Books like The Truth about Alice — picked by fans

Despite high school freshman Melinda’s refusal to speak, I was immediately drawn into this contemporary (1999) novel by the pitch-perfect, first-person voice in which she tells her poignant story.

Melinda isn’t abandoned on a desolate island like Karana or exiled to a barren cave like Ayla but shunned by her friends after busting an end-of-summer party by calling the cops; her refusal to speak renders Melinda similarly isolated and remote.

I especially admire the way Anderson’s deft narration plays out the paradox of silence giving voice to revelation. As Melinda comes to terms with her devastating secret—having been raped by an upperclassman—she finally speaks up and breaks her silence. 

I have read this book umpteen times. Every time, I am hooked by the second page. Eric “Moby” Calhoune is the best kind of friend every one of us needs—and he proves that in absolute devotion to Sarah Byrnes, whose childhood was the stuff of nightmares.

Eric is also a stellar swimmer, but he’s got no self-delusions. He says, “I’m not a great swimmer, but I’m good—a lot better than you’d think, looking at me…I also like the wake I create for the guy in the next lane.”

Who can’t love that guy? This is one of the saddest books I’ve ever read, and also the funniest—I cry; I laugh on almost every page. This is a powerful, horrible, beautiful story. 

Jeff Zentner’s writing is lyrical and beautiful and indescribably wonderful (although I just tried to describe it and failed). Goodbye Days deals in such a raw way with grief and regret—to feel the feelings instead of avoiding them—and learn to face hard realities without much support, at least at first. Check out Goodbye Days and all of Jeff’s amazing books. You will go on an emotional journey as his characters make hard choices and face new beginnings.

I connected strongly to this book because the protagonist has experienced abandonment and must rebuild her life from the ashes, learning to trust adults to care for her and allow her a childhood rather than expecting her to be a miniature adult. Equally striking is the power of a secret, and how its revelation changes everything. In addition, through reading If You Find Me, I learned a way of using punctuation that creates tension and immediacy.

This is my all-time favourite book.

I own two physical copies – one paperback and a special edition hardback that released for a recent anniversary. It’s Stephen King’s debut, but you wouldn’t know it since he was already so comfortable with his writing and understanding his voice. I love that the story isn’t told through conventional means but using news reports and journals.

Carrie White is a character I can relate to, not because I secretly have powers – I don’t, I promise – but because she is the oddball, the type of person who doesn’t fit in. She’s the exaggerated poster child of why bullying is bad, but the book holds one very special message at its core – what does it cost to be nice?

Carrie is shown throughout as this sweet and simple girl who longs for connection, and we see the slow breakdown of her character… show more.

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.

As a workplace bullying researcher, my bookshelves are filled with hundreds of books specifically and adjacent to the topics of workplace abuse, toxic environments, creative cultures, and destructive leadership.

Of all the books I have read on the topic, Duffy’s and Sperry’s is the best. Coming from both a research and clinical perspective, they clearly lay out the causes, significance, and often tragic fallout of workplace abuse.

In addition, they bring the concept of mobbing, a term more often used in Europe, to the United States, detailing the trauma that ensues when a group of people joins forces, exhibiting the predatory behavior of pack animals, with the shared mission to denigrate the target’s reputation and drive her out of a job.

Most importantly, after offering the reader a rich education on toxic group dynamics, they give specific strategies survivors can use to heal and eventually thrive in the workplace. 

The author is a mom and clinician herself and based on clinical best practices has written a lovely rhyming book to help young children deal with boundaries and bullies in a way that is accessible for younger readers. Ideal for school, daycare, and clinical settings. As a parent of an empathic child, I found this book an easy way to introduce the concepts of self-worth and appropriate relationships. If you have a child that is experiencing bullying or needs to set boundaries at school, then this book is an excellent addition to your library.  

My favorite thing about this book is the way Liberty creates her own constellations, called star maps, out of the sky. She finds stories and meaning in them and charts them herself.

This love for space is something she shares with her dad, who is deeply depressed, and who has recently moved out. When she witnesses a meteorite fall to earth, she lugs it back to her room and begins to talk to it. Is it really a meteorite? Does it talk back? Is Liberty depressed too? The uncertainty deftly reflects the confusion Liberty feels about her parents’ divorce. 

Full disclosure, I narrated this one (which is how I was introduced to it), and I had to pause my recording lots of times to get through it without crying. 

Virgil is a quiet Filipino boy trapped in a well by the class bully. Helped by his friends – each with their own finely layered story – Virgil not only gets rescued, but also finds his inner voice. I loved the effortless diversity of the characters, which wasn’t the basis of the story, but truly enriched it.