Books like…

Books Like Looking for Alaska

by John Green · about this book

Loved Looking for Alaska by John Green? If its boarding school, teen protagonist and first person narrator hooked you, these 20 books hit the same notes — starting with The Catcher in the Rye, The Outsiders and They Both Die at the End. Every pick is matched by what’s actually inside the book, not just its genre, and we skip other books by the same author so you find someone new.

What’s inside Looking for Alaska: Boarding School · Teen Protagonist · First Person Narrator · Death of a Friend · Young Adult

1. 

   The Catcher in the Rye

   Jerome David Salinger

   Bildungsroman · Coming of Age · Teen Protagonist · Boarding School · Teenagers

   ➕ Add Buy Libby Hoopla
2. 

   The Outsiders

   S.E. Hinton

   Bildungsroman · Coming of Age · Death of a Friend · Teenagers · Teen Protagonist

   ➕ Add Buy Libby Hoopla
3. 

   They Both Die at the End

   Adam Silvera

   First Love · Tragic · Teen Protagonist · Young Adult · Teenagers

   ➕ Add Buy Libby Hoopla
4. 

   Harry Potter and the Half-Blood Prince

   J.K. Rowling

   Boarding School · First Love · Teenagers · Coming of Age · Teen Protagonist

   ➕ Add Buy Libby Hoopla
5. 

   Never Let Me Go

   Kazuo Ishiguro

   Boarding School · Nonlinear Narrative · Tragic · Loss of Innocence · Death of a Friend

   ➕ Add Buy Libby Hoopla
6. 

   Sunrise on the Reaping

   Suzanne Collins

   Loss of Innocence · Teenagers · Tragic · Young Adult · Teen Protagonist

   ➕ Add Buy Libby Hoopla
7. 

   The Summer I Turned Pretty

   Jenny Han

   First Love · Teenagers · Coming of Age · Teen Protagonist · Young Adult

   ➕ Add Buy Libby Hoopla
8. 

   Gather

   Kenneth M. Cadow

   Coming of Age · Teen Protagonist · Young Adult · Character-Driven · Bittersweet

   ➕ Add Buy Libby Hoopla
9. 

   On Earth We're Briefly Gorgeous

   Ocean Vuong

   Nonlinear Narrative · First Love · Coming of Age · Death of a Friend · Grief and Mourning

   ➕ Add Buy Libby Hoopla
10. 

    The Raven King

    Maggie Stiefvater

    Teenagers · Teen Protagonist · Young Adult · First Love · Boarding School

    ➕ Add Buy Libby Hoopla
11. 

    All the Light We Cannot See

    Anthony Doerr

    Loss of Innocence · Nonlinear Narrative · Tragic · Coming of Age · Bittersweet

    ➕ Add Buy Libby Hoopla
12. 

    The Book Thief

    Markus Zusak

    Loss of Innocence · Tragic · Death of a Friend · Coming of Age · Grief and Mourning

    ➕ Add Buy Libby Hoopla
13. 

    The Lovely Bones

    Alice Sebold

    Loss of Innocence · Tragic · Grief and Mourning · Teen Protagonist · Bittersweet

    ➕ Add Buy Libby Hoopla
14. 

    New Moon

    Stephenie Meyer

    First Heartbreak · First Love · Teen Protagonist · Young Adult · First Person Narrator

    ➕ Add Buy Libby Hoopla
15. 

    Human Acts

    Han Kang

    Survivor's Guilt · Grief and Mourning · Nonlinear Narrative · Death of a Friend · Tragic

    ➕ Add Buy Libby Hoopla
16. 

    The Girls' Guide to Hunting and Fishing

    Melissa Bank

    Coming of Age · Self-Discovery · Character-Driven · Bittersweet · First Person Narrator

    ➕ Add Buy Libby Hoopla
17. 

    Little Women

    Louisa May Alcott

    Bildungsroman · Coming of Age · First Love · Character-Driven · Bittersweet

    ➕ Add Buy Libby Hoopla
18. 

    The Knife of Never Letting Go

    Patrick Ness

    Loss of Innocence · Teen Protagonist · Young Adult · Coming of Age · Tragic

    ➕ Add Buy Libby Hoopla
19. 

    Assassin's Apprentice

    Robin Hobb

    Bildungsroman · Coming of Age · Character-Driven · First Person Narrator · Bittersweet

    ➕ Add Buy Libby Hoopla
20. 

    Tomorrow, and Tomorrow, and Tomorrow

    Gabrielle Zevin

    Nonlinear Narrative · Death of a Friend · Bittersweet · Grief and Mourning · Character-Driven

    ➕ Add Buy Libby Hoopla