14 must-read family books like Late Bloomers by Deepa Varadarajan

Cover of Late Bloomers by Deepa Varadarajan

Late Bloomers

By: Deepa Varadarajan

3.75

Format: 368 pages, Paperback

An Indian American family is turned upside down when the parents split up thirty-six years into the…

If you liked the family plot in Late Bloomers by Deepa Varadarajan , here is a list of 14 books like this:

Cover of Happiness Falls by Angie  Kim

1. Happiness Falls

By: Angie Kim

3.75

Format: 387 pages, Hardcover

When a father goes missing, his family's desperate search leads them to question everything they kn… read more

Similar categories in Angie Kim's Happiness Falls book and Deepa Varadarajan's Late Bloomers

  • adult fiction
  • literary fiction
  • family
  • fiction
  • contemporary
  • adult
  • audiobook
"I lost a World - the other day! Has Anybody found? - Emily Dickinson, 1896"

-Angie Kim, Happiness Falls

Cover of Tom Lake by Ann Patchett

2. Tom Lake

By: Ann Patchett

3.99

Format: 309 pages, Hardcover

In this beautiful and moving novel about family, love, and growing up, Ann Patchett once again prov… read more

Similar categories in Ann Patchett's Tom Lake book and Deepa Varadarajan's Late Bloomers

  • romance
  • adult fiction
  • literary fiction
  • fiction
  • contemporary
  • family
  • adult
  • audiobook
"You can’t pretend this [Covid] isn’t happening,"

-Ann Patchett, Tom Lake

"In the summer the pear trees were fine. In the summer, all that is hideous about a pear tree is hidden by leaves and pears. But once those disguises were removed they were nothing but acres of murder…"

-Ann Patchett, Tom Lake

"Hazel, listen to me. I'm going to tell you something important, you need to be brave.' I then explained to the dog how I have told myself for so many years that my career fell apart because I wasn't …"

-Ann Patchett, Tom Lake

"It's as if someone bought all the diamonds at Tiffany's, and crushed them into dust, then spread that dust across the water so that it sifts down evenly, filtering through the shards of light that cu…"

-Ann Patchett, Tom Lake

Cover of The Husbands by Holly Gramazio

3. The Husbands

By: Holly Gramazio

3.53

Format: 352 pages, Hardcover

An exuberant debut, The Husbands delights in how do we navigate life, love, and choice in a world … read more

Similar categories in Holly Gramazio's The Husbands book and Deepa Varadarajan's Late Bloomers

  • romance
  • adult fiction
  • fiction
  • contemporary
  • adult
  • audiobook
Cover of Real Americans by Rachel Khong

4. Real Americans

By: Rachel Khong

4.04

Format: 416 pages, Hardcover

From the award-winning author of Goodbye, Vitamin: How far would you go to shape your own destiny?… read more

Similar categories in Rachel Khong's Real Americans book and Deepa Varadarajan's Late Bloomers

  • adult fiction
  • literary fiction
  • family
  • fiction
  • contemporary
  • adult
  • audiobook
"She wasn't normal and so I wasn't either. I resented that part the most."

-Rachel Khong, Real Americans

"It was a habit, with my parents: omitting information, not wanting to worry them unnecessarily. Though they’d raised me so American, I could never manage the sorts of American relationships my friend…"

-Rachel Khong, Real Americans

"With each other they spoke loudly: Their voices periodically rose to excited shouts, and they laughed raucously. In English they were milder mannered, polite. My mother had always spoken English to m…"

-Rachel Khong, Real Americans

Cover of The Celebrants by Steven  Rowley

5. The Celebrants

By: Steven Rowley

3.64

Format: 320 pages, Hardcover

A Big Chill for our times, celebrating decades-long friendships and promises—especially to ourselve… read more

Similar categories in Steven Rowley's The Celebrants book and Deepa Varadarajan's Late Bloomers

  • adult fiction
  • literary fiction
  • humor
  • fiction
  • contemporary
  • adult
  • audiobook
"My purpose, in this life, has been to love and spend it with you."

