Here are 59 books that Bog Child fans have personally recommended if you like Bog Child. Shepherd is a community of 12,000+ authors and super readers sharing their favorite books with the world.

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Book cover of The Empress and the English Doctor: How Catherine the Great Defied a Deadly Virus

Jane Wilson-Howarth Author Of Himalayan Kidnap

From Jane's 3 favorite reads in 2024.

Why am I passionate about this?

Author Wildlife nerd Dung doctor Wordsmith Eavesdropper Pedant

Jane's 3 favorite reads in 2024

Jane Wilson-Howarth Why Jane loves this book

Who'd have thought that Catherine the Great's husband's murder was passed off as a death due to haemorrhoids!

Well-researched and fascinating especially as the book stays faithfully with the focus of the first inoculations which then led to the eradication of a virus that killed a sixth of all it attacked. Thoroughly absorbing.

If you love Bog Child...

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Book cover of The Time-Jinx Twins

The Time-Jinx Twins by Carol Fisher Saller,

Twelve-year-old identical twins Ellie and Kat accidentally trigger their physicist mom’s unfinished time machine, launching themselves into a high-stakes adventure in 1970 Chicago. If they learn how to join forces and keep time travel out of the wrong hands, they might be able find a way home. Ellie’s gymnastics and…

Book cover of Stone Arrows

Jane Wilson-Howarth Author Of Himalayan Kidnap

From Jane's 3 favorite reads in 2024.

Why am I passionate about this?

Author Wildlife nerd Dung doctor Wordsmith Eavesdropper Pedant

Jane's 3 favorite reads in 2024

Jane Wilson-Howarth Why Jane loves this book

Life in Stone Age Britain was harsh and life was cheap. Children had to grow up fast, learning the skills they needed to survive through hunting and fashioning everything they needed from the resources around them and so this is the environment that Zeta and her little brother Finn are born into, in the Mesolithic era. I really enjoyed the detail of how flints are struck to produce cutting edges, the uses of antlers and how it is possible to sew leather with bone needles. and imagine carrying your drinking water in the bladder of an animal.

The children think their life is safe enough and privileged too but then their father – the clan chief – is murdered and the children must flee for their lives.

It is an exciting adventure full of tension as the children encounter a host of dangers on their journey to find their mother’s…

By Elizabeth Barber ,

Why should I read it?

1 author picked Stone Arrows as one of their favorite books, and they share why you should read it. This book is for kids age 8, 9, 10, and 11.

What is this book about?

When Zeta's father is killed, she and her brother, Finn, together with Zeta's pet wolf, Kuba, are forced to flee across the country to seek sanctuary with their mother's birth tribe. On this perilous journey they have to learn to outwit their pursuers and put into practice all their hunting skills and knowledge of the land. Will they survive the journey and be accepted by their mother's tribe? And can they save their friend Arden from certain death?

Set in 7000BCE around the middle of the Mesolithic period of hunter gatherers and based on careful research, Stone Arrows is an…


Book cover of A Monster Calls

Uma Krishnaswami Author Of Birds on the Brain

From Uma's 3 favorite reads in 2024.

Why am I passionate about this?

Author Writer Knitter Ex-child Daydreamer Bird-watcher

Uma's 3 favorite reads in 2024

Uma Krishnaswami Why Uma loves this book

I first read this soon after it was published in 2011. I reread it this year because I wanted to see how well it would hold up after so many years. I wasn't disappointed. To begin with, it remains a moving tribute to the wonderfully talented Siobhan Dowd (author of Bog Child and Solace of the Road), who died far too soon of cancer. Ness paints the character of his protagonist, Conor, with admirably spare prose, and the story builds by accretion, so that the monster's tales become gradually intertwined with Conor's own path towards acceptance and mourning. Solidly YA in focus with much for this adult reader to appreciate.

By Patrick Ness , Siobhan Dowd , Jim Kay (illustrator)

Why should I read it?

15 authors picked A Monster Calls as one of their favorite books, and they share why you should read it. This book is for kids age 12, 13, 14, and 15.

What is this book about?

