33 Books like The Red Pencil

As Long as the Lemon Trees Grow

by Zoulfa Katouh

A teen surgeon haunted by Fear falls for the boy filming Syria's dying city.

4.45

124k+

🏚️ Syrian Civil War 💔 Wartime Romance 🌀 Unreliable Narrator 🩺 Survivor's Guilt 🌊 Refugee Journey

As Long as the Lemon Trees Grow 91%

A teen surgeon haunted by Fear falls for the boy filming Syria's dying city.

by Zoulfa Katouh 2022

4.45

124k+ ratings

🏚️ Syrian Civil War 💔 Wartime Romance 🌀 Unreliable Narrator 🩺 Survivor's Guilt 🌊 Refugee Journey

No Ballet Shoes in Syria

by Catherine Bruton • 2019

A Syrian refugee discovers a ballet class in Manchester and dares to dance again.

4.40

2k+

🩰 Ballet Dreams 🧳 Child Refugee Story 💔 War Trauma Healing 🫂 Found Family 🏚️ Syrian Civil War

No Ballet Shoes in Syria 92%

A Syrian refugee discovers a ballet class in Manchester and dares to dance again.

by Catherine Bruton 2019

4.40

2k+ ratings

🩰 Ballet Dreams 🧳 Child Refugee Story 💔 War Trauma Healing 🫂 Found Family 🏚️ Syrian Civil War

Other Words for Home

by Jasmine Warga • 2019

A Syrian girl flees to Ohio and finds her voice on a middle-school stage.

4.40

35k+

📖 Verse Novel 🌏 Culture Shock 🧕 Choosing Hijab 💔 Sibling Separation 🎭 School Play

Other Words for Home 91%

A Syrian girl flees to Ohio and finds her voice on a middle-school stage.

by Jasmine Warga 2019

4.40

35k+ ratings

📖 Verse Novel 🌏 Culture Shock 🧕 Choosing Hijab 💔 Sibling Separation 🎭 School Play

Making Bombs for Hitler

by Marsha Forchuk Skrypuch • 2012

A Ukrainian girl builds bombs for the Nazis while searching for the sister torn from her.

4.33

13k+

🏭 Forced Labor Camp 🧒 Child Survivor 🤝 Found Family 🕯️ Quiet Resistance 🧳 Postwar Displacement

Making Bombs for Hitler 91%

A Ukrainian girl builds bombs for the Nazis while searching for the sister torn from her.

by Marsha Forchuk Skrypuch 2012

4.33

13k+ ratings

🏭 Forced Labor Camp 🧒 Child Survivor 🤝 Found Family 🕯️ Quiet Resistance 🧳 Postwar Displacement

What Is the What

by Dave Eggers • 2006

Robbed in Atlanta, a Sudanese refugee escapes into the war-torn villages and camps of his past.

4.15

88k+

🎤 Fictionalized Memoir 🏃 Refugee Survival Story 👨‍👩‍👧‍👦 Found Family 🧳 Cultural Displacement 📖 Storytelling As Survival

What Is the What 91%

Robbed in Atlanta, a Sudanese refugee escapes into the war-torn villages and camps of his past.

by Dave Eggers 2006

4.15

88k+ ratings

🎤 Fictionalized Memoir 🏃 Refugee Survival Story 👨‍👩‍👧‍👦 Found Family 🧳 Cultural Displacement 📖 Storytelling As Survival

The Teacher of Nomad Land

by Daniel Nayeri • 2025

Two siblings wander wartime Iran with a blackboard, trading lessons for a place to belong.

4.15

4k+

👥 Orphan Protagonists 🫂 Sibling Bond 🧳 Child Refugees 🏕️ Found Family 🗣️ Language Barriers

The Teacher of Nomad Land 91%

Two siblings wander wartime Iran with a blackboard, trading lessons for a place to belong.

by Daniel Nayeri 2025

4.15

4k+ ratings

👥 Orphan Protagonists 🫂 Sibling Bond 🧳 Child Refugees 🏕️ Found Family 🗣️ Language Barriers

Wanting Mor

by Rukhsana Khan • 2009

An Afghan girl abandoned in Kabul after her mother's death must forge a new life.