-Steven Rowley, The Celebrants

"You only live once. That was the truth of it. But if you do it right, and he felt that he had, once is more than enough"

-Steven Rowley, The Celebrants

Cover of Family Family by Laurie Frankel

6. Family Family

By: Laurie Frankel

4.00

Format: 400 pages, Hardcover

“Not all stories of adoption are stories of pain and regret. Not even most of them. Why don’t we ev… read more

Similar categories in Laurie Frankel's Family Family book and Deepa Varadarajan's Late Bloomers

  • adult fiction
  • literary fiction
  • family
  • fiction
  • contemporary
  • adult
  • audiobook
"When people thought of mothers, they smelled cookies baking and chocolate melting. But actual mothers got shit for giving their kids too much sugar. When people thought of mothers, they thought soft …"

-Laurie Frankel, Family Family

Cover of Come and Get It by Kiley Reid

7. Come and Get It

By: Kiley Reid

3.38

Format: 400 pages, Hardcover

A fresh and provocative story about a residential assistant and her messy entanglement with a profe… read more

Similar categories in Kiley Reid's Come and Get It book and Deepa Varadarajan's Late Bloomers

  • adult fiction
  • literary fiction
  • fiction
  • contemporary
  • adult
  • audiobook
"Kennedy hadn't considered it before, that to write something beautiful you just do it regular, and then you pull out a red pen."

-Kiley Reid, Come and Get It

"Washing her sheets was another thing she'd failed to do. She washed her clothes—every weekend—but when it came to the bedsheets, she'd get stressed out or she'd forget. And then there was too much ti…"

-Kiley Reid, Come and Get It

"Okay, sometimes—just being honest— Millie can be . . . a little ghetto." On the word little, Tyler held two fingers an inch apart. "Nooo. Don't say that. Ah love Millie." "But I'm not saying it like …"

-Kiley Reid, Come and Get It

Cover of The Museum of Failures by Thrity Umrigar

8. The Museum of Failures

By: Thrity Umrigar

4.13

Format: 358 pages, Hardcover

An immersive story about family secrets and the power of forgiveness from the bestselling author of… read more

Similar categories in Thrity Umrigar's The Museum of Failures book and Deepa Varadarajan's Late Bloomers

  • literary fiction
  • india
  • family
  • fiction
  • contemporary
  • adult
  • audiobook
"Because, ultimately everybody's story was written in scars."

-Thrity Umrigar, The Museum of Failures

"He had often thought of Bombay as the museum of failures, an exhibit hall filled with thwarted dreams and broken promises."

-Thrity Umrigar, The Museum of Failures

"Of course, there were unhappy people everywhere on earth, and if you catalogued all their griefs and disappointments, every place could be considered a museum of failures. One could argue that this w…"

-Thrity Umrigar, The Museum of Failures

Cover of Evil Eye by Etaf Rum

9. Evil Eye

By: Etaf Rum

3.95

Format: 352 pages, Hardcover

The acclaimed New York Times bestselling author of A Woman Is No Man returns with a striking explor… read more

Similar categories in Etaf Rum's Evil Eye book and Deepa Varadarajan's Late Bloomers

  • adult fiction
  • literary fiction
  • family
  • fiction
  • contemporary
  • adult
  • audiobook
"(...) she shrugged to articulate her feelings, even to herself. Words diluted things, made them smaller."

-Etaf Rum, Evil Eye

"Her family had always been told to classify themselves as white because of their Middle Eastern origins. But Yara had never considered herself white or been viewed as white by anyone else, and markin…"

-Etaf Rum, Evil Eye

Cover of Family Lore by Elizabeth Acevedo

10. Family Lore

By: Elizabeth Acevedo

3.53

Format: 371 pages, Hardcover

From bestselling, National Book Award-winning author Elizabeth Acevedo comes her first novel for ad… read more

Similar categories in Elizabeth Acevedo's Family Lore book and Deepa Varadarajan's Late Bloomers

  • adult fiction
  • literary fiction
  • family
  • fiction
  • contemporary
  • adult
  • audiobook
Cover of Kiss Me in the Coral Lounge: Intimate Confessions from a Happy Marriage by Helen Ellis

