Books like “Thirteen Reasons Why”

What to read after “Thirteen Reasons Why” by Jay Asher: a list matched by tropes, mood and atmosphere. Under each book you will see what it has in common.

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1
Speak
Laurie Halse Anderson · 1999
Similar atmosphere: “Melancholic”
Melinda begins high school as an outcast after calling the police at a summer party, and barely speaks. Through art class and small moments she slowly confronts what happened to her that night and finds the words to name it.
2
Looking for Alaska
John Green · 2005
Similar atmosphere: “Melancholic”
- Melancholic
- Coming of Age
Miles Halter leaves his quiet Florida home for a boarding school in Alabama, drawn by the last words of famous people. There he joins a tight circle of friends, falls for the reckless Alaska Young, and is forced to reckon with loss and guilt.
3
The Perks of Being a Wallflower
Stephen Chbosky · 1999
Similar atmosphere: “Melancholic”
- Melancholic
- 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.
4
The Strange and Beautiful Sorrows of Ava Lavender
Leslye Walton · 2014
Similar atmosphere: “Melancholic”
Born with wings she cannot fly, Ava grows up in a Seattle house where the women carry a long history of love that ends badly. As she longs to be an ordinary girl, her family's sorrows keep shaping everyone around her.
5
The Astonishing Color of After
Emily X.R. Pan · 2018
Similar atmosphere: “Melancholic”
- Melancholic
- Coming of Age
After her mother's death, Leigh travels to Taiwan to meet grandparents she has never known, convinced her mother has returned as a red bird. Grief, a family silence and a friendship she left behind come together as she learns what she can and cannot hold on to.
6
Aristotle and Dante Discover the Secrets of the Universe
Benjamin Alire Sáenz · 2012
Similar atmosphere: “Melancholic”
- Melancholic
- Coming of Age
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.
7
The Fault in Our Stars
John Green · 2012
Similar atmosphere: “Melancholic”
- Melancholic
- 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.
8
The Book Thief
Markus Zusak · 2005
Similar atmosphere: “Melancholic”
- Melancholic
- Coming of Age
Narrated by Death, the story follows Liesel Meminger, a girl sent to live with a foster family in Nazi Germany. She steals books, shares them with a Jewish man hiding in the basement, and grows up amid bombs, loss and small acts of kindness.
9
They Both Die at the End
Adam Silvera · 2017
Similar atmosphere: “Melancholic”
- Melancholic
- Coming of Age
On the day they both receive a call saying they will die within twenty-four hours, Mateo and Rufus meet through an app for people facing their last day. The two teenagers spend it together, trying to live a lifetime in the time they have left.
10
Remarkably Bright Creatures
Shelby Van Pelt · 2022
Similar atmosphere: “Melancholic”
- Melancholic
Tova Sullivan cleans the local aquarium at night and talks to Marcellus, a clever giant Pacific octopus. When Marcellus works out the answer to a loss that has haunted her for years, a drifting young man arrives in town, and three quiet lives slowly knit together.
11
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.
12
A Thousand Splendid Suns
Khaled Hosseini · 2007
Similar atmosphere: “Melancholic”
- Melancholic
Mariam and Laila, born a generation apart in Afghanistan, are forced together by marriage to the same violent man. Through decades of war and loss, the two women become each other's only home and take great risks for the chance of a different life.