3.92

1k+

🇦🇫 Post-War Afghanistan 🏠 Orphanage Found Family 📚 Education As Escape 💉 Parental Addiction 🌿 Quiet Resilience

Wanting Mor 91%

An Afghan girl abandoned in Kabul after her mother's death must forge a new life.

by Rukhsana Khan 2009

3.92

1k+ ratings

🇦🇫 Post-War Afghanistan 🏠 Orphanage Found Family 📚 Education As Escape 💉 Parental Addiction 🌿 Quiet Resilience

Alone

by Megan E. Freeman • 2021

A twelve-year-old wakes to a deserted town, stranded with nothing but a neighbor's rottweiler.

4.13

22k+

📖 Novel In Verse 🏝️ Solo Survival 🐕 Girl And Her Dog 🏚️ Abandoned Town 🌫️ Eerie Atmosphere

Alone 91%

A twelve-year-old wakes to a deserted town, stranded with nothing but a neighbor's rottweiler.

by Megan E. Freeman 2021

4.13

22k+ ratings

📖 Novel In Verse 🏝️ Solo Survival 🐕 Girl And Her Dog 🏚️ Abandoned Town 🌫️ Eerie Atmosphere

Refugee

by Alan Gratz • 2017

A German Jew, a Cuban girl, a Syrian boy. Three kids, three decades, one deadly sea.

4.36

84k+

🔀 Interwoven Timelines 👧 Child Refugee 🌊 Dangerous Sea Crossing 📜 Historical Parallels 🏛️ Seeking Asylum

Refugee 90%

A German Jew, a Cuban girl, a Syrian boy. Three kids, three decades, one deadly sea.

by Alan Gratz 2017

4.36

84k+ ratings

🔀 Interwoven Timelines 👧 Child Refugee 🌊 Dangerous Sea Crossing 📜 Historical Parallels 🏛️ Seeking Asylum

The Dreamer

by Pam Muñoz Ryan • 2010

Neftalí collects beetles and scribbles poems in secret. His father demands a practical son.

3.98

8k+

🎵 Lyrical Middle Grade ✍️ Childhood Of A Poet 👨 Stern Father Figure 🌿 Nature As Refuge 🌙 Quiet And Introspective

The Dreamer 90%

Neftalí collects beetles and scribbles poems in secret. His father demands a practical son.

by Pam Muñoz Ryan 2010

3.98

8k+ ratings

🎵 Lyrical Middle Grade ✍️ Childhood Of A Poet 👨 Stern Father Figure 🌿 Nature As Refuge 🌙 Quiet And Introspective

The War I Finally Won

by Kimberly Brubaker Bradley • 2017

Her clubfoot finally fixed, a wartime orphan faces the harder battle of accepting she is wanted.

4.48

49k+

🫂 Found Family 🐴 Healing Through Horses 🏠 Wwii Home Front 👩‍👧 Guardian And Ward 💔 Trauma Recovery

The War I Finally Won 90%

Her clubfoot finally fixed, a wartime orphan faces the harder battle of accepting she is wanted.

by Kimberly Brubaker Bradley 2017

4.48

49k+ ratings

🫂 Found Family 🐴 Healing Through Horses 🏠 Wwii Home Front 👩‍👧 Guardian And Ward 💔 Trauma Recovery

Sold

by Patricia McCormick • 2006

Sold by her stepfather, a Nepali girl enters an Indian brothel and fights to survive.

4.24

65k+

📖 Verse Novel 🔗 Child Trafficking 🏔️ Nepal Setting 🚪 Brothel Setting ⛓️ Forced Prostitution

Sold 90%

Sold by her stepfather, a Nepali girl enters an Indian brothel and fights to survive.

by Patricia McCormick 2006

4.24

65k+ ratings

📖 Verse Novel 🔗 Child Trafficking 🏔️ Nepal Setting 🚪 Brothel Setting ⛓️ Forced Prostitution

Forget Me Not

by Ellie Terry • 2017

A girl with Tourette's hides behind vintage dresses; the class president becomes her secret ally.

3.91

16k+

📖 Verse Novel 🤝 Bystander To Ally 🚶 Outsider Protagonist 🗣️ School Bullying 🌱 Quiet Courage

Forget Me Not 90%

A girl with Tourette's hides behind vintage dresses; the class president becomes her secret ally.

by Ellie Terry 2017

3.91

16k+ ratings

📖 Verse Novel 🤝 Bystander To Ally 🚶 Outsider Protagonist 🗣️ School Bullying 🌱 Quiet Courage

Rebound

by Kwame Alexander • 2018

His father dies. Sent to his grandparents, a boy discovers basketball and a path through loss.