11. Kiss Me in the Coral Lounge: Intimate Confessions from a Happy Marriage

By: Helen Ellis

3.77

Format: 224 pages, Hardcover

Even twenty years into marriage, Helen Ellis’s husband still makes her heart pitter patter. The New… read more

Similar categories in Helen Ellis's Kiss Me in the Coral Lounge: Intimate Confessions from a Happy Marriage book and Deepa Varadarajan's Late Bloomers

  • romance
  • humor
  • audiobook
Cover of Maame by Jessica George

12. Maame

By: Jessica George

4.06

Format: 320 pages, Hardcover

Shortlisted for the TikTok Book Awards in the Book of the Year, 2023 and the Goodreads Debut and Fi… read more

Similar categories in Jessica George's Maame book and Deepa Varadarajan's Late Bloomers

  • adult fiction
  • literary fiction
  • family
  • fiction
  • contemporary
  • adult
  • audiobook
"A white person can date a Black person and still be racist."

-Jessica George, Maame

"I can't comprehend living to work, but then I'm afraid of working just to live."

-Jessica George, Maame

"A white person can date a Black person and still be racist. Because there’s levels to that sh*t. Like a lasagna."

-Jessica George, Maame

"It's about what love is. Which is trust, commitment, empathy, and respect. It means really giving a shit about the other person."

-Jessica George, Maame

Cover of Banyan Moon by Thao Thai

13. Banyan Moon

By: Thao Thai

3.92

Format: 336 pages, Hardcover

When Ann Tran gets the call that her fiercely beloved grandmother, Minh, has passed away, her life … read more

Similar categories in Thao Thai's Banyan Moon book and Deepa Varadarajan's Late Bloomers

  • adult fiction
  • literary fiction
  • family
  • fiction
  • contemporary
  • adult
  • audiobook
"Through her, I understood that another mother's horror could touch us in the darkest of places, even a world away."

-Thao Thai, Banyan Moon

"Grief is a lake of perilously thin ice. You never know when you'll fall through it, or when you will fight your way back to the surface."

-Thao Thai, Banyan Moon

"My morning swims have centered me and calmed the storm inside my mind. In the water, my memories lose their sharp edges, like river stones forced smooth."

-Thao Thai, Banyan Moon

"I wonder if you can inherit evil.' 'Maybe. Or maybe it's not something you inherit, but something that runs through you, another person's trauma, their violence. It sits below the skin until you name…"

-Thao Thai, Banyan Moon

Cover of They Called Us Exceptional: And Other Lies That Raised Us by Prachi   Gupta

14. They Called Us Exceptional: And Other Lies That Raised Us

By: Prachi Gupta

4.36

Format: 288 pages, Hardcover

An Indian American daughter reveals how the dangerous model minority myth fractured her family in t… read more

Similar categories in Prachi Gupta's They Called Us Exceptional: And Other Lies That Raised Us book and Deepa Varadarajan's Late Bloomers

  • india
  • family
  • audiobook
"We abide by their story because we think that is how we gain acceptance in America. But we cannibalize our bodies, our spirits and our minds to feed a hunger that never abates. We struggle under a we…"

-Prachi Gupta, They Called Us Exceptional: And Other Lies That Raised Us

"The world we live in, which demands perfection and achievement, teaches us we cannot love ourselves as we are. The myth teaches us to think greatness always resides outside us instead of within us. W…"

-Prachi Gupta, They Called Us Exceptional: And Other Lies That Raised Us

"We had each been raised to believe that every unknown could be resolved through willpower and intellect, a message reinforced by America's rigid conception of who we are supposed to be. The truth is,…"

-Prachi Gupta, They Called Us Exceptional: And Other Lies That Raised Us

Cover of The Leftover Woman by Jean Kwok

15. The Leftover Woman

By: Jean Kwok

3.77

Format: 288 pages, Hardcover

An evocative family drama and a riveting mystery about the ferocious pull of motherhood for two ver… read more

Similar categories in Jean Kwok's The Leftover Woman book and Deepa Varadarajan's Late Bloomers

  • adult fiction
  • fiction
  • contemporary
  • adult
  • audiobook
Cover of Summer Stage by Meg Mitchell Moore

