Books like…

Books Like Out of the Dust

by Karen Hesse · about this book

Loved Out of the Dust by Karen Hesse? If its verse novel, rural farm and female lead hooked you, these 20 books hit the same notes — starting with The Diary of a Young Girl, The Four Winds and The Outsiders. 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 Out of the Dust: Verse Novel · Rural Farm · Female Lead · Historical Fiction · Teen Protagonist

1. 

   The Diary of a Young Girl

   Anne Frank

   Teen Protagonist · Diary Format · Coming of Age · Mother and Daughter · Survival Story

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2. 

   The Four Winds

   Kristin Hannah

   Natural Disaster Survival · Rural Farm · Mother and Daughter · Bleak · Historical Fiction

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3. 

   The Outsiders

   S.E. Hinton

   Teen Protagonist · Sparse Prose · Tragic · Coming of Age · Grief Over a Parent

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4. 

   As I Lay Dying

   William Faulkner

   Rural Farm · Bleak · Short Chapters · Natural Disaster Survival · Tragic

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5. 

   The Book Thief

   Markus Zusak

   Lyrical Prose · Coming of Age · Historical Fiction · Grief and Mourning · Tragic

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6. 

   The Secret Life of Bees

   Sue Monk Kidd

   Teen Protagonist · Coming of Age · Grief Over a Parent · Historical Fiction · Lyrical Prose

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7. 

   All the Light We Cannot See

   Anthony Doerr

   Lyrical Prose · Coming of Age · Tragic · Historical Fiction · Teen Protagonist

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8. 

   Thirteen Doorways, Wolves Behind Them All

   Laura Ruby

   Teen Protagonist · Lyrical Prose · Historical Fiction · Coming of Age · Young Adult

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9. 

   Malas

   Marcela Fuentes

   Musician · Lyrical Prose · Coming of Age · Grief and Mourning · Mother and Daughter

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10. 

    Parable of the Sower

    Octavia E. Butler

    Bleak · Diary Format · Teen Protagonist · First Person Narrator · Death of a Parent

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11. 

    Gather

    Kenneth M. Cadow

    Rural Farm · Teen Protagonist · Coming of Age · Young Adult · Emotional

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12. 

    The Fault in Our Stars

    John Green

    Teen Protagonist · Tragic · Grief and Mourning · Mother and Daughter · Young Adult

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13. 

    The Dog Stars

    Peter Heller

    Sparse Prose · Grief and Mourning · Lyrical Prose · First Person Narrator · Survival Story

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14. 

    Of Mice and Men

    John Steinbeck

    Sparse Prose · Rural Farm · Bleak · Emotional · Tragic

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15. 

    Crying in H Mart: A Memoir

    Michelle Zauner

    Musician · Mother and Daughter · First Person Narrator · Emotional · Grief and Mourning

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16. 

    The Knife of Never Letting Go

    Patrick Ness

    Teen Protagonist · Coming of Age · Tragic · Survival Story · Young Adult

    ➕ Add Buy Libby Hoopla
17. 

    The Giver Quartet Omnibus Deluxe Collector's Edition

    Lois Lowry

    Sparse Prose · Coming of Age · Teen Protagonist · Young Adult · Mother and Daughter

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18. 

    Night Watch

    Jayne Anne Phillips

    Lyrical Prose · Mother and Daughter · Historical Fiction · Bleak · Emotional

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19. 

    We Begin at the End

    Chris Whitaker

    Teen Protagonist · Tragic · Grief Over a Parent · Rural Farm · Coming of Age

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20. 

    Refugee

    Alan Gratz

    Short Chapters · Historical Fiction · Teen Protagonist · Emotional · Survival Story

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