18 books like Academy street

What to read after Academy street — books similar to it, matched on shared themes.

Object Lessons Anna Quindlen · 1991 · ★ 4.0 · 262p · ≈ 8h · Moderate It is the 1960s, in suburban New York City. Maggie and her family, are in the thrall of her powerful grandfather Jack Scanlan. In the summer of her twelfth year, Maggie is despertately trying to master the object lessons her grandfather fills her head with. But there is too much going on to concentrate. Everything at home is in upheaval, her grandfather is changing, and Maggie is unsure if what… Shares: Irish Americans, New york, Coming-of-age, Families

Asymmetry Lisa Halliday · 2018 · ★ 3.5 · 281p · ≈ 9h · Moderate Explores the imbalances that spark and sustain dramatic human relations, tracing the overlapping stories of a young American editor's relationship with a famous older writer, an unexpected New York romance during the early years of the Iraq War and an Iraqi-American man who is detained by immigration officers in Heathrow. Shares: Literary, Family life, Coming-of-age

Studs Lonigan James T. Farrell · 1932 · ★ 3.8 · 1113p · ≈ 37h · Challenging [William V. Lipton][1] from Ann Arbor, MI says: "This is both a coming-of-age novel and a social history. Set during the 1920s and 1930s, it follows Studs as he grows through his teen years in Chicago. It shows the influences on urban children, the stresses on families and the American society during that time. The characters and dialogue are captivating." ([on Flashlight Worthy][2]) [1]:… Shares: Irish Americans, Family life, Coming-of-age, Families

Wild Swans Jung Chang · 1989 · ★ 4.3 · 729p · ≈ 24h · Moderate "Jung Chang vividly evokes China's sights, sounds, and smells to create what must be one of the grimmest, yet most perceptive accounts of growing up middle-class in the maelstrom that has swept China since the 1920s." - Back cover. Shares: Irish Americans, Women, Families

Paddy Whacked T. J. English · 2005 · ★ 4.3 · 480p · ≈ 16h · Moderate Here is the shocking true saga of the Irish American mob. In Paddy Whacked, bestselling author and organized crime expert T. J. English brings to life nearly two centuries of Irish American gangsterism, which spawned such unforgettable characters as Mike "King Mike" McDonald, Chicago's subterranean godfather; Big Bill Dwyer, New York's most notorious rumrunner during Prohibition; Mickey… Shares: Irish Americans, Ireland

Our young man Edmund White · 2016 · ★ 3.3 · 304p · ≈ 10h · Moderate 282 pages ; 20 cm Shares: Literary, New york, Coming-of-age

All the ugly and wonderful things Bryn Greenwood · 2016 · ★ 4.0 · 349p · ≈ 11h · Moderate "As the daughter of a drug dealer, Wavy knows not to trust people, not even her own parents. It's safer to keep her mouth shut and stay out of sight. Struggling to raise her little brother, Donal, eight-year-old Wavy is the only responsible adult around. Obsessed with the constellations, she finds peace in the starry night sky above the fields behind her house, until one night her star gazing… Shares: Literary, Family life, Coming-of-age

Dietland Sarai Walker · 2015 · ★ 3.7 · 315p · ≈ 10h · Moderate Plum Kettle does her best not to be noticed, because when you’re fat, to be noticed is to be judged. With her job answering fan mail for a teen magazine, she is biding her time until her weight-loss surgery. But when a mysterious woman in colorful tights and combat boots begins following her, Plum falls down a rabbit hole into the world of Calliope House — an underground community of women who… Shares: Emotions, Literary, Coming-of-age

Circle of Friends Maeve Binchy · 1990 · ★ 4.1 · 542p · ≈ 18h · Moderate It began with Benny Hogan and Eve Malone, growing up, inseparable, in the village of Knockglen. Benny--the only child, yearning to break free from her adoring parents...Eve--the orphaned offspring of a convent handyman and a rebellious blueblood, abandoned by her mother's wealthy family to be raised by nuns. Eve and Benny--they knew the sins and secrets behind every villager's lace… Shares: Ireland, Literary, Women

