34 Books like Crossing the Wire

We Are Not From Here

by Jenny Torres Sanchez • 2020

After witnessing a gang murder, three Guatemalan teens must flee on the freight trains north.

4.47

8k+

🚂 Migrant Journey 👻 Ghostly Visions 🖤 Gritty Ya 👥 Found Family 🏜️ Border Crossing

We Are Not From Here 95%

After witnessing a gang murder, three Guatemalan teens must flee on the freight trains north.

by Jenny Torres Sanchez 2020

4.47

8k+ ratings

🚂 Migrant Journey 👻 Ghostly Visions 🖤 Gritty Ya 👥 Found Family 🏜️ Border Crossing

American Dirt

by Jeanine Cummins • 2019

When a cartel kills her family, a bookseller flees north with her son on migrant trains.

4.40

2k+

🩸 Cartel Thriller 🚂 Migrant Journey 💙 Mother Son Bond 🎭 Friend Turned Enemy 👥 Found Family

American Dirt 93%

When a cartel kills her family, a bookseller flees north with her son on migrant trains.

by Jeanine Cummins 2019

4.40

2k+ ratings

🩸 Cartel Thriller 🚂 Migrant Journey 💙 Mother Son Bond 🎭 Friend Turned Enemy 👥 Found Family

American Dirt

by Jeanine Cummins • 2020

A bookseller flees north with her son. Her closest friend's cartel killed their family.

4.37

699k+

🩸 Cartel Thriller 🚂 Migrant Journey 💔 Intimate Betrayal 😢 Grief-Soaked 😱 Visceral Suspense

American Dirt 91%

A bookseller flees north with her son. Her closest friend's cartel killed their family.

by Jeanine Cummins 2020

4.37

699k+ ratings

🩸 Cartel Thriller 🚂 Migrant Journey 💔 Intimate Betrayal 😢 Grief-Soaked 😱 Visceral Suspense

The Distance Between Us

by Reyna Grande • 2012

Left behind, a girl survives on hunger, hope, and a dream of crossing the border.

4.37

18k+

🛂 Immigrant Memoir 🩹 Childhood Trauma 👫 Sibling Bonds 💔 Father Wound 👧 Parentified Child

The Distance Between Us 90%

Left behind, a girl survives on hunger, hope, and a dream of crossing the border.

by Reyna Grande 2012

4.37

18k+ ratings

🛂 Immigrant Memoir 🩹 Childhood Trauma 👫 Sibling Bonds 💔 Father Wound 👧 Parentified Child

Strike Zone

by Mike Lupica • 2019

A Bronx pitcher dreams of Yankee Stadium. His undocumented parents dream of staying in America.

4.17

397

🧢 Youth Baseball 📋 Undocumented Parents 🩺 Sick Sibling 💪 Heartfelt Sports 🏙️ South Bronx

Strike Zone 90%

A Bronx pitcher dreams of Yankee Stadium. His undocumented parents dream of staying in America.

by Mike Lupica 2019

4.17

397 ratings

🧢 Youth Baseball 📋 Undocumented Parents 🩺 Sick Sibling 💪 Heartfelt Sports 🏙️ South Bronx

We Were Here

by Matt de la Peña • 2009

In a group home, a teen fills his court-ordered journal with everything but his brother's death.

4.10

4k+

🫂 Found Family 🤝 Male Friendship 🛣️ Road Trip Journey 📓 Journal Format 💔 Survivor Guilt

We Were Here 90%

In a group home, a teen fills his court-ordered journal with everything but his brother's death.

by Matt de la Peña 2009

4.10

4k+ ratings

🫂 Found Family 🤝 Male Friendship 🛣️ Road Trip Journey 📓 Journal Format 💔 Survivor Guilt

The Red Umbrella

by Christina Diaz Gonzalez • 2010

1961 Cuba: to survive Castro's revolution, a girl must leave everything for strangers in Nebraska.

4.07

5k+

🇨🇺 Cuban Revolution ✈️ Operation Pedro Pan 👧 Sibling Caretaking ⚡ Ideological Divide 🕊️ Loss Of Innocence

The Red Umbrella 90%

1961 Cuba: to survive Castro's revolution, a girl must leave everything for strangers in Nebraska.

by Christina Diaz Gonzalez 2010

4.07

5k+ ratings

🇨🇺 Cuban Revolution ✈️ Operation Pedro Pan 👧 Sibling Caretaking ⚡ Ideological Divide 🕊️ Loss Of Innocence

Catalina

by Karla Cornejo Villavicencio • 2024

Undocumented at Harvard, she's her grandparents' American dream and their only safety net.