4.30

14k+

📖 Novel In Verse 🏀 Sports Fiction 👴 Grandparent Summer 🕊️ Loss Of A Parent 🖤 Black Boyhood

Rebound 90%

His father dies. Sent to his grandparents, a boy discovers basketball and a path through loss.

by Kwame Alexander 2018

4.30

14k+ ratings

📖 Novel In Verse 🏀 Sports Fiction 👴 Grandparent Summer 🕊️ Loss Of A Parent 🖤 Black Boyhood

Kiki and Jacques

by Susan Ross • 2015

In Maine, an eleven-year-old befriends a Somali girl while hiding his role in a robbery plan.

3.74

151

🏘️ Small Town Maine 🌍 Cross-Cultural Friendship 💔 Childhood Grief 🧳 Refugee Experience ⚽ Soccer Rivalry

Kiki and Jacques 90%

In Maine, an eleven-year-old befriends a Somali girl while hiding his role in a robbery plan.

by Susan Ross 2015

3.74

151 ratings

🏘️ Small Town Maine 🌍 Cross-Cultural Friendship 💔 Childhood Grief 🧳 Refugee Experience ⚽ Soccer Rivalry

Before the Ever After

by Jacqueline Woodson • 2020

When his NFL-star father's memory fails, ZJ must discover who he is without the legend.

4.17

16k+

📜 Novels In Verse 💔 Parental Illness 🤝 Loyal Friend Group 🍂 Bittersweet 👦🏾 Black Boyhood

Before the Ever After 90%

When his NFL-star father's memory fails, ZJ must discover who he is without the legend.

by Jacqueline Woodson 2020

4.17

16k+ ratings

📜 Novels In Verse 💔 Parental Illness 🤝 Loyal Friend Group 🍂 Bittersweet 👦🏾 Black Boyhood

Everything Sad Is Untrue

by Daniel Nayeri • 2020

An Iranian refugee boy tells family legends to an Oklahoma school that sees only an outsider.

4.30

44k+

📦 Refugee Narrative 🌱 Immigrant Coming Of Age 🌍 Iranian Diaspora 📖 Storytelling As Survival 🏫 Classroom Outcast

Everything Sad Is Untrue 90%

An Iranian refugee boy tells family legends to an Oklahoma school that sees only an outsider.

by Daniel Nayeri 2020

4.30

44k+ ratings

📦 Refugee Narrative 🌱 Immigrant Coming Of Age 🌍 Iranian Diaspora 📖 Storytelling As Survival 🏫 Classroom Outcast

Red, White, and Whole

by Rajani LaRocca • 2021

Reha's world splits between American school and Indian home. Then cancer tests both.

4.40

8k+

📖 Verse Novel 💔 Parent With Cancer 🌏 Dual Identity 🇮🇳 Indian American Experience 👩‍👧 Mother-Daughter Bond

Red, White, and Whole 90%

Reha's world splits between American school and Indian home. Then cancer tests both.

by Rajani LaRocca 2021

4.40

8k+ ratings

📖 Verse Novel 💔 Parent With Cancer 🌏 Dual Identity 🇮🇳 Indian American Experience 👩‍👧 Mother-Daughter Bond

Ground Zero

by Alan Gratz • 2021

A suspended boy follows his father to work at the World Trade Center on September 11.

4.33

27k+

📖 9/11 Fiction 🏔️ War-Torn Afghanistan 👁️ War Through Child's Eyes 👨‍👦 Father-Son Bond 🧒 Child Survivor

Ground Zero 90%

A suspended boy follows his father to work at the World Trade Center on September 11.

by Alan Gratz 2021

4.33

27k+ ratings

📖 9/11 Fiction 🏔️ War-Torn Afghanistan 👁️ War Through Child's Eyes 👨‍👦 Father-Son Bond 🧒 Child Survivor

Words on Fire

by Jennifer A. Nielsen • 2019

A Lithuanian girl must smuggle banned books to save her culture after Cossacks arrest her parents.