The bestselling novel and major film about love, loss and hope from the twice Carnegie Medal-winning Patrick Ness.

Conor has the same dream every night, ever since his mother first fell ill, ever since she started the treatments that don't quite seem to be working. But tonight is different. Tonight, when he wakes, there's a visitor at his window. It's ancient, elemental, a force of nature. And it wants the most dangerous thing of all from Conor. It wants the truth. Patrick Ness takes the final idea of the late, award-winning writer Siobhan Dowd and weaves an extraordinary and heartbreaking…


If you love Siobhan Dowd...

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Book cover of The Time-Jinx Twins

The Time-Jinx Twins by Carol Fisher Saller,

Twelve-year-old identical twins Ellie and Kat accidentally trigger their physicist mom’s unfinished time machine, launching themselves into a high-stakes adventure in 1970 Chicago. If they learn how to join forces and keep time travel out of the wrong hands, they might be able find a way home. Ellie’s gymnastics and…

Book cover of The Hazel Wood

H.J. Nelson Author Of The Last Creation

From H.J.'s 3 favorite reads in 2024.

Why am I passionate about this?

Author

H.J.'s 3 favorite reads in 2024

H.J. Nelson Why H.J. loves this book

This book was CREEPY, but also so vividly written, and so strange, that I couldn't put it down. It sort of reminded me of how the Disney fairytales we are told now are just more polished versions of much darker, more disturbing tales. This book unflinching brings fairytales that are disturbing, not dainty, to life, and lets us watch in horror as they slowly bleed into our world.

By Melissa Albert ,

Why should I read it?

4 authors picked The Hazel Wood as one of their favorite books, and they share why you should read it. This book is for kids age 12, 13, 14, and 15.

What is this book about?

_____

One of The Observer's Best Children's Books of 2018!

Fans of Miss Peregrine's Home for Peculiar Children and The Children of Blood and Bone have been getting lost in The Hazel Wood...

"The Hazel Wood kept me up all night. I had every light burning and the covers pulled tight around me as I fell completely into the dark and beautiful world within its pages. Terrifying, magical, and surprisingly funny, it's one of the very best books I've read in years". -Jennifer Niven, author of All The Bright Places

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Seventeen-year-old Alice and her mother have spent most of…


Book cover of Beloved

Judith Teitelman Author Of Guesthouse for Ganesha

From Judith's 3 favorite reads in 2025.

Why am I passionate about this?

Author Traveler Seeker Educator Insightful

Judith's 3 favorite reads in 2025

Judith Teitelman Why Judith loves this book

Decades had passed since I last read Beloved and I felt compelled to revisit this rich, powerful, provocative masterpiece. Morrison's writing is exquisite.

By Toni Morrison ,

Why should I read it?

41 authors picked Beloved as one of their favorite books, and they share why you should read it.

What is this book about?

'Toni Morrison was a giant of her times and ours... Beloved is a heart-breaking testimony to the ongoing ravages of slavery, and should be read by all' Margaret Atwood, New York Times

Discover this beautiful gift edition of Toni Morrison's prize-winning contemporary classic Beloved

It is the mid-1800s and as slavery looks to be coming to an end, Sethe is haunted by the violent trauma it wrought on her former enslaved life at Sweet Home, Kentucky. Her dead baby daughter, whose tombstone bears the single word, Beloved, returns as a spectre to punish her mother, but also to elicit her…


Book cover of Grendel

John Wiswell Author Of Someone You Can Build a Nest In

From my list on showing the human side of monsters.

Why am I passionate about this?

I never outgrew the curiosity of wanting to know more about the things we fear. Plenty of monsters are just neat! But the more you learn about them, whether they’re animals like bears and sharks or figures of myth like werewolves and dragons, the more interesting they become. I wanted to take audiences deep inside a skin unlike their own so they could understand how it feels to be cast out and how much a monster might look down on us. Because the more you look at monsters, the more you recognize us in them.

John's book list on showing the human side of monsters

John Wiswell Why John loves this book

One of the classic novels about monsters having internal lives. Grendel doesn’t even survive the first half of the Beowulf poem.