3.52

11k+

🎓 Campus Novel 🧳 Immigrant Coming Of Age 🔗 Intergenerational Trauma 🏠 Family Obligation 🎭 Performing Identity

Catalina 90%

Undocumented at Harvard, she's her grandparents' American dream and their only safety net.

by Karla Cornejo Villavicencio 2024

3.52

11k+ ratings

🎓 Campus Novel 🧳 Immigrant Coming Of Age 🔗 Intergenerational Trauma 🏠 Family Obligation 🎭 Performing Identity

Summer of the Mariposas

by Guadalupe Garcia McCall • 2012

Five sisters smuggle a body into Mexico and stumble into a world of living folklore.

3.50

3k+

🏛️ Odyssey Retelling 🇲🇽 Mexican Folklore 👯 Sisterly Quest 👻 La Llorona Retelling 🌅 Bittersweet Fantasy

Summer of the Mariposas 90%

Five sisters smuggle a body into Mexico and stumble into a world of living folklore.

by Guadalupe Garcia McCall 2012

3.50

3k+ ratings

🏛️ Odyssey Retelling 🇲🇽 Mexican Folklore 👯 Sisterly Quest 👻 La Llorona Retelling 🌅 Bittersweet Fantasy

All My Rage

by Sabaa Tahir • 2022

Sal sells drugs to save his motel, hiding it from Noor, the girl he loves.

4.48

66k+

🌄 Immigrant Dreams 🕌 Pakistani-American 💞 Friends To Lovers 🍺 Parent With Addiction 👨‍👩‍👧‍👦 Found Family

All My Rage 90%

Sal sells drugs to save his motel, hiding it from Noor, the girl he loves.

by Sabaa Tahir 2022

4.48

66k+ ratings

🌄 Immigrant Dreams 🕌 Pakistani-American 💞 Friends To Lovers 🍺 Parent With Addiction 👨‍👩‍👧‍👦 Found Family

I Am Not Your Perfect Mexican Daughter

by Erika L. Sánchez • 2017

Her perfect sister is dead. What the closet hides could break her immigrant family.

4.00

85k+

🧬 Generational Trauma 🌎 Immigrant Family 📦 Secret Life Uncovered 🩹 Mental Health Healing 🗣️ Sharp-Tongued Heroine

I Am Not Your Perfect Mexican Daughter Summary

I Am Not Your Perfect Mexican Daughter 89%

Her perfect sister is dead. What the closet hides could break her immigrant family.

by Erika L. Sánchez 2017

4.00

85k+ ratings

🧬 Generational Trauma 🌎 Immigrant Family 📦 Secret Life Uncovered 🩹 Mental Health Healing 🗣️ Sharp-Tongued Heroine

In the Sea There are Crocodiles

by Fabio Geda • 2010

Abandoned for his own safety, a ten-year-old Afghan boy crosses continents alone in search of home.

4.01

15k+

📖 Refugee Memoir 👦 Child Refugee ⛓️ Human Trafficking 🚛 Underground Migration 🏠 Found Family

In the Sea There are Crocodiles 89%

Abandoned for his own safety, a ten-year-old Afghan boy crosses continents alone in search of home.

by Fabio Geda 2010

4.01

15k+ ratings

📖 Refugee Memoir 👦 Child Refugee ⛓️ Human Trafficking 🚛 Underground Migration 🏠 Found Family

Ingram

by Louis C.K. • 2025

A boy walks across a near-future America, carrying a brother's death he cannot remember.

4.12

3k+

🚶 Picaresque Journey 🌆 Near-Future America 🤝 Found Family 👬 Brother Figures 🧠 Repressed Trauma

Ingram 89%

A boy walks across a near-future America, carrying a brother's death he cannot remember.

by Louis C.K. 2025

4.12

3k+ ratings

🚶 Picaresque Journey 🌆 Near-Future America 🤝 Found Family 👬 Brother Figures 🧠 Repressed Trauma

Mexican WhiteBoy

by Matt de la Peña • 2008

Half-Mexican, can't speak Spanish, he spends a summer in his father's barrio, looking for home.

