18 books like I Capture the Castle

What to read after I Capture the Castle — books similar to it, matched on shared themes.

Brideshead Revisited Evelyn Waugh · 1945 · ★ 4.0 · 327p · ≈ 10h · Challenging The most nostalgic and reflective of Evelyn Waugh's novels, Brideshead Revisited looks back to the golden age before the Second World War. It tells the story of Charles Ryder's infatuation with the Marchmains and the rapidly-disappearing world of privilege they inhabit. Enchanted first by Sebastian at Oxford, then by his doomed Catholic family, in particular his remote sister, Julia, Charles… Shares: Community pick

The Growing Pains of Adrian Mole Sue Townsend · 1984 · ★ 4.0 · 192p · ≈ 6h · Moderate If I turn out to be mentally deranged in adult life, it will be all my mother's fault.'Adrian Mole continues to struggle valiantly against the slings and arrows of growing up and his own family's attempts to scar him for life in this second volume of his secret diary. Shares: Diary fiction, Diaries, England, Young Adult

Dancing in My Nuddy-Pants Louise Rennison · 2002 · ★ 4.0 · 214p · ≈ 7h · Moderate The further confessions of teenaged Georgia Nicolson continue as, among other things, she begins to wonder if Robbie is really the right boy for her. Shares: Diaries, Teenage Girls, Families, Young Adult

The carnival at Bray Jessie Ann Foley · 2014 · ★ 3.9 · 254p · ≈ 8h · Moderate his promising debut, set in the heyday of grunge, tells the story of Maggie Lynch, a displaced Chicagoan and grunge music fan, living in a quiet town (Bray) on the Irish Sea. Maggie was uprooted from her friends, her music scene, and her beloved Uncle Kevin when her romantically fickle mother married her latest boyfriend, resulting in a move to his hometown. During her time of difficult… Shares: Teenage Girls, Young Adult

The Absolutely True Diary of a Part-Time Indian Sherman Alexie · 2007 · ★ 4.1 · 272p · ≈ 9h · Moderate Budding cartoonist Junior leaves his troubled school on the Spokane Indian Reservation to attend an all-white farm town school where the only other Indian is the school mascot. Shares: Diary fiction, Diaries, Young Adult

The FitzOsbornes in exile Michelle Cooper · 2010 · ★ 4.2 · 460p · ≈ 15h · Moderate In January 1937, as Sophia FitzOsborne continues to record in her journal, the members of Montmaray's royal family are living in luxurious exile in England but, even as they participate in the social whirl of London parties and balls, they remain determined to free their island home from the occupying Germans despite growing rumors of a coming war that might doom their country forever. Shares: Diary fiction, Diaries, Families, Young Adult

Tagebuch eines halbwüchsigen Mädchens Hermine Hug-Hellmuth · 1919 · 284p · ≈ 9h · Challenging From the book:THE best preface to this journal written by a young girl belonging to the upper middle class is a letter by Sigmund Freud dated April 27, 1915, a letter wherein the distinguished Viennese psychologist testifies to the permanent value of the document: "This diary is a gem. Never before, I believe, has anything been written enabling us to see so clearly into the soul of a young girl,… Shares: Diaries, Teenage Girls

A Tree Grows in Brooklyn Betty Smith · 1943 · ★ 4.3 · 512p · ≈ 17h · Challenging The beloved American classic about a young girl's coming-of-age at the turn of the century, Betty Smith's A Tree Grows in Brooklyn is a poignant and moving tale filled with compassion and cruelty, laughter and heartache, crowded with life and people and incident. The story of young, sensitive, and idealistic Francie Nolan and her bittersweet formative years in the slums of Williamsburg has… Shares: Poverty, Teenage Girls

Oranges Are Not the Only Fruit Jeanette Winterson · 1985 · ★ 4.0 · 176p · ≈ 5h · Moderate This is the story of Jeanette, adopted and brought up by her mother as one of God's elect. Zealous and passionate, she seems destined for life as a missionary, but then she falls for one of her converts. At sixteen, Jeanette decides to leave the church, her home and her family, for the young woman she loves. Shares: Teenage Girls, Families, England

