Books like “Normal People”

What to read after “Normal People” by Sally Rooney: a list matched by tropes, mood and atmosphere. Under each book you will see what it has in common.

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1
It Ends with Us
Colleen Hoover · 2016
Similar atmosphere: “Melancholic”
- Melancholic
- Second Chance Romance
Lily moves to Boston, opens a flower shop and falls for Ryle, a confident neurosurgeon. Their relationship seems perfect until she notices patterns she recognises from the house she grew up in, and the return of her first love, Atlas, makes her question what she is willing to accept.
2
Love and Other Words
Christina Lauren · 2018
Similar plot moves: “Mutual Pining” and “Second Chance Romance”
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.
3
Before We Were Strangers
Renée Carlino · 2015
Similar plot moves: “Mutual Pining” and “Second Chance Romance”
In college, Matt and Grace were inseparable neighbours in their NYU dorm who fell in love, until lost contact after graduation pulled them apart. Fifteen years later, a missed-connections post brings Grace back into his life, and the two have one chance to understand what happened and decide whether their story is really over.
4
Me Before You
Jojo Moyes · 2012
Similar atmosphere: “Melancholic”
- Melancholic
Bubbly Lou takes a job caring for Will, a wealthy young man left paralysed after an accident and bitter about the life he has lost. As she tries to show him there is still joy worth living for, the two of them change each other in ways neither expected.
5
Happy Place
Emily Henry · 2023
Similar plot moves: “Mutual Pining” and “Second Chance Romance”
- Mutual Pining
- Second Chance Romance
Harriet and Wyn broke up months ago but still have not told the friends they spend every summer with. Sharing a room at the Maine cottage for one last week, they pretend to be the happy couple they used to be, hiding their split while old feelings refuse to stay buried.
6
Every Summer After
Carley Fortune · 2022
Similar plot moves: “Second Chance Romance” 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.
7
Aristotle and Dante Discover the Secrets of the Universe
Benjamin Alire Sáenz · 2012
Similar atmosphere: “Melancholic”
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.
8
One Day in December
Josie Silver · 2018
Similar plot moves: “Mutual Pining” and “Slow Burn”
- Mutual Pining
- Slow Burn
Laurie locks eyes with a stranger through a bus window and spends a year searching for him, only to meet him again as her best friend's new boyfriend. Across ten years of friendship, missed chances and other relationships, the two circle a connection they are never free to act on.
9
The Love Hypothesis
Ali Hazelwood · 2021
Similar plot moves: “Mutual Pining” and “Slow Burn”
- Mutual Pining
- Slow Burn
Olive, a third-year biology PhD student, kisses the first man she sees to convince her friend that her dating life is fine, and it turns out to be the famously severe Professor Adam Carlsen. To keep the story convincing, the two agree to fake a relationship, and their staged arrangement slowly becomes real.
10
Persuasion
Jane Austen · 1817
Similar atmosphere: “Melancholic”
Eight years after Anne Elliot was persuaded to refuse the man she loved, Captain Frederick Wentworth returns from the sea, wealthy and still unmarried. Quiet, overlooked Anne must watch him court other women while her own feelings remain as strong as they ever were.
11
The Wedding Date
Jasmine Guillory · 2018
Similar plot moves: “Mutual Pining”
- Mutual Pining
Stuck in a hotel elevator together at a wedding, Alexa agrees to be Drew's date for the weekend to avoid awkward questions. The pretend couple keeps meeting up in their two cities, and what began as a convenient arrangement becomes something they are both afraid to name.
12
People We Meet on Vacation
Emily Henry · 2021
Similar plot moves: “Mutual Pining” and “Slow Burn”
- Mutual Pining
- Slow Burn
Poppy and Alex have been best friends for years, spending one week of every summer travelling together, until one trip ends in a falling-out. Two years later Poppy suggests one more holiday to repair things, and a week of shared rooms and old memories forces them to face what they never say.