12 Top realistic fiction books like What Happened to Goodbye by Sarah Dessen

Cover of What Happened to Goodbye by Sarah Dessen

What Happened to Goodbye

By: Sarah Dessen

3.98

Format: 480 pages, Hardcover

Who is the real McLean? Since her parents' bitter divorce, McLean and her dad, a restaurant consul…

If you liked the realistic fiction plot in What Happened to Goodbye by Sarah Dessen , here is a list of 12 books like this:

Cover of Amy & Roger's Epic Detour by Morgan Matson

1. Amy & Roger's Epic Detour

By: Morgan Matson

3.98

Format: 343 pages, Hardcover

When you're on a road trip, life is all about the detours. . . . Amy Curry is having a terrible … read more

Similar categories in Morgan Matson's Amy & Roger's Epic Detour book and Sarah Dessen's What Happened to Goodbye

  • romance
  • realistic fiction
  • young adult
  • fiction
  • contemporary
  • chick lit
"Tomorrow will be better."

-Morgan Matson, Amy & Roger's Epic Detour

"I hope there's a God, I know there's an Elvis."

-Morgan Matson, Amy & Roger's Epic Detour

"You don't have to go away to know where your home is."

-Morgan Matson, Amy & Roger's Epic Detour

"Una verdad que se le cuenta a un desconocido en la oscuridad."

-Morgan Matson, Amy & Roger's Epic Detour

Cover of The Total Tragedy of a Girl Named Hamlet by Erin Dionne

2. The Total Tragedy of a Girl Named Hamlet

By: Erin Dionne

3.91

Format: 304 pages, Hardcover

Hamlet Kennedy just wants to be your average, happy, vanilla eighth grader. But with Shakespearean … read more

Similar categories in Erin Dionne's The Total Tragedy of a Girl Named Hamlet book and Sarah Dessen's What Happened to Goodbye

  • romance
  • realistic fiction
  • young adult
  • fiction
  • contemporary
"It's how you felt. And feelings don't always make sense. That's why they're feelings - not thnkings, " I said, hoping she'd smile."

-Erin Dionne, The Total Tragedy of a Girl Named Hamlet

Cover of Keep Holding On by Susane Colasanti

3. Keep Holding On

By: Susane Colasanti

3.84

Format: 202 pages, Hardcover

A Junior Library Guild award-winning novel about the consequences of bullying and suicide. Noelle's… read more

Similar categories in Susane Colasanti's Keep Holding On book and Sarah Dessen's What Happened to Goodbye

  • romance
  • teen
  • realistic fiction
  • young adult
  • fiction
  • contemporary
  • chick lit
"Everyone at his table laughs. They know I can hear them. They just don't care."

-Susane Colasanti, Keep Holding On

"If you see someone being bullied, make it stop. Why is that so hard for us to do?"

-Susane Colasanti, Keep Holding On

"How cool would it be if differences were celebrated? And the more different you were, the better?"

-Susane Colasanti, Keep Holding On

"No two people can see the world in the same way. No matter what you’re looking at, no one is seeing it the same way you are."

-Susane Colasanti, Keep Holding On

Cover of The Boy Most Likely To by Huntley Fitzpatrick

4. The Boy Most Likely To

By: Huntley Fitzpatrick

3.94

Format: 160 pages, Audio CD

Surprises abound and sparks ignite in the highly anticipated, utterly romantic companion to My Life… read more

Similar categories in Huntley Fitzpatrick's The Boy Most Likely To book and Sarah Dessen's What Happened to Goodbye

  • romance
  • realistic fiction
  • young adult
  • fiction
  • contemporary
Cover of Second Chance Summer by Morgan Matson

5. Second Chance Summer

By: Morgan Matson

4.12

Format: 468 pages, Hardcover

Sandwiched between two exceptional siblings, Taylor Edwards never felt like she stood out—except fo… read more

Similar categories in Morgan Matson's Second Chance Summer book and Sarah Dessen's What Happened to Goodbye

  • romance
  • realistic fiction
  • young adult
  • fiction
  • contemporary
  • chick lit
"And I’ve realized that the Beatles got it wrong. Love isn’t all we need- love is all there is."

-Morgan Matson, Second Chance Summer

"Ich finde es überflüssig, mich mit Leuten abzugeben, die später mal keine Rolle mehr in meinem Leben spielen werden."

-Morgan Matson, Second Chance Summer

"What was the point of trying to run away if people were going to insist on reminding you of what you were running from?"

-Morgan Matson, Second Chance Summer

"I looked up at the stars, needing to see something fixed and permanent while everything else in my life seemed to be breaking apart."