I am Mary Dunne Brian Moore · 1966 · ★ 3.7 · 231p · ≈ 7h · Moderate From the award-winning author of 'The Colour of Blood', this is the story of Mary Dunne. Mary has had several past lives and more than one husband - her true nature is revealed in this brilliant exploration of female desire and sexuality. Shares: New york, Women

After You Jojo Moyes · 2014 · ★ 4.1 · 496p · ≈ 16h · Moderate "How do you move on after losing the person you loved? How do you build a life worth living? Louisa Clark is no longer just an ordinary girl living an ordinary life. After the transformative six months spent with Will Traynor, she is struggling without him. When an extraordinary accident forces Lou to return home to her family, she can't help but feel she's right back where she started. Her body… Shares: Emotions, Family life, Families

The Good Luck Of Right Now Matthew Quick · 2014 · ★ 3.6 · 284p · ≈ 9h · Moderate When his mother dies, 38-year-old Bartholomew Neil, who doesn't know how to be on his own, discovers a letter in his mother's underwear drawer that causes him to write a series of highly intimate letters to actor Richard Gere, while embarking on a quest to find out where he belongs. Shares: Literary, Family life, Coming-of-age, Families

Little Faith Nickolas Butler · 2019 · ★ 3.9 · 336p · ≈ 11h · Moderate "A Wisconsin family grapples with the power and limitations of faith when one of their own falls under the influence of a radical church"-- Lyle Hovde lives a mostly content life in rural Wisconsin with his wife, Peg, daughter, Shiloh, and six-year old grandson, Isaac. After a troubled adolescence, Shiloh has become deeply involved with an extremist church, and the devout pastor courting her is… Shares: Literary, Family life, Coming-of-age, Families

Talent Juliet Lapidos · 2019 · ★ 3.6 · 256p · ≈ 8h · Moderate An English grad student struggling with her dissertation about the intellectual history of inspiration desperately searches for a perfect case study to anchor her thesis, only to find it in the unlikeliest of places. Shares: Literary, Coming-of-age

Cathedral Nelson DeMille · 1980 · ★ 4.2 · 527p · ≈ 17h · Moderate St. Patrick's Day, New York City. Everyone is celebrating, but everyone is in for the shock of his life. Born into the heat and hatred of the Northern Ireland conflict, IRA man Brian Flynn has masterminded a brilliant terrorist act the seizure of Saint Patrick's Cathedral. Among his hostages: the woman Brian Flynn once loved, a former terrorist turned peace activist. Among his enemies: an… Shares: Irish Americans, New york

The Glory of Hera Philip Slater · 1968 · ★ 4.0 · 543p · ≈ 18h · Moderate Shares: Women, Families

Such a Fun Age Kiley Reid · 2019 · ★ 3.8 · 320p · ≈ 10h · Moderate A striking and surprising debut novel from an exhilarating new voice, Such a Fun Age is a page-turning and big-hearted story about race and privilege, set around a young black babysitter, her well-intentioned employer, and a surprising connection that threatens to undo them both. Alix Chamberlain is a woman who gets what she wants and has made a living, with her confidence-driven brand, showing… Shares: Literary, Coming-of-age, Women

The Morning Watch James Agee · 1950 · 120p · ≈ 4h · Moderate The Morning Watch explores the thoughts and feelings of 12-year-old Richard, a student at an unnamed Episcopal boarding school (based on Agee's schooling at St. Andrew's-Sewanee School in Sewanee, Tennessee), over the course of a few hours in the early morning of Good Friday in 1923. Part I opens with Richard waking up to participate in the 4 AM shift of a nightlong prayer vigil in the school's… Shares: Emotions, Coming-of-age

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