3.85

6k+

🌗 Biracial Identity 👤 Absent Father 🤝 Unlikely Friendship ⚾ Baseball Fiction 🌴 Southern California

Mexican WhiteBoy 89%

Half-Mexican, can't speak Spanish, he spends a summer in his father's barrio, looking for home.

by Matt de la Peña 2008

3.85

6k+ ratings

🌗 Biracial Identity 👤 Absent Father 🤝 Unlikely Friendship ⚾ Baseball Fiction 🌴 Southern California

Aller Retour

by Yves Beauchesne

Orphaned and abused, a boy escapes to Montreal and searches for anyone who will take him in.

2.43

119

🏃 Runaway Story 🩵 Found Family 💔 Orphaned Protagonist ⚠️ Abusive Guardian 🌱 Quiet Resilience

Aller Retour 89%

Orphaned and abused, a boy escapes to Montreal and searches for anyone who will take him in.

by Yves Beauchesne

2.43

119 ratings

🏃 Runaway Story 🩵 Found Family 💔 Orphaned Protagonist ⚠️ Abusive Guardian 🌱 Quiet Resilience

The Savage Detectives

by Roberto Bolaño • 1998

Mexico City, 1970s. Young poets abandon their lives to hunt a vanished writer across the desert.

4.18

54k+

📚 Literary Underground ✒️ Failed Poets 🗣️ Oral History 🏙️ Mexico City 🔍 Literary Obsession

The Savage Detectives 89%

Mexico City, 1970s. Young poets abandon their lives to hunt a vanished writer across the desert.

by Roberto Bolaño 1998

4.18

54k+ ratings

📚 Literary Underground ✒️ Failed Poets 🗣️ Oral History 🏙️ Mexico City 🔍 Literary Obsession

No pasó nada

by Antonio Skármeta • 1980

A Chilean coup strands a boy in Berlin with no language and no way home.

3.35

983

✈️ Political Exile 🫂 Found Family 🌍 Cross-Cultural Bonds 🗣️ Adolescent Narrator 🤝 Enemies To Friends

No pasó nada 89%

A Chilean coup strands a boy in Berlin with no language and no way home.

by Antonio Skármeta 1980

3.35

983 ratings

✈️ Political Exile 🫂 Found Family 🌍 Cross-Cultural Bonds 🗣️ Adolescent Narrator 🤝 Enemies To Friends

The Power of the Dog

by Don Winslow • 2005

A DEA agent helps a Mexican cop who becomes the drug lord he'll hunt for decades.

4.37

50k+

🖤 Drug War Saga 👮 Obsessed Lawman 👑 Family Crime Dynasty 🕵️ High-Stakes Informant 🌃 Cynical Noir Tone

The Power of the Dog 89%

A DEA agent helps a Mexican cop who becomes the drug lord he'll hunt for decades.

by Don Winslow 2005

4.37

50k+ ratings

🖤 Drug War Saga 👮 Obsessed Lawman 👑 Family Crime Dynasty 🕵️ High-Stakes Informant 🌃 Cynical Noir Tone

Crux

by Gabriel Tallent • 2026

Outcast friends tackle a desert boulder to prove themselves but the fall could shatter their bond.

3.79

4k+

🧗 Rock Climbing 🫂 Found Family 💌 Unspoken Longing 🔁 Generational Trauma 🤲 Caregiving

Crux 89%

Outcast friends tackle a desert boulder to prove themselves but the fall could shatter their bond.

by Gabriel Tallent 2026

3.79

4k+ ratings

🧗 Rock Climbing 🫂 Found Family 💌 Unspoken Longing 🔁 Generational Trauma 🤲 Caregiving

How to Stay Invisible

by Maggie C. Rudd • 2023

Abandoned, a boy and his dog survive in the woods behind his school, attending class.

4.43

1k+

🎒 Secretly Homeless ❤️ Found Family 🐕 Loyal Dog Companion 🎣 Grumpy Old Mentor 🏎️ Persistent Best Friend

How to Stay Invisible 89%

Abandoned, a boy and his dog survive in the woods behind his school, attending class.

by Maggie C. Rudd 2023

4.43

1k+ ratings

🎒 Secretly Homeless ❤️ Found Family 🐕 Loyal Dog Companion 🎣 Grumpy Old Mentor 🏎️ Persistent Best Friend

Alabama Moon

by Watt Key • 2004

His father dead, a boy raised in the Alabama wild must outrun the law to survive.

