Books Like The Fault in Our Stars

Why Each Pick

Me Before You by Jojo Moyes

The closest adult match: a funny, sharp-tongued young woman falls for a man whose health limits their future. Louisa takes a job caring for Will, who was paralyzed in an accident, and their sparring turns into love. Like Hazel and Augustus, they argue about what makes a life worth living. It is set in England, written for adults, and centers on end-of-life choices.

The Perks of Being a Wallflower by Stephen Chbosky

Another young adult novel with a narrator whose voice stays with you. Charlie writes letters about his first year of high school, the friends who take him in and his first love, while a painful memory comes into view. Like Hazel, he is an observer learning to take part in his own life. It is short, at 213 pages. Content note: abuse, mental illness and suicide.

We Were Liars by E. Lockhart

For readers who want another short young adult novel with a big emotional punch. Cadence spends her summers on her wealthy family's private island with her cousins and a boy she loves, but something happened the year she was fifteen that she can't remember. It is more of a mystery than The Fault in Our Stars, with a twist best left unspoiled, at 227 pages.

The Book Thief by Markus Zusak

A young adult novel that is honest about death, narrated by Death itself. Liesel, a foster child in Nazi Germany, steals books and shares them with the Jewish man hiding in her family's basement. Like Hazel, she finds comfort and connection in books. It is historical, set during World War II, longer at 552 pages, and just as well known as a tearjerker.

When Breath Becomes Air by Paul Kalanithi

The true story behind the questions Hazel and Augustus ask. Neurosurgeon Paul Kalanithi was diagnosed with terminal lung cancer at 36 and wrote about what makes life meaningful when time is short. It is a memoir rather than a novel, written for adults, with no romance plot, though his love for his wife and daughter runs through it. It is short, at 256 pages.

The Notebook by Nicholas Sparks

A classic love story about holding on to someone you're going to lose. An old man in a nursing home reads aloud the story of Noah and Allie, who fell in love one summer in the 1940s and were separated by class. It shares The Fault in Our Stars' devotion and heartbreak, but it is adult romance, more sentimental and less funny. It is short, at 227 pages.

The Time Traveler's Wife by Audrey Niffenegger

A love story shaped by forces the couple can't control. Henry travels through time against his will, so he and Clare meet out of order, and their life together is always shadowed by his disappearances. Like Hazel and Augustus, they love each other knowing time is limited. It is an adult novel, much longer at 546 pages, with sexual content and a more complex structure.

To All the Boys I've Loved Before by Jenny Han

For readers who want young adult romance without the heartbreak. Lara Jean writes secret letters to every boy she has ever loved, and when the letters are mailed, she ends up in a fake relationship that starts to feel real. It shares John Green's funny, specific teen voice and family warmth, but it is a light romantic comedy and the first of a trilogy.