But what was his life like? This creature who went into rages over music and merriment? This outsider who clearly had no one to commune with? Where there could just be pathos, Gardner injects surprising dorkiness and humor that further round out Grendel’s existence. And there’s a huge bonus in the poem’s dragon also showing up as an utter weirdo neighbor.

By John Gardner ,

Why should I read it?

6 authors picked Grendel as one of their favorite books, and they share why you should read it.

What is this book about?

This classic and much lauded retelling of Beowulf follows the monster Grendel as he learns about humans and fights the war at the center of the Anglo Saxon classic epic.

"An extraordinary achievement."—New York Times

The first and most terrifying monster in English literature, from the great early epic Beowulf, tells his own side of the story in this frequently banned book. This is the novel William Gass called "one of the finest of our contemporary fictions."


Book cover of Everybody Sees the Ants

K.M. Walton Author Of Cracked

From my list on bullying and depression for young adults.

Why am I passionate about this?

I am the author of Cracked, Empty, and Ultimatum, three contemporary Young Adult novels that each focus on the hideous effects of bullying. I’ve presented to thousands of students, adults, teachers, and librarians from the elementary through university level on the topic of “The Power of Human Kindness”. I spent twelve years as a public-school teacher (ten of them in middle school), where I developed highly successful ways to stop bullying, resulting in me presenting to my entire faculty, school board, and eventually, my district. I was also the director/owner of Camp Kindness, a summer day camp, and have contributed to numerous news articles on bullying.

K.M.'s book list on bullying and depression for young adults

K.M. Walton Why K.M. loves this book

If you’ve never read an A.S. King book, well, all I can say is: fix that immediately. King’s brilliance shines through her witty dialogue and her ability to peel back the layers on the uncomfortable parts of life all while managing to use magical realism perfectly. Her books are that good. I’m not kidding. This book focuses on 15-year-old Lucky Linderman, who is the target of Nader McMillan’s relentless bullying. You’ll fall in love with Lucky. You’ll fall in love with this book.

By A.S. King ,

Why should I read it?

1 author picked Everybody Sees the Ants as one of their favorite books, and they share why you should read it.

What is this book about?

Lucky Linderman didn't ask for his life. He didn't ask his grandfather not to come home from the Vietnam War. He didn't ask for a father who never got over it. He didn't ask for a mother who keeps pretending their family is fine. And he certainly didn't ask to be the recipient of Nader McMillan's relentless bullying, which has finally gone too far.

Lucky has a secret--one that helps him wade through the daily dysfunction of his life. Grandad Harry, trapped in the jungles of Laos, has been visiting Lucky in his dreams--and the dreams just might be real:…


Book cover of Before I Fall

Marcel Ray Duriez Author Of Nevaeh

From Marcel's 3 favorite reads in 2024.

Why am I passionate about this?

Author

Marcel's 3 favorite reads in 2024

Marcel Ray Duriez Why Marcel loves this book

This novel captivates readers with its unique premise, profound character development, and emotional depth. I found myself deeply engrossed in the story and its themes, which resonate on multiple levels.

The novel's premise is both intriguing and thought-provoking. Samantha Kingston, the protagonist, relives the last day of her life seven times. This concept immediately draws readers in, as we are eager to see how each iteration of the day unfolds and what changes Sam will make. The idea of having the chance to correct one's mistakes and make amends is a powerful one, and it is executed brilliantly in the narrative.

Character development is another strong point of the novel. Sam starts as a typical high school girl, concerned with popularity and superficial matters. However, as she relives her final day, she undergoes significant growth. She becomes more empathetic, self-aware, and reflective. This transformation is compelling and makes her a…

By Lauren Oliver ,

Why should I read it?

5 authors picked Before I Fall as one of their favorite books, and they share why you should read it. This book is for kids age 14, 15, 16, and 17.

What is this book about?

A bestselling summer read as heartbreaking as The Lovely Bones and as gripping as Jenny Downham's Before I Die.