4.06

5k+

🌲 Wilderness Survival 🫂 Found Family 👥 Unlikely Friends 🏃 Runaway Kids 🛡️ Resilience

Alabama Moon 89%

His father dead, a boy raised in the Alabama wild must outrun the law to survive.

by Watt Key 2004

4.06

5k+ ratings

🌲 Wilderness Survival 🫂 Found Family 👥 Unlikely Friends 🏃 Runaway Kids 🛡️ Resilience

Living Beyond Borders

by Margarita Longoria • 2021

Where are you from? Mexican American teens navigate two cultures in search of their own voice.

4.09

1k+

🇲🇽 Mexican American 📚 YA Anthology 🎭 Dual Identity 🗣️ Code-Switching 👨‍👩‍👧 Generational Stories

Living Beyond Borders 89%

Where are you from? Mexican American teens navigate two cultures in search of their own voice.

by Margarita Longoria 2021

4.09

1k+ ratings

🇲🇽 Mexican American 📚 YA Anthology 🎭 Dual Identity 🗣️ Code-Switching 👨‍👩‍👧 Generational Stories

The Greatest Salesman In The World

by Og Mandino • 1968

Sales is waking up every morning and mastering your heart before you speak to anyone.

4.21

69k+

🧾 Sales Principles 🌅 Daily Rituals 🧠 Emotional Mastery 📜 Parable Format ⚔️ Self-Mastery

The Greatest Salesman In The World Summary

The Greatest Salesman In The World 89%

Sales is waking up every morning and mastering your heart before you speak to anyone.

by Og Mandino 1968

4.21

69k+ ratings

🧾 Sales Principles 🌅 Daily Rituals 🧠 Emotional Mastery 📜 Parable Format ⚔️ Self-Mastery

The Last Cuentista

by Donna Barba Higuera • 2021

A storyteller wakes on a colony ship to find the rulers erased every memory but hers.

4.04

29k+

🚀 Generational Starship 🧠 Memory Erasure 📖 Story As Resistance 💔 Sibling Sacrifice 🫂 Found Family

The Last Cuentista 89%

A storyteller wakes on a colony ship to find the rulers erased every memory but hers.

by Donna Barba Higuera 2021

4.04

29k+ ratings

🚀 Generational Starship 🧠 Memory Erasure 📖 Story As Resistance 💔 Sibling Sacrifice 🫂 Found Family

Unhooking the Moon

by Gregory Hughes • 2010

Two orphans flee to New York seeking their last relative, racing the younger one's dark visions.

3.96

2k+

🧒 Orphaned Siblings 🚂 Sibling Road Trip 🫂 Found Family 🔮 Precognitive Child 🏙️ Gritty Middle Grade

Unhooking the Moon 89%

Two orphans flee to New York seeking their last relative, racing the younger one's dark visions.

by Gregory Hughes 2010

3.96

2k+ ratings

🧒 Orphaned Siblings 🚂 Sibling Road Trip 🫂 Found Family 🔮 Precognitive Child 🏙️ Gritty Middle Grade

The Book of Unknown Americans

by Cristina Henríquez • 2014

A Mexican mother stakes everything on a Delaware apartment that was supposed to save her daughter.

3.90

47k+

🗺️ Immigrant Literature 🎙️ Polyphonic Narrative 💔 Tragic First Love 😔 Parental Guilt 👩‍👧 Mother Daughter Bond

The Book of Unknown Americans 89%

A Mexican mother stakes everything on a Delaware apartment that was supposed to save her daughter.

by Cristina Henríquez 2014

3.90

47k+ ratings

🗺️ Immigrant Literature 🎙️ Polyphonic Narrative 💔 Tragic First Love 😔 Parental Guilt 👩‍👧 Mother Daughter Bond

Broken Glass Park

by Alina Bronsky • 2010

Her stepfather killed her mother. In a crumbling German housing project, a teenager plots revenge.

3.53

3k+

🧳 Immigrant Coming Of Age 🌑 Dark Coming Of Age 🗡️ Revenge Fantasy 🫂 Found Family 👧 Sibling Caretaker

Broken Glass Park 89%

Her stepfather killed her mother. In a crumbling German housing project, a teenager plots revenge.

by Alina Bronsky 2010

3.53

3k+ ratings

🧳 Immigrant Coming Of Age 🌑 Dark Coming Of Age 🗡️ Revenge Fantasy 🫂 Found Family 👧 Sibling Caretaker

Under a Painted Sky

by Stacey Lee • 2015

Two girls disguise as boys and ride west: one flees a killing, the other slavery.

