Jellyfish
12 books with a reading profile close to The Thing About Jellyfish by Ali Benjamin. Inward-looking, contemplative and thought-provoking; an easy read.
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1
Love Letters to the Dead
by Ava Dellaira
Also inward-looking and thought-provoking · narrative, accessible
When Laurel’s English teacher assigns a letter to a deceased person, the high school freshman begins a secret journal addressed to figures like Kurt Cobain, Janis Joplin, and Amy Winehouse.
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2
Hello Beautiful
Also inward-looking and contemplative · narrative, accessible
William Waters grows up in a silent, loveless household, finding his only refuge in basketball.
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3
Bridge to Terabithia
Also inward-looking and contemplative · narrative, accessible
Jess Aarons, a fifth-grader living in rural Virginia, spends his summer training to be the fastest runner in his school.
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4
Tom Lake
by Ann Patchett
Also inward-looking and contemplative · narrative, accessible
During the 2020 pandemic, Lara gathers with her three adult daughters on their family cherry orchard in Michigan.
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5
A Man Called Ove
Also inward-looking and contemplative · narrative, accessible
Fifty-nine-year-old Ove is a steadfast misanthropist who enforces neighborhood association rules with militant precision and drives a Saab.
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6
The Tiger Rising
Also inward-looking and contemplative · narrative, accessible
Twelve-year-old Rob Horton lives in a Florida motel with his father, mourning his mother’s death while repressing his grief through a skin rash on his legs.
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7
The Language of Flowers
Also inward-looking · narrative, accessible
Victoria Jones ages out of the California foster care system with no resources and a history of failed placements.
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8
Mockingbird
Also inward-looking and contemplative · narrative, accessible
Ten-year-old Caitlin Ann Smith lives with Asperger’s syndrome in a world of black-and-white rules and literal interpretations.
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9
Clap When You Land
Also inward-looking and thought-provoking · narrative, accessible
Twin sisters Camino and Yahaira Rios live separate lives in the Dominican Republic and New York City, unaware of each other’s existence.
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10
Suicide Notes
Also inward-looking · narrative, accessible
Jeff Weeks is a fifteen-year-old who wakes up in a psychiatric ward after attempting suicide.
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11
The Black Flamingo
by Dean Atta
Also inward-looking and thought-provoking · narrative, accessible
Michael, a mixed-race teenager of Jamaican and Greek-Cypriot heritage, grows up in London feeling he is never enough of any single identity.
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12
Maame
Also inward-looking · narrative, accessible
Twenty-five-year-old Maddie Wright spends her days navigating a high-pressure London office and her nights as the sole caregiver for her father, who struggles with late-stage Parkinson’s disease.
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