Books like “Eleanor & Park”

What to read after “Eleanor & Park” by Rainbow Rowell: a list matched by tropes, mood and atmosphere. Under each book you will see what it has in common.

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1
Aristotle and Dante Discover the Secrets of the Universe
Benjamin Alire Sáenz · 2012
Similar plot moves: “Friends to Lovers” and “Slow Burn”
In 1987 El Paso, two Mexican American boys meet at a swimming pool and slowly become friends. Over long summers they share books, secrets and fears, and each begins to understand the love and longing he has been afraid to name.
2
Fangirl
Rainbow Rowell · 2013
Same genre: “Young adult fiction”
Cath starts college separated from her twin sister for the first time and takes refuge in writing fan fiction. Between a new roommate, a classmate who keeps showing up, and her father's struggles, she slowly learns to live beyond her stories.
3
The Outsiders
S.E. Hinton · 1967
Same genre: “Young adult fiction”
- Outcast Hero
- Coming of Age
Ponyboy Curtis is a greaser in a city divided between poor kids and the richer Socs. After a fight turns deadly, he and his friend go into hiding, and he begins to see the people around him beyond their labels.
4
Get a Life, Chloe Brown
Talia Hibbert · 2019
Shared in the plot: cautious, friend
- Friends to Lovers
- Slow Burn
Chloe, who lives with chronic pain and a careful routine, draws up a list of things she wants to do to get a life. To tick off the first item she asks Red, the tattooed handyman who looks after her building, for help, and their cautious friendship deepens into more.
5
The Fault in Our Stars
John Green · 2012
Same genre: “Young adult fiction” and “Romance novel”
- Coming of Age
Hazel Grace, a teenager with terminal cancer, meets Augustus Waters at a support group. Their cautious romance grows through shared wit and a planned trip to Amsterdam, while both confront what they can and cannot control.
6
Radiance
Grace Draven · 2015
Similar plot moves: “Friends to Lovers” and “Slow Burn”
- Friends to Lovers
- Slow Burn
Idris and Brishen agree to a political marriage neither wants. To her people he is a monstrous creature; to his, she is ugly and fragile. They resolve to be friends and nothing more. Living together in a foreign court, their respect and affection grow into a love that surprises them both.
7
Love and Other Words
Christina Lauren · 2018
Similar plot moves: “Friends to Lovers” and “Slow Burn”
As teenagers Macy and Elliot spent every weekend trading books in a closet and slowly falling in love, until one night tore them apart. Eleven years later they meet again in San Francisco, and the friendship and heartbreak they buried come rushing back as they decide whether to try once more.
8
Every Summer After
Carley Fortune · 2022
Similar plot moves: “Friends to Lovers” and “Slow Burn”
Every summer Persephone stayed at the lake and grew up alongside Sam, the boy next door, until one mistake ended everything. Twelve years later she returns for a funeral and finds Sam again, reopening the past they both buried.
9
Beach Read
Emily Henry · 2020
Similar plot moves: “Friends to Lovers” and “Slow Burn”
- Friends to Lovers
- Slow Burn
Romance writer January and literary novelist Gus become summer neighbours in a lakeside town, both blocked and both skeptical of each other's genre. They make a bet to write in the other's style and slowly trade barbs for late-night talks, discovering the grief and hope behind their different worldviews.
10
The Perks of Being a Wallflower
Stephen Chbosky · 1999
Similar plot moves: “Friends to Lovers” and “Coming of Age”
- Friends to Lovers
- Coming of Age
Through letters to a stranger, shy teenager Charlie describes his first year of high school. He is taken in by a group of older friends who introduce him to music, love and heartbreak, even as he struggles with grief and memories he cannot fully face.
11
Ella Enchanted
Gail Carson Levine · 1997
Same genre: “Young adult fiction”
At birth Ella is given the gift of obedience, a curse that forces her to do whatever she is told. To escape a life of commands she sets out to find the fairy who blessed her, meeting a prince along the way.
12
Thirteen Reasons Why
Jay Asher · 2007
Same genre: “Young adult fiction”
- Outcast Hero
- Coming of Age
Clay Jensen receives a box of tapes recorded by Hannah Baker, a classmate who has taken her own life. As he follows her voice around town, she explains the thirteen reasons behind her decision, and Clay learns his own place in her story.