Powered by a book like {foo}
Recommendations based on A Long Way from Chicagoby Richard Peck
* statistically, based on millions of data-points provided by fellow humans
A Year Down Yonder
by Richard Peck
Young girl moves to her grandmother's for a year, discovering life's hard lessons and unexpected joys.
The year is 1938, and the Great Depression has hit the Dowdel family hard. 15-year-old Mary Alice is sent downstate to live with Grandma Dowdel while her mother and father remain in Chicago. Her ... (Wikipedia)
These Is My Words: The Diary of Sarah Agnes Prine, 1881-1901
by Nancy E. Turner
A young woman's struggle for independence, chronicles her journey through the American Southwest.
“Belongs on your must-read list. This novel is a gem.” — Omaha World-Herald Nancy E. Turner's unforgettable, These Is My Words, melds the sweeping adventures and dramatic landscapes of, Lonesome ... (Barnes & Noble)
Walk Two Moons
by Sharon Creech
A young girl embarks on a road trip with her grandparents to find her missing mother, while reflecting on her own life and relationships.
The novel is narrated by a 13-year-old girl named Salamanca (Sal). Sal's mother has recently left Sal's father, and Sal's grandparents are taking her on a cross-country car trip to Lewiston, Idaho to ... (Wikipedia)
Because of Winn-Dixie
by Kate DiCamillo
A girl's journey of self-discovery and healing, as she finds friendship in an unlikely companion.
Kate DiCamillo's beloved, best-selling debut novel is now available in a paperback digest edition. Kate DiCamillo's first published novel, like Winn-Dixie himself, immediately proved to be a keeper—a ... (Goodreads)
The Tale of Despereaux
by Kate DiCamillo
An epic adventure of an unlikely hero, on a quest to save his kingdom and restore justice.
A noble mouse named Despereaux saves a princess named Princess Pea. Book one tells a story about a small, sickly mouse named Despereaux who was born in a castle with his eyes open. Despereaux, unlike ... (Wikipedia)
Austenland
by Shannon Hale
A romantic comedy about a woman's search for romance in a Jane Austen-inspired theme park.
Austenland tells the story of 32-year-old Jane Hayes, an average New York woman who secretly has an unhealthy obsession with Mr. Darcy from the BBC adaptation of Pride and Prejudice . After Jane ... (Wikipedia)
The Good Earth
by Pearl S. Buck
A story of humble farmers facing the struggles of poverty and the upheaval of social change.
The story begins on Wang Lung 's wedding day and follows the rise and fall of his fortunes. The House of Hwang, a family of wealthy landowners, lives in the nearby town, where Wang Lung's future ... (Wikipedia)
The Goose Girl
by Shannon Hale
A young princess must overcome great obstacles to reclaim her rightful throne.
When crown princess Anidori-Kiladra Talianna Isilee was born, she did not open her eyes until her aunt held her. The woman became her nursemaid and constant companion, nicknaming her Ani and telling ... (Wikipedia)
The Wanderer
by Sharon Creech
A young girl travels with her mother to different places, making new friends and discovering the beauty of life.
The sea, the sea, the sea. It rolled and rolled and called to me. Come in, it said, come in. Sophie hears the sea calling, promising adventure as she sets sail for England with her three uncles and ... (Goodreads)
A World Without Heroes
by Brandon Mull
A group of kids must battle mysterious forces to save their world from destruction.
Jason Walker has often wished his life could be a bit less predictable–until a routine day at the zoo ends with Jason suddenly transporting from the hippo tank to a place unlike anything he's ever ... (Goodreads)
Hatchet
by Gary Paulsen
A boy must learn to survive in the wilderness after a plane crash leaves him stranded.
Brian Robeson is a thirteen-year-old son of divorced parents. As he travels from Hampton, New York on a single engine Cessna bush plane to visit his father in the oil fields in Northern Canada for ... (Wikipedia)
Tuck Everlasting
by Natalie Babbitt
A young girl discovers the secret of a family that has found the key to eternal life.
12-year-old Winifred "Winnie" Foster is frustrated with her family because they keep her cooped up in the house, and considers running away from her home in rural Treegap. One day, while in a wooded ... (Wikipedia)
Hope Was Here
by Joan Bauer
A teenage girl's journey to find a better life, and a better version of herself.
When Hope and her aunt move to small-town Wisconsin to take over the local diner, Hope's not sure what to expect. But what they find is that the owner, G.T., isn't quite ready to give up yet - in ... (Goodreads)
The Graveyard Book
by Neil Gaiman
A young boy's journey through a graveyard, learning the secrets of the dead.
The story begins as the man Jack murders most of the members of a family (later revealed to be the Dorian family) except for the toddler upstairs. Unknown to him, the toddler has climbed out of his ... (Wikipedia)
The Wednesday Wars
by Gary D. Schmidt
A coming-of-age story of a student facing the challenges of the Vietnam War era.