16. Summer Stage

By: Meg Mitchell Moore

3.70

Format: 336 pages, Hardcover

A spirited summer page-turner following a family of actors grappling with fame, scandal, and ambiti… read more

Similar categories in Meg Mitchell Moore's Summer Stage book and Deepa Varadarajan's Late Bloomers

  • romance
  • adult fiction
  • family
  • fiction
  • contemporary
  • adult
  • audiobook
Cover of Anita de Monte Laughs Last by Xóchitl González

17. Anita de Monte Laughs Last

By: Xóchitl González

3.82

Format: 342 pages, Hardcover

New York Times bestselling author Xochitl Gonzalez delivers a mesmerizing novel about a first-gener… read more

Similar categories in Xóchitl González's Anita de Monte Laughs Last book and Deepa Varadarajan's Late Bloomers

  • adult fiction
  • literary fiction
  • fiction
  • contemporary
  • adult
  • audiobook
"we're all just here trying to get you to see your own light because it's strong enough to guide you."

-Xóchitl González, Anita de Monte Laughs Last

"You fall for someone, you get so into them your whole world shrinks, and suddenly barely have a life besides them."

-Xóchitl González, Anita de Monte Laughs Last

Cover of Homebodies by Tembe Denton-Hurst

18. Homebodies

By: Tembe Denton-Hurst

3.32

Format: 320 pages, Hardcover

Urgent, propulsive, and strikingly insightful, Homebodies is a thrilling debut novel about a young … read more

Similar categories in Tembe Denton-Hurst's Homebodies book and Deepa Varadarajan's Late Bloomers

  • romance
  • adult fiction
  • literary fiction
  • fiction
  • contemporary
  • audiobook
Cover of Late Bloomers by Deepa Varadarajan

19. Late Bloomers

By: Deepa Varadarajan

3.75

Format: 368 pages, Paperback

An Indian American family is turned upside down when the parents split up thirty-six years into the… read more

Similar categories in Deepa Varadarajan's Late Bloomers book and Deepa Varadarajan's Late Bloomers

  • romance
  • adult fiction
  • literary fiction
  • humor
  • india
  • fiction
  • contemporary
  • family
  • adult
  • audiobook
Cover of Same As It Ever Was by Claire Lombardo

20. Same As It Ever Was

By: Claire Lombardo

4.00

Format: 498 pages, Hardcover

Julia Ames, after a youth marked by upheaval and emotional turbulence, has found herself on the pla… read more

Similar categories in Claire Lombardo's Same As It Ever Was book and Deepa Varadarajan's Late Bloomers

  • adult fiction
  • literary fiction
  • family
  • fiction
  • contemporary
  • adult
  • audiobook
"Parenthood was a persistent cruelty, a constant, simultaneous desire to be together and apart."

-Claire Lombardo, Same As It Ever Was

Cover of If We're Being Honest by Cat Shook

21. If We're Being Honest

By: Cat Shook

3.48

Format: 304 pages, Hardcover

For fans of We Are the Brennans by Tracey Lange and All Adults Here by Emma Straub, Cat Shook’s deb… read more

Similar categories in Cat Shook's If We're Being Honest book and Deepa Varadarajan's Late Bloomers

  • adult fiction
  • literary fiction
  • humor
  • fiction
  • contemporary
  • family
  • adult
  • audiobook
"As it turns out porn does not automatically make a computer implode."

-Cat Shook, If We're Being Honest

19 Top fiction books like Late Bloomers by Deepa Varadarajan

Transform Your Habits

Happiness Falls

Angie Kim

3.75

Transform Your Habits

Tom Lake

Ann Patchett

3.99

Transform Your Habits

The Husbands

Holly Gramazio

3.53

Transform Your Habits

Real Americans

Rachel Khong

4.04

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31 Best fiction books like Summer Stage by Meg Mitchell Moore

Transform Your Habits

The Five-Star Weekend

Elin Hilderbrand

4.04

Transform Your Habits

Bad Summer People

Emma Rosenblum

3.43

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The Summer Book Club

Susan Mallery

3.84

Transform Your Habits

The Happiness Plan

Susan Mallery

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