Books like Girl Made of Stars

A raw, deeply empathetic exploration of fractured loyalties and the painful, necessary journey toward speaking the truth. These 12 books are the closest matches in mood, pace and themes, with what each one shares with Girl Made of Stars.

heavy
melancholic
tense
hopeful

01
How to Make a Wish
Ashley Herring Blake
A tender, beach-set coming-of-age story about finding the courage to wish for your own future.
Shares:
- hopeful
- earnest
02
Our own private universe
Robin Talley
A tender, sun-warmed summer romance about stepping out of your own head and into the messy, beautiful reality of first love.
Shares:
- hopeful
- earnest
03
What girls are made of
Elana K. Arnold
A raw, blood-and-bone exploration of teenage girlhood that tears down the myth of unconditional love.
Shares:
- unflinching
- raw
04
Identical
Ellen Hopkins
A jagged, breathless descent into the darkest corners of family trauma and fractured identity, told in visceral free verse.
Shares:
- unflinching
- raw
05
The Way I Used To Be
Amber Smith
A raw, aching portrait of a girl fracturing under the weight of a secret, and the slow, nonlinear journey to piece herself back together.
Shares:
- heavy
- earnest
- unflinching
- raw
06
Luna
Julie Anne Peters
A poignant, secretive exploration of sibling bonds and the tense, beautiful journey of a transgender teen preparing to show her true self to the world.
Shares:
- tense
- hopeful
- earnest
07
Geography Club
Brent Hartinger · 2003
A funny, heartfelt exploration of the secret lives of queer teenagers navigating the treacherous social terrain of high school.
Shares:
- hopeful
- earnest
08
Starfish
Akemi Dawn Bowman
An emotionally raw journey of an aspiring artist breaking free from a toxic past to discover her true identity.
Shares:
- hopeful
- earnest
- healing from trauma
09
Girl in Pieces
Kathleen Glasgow
A raw, visceral descent into the aftermath of trauma that slowly pieces itself back together into a mosaic of fragile hope.
Shares:
- heavy
- melancholic
- unflinching
- raw
10
Who I Was with Her
Nita Tyndall
A raw, quiet exploration of what it means to mourn a love the world didn't know you had.
Shares:
- heavy
- melancholic
- earnest
- raw
11
Girls made of snow and glass
Melissa Bashardoust
A wintry, feminist reimagining of a classic tale that shatters the mirror of female rivalry to explore the complex love between a stepmother and daughter.
Shares:
- melancholic
- tense
- earnest
12
Shine
Lauren Myracle
A gritty, atmospheric exploration of small-town secrets and the fierce, protective love of friendship in the face of bigotry.
Shares:
- melancholic
- tense
- earnest
- unflinching

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