-Morgan Matson, Second Chance Summer

Cover of The Distance Between Us by Kasie West

6. The Distance Between Us

By: Kasie West

4.35

Format: 104 pages, Paperback

Seventeen-year-old Caymen Meyers studies the rich like her own personal science experiment, and aft… read more

Similar categories in Kasie West's The Distance Between Us book and Sarah Dessen's What Happened to Goodbye

  • romance
  • realistic fiction
  • young adult
  • fiction
  • contemporary
  • chick lit
Cover of Catching Jordan by Miranda Kenneally

7. Catching Jordan

By: Miranda Kenneally

4.21

Format: None pages,

ONE OF THE BOYS What girl doesn't want to be surrounded by gorgeous jocks day in and day out? Jorda… read more

Similar categories in Miranda Kenneally's Catching Jordan book and Sarah Dessen's What Happened to Goodbye

  • romance
  • chick lit
  • young adult
  • contemporary
Cover of What Happened to Goodbye by Sarah Dessen

8. What Happened to Goodbye

By: Sarah Dessen

3.98

Format: 480 pages, Hardcover

Who is the real McLean? Since her parents' bitter divorce, McLean and her dad, a restaurant consul… read more

Similar categories in Sarah Dessen's What Happened to Goodbye book and Sarah Dessen's What Happened to Goodbye

  • romance
  • teen
  • realistic fiction
  • young adult
  • fiction
  • contemporary
  • chick lit
Cover of Being a Witch, and Other Things I Didn't Ask For by Sara Pascoe

9. Being a Witch, and Other Things I Didn't Ask For

By: Sara Pascoe

4.30

Format: 380 pages, Paperback

When you’re fourteen and life has been nothing but hurt and disappointment, maybe it’s time to stri… read more

Similar categories in Sara Pascoe's Being a Witch, and Other Things I Didn't Ask For book and Sarah Dessen's What Happened to Goodbye

  • fiction
  • teen
  • young adult
"What’s “ague?"

-Sara Pascoe, Being a Witch, and Other Things I Didn't Ask For

"The sunset bled into the edges of the village. Smoke curled out of the cottage chimney like a crooked finger."

-Sara Pascoe, Being a Witch, and Other Things I Didn't Ask For

"Like water around rocks, people streamed around them as though this sort of interaction, noisy and involving foreigners, was nothing unusual."

-Sara Pascoe, Being a Witch, and Other Things I Didn't Ask For

"Oscar looked up from his plate, and if a cat could laugh, he would have. ‘Boy, that’s ugly, even for a jinn. Looks like a cross between a rat, a frog and a bottlebrush."

-Sara Pascoe, Being a Witch, and Other Things I Didn't Ask For

Cover of Waiting for You by Susane Colasanti

10. Waiting for You

By: Susane Colasanti

3.29

Format: 80 pages,

At the beginning of her sophomore year, Marisa is ready for a fresh start and, more importantly, a … read more

Similar categories in Susane Colasanti's Waiting for You book and Sarah Dessen's What Happened to Goodbye

  • romance
  • teen
  • realistic fiction
  • young adult
  • contemporary
  • chick lit
Cover of Since You've Been Gone by Morgan Matson

11. Since You've Been Gone

By: Morgan Matson

4.07

Format: 449 pages, Hardcover

It was Sloane who yanked Emily out of her shell and made life 100% interesting. But right before wh… read more

Similar categories in Morgan Matson's Since You've Been Gone book and Sarah Dessen's What Happened to Goodbye

  • romance
  • realistic fiction
  • young adult
  • fiction
  • contemporary
  • chick lit
"In a well-ordered universe..."

-Morgan Matson, Since You've Been Gone

"In a well-ordered universe...camping would take place indoors."

-Morgan Matson, Since You've Been Gone

"And real friends never have to tell you that they're your friends."

-Morgan Matson, Since You've Been Gone

"Maybe she didn’t do something big. Maybe she just told someone something."

-Morgan Matson, Since You've Been Gone

12. The Fill-In Boyfriend

By: Kasie West

4.31

Format: 517 pages, Paperback

When Gia Montgomery's boyfriend, Bradley, dumps her in the parking lot of her high school prom, she… read more

Similar categories in Kasie West's The Fill-In Boyfriend book and Sarah Dessen's What Happened to Goodbye

13. My Life Next Door

By: Huntley Fitzpatrick

3.99

Format: 32 pages, Hardcover

"One thing my mother never knew, and would disapprove of most of all, was that I watched the Garret… read more

Similar categories in Huntley Fitzpatrick's My Life Next Door book and Sarah Dessen's What Happened to Goodbye

14. When It Happens

By: Susane Colasanti

3.31

Format: None pages, Hardcover

read more

Similar categories in Susane Colasanti's When It Happens book and Sarah Dessen's What Happened to Goodbye

15. What I Thought Was True

By: Huntley Fitzpatrick

4.07

Format: 189 pages, Hardcover

Gwen Castle has never so badly wanted to say good-bye to her island home till now: the summer her B… read more

Similar categories in Huntley Fitzpatrick's What I Thought Was True book and Sarah Dessen's What Happened to Goodbye

16. Something Like Fate

By: Susane Colasanti

3.23

Format: 218 pages,

Lani and Erin are bonded for life. One thing that connects them is their fascination of fate. Lani … read more

Similar categories in Susane Colasanti's Something Like Fate book and Sarah Dessen's What Happened to Goodbye

Cover of From Manchester to the Arctic by Sheena  Billett

17. From Manchester to the Arctic

By: Sheena Billett

4.31

Format: 261 pages, ebook

In the challenging but rapidly changing 1970s, Connie Sanders, a broken-hearted nurse, flees to the… read more

Similar categories in Sheena Billett's From Manchester to the Arctic book and Sarah Dessen's What Happened to Goodbye

  • fiction
  • teen
  • young adult
  • contemporary
"The first wave of homesickness caught Connie by surprise. She had not heard or felt its approach until it hit her hard, knocking her to the ground."

