5 best-selling historical fiction books like The Bitter Side of Sweet by Tara Sullivan

The Bitter Side of Sweet

By: Tara Sullivan

3.82

Format: 254 pages, Hardcover

Two young boys must escape a life of slavery in modern-day Ivory Coast Fifteen-year-old Amadou coun…

If you liked the historical fiction plot in The Bitter Side of Sweet by Tara Sullivan , here is a list of 5 books like this:

Cover of The First Rule of Punk by Celia C. Pérez

1. The First Rule of Punk

By: Celia C. Pérez

4.08

Format: 336 pages, Hardcover

From debut author and longtime zine-maker Celia C. Perez, The First Rule of Punk is a wry and heart… read more

Similar categories in Celia C. Pérez's The First Rule of Punk book and Tara Sullivan's The Bitter Side of Sweet

  • fiction
  • realistic fiction
  • young adult
  • contemporary
"I like to think of us as more like patchwork quilts... Some pieces are prettier than others. Some pieces match and some don't. But if you remove a square, you're just left with an incomplete quilt, a…"

-Celia C. Pérez, The First Rule of Punk

Cover of Diamond Boy by Michael  Williams

2. Diamond Boy

By: Michael Williams

4.14

Format: 400 pages, Hardcover

A high-stakes, harrowing adventure set in the diamond fields of Southern Africa, from the criticall… read more

Similar categories in Michael Williams's Diamond Boy book and Tara Sullivan's The Bitter Side of Sweet

  • africa
  • realistic fiction
  • young adult
  • fiction
  • historical fiction
Cover of Paper Things by Jennifer Richard Jacobson

3. Paper Things

By: Jennifer Richard Jacobson

3.10

Format: 271 pages, Hardcover

When forced to choose between staying with her guardian and being with her big brother, Ari chose h… read more

Similar categories in Jennifer Richard Jacobson's Paper Things book and Tara Sullivan's The Bitter Side of Sweet

  • fiction
  • realistic fiction
  • young adult
  • contemporary
Cover of House Arrest by K.A. Holt

4. House Arrest

By: K.A. Holt

3.81

Format: 4 pages, Hardcover

Stealing is bad. Yeah. I know. But my brother Levi is always so sick, and his medicine is always so… read more

Similar categories in K.A. Holt's House Arrest book and Tara Sullivan's The Bitter Side of Sweet

  • fiction
  • realistic fiction
  • young adult
  • contemporary

5. The Bitter Side of Sweet

By: Tara Sullivan

3.82

Format: 254 pages, Hardcover

Two young boys must escape a life of slavery in modern-day Ivory Coast Fifteen-year-old Amadou coun… read more

Similar categories in Tara Sullivan's The Bitter Side of Sweet book and Tara Sullivan's The Bitter Side of Sweet

  • africa
  • survival
  • realistic fiction
  • young adult
  • fiction
  • historical fiction
  • contemporary
Cover of The War That Saved My Life (The War That Saved My Life, #1) by Kimberly Brubaker Bradley

6. The War That Saved My Life (The War That Saved My Life, #1)

By: Kimberly Brubaker Bradley

4.49

Format: 316 pages, Hardcover

An exceptionally moving story of triumph against all odds set during World War 2, from the acclaime… read more

Similar categories in Kimberly Brubaker Bradley's The War That Saved My Life (The War That Saved My Life, #1) book and Tara Sullivan's The Bitter Side of Sweet

  • fiction
  • young adult
  • historical fiction
"I don't want to just survive"

-Kimberly Brubaker Bradley, The War That Saved My Life (The War That Saved My Life, #1)

"This book made me love reading."

-Kimberly Brubaker Bradley, The War That Saved My Life (The War That Saved My Life, #1)

"Saying something stupid doesn't make you stupid," Susan said. " Luckily for all of us."

-Kimberly Brubaker Bradley, The War That Saved My Life (The War That Saved My Life, #1)

"We'd escaped. Mam, Hitlers bombs, my one-room prison. Everything. Crazy or not, I was free."