Private Peaceful Michael Morpurgo · 1962 · ★ 4.1 · 202p · ≈ 6h · Moderate When Thomas Peaceful's older brother is forced to join the British Army, Thomas decides to sign up as well, although he is only fourteen years old, to prove himself to his country, his family, his childhood love, Molly, and himself. Shares: Poverty, Young Adult

Sammy Feral's Diaries of Weird Eleanor Hawken · 2013 · ★ 4.1 · 256p · ≈ 8h · Moderate Eleanor Hawken worked as a children's book editor for many years and was part of the team that established the Bath Festival of Children's Literature. Her popular children's series Sammy Feral's Diaries of Weird chronicles the hilarious adventures of a boy who spends his time with the furry and ferocious tenants of the zoo his family runs. "This is a hilarious story." Parents In Touch said of… Shares: Diaries, Families

Adrian Mole Sue Townsend · 1999 · ★ 4.5 · 390p · ≈ 13h · Moderate He's back. Aged 30¼. Twenty-first century Mole. Now in his thirties, Adrian's still worrying: Can he be a good father? Is Viagra cheating? Why won't the BBC produce 'The White Van', his serial killer comedy? Will he find the fulfilment he seeks as a celebrity offal chef, single parent and celibate novelist? Is there a place for Adrian Mole in Blair's Brave New Britain? 'Thank goodness for his… Shares: Diary fiction, Young Adult

The Dutch House Ann Patchett · 2019 · ★ 4.5 · 352p · ≈ 11h · Moderate A HOUSE FORMERLY OWNED BY A WEALTHY COUPLE IS PASSED DOWN TO A NEWLY RICH BUSINESSMAN AND HIS CHILDREN. HOW THE HOUSE OWNERSHIP MOVES THROUGH TIME. Shares: Poverty, Families

The Newcomes William Makepeace Thackeray · 1853 · ★ 3.7 · 801p · ≈ 26h · Demanding The Newcomes is Thackeray's most essentially 'Victorian' novel, generous in its proportions, sharp in its criticism of the moral convolutions of the age, and encyclopaedic in its reference. Set in the 1830s and 1840s, a period of rapid change and of political and economic development, the novel considers the fortunes and misfortunes of a 'most respectable' extended middle-class family. The action… Shares: Families, England

Both Sides the Border G. A. Henty · 1898 · 384p · ≈ 12h · Challenging Henry IV has seized the throne, and young Oswald Forester, fed up with the border wars that threaten his daily existence, has joined in supporting the king. As a squire, Forester faces danger on all sides and must use both brains and body to stay alive. He leads an army of Welshmen in the fight for autonomy, and comes to question his own allegiance to the king. Shares: Castles, Young Adult

Persepolis 1-4 Marjane Satrapi · 2000 · ★ 4.3 · 352p · ≈ 11h · Moderate From inside front cover: The story of Satrapi's unforgettable childhood and coming of age within a ... loving family in Tehran during the Islamic Revolution; of the contradictions between private and public life in a coutnry plagued by political upheaval; of her high school years in Vienna facing the trails of adolescence far from her family; of her homecoming -- both sweet and terrible; and,… Shares: Teenage Girls, Families

The Angel and the Author Jerome Klapka Jérôme · 1908 · 122p · ≈ 4h · Challenging The adventures of an author as she confronts her guardian angel.Jerome does a wonderful job of sharing the thoughts and feelings of a young writer in London during the late 19th century. Shares: Young Adult

The Long Haul Jeff Kinney · 2014 · ★ 4.3 · 218p · ≈ 7h · Moderate A family road trip is supposed to be a lot of fun... Unless, of course, you’re the Heffleys. The journey starts off full of promise, then quickly takes several wrong turns. Gas station bathrooms, crazed seagulls, a fender bender, and a runaway pig — not exactly Greg Heffley’s idea of a good time. But even the worst road trip can turn into an adventure — and this is one the Heffleys won’t soon… Shares: Diaries, Families

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