In this Newbery Honor-winning novel, Gary D. Schmidt offers an unforgettable antihero. The Wednesday Wars is a wonderfully witty and compelling story about a teenage boy’s mishaps and adventures over ... (Goodreads)
Britt-Marie Was Here
by Fredrik Backman
A woman's quest for independence and self-discovery, learning to embrace life and take risks.
The plot of the novel focuses on a "nag-hag" woman who has recently left her cheating husband and has taken on a job in the city of Borg, working at the recreation center. The city itself is barely a ... (Wikipedia)
A Town Like Alice
by Nevil Shute
A young woman's courageous journey from a Japanese war camp to a new life in Australia.
The story falls broadly into three parts. In post-World War II London, Jean Paget, a secretary in a leather goods factory, is informed by solicitor Noel Strachan that she has inherited a considerable ... (Wikipedia)
Coriolanus
by William Shakespeare
A tragedy of power, betrayal, and ambition, exploring the consequences of pride.
After the exotic eroticism of Antony and Cleopatra , Shakespeare returned to Rome for one of his final tragedies, and the change could not have been more dramatic. Coriolanus is one of Shakespeare's ... (Goodreads)
The Bronze Bow
by Elizabeth George Speare
A young man's journey of redemption, as he struggles with anger, violence and oppression.
This book is set in first-century Galilee . The main character, a young Jew named Daniel bar Jamin, who lives at the same time as Jesus of Nazareth . Daniel's father was killed in front of him, as an ... (Wikipedia)
Peter and the Starcatchers
by Dave Barry
A prequel to Peter Pan, following Peter and Molly as they protect a magical substance from pirates.
In 19th century London, an orphaned boy named Peter and fellow orphans James, Thomas, Prentiss, and Tubby Ted are shipped out on the decrepit Never Land , under the command of First Mate Slank and ... (Wikipedia)
The Cross of Lead
by Avi
A young boy's fight for survival in medieval England, discovering his hidden identity.
"Asta's Son" is all he's ever been called. The lack of a name is appropriate, because he and his mother are but poor peasants in 14th century medieval England. But this thirteen-year-old boy who ... (Goodreads)
How Green Was My Valley
by Richard Llewellyn
A Welsh family struggles with the destruction of their ancestral home and a changing way of life.
The novel is set in South Wales during the reign of Queen Victoria . It tells the story of the Morgans, a respectable mining family of the South Wales Valleys , through the eyes of one of the sons, ... (Wikipedia)
The Witch of Blackbird Pond
by Elizabeth George Speare
A young girl's struggles to find her place in a Puritan Connecticut town.
In April 1687, 16-year-old Katherine Tyler (known throughout the story as Kit Tyler) leaves her home in Barbados after her grandfather dies and a 50-year-old man tries to marry her. She relocates to ... (Wikipedia)
Mara, Daughter of the Nile
by Eloise Jarvis McGraw
An adventure story set in Ancient Egypt, featuring a brave and courageous girl who rises to a heroic challenge.
The story opens introducing the reader to Nekonkh, an Egyptian river boat captain on the Nile during the rule of Queen Hatshepsut . Nekonkh is on his way to Thebes, carrying his usual cargo and an ... (Wikipedia)
Bridge to Terabithia
by Katherine Paterson
A young girl and boy's adventures in a secret kingdom, overcoming the harsh realities of life.
Artistic young Jess Aarons deals with the hardships of his home life, such as his duties on his family's farm and the annoyances of his four sisters. Leslie Burke is an intelligent, wealthy girl who ... (Wikipedia)
Unwind
by Neal Shusterman
A dystopian future world where teenagers are subjected to a “harvesting” process that splits them apart.
Connor, Risa, and Lev are running for their lives. The Second Civil War was fought over reproductive rights. The chilling resolution: Life is inviolable from the moment of conception until age ... (Goodreads)
The Queen of Attolia
by Megan Whalen Turner
A young queen must face political upheaval and a dangerous enemy to protect her kingdom.
Eugenides, the Thief of Eddis, has been caught spying on the Queen of Attolia. He expects to be hanged, but the Queen instead resorts to an ancient traditional punishment for thievery and has his ... (Wikipedia)
A Single Shard
by Linda Sue Park
A young orphan boy in 12th century Korea dreams of becoming a potter and sets out on a journey to prove himself.
Tree-ear is an orphan who lives under a bridge with Crane-man, a physically disabled man who took him in when Tree-ear was only a small child. Tree-ear is fascinated with the nearby potters in his ... (Wikipedia)
From the Mixed-Up Files of Mrs. Basil E. Frankweiler
by E.L. Konigsburg
Two adventurous children who run away from home and hide in New York's Metropolitan Museum of Art.
When suburban Claudia Kincaid decides to run away, she knows she doesn’t just want to run from somewhere, she wants to run to somewhere — to a place that is comfortable, beautiful, and, preferably, ... (Goodreads)
Moon Over Manifest
by Clare Vanderpool
A young girl's adventure through 1920s America, uncovering family secrets and finding her identity.
The main character in the book is Abilene Tucker, a nice, adventurous girl from 1936. Her father sent her to a small town called Manifest, Kansas while he worked a railroad job somewhere else. She ... (Wikipedia)