4.28

15k+

📦 Book Smuggling 🚫 Forbidden Books 🇷🇺 Russian Occupation 🐛 Reluctant Hero 👨‍👩‍👧‍👦 Found Family

Words on Fire 90%

A Lithuanian girl must smuggle banned books to save her culture after Cossacks arrest her parents.

by Jennifer A. Nielsen 2019

4.28

15k+ ratings

📦 Book Smuggling 🚫 Forbidden Books 🇷🇺 Russian Occupation 🐛 Reluctant Hero 👨‍👩‍👧‍👦 Found Family

One Half from the East

by Nadia Hashimi • 2016

A Kabul girl turned boy to bring luck finds a friend who shares the disguise.

3.98

3k+

🎭 Girl Disguised As Boy 👯‍♀️ Sibling Solidarity 🩹 Injured Parent 🏔️ Rural Afghanistan 🌈 Magical Thinking

One Half from the East 89%

A Kabul girl turned boy to bring luck finds a friend who shares the disguise.

by Nadia Hashimi 2016

3.98

3k+ ratings

🎭 Girl Disguised As Boy 👯‍♀️ Sibling Solidarity 🩹 Injured Parent 🏔️ Rural Afghanistan 🌈 Magical Thinking

Stay Where You Are and Then Leave

by John Boyne • 2013

A railway station discovery sends a boy on a secret mission to rescue his shell-shocked father.

3.96

12k+

🏠 Wwi Home Front 😞 Shell Shock 👨‍✈️ Father At War 👧🔓 Child Saves Parent 🏥 War Hospital

Stay Where You Are and Then Leave Summary

Stay Where You Are and Then Leave 89%

A railway station discovery sends a boy on a secret mission to rescue his shell-shocked father.

by John Boyne 2013

3.96

12k+ ratings

🏠 Wwi Home Front 😞 Shell Shock 👨‍✈️ Father At War 👧🔓 Child Saves Parent 🏥 War Hospital

Dear Mr. Kilmer

by Anne E. Schraff • 1999

An Iowa boy writes to poet Joyce Kilmer, then must defy his town's war-fueled prejudice.

3.96

272

🏠 WWI Home Front ✉️ Letter Correspondence 💚 Gentle Masculinity 🏘️ Small-Town Prejudice 🎨 Artistic Awakening

Dear Mr. Kilmer 89%

An Iowa boy writes to poet Joyce Kilmer, then must defy his town's war-fueled prejudice.

by Anne E. Schraff 1999

3.96

272 ratings

🏠 WWI Home Front ✉️ Letter Correspondence 💚 Gentle Masculinity 🏘️ Small-Town Prejudice 🎨 Artistic Awakening

Elephant Run

by Roland Smith • 2007

Occupied Burma: a boy escapes through hidden corridors and braves the jungle to rescue his father.

4.09

7k+

🐅 Jungle Adventure 🌊 Pacific Theater 🐘 Working Elephants 🚪 Hidden Passageways 🏃 Escaping Captivity

Elephant Run 89%

Occupied Burma: a boy escapes through hidden corridors and braves the jungle to rescue his father.

by Roland Smith 2007

4.09

7k+ ratings

🐅 Jungle Adventure 🌊 Pacific Theater 🐘 Working Elephants 🚪 Hidden Passageways 🏃 Escaping Captivity

Sparks Like Stars

by Nadia Hashimi • 2021

She survives the coup that kills her family. A child of Kabul starts over in America.

4.28

24k+

🏔️ Afghan Diaspora 👧 Child Displacement 😔 Survivor Guilt 🎭 Hidden Identity 👥 Found Family

Sparks Like Stars 89%

She survives the coup that kills her family. A child of Kabul starts over in America.

by Nadia Hashimi 2021

4.28

24k+ ratings

🏔️ Afghan Diaspora 👧 Child Displacement 😔 Survivor Guilt 🎭 Hidden Identity 👥 Found Family

Shark Girl

by Kelly Bingham • 2007

A shark takes her drawing arm. Now she must learn who she is without it.

3.85

4k+

🖋️ Novel In Verse 🦾 Acquired Disability 🎨 Artist Protagonist 🩹 Trauma Recovery 🕊️ Quiet And Lyrical

Shark Girl 89%

A shark takes her drawing arm. Now she must learn who she is without it.

by Kelly Bingham 2007

3.85

4k+ ratings

🖋️ Novel In Verse 🦾 Acquired Disability 🎨 Artist Protagonist 🩹 Trauma Recovery 🕊️ Quiet And Lyrical

When the Moon is Low

by Nadia Hashimi • 2015

A mother flees Taliban Kabul with her children, risking the smuggler's road to Europe.