-Kimberly Brubaker Bradley, The War That Saved My Life (The War That Saved My Life, #1)

7. Insignificant Events in the Life of a Cactus

By: Dusti Bowling

3.27

Format: None pages, Hardcover

*"Aven is a perky, hilarious, and inspiring protagonist whose attitude and humor will linger even a… read more

Similar categories in Dusti Bowling's Insignificant Events in the Life of a Cactus book and Tara Sullivan's The Bitter Side of Sweet

8. Deathwatch

By: Robb White

4.20

Format: 192 pages, Paperback

Madec was not the kind of man Ben would ordinarily have chosen as a companion for a quiet hunting t… read more

Similar categories in Robb White's Deathwatch book and Tara Sullivan's The Bitter Side of Sweet

9. Airman

By: Eoin Colfer

3.33

Format: 300 pages, Hardcover

In the 1890s Conor and his family live on the sovereign Saltee Islands, off the Irish coast. Conor … read more

Similar categories in Eoin Colfer's Airman book and Tara Sullivan's The Bitter Side of Sweet

Cover of The Shape of Thunder by Jasmine Warga

10. The Shape of Thunder

By: Jasmine Warga

4.17

Format: 275 pages, Hardcover

Cora hasn’t spoken to her best friend, Quinn, in a year. Despite living next door to each other,… read more

Similar categories in Jasmine Warga's The Shape of Thunder book and Tara Sullivan's The Bitter Side of Sweet

  • fiction
  • realistic fiction
  • young adult
  • contemporary
"I just want to be okay. I don't want to feel okay. I want to be okay."

-Jasmine Warga, The Shape of Thunder

"The more things you know, the less likely you are to be taken by surprise."

-Jasmine Warga, The Shape of Thunder

"Whenever I get a bad grade, I always try to explain to Mom that I did read the book. And just because I can't remember what color shirt the character was wearing in page six doesn't mean that I didn'…"

-Jasmine Warga, The Shape of Thunder

Cover of City Spies (City Spies #1) by James Ponti

11. City Spies (City Spies #1)

By: James Ponti

4.31

Format: 378 pages, Hardcover

Sara Martinez is a hacker. She recently broke into the New York City foster care system to expose h… read more

Similar categories in James Ponti's City Spies (City Spies #1) book and Tara Sullivan's The Bitter Side of Sweet

  • fiction
  • realistic fiction
  • young adult
"Justice doesn’t require a membership card. Just a sense of right and wrong."

-James Ponti, City Spies (City Spies #1)

Cover of When Stars Are Scattered by Victoria Jamieson

12. When Stars Are Scattered

By: Victoria Jamieson

4.62

Format: None pages, Audio CD

Heartbreak and hope exist together in this remarkable graphic novel about growing up in a refugee c… read more

Similar categories in Victoria Jamieson's When Stars Are Scattered book and Tara Sullivan's The Bitter Side of Sweet

  • realistic fiction
"Pass or fail—I’ve done my best. It’s in God’s hands now."

-Victoria Jamieson, When Stars Are Scattered

Cover of Black Brother, Black Brother by Jewell Parker Rhodes

13. Black Brother, Black Brother

By: Jewell Parker Rhodes

4.18

Format: 240 pages, Hardcover

From award-winning and bestselling author, Jewell Parker Rhodes comes a powerful coming-of-age stor… read more

Similar categories in Jewell Parker Rhodes's Black Brother, Black Brother book and Tara Sullivan's The Bitter Side of Sweet

  • fiction
  • realistic fiction
  • young adult
  • contemporary
Cover of Starfish by Lisa Fipps

14. Starfish

By: Lisa Fipps

4.46

Format: 256 pages, Hardcover

Ellie is tired of being fat-shamed and does something about it in this debut novel-in-verse. Eve… read more

Similar categories in Lisa Fipps's Starfish book and Tara Sullivan's The Bitter Side of Sweet

  • fiction
  • realistic fiction
  • young adult
  • contemporary
"I'm a starfish, taking p all the room I want."

-Lisa Fipps, Starfish

"I'm a starfish, taking up all the room I want."

-Lisa Fipps, Starfish

"DNA doesn't make you family. Love does. Actions do."

-Lisa Fipps, Starfish

"No matter what others say or do, embrace what makes you, you."

-Lisa Fipps, Starfish

Cover of Healer of the Water Monster by Brian Young

15. Healer of the Water Monster

By: Brian Young

4.23

Format: 368 pages, Hardcover

When Nathan goes to visit his grandma, Nali, at her mobile summer home on the Navajo reservation, h… read more

Similar categories in Brian Young's Healer of the Water Monster book and Tara Sullivan's The Bitter Side of Sweet

  • fiction
  • young adult
Cover of A Night Divided by Jennifer A. Nielsen

16. A Night Divided

By: Jennifer A. Nielsen

4.34

Format: 357 pages, Kindle Edition

With the rise of the Berlin Wall, twelve-year-old Gerta finds her family suddenly divided. She, her… read more

Similar categories in Jennifer A. Nielsen's A Night Divided book and Tara Sullivan's The Bitter Side of Sweet

  • fiction
  • young adult
  • historical fiction
"Truly, it is in the darkness that one finds the light"

-Jennifer A. Nielsen, A Night Divided

"If I don't stand for freedom, then I must sit in chains."