3.98

12k+

🔥 Oregon Trail 🎭 Passing As Male 🫂 Found Family 🏃 Fugitives On The Run 💕 Slow-Burn Romance

Under a Painted Sky 89%

Two girls disguise as boys and ride west: one flees a killing, the other slavery.

by Stacey Lee 2015

3.98

12k+ ratings

🔥 Oregon Trail 🎭 Passing As Male 🫂 Found Family 🏃 Fugitives On The Run 💕 Slow-Burn Romance

The Many Assassinations of Samir, the Seller of Dreams

by Daniel Nayeri • 2023

On the Silk Road, an orphan must outlast the killers chasing the storytelling merchant he loves.

3.96

3k+

🐪 Silk Road Adventure 🫂 Found Family 👦 Orphan Protagonist 🎭 Darkly Comic Quest 🏜️ Desert Survival

The Many Assassinations of Samir, the Seller of Dreams Summary

The Many Assassinations of Samir, the Seller of Dreams 89%

On the Silk Road, an orphan must outlast the killers chasing the storytelling merchant he loves.

by Daniel Nayeri 2023

3.96

3k+ ratings

🐪 Silk Road Adventure 🫂 Found Family 👦 Orphan Protagonist 🎭 Darkly Comic Quest 🏜️ Desert Survival

Amity

by Nathan Harris • 2025

To find his stolen sister, a freedman follows her trail into a Mexico that devours refugees.

3.76

5k+

🕊️ Post-Emancipation 💔 Separated Siblings 🏜️ Survival Journey 🏘️ Freedom Settlement 🏚️ Post-Civil War South

Amity 89%

To find his stolen sister, a freedman follows her trail into a Mexico that devours refugees.

by Nathan Harris 2025

3.76

5k+ ratings

🕊️ Post-Emancipation 💔 Separated Siblings 🏜️ Survival Journey 🏘️ Freedom Settlement 🏚️ Post-Civil War South

Flight

by Sherman Alexie • 2007

Shot in a bank, a Native foster kid hurtles through strangers' lives across American history.

3.89

18k+

🌀 Body-Swap Time Travel 🪶 Native Coming Of Age 🏚️ Foster Care Trauma 🫂 Found Family 🔗 Generational Trauma

Flight 88%

Shot in a bank, a Native foster kid hurtles through strangers' lives across American history.

by Sherman Alexie 2007

3.89

18k+ ratings

🌀 Body-Swap Time Travel 🪶 Native Coming Of Age 🏚️ Foster Care Trauma 🫂 Found Family 🔗 Generational Trauma

The Teacher of Nomad Land

by Daniel Nayeri • 2025

Two siblings wander wartime Iran with a blackboard, trading lessons for a place to belong.

4.15

4k+

👥 Orphan Protagonists 🫂 Sibling Bond 🧳 Child Refugees 🏕️ Found Family 🗣️ Language Barriers

The Teacher of Nomad Land 88%

Two siblings wander wartime Iran with a blackboard, trading lessons for a place to belong.

by Daniel Nayeri 2025

4.15

4k+ ratings

👥 Orphan Protagonists 🫂 Sibling Bond 🧳 Child Refugees 🏕️ Found Family 🗣️ Language Barriers

The Darkest Minds

by Alexandra Bracken • 2012

Psychic runaway hides a monstrous power while falling for the boy leading the search for safety.

4.15

208k+

🧠 Psychic Abilities 🧡 Found Family 💭 Memory Manipulation 🚐 Dystopian Road Trip ✊ Rebellion

The Darkest Minds 88%

Psychic runaway hides a monstrous power while falling for the boy leading the search for safety.

by Alexandra Bracken 2012

4.15

208k+ ratings

🧠 Psychic Abilities 🧡 Found Family 💭 Memory Manipulation 🚐 Dystopian Road Trip ✊ Rebellion

Everything Sad Is Untrue

by Daniel Nayeri • 2020

An Iranian refugee boy tells family legends to an Oklahoma school that sees only an outsider.

4.30

44k+

📦 Refugee Narrative 🌱 Immigrant Coming Of Age 🌍 Iranian Diaspora 📖 Storytelling As Survival 🏫 Classroom Outcast

Everything Sad Is Untrue 88%

An Iranian refugee boy tells family legends to an Oklahoma school that sees only an outsider.

by Daniel Nayeri 2020

4.30

44k+ ratings

📦 Refugee Narrative 🌱 Immigrant Coming Of Age 🌍 Iranian Diaspora 📖 Storytelling As Survival 🏫 Classroom Outcast

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