4.12

17k+

🧳 Refugee Journey 💔 Family Separation 🌱 Forced Maturity 👤 Absent Father 💌 Forbidden First Love

When the Moon is Low 89%

A mother flees Taliban Kabul with her children, risking the smuggler's road to Europe.

by Nadia Hashimi 2015

4.12

17k+ ratings

🧳 Refugee Journey 💔 Family Separation 🌱 Forced Maturity 👤 Absent Father 💌 Forbidden First Love

Between Shades of Gray

by Ruta Sepetys • 2011

A 15-year-old artist is sent to a Siberian gulag, where her drawings become her only defiance.

4.37

280k+

🏕️ Gulag Labor Camps ❄️ Siberian Exile 🎖️ Stalinist Russia 🖼️ Art As Witness 🕊️ Mother's Sacrifice

Between Shades of Gray 89%

A 15-year-old artist is sent to a Siberian gulag, where her drawings become her only defiance.

by Ruta Sepetys 2011

4.37

280k+ ratings

🏕️ Gulag Labor Camps ❄️ Siberian Exile 🎖️ Stalinist Russia 🖼️ Art As Witness 🕊️ Mother's Sacrifice

Echo

by Pam Muñoz Ryan • 2015

A cursed harmonica travels through time, into the hands of three children fighting to belong.

4.36

48k+

🕰️ Interwoven Timelines 🪄 Magical Object 👨‍👩‍👦 Found Family 🎶 Music As Resistance ⚫ Nazi Germany

Echo 89%

A cursed harmonica travels through time, into the hands of three children fighting to belong.

by Pam Muñoz Ryan 2015

4.36

48k+ ratings

🕰️ Interwoven Timelines 🪄 Magical Object 👨‍👩‍👦 Found Family 🎶 Music As Resistance ⚫ Nazi Germany

Blended

by Sharon M. Draper • 2018

Between her white mom and Black dad, Isabella searches for the melody that sounds like her.

4.16

20k+

🖤 Biracial Protagonist 📅 Shared Custody 🎹 Piano As Escape 🏫 School Racism 🚔 Police Violence

Blended 89%

Between her white mom and Black dad, Isabella searches for the melody that sounds like her.

by Sharon M. Draper 2018

4.16

20k+ ratings

🖤 Biracial Protagonist 📅 Shared Custody 🎹 Piano As Escape 🏫 School Racism 🚔 Police Violence

Punching the Air

by Ibi Zoboi • 2020

Convicted after a fight, a Black teen artist paints the truth the courtroom would not hear.

4.39

24k+

🎨 Art As Survival ⚖️ Wrongful Conviction 🔒 Juvenile Detention ✊🏾 Racial Injustice 🖋️ Novel In Verse

Punching the Air 89%

Convicted after a fight, a Black teen artist paints the truth the courtroom would not hear.

by Ibi Zoboi 2020

4.39

24k+ ratings

🎨 Art As Survival ⚖️ Wrongful Conviction 🔒 Juvenile Detention ✊🏾 Racial Injustice 🖋️ Novel In Verse

Game Face

by Shari Green • 2023

A goalie's anxiety spirals after his best friend collapses, and silence is no longer an option.

4.26

226

📖 Verse Novel 🏒 Hockey Fiction 😰 Anxious Protagonist 👬 Male Friendship 💔 Grief And Loss

Game Face 89%

A goalie's anxiety spirals after his best friend collapses, and silence is no longer an option.

by Shari Green 2023

4.26

226 ratings

📖 Verse Novel 🏒 Hockey Fiction 😰 Anxious Protagonist 👬 Male Friendship 💔 Grief And Loss

Black Butterflies

by Priscilla Morris • 2022

An artist remains in Sarajevo as war descends, painting through the siege while her city burns.

4.21

14k+

🏚️ Siege Survival 🎨 Wartime Art 👩‍🎨 Artist Protagonist 💔 Love During Wartime 🏘️ Neighbors As Family

Black Butterflies 89%

An artist remains in Sarajevo as war descends, painting through the siege while her city burns.

by Priscilla Morris 2022

4.21

14k+ ratings

🏚️ Siege Survival 🎨 Wartime Art 👩‍🎨 Artist Protagonist 💔 Love During Wartime 🏘️ Neighbors As Family

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