-Jennifer A. Nielsen, A Night Divided

"If I cannot speak what I think, then it's a crime just to be me."

-Jennifer A. Nielsen, A Night Divided

"Courage isn't knowing you can do something; it's only being willing to try . . ."

-Jennifer A. Nielsen, A Night Divided

Cover of To Night Owl from Dogfish by Holly Goldberg Sloan

17. To Night Owl from Dogfish

By: Holly Goldberg Sloan

4.09

Format: 304 pages, Hardcover

Avery Bloom, who's bookish, intense, and afraid of many things, particularly deep water, lives in N… read more

Similar categories in Holly Goldberg Sloan's To Night Owl from Dogfish book and Tara Sullivan's The Bitter Side of Sweet

  • fiction
  • realistic fiction
  • young adult
  • contemporary
"Here's what we have seen: The way one story ends but then starts up again. The way families are made from people who want to be together more than they want to be apart. The way no one can tell you w…"

-Holly Goldberg Sloan, To Night Owl from Dogfish

Cover of Jollof Rice and Other Revolutions: A Novel in Interlocking Stories by Omolola Ijeoma Ogunyemi

18. Jollof Rice and Other Revolutions: A Novel in Interlocking Stories

By: Omolola Ijeoma Ogunyemi

3.99

Format: 238 pages, Hardcover

6 hrs. 10 min. Nigerian author Omolola Ijeoma Ogunyemi makes her American debut with this dazzling… read more

Similar categories in Omolola Ijeoma Ogunyemi's Jollof Rice and Other Revolutions: A Novel in Interlocking Stories book and Tara Sullivan's The Bitter Side of Sweet

  • contemporary
  • africa
  • fiction
  • historical fiction
Cover of One for Sorrow, Two for Joy by Marie-Claire Amuah

19. One for Sorrow, Two for Joy

By: Marie-Claire Amuah

4.06

Format: 309 pages, Kindle Edition

*Winner of the Diverse Book Award 2023* 'I loved this book so much! Intense and beautiful and heart… read more

Similar categories in Marie-Claire Amuah's One for Sorrow, Two for Joy book and Tara Sullivan's The Bitter Side of Sweet

  • africa
  • fiction
  • contemporary
Cover of The Secret Battle of Evan Pao by Wendy Wan-Long Shang

20. The Secret Battle of Evan Pao

By: Wendy Wan-Long Shang

4.08

Format: 272 pages, Hardcover

Middle school can be a battlefield... From award-winning author Wendy Wan-Long Shang comes a poigna… read more

Similar categories in Wendy Wan-Long Shang's The Secret Battle of Evan Pao book and Tara Sullivan's The Bitter Side of Sweet

  • realistic fiction
  • fiction
  • contemporary
Cover of Marcus Vega Doesn't Speak Spanish by Pablo Cartaya

21. Marcus Vega Doesn't Speak Spanish

By: Pablo Cartaya

3.99

Format: 272 pages, Hardcover

Marcus Vega is six feet tall, 180 pounds, and the owner of a premature mustache. When you look like… read more

Similar categories in Pablo Cartaya's Marcus Vega Doesn't Speak Spanish book and Tara Sullivan's The Bitter Side of Sweet

  • fiction
  • realistic fiction
  • young adult
  • contemporary

17 must-read fiction books like The Bitter Side of Sweet by Tara Sullivan

Transform Your Habits

The First Rule of Punk

Celia C. Pérez

4.08

Transform Your Habits

Diamond Boy

Michael Williams

4.14

Transform Your Habits

Paper Things

Jennifer Richard Jacobson

3.10

Transform Your Habits

House Arrest

K.A. Holt

3.81

View all the books

18 Top fiction books like A Night Divided by Jennifer A. Nielsen

Transform Your Habits

Number the Stars

Lois Lowry

4.00

Transform Your Habits

Refugee

Alan Gratz

3.16

Transform Your Habits

The War I Finally Won (The War That Saved My Life, #2)

Kimberly Brubaker Bradley

3.57

Transform Your Habits

Prisoner B-3087

Alan Gratz

4.27

View all the books

Never miss a story from us, get weekly updates in your inbox.