-Sheena Billett, From Manchester to the Arctic

"As she was putting her boots on Daisy threw a barb over her shoulder that struck Connie right in the middle of her chest. ‘Grow up, Connie! This place is not for faint-hearted romantics!"

-Sheena Billett, From Manchester to the Arctic

"I don’t think I’ll ever forget this day,’ Connie said. ‘I want to soak up every single moment, so that I can remember it when I’m old. Remember that I…we, did this. I want to have stories to tell whe…"

-Sheena Billett, From Manchester to the Arctic

"It was almost 3 a.m. before Connie got into bed. Sipping cocoa in the cold daylight and listening to the silence, only punctuated by the distant barking of dogs, she began to wonder what she had done…"

-Sheena Billett, From Manchester to the Arctic

Cover of Pericles and Aspasia: A Story of Ancient Greece by Yvonne Korshak

18. Pericles and Aspasia: A Story of Ancient Greece

By: Yvonne Korshak

4.29

Format: 557 pages, Kindle Edition

STEP ASIDE, ANTONY AND PERICLES AND ASPASIA —THE LOVE STORY THAT SHAPED HISTORY Two lovers cres… read more

Similar categories in Yvonne Korshak's Pericles and Aspasia: A Story of Ancient Greece book and Sarah Dessen's What Happened to Goodbye

  • romance
  • realistic fiction
  • chick lit
  • fiction
"Temples are for the gods,"

-Yvonne Korshak, Pericles and Aspasia: A Story of Ancient Greece

"Do you know the song Violet Crowned Athens?"

-Yvonne Korshak, Pericles and Aspasia: A Story of Ancient Greece

"The softness, warmth and weight of her breast filled his palm. “I’ve imagined this for weeks,"

-Yvonne Korshak, Pericles and Aspasia: A Story of Ancient Greece

"But  Phidias was better than most men since he made beautiful sculptures. He was even making one of her—well, he called it “Athena,"

-Yvonne Korshak, Pericles and Aspasia: A Story of Ancient Greece

Cover of Places We've Never Been by Kasie West

19. Places We've Never Been

By: Kasie West

3.88

Format: 322 pages, Hardcover

A contemporary Young Adult novel about a cross-country family road trip that puts one girl and her … read more

Similar categories in Kasie West's Places We've Never Been book and Sarah Dessen's What Happened to Goodbye

  • romance
  • fiction
  • young adult
  • contemporary
"Have you heard the saying that when God closes a door, he opens a window?"

-Kasie West, Places We've Never Been

"But failure in life is inevitable. It’s only a problem if we let it keep us from progressing."

-Kasie West, Places We've Never Been

Cover of Float by Kate Marchant

20. Float

By: Kate Marchant

3.92

Format: 376 pages, Paperback

A heartfelt summer read for fans of Sarah Dessen and Jenny Han about holding on and letting go. … read more

Similar categories in Kate Marchant's Float book and Sarah Dessen's What Happened to Goodbye

  • romance
  • realistic fiction
  • young adult
  • fiction
  • contemporary
Cover of Let Me List the Ways by Sarah   White

21. Let Me List the Ways

By: Sarah White

3.81

Format: 304 pages, ebook

Mackenzie Clark has been best friends with Nolan Walker for as long as she can remember. She’s shar… read more

Similar categories in Sarah White's Let Me List the Ways book and Sarah Dessen's What Happened to Goodbye

  • romance
  • teen
  • realistic fiction
  • young adult
  • fiction
  • contemporary

14 best-selling fiction books like What Happened to Goodbye by Sarah Dessen

Transform Your Habits

Amy & Roger's Epic Detour

Morgan Matson

3.98

Transform Your Habits

The Total Tragedy of a Girl Named Hamlet

Erin Dionne

3.91

Transform Your Habits

Keep Holding On

Susane Colasanti

3.84

Transform Your Habits

The Boy Most Likely To

Huntley Fitzpatrick

3.94

View all the books

12 Best fiction books like The Boy Most Likely To by Huntley Fitzpatrick

Transform Your Habits

Breathe, Annie, Breathe

Miranda Kenneally

4.08

Transform Your Habits

P.S. I Like You

Kasie West

4.04

Transform Your Habits

The Boy Most Likely To

Huntley Fitzpatrick

3.94

Transform Your Habits

Second Chance Summer

Morgan Matson

4.12

View all the books

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