**Now a major Netflix movie starring Zoey Deutch, Halston Sage, Logan Miller, Kian Lawley*

'Gossip Girl meets Groundhog Day' Grazia

'Tender, funny and raw' Marie Claire

'A clever, funny, insightful and utterly addictive novel' Daily Mail

'Compelling and poignant, a truly memorable read' Closer

They say 'live every day as if it's your last' - but you never actually think it's going to be. At least I didn't.
The thing is, you don't get to know when it happens. You don't…


Book cover of I'll Give You the Sun

Kelly Murashige Author Of The Lost Souls of Benzaiten

From my list on quiet, mousy, teenaged me feel seen.

Why am I passionate about this?

Aside from my brief stint as a bossy know-it-all when I was little, I have always been that quiet girl no one notices. In high school, it took me at least ten minutes and five tries to get myself to wish my desk partner a happy birthday. I spent a lot of my adolescence trying to find myself, so I understand what it’s like to feel lost. My greatest wish is for my book to help at least one person feel how these books helped me.

Kelly's book list on quiet, mousy, teenaged me feel seen

Kelly Murashige Why Kelly loves this book

This book is one of the first to teach me how wonderfully odd people can be. Jandy Nelson’s ability to write about lovable, flawed people who see the world differently gave me the courage to take pride in my peculiarity.

With memorable characters and strong familial relationships, this book is one of my go-to recommendations for anyone wondering if there is space for the strange.

By Jandy Nelson ,

Why should I read it?

3 authors picked I'll Give You the Sun as one of their favorite books, and they share why you should read it. This book is for kids age 14, 15, 16, and 17.

What is this book about?

New York Times bestseller

Shortlisted for the Waterstones Children's Book Prize

Winner of the 2015 Michael L. Printz Award

Winner of a 2015 Stonewall Honor

"This is the big one - the BLAZING story of once inseparable twins whose lives are torn apart by tragedy." Entertainment Weekly

From the critically acclaimed author of The Sky Is Every where, a radiant novel that will leave you laughing and crying - all at once. For fans of John Green, Gayle Forman and Lauren Oliver.

Jude and her twin Noah were incredibly close - until a tragedy drove them apart, and now they…


Book cover of Eleanor & Park

Rebecca Scherm Author Of Unbecoming

From my list on books that give it all away on the first page.

Why am I passionate about this?

I am less interested in what happens than in how and why—to me, that’s where the real suspense is. As a writer, I’m always bickering with traditional plot structures, which I love for their comfort and familiarity and then turn against when a story becomes too obedient to them. As a reader…well, sometimes I flip to the end to see where we’re going so I can slow down and enjoy the journey more. Anytime we think we know what’s going to happen is an opportunity for suspense, and challenges and rebellions to those familiar story arcs can be twists in their own right. 

Rebecca's book list on books that give it all away on the first page

Rebecca Scherm Why Rebecca loves this book

I was wrung out after finishing this book and immediately looked around for someone else who’d read it. I needed a shoulder to cry on. If Endless Love is about lives undone by teenagers driven insane by love and lust, then this book is its counterpoint: two teenage outsiders whose love and understanding help them survive.

There’s awfulness in Eleanor’s life, but there’s also exchanging comics and listening to Joy Division with Park on a shared walkman on the school bus. I loved these characters completely and rooted for them with everything I had. 

By Rainbow Rowell ,

Why should I read it?

9 authors picked Eleanor & Park as one of their favorite books, and they share why you should read it. This book is for kids age 12, 13, 14, and 15.

What is this book about?

'Reminded me not just what it's like to be young and in love, but what it's like to be young and in love with a book' John Green, author of The Fault in our Stars

Eleanor is the new girl in town, and she's never felt more alone. All mismatched clothes, mad red hair and chaotic home life, she couldn't stick out more if she tried.

Then she takes the seat on the bus next to Park. Quiet, careful and - in Eleanor's eyes - impossibly cool, Park's worked out that flying under the radar is the best way to…


Book cover of The Empress and the English Doctor: How Catherine the Great Defied a Deadly Virus
Book cover of Stone Arrows
Book cover of A Monster Calls

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