100 books like We Are All Made of Molecules

By Susin Nielsen,

Here are 100 books that We Are All Made of Molecules fans have personally recommended if you like We Are All Made of Molecules. Shepherd is a community of 12,000+ authors and super readers sharing their favorite books with the world.

When you buy books, we may earn a commission that helps keep our lights on (or join the rebellion as a member).

Book cover of The Canyon's Edge

Sally J. Pla Author Of The Fire, the Water, and Maudie McGinn

From my list on children’s novels depicting real adversity—and hope.

Why am I passionate about this?

I went through some very tough times growing up. I was an undiagnosed autistic teen, terribly shy, with no real guidance, and I was often bullied and bewildered. But my heart was filled with only goodwill and good intentions, and a yearning to connect meaningfully with others. So, stories of adversity, of characters making it through very tough times, through trauma—these stories were like shining beacons that said, “survival is possible.” Now that I’m a grownup writer, it’s at the root of what I want to offer—hope—to today’s kids who may be going through similar tough stuff. Survival is possible.

Sally's book list on children’s novels depicting real adversity—and hope

Sally J. Pla Why did Sally love this book?

Dusti Bowling’s ability to keep you on the edge is incredible.

Nora lost her mom via a random shooting, and now she is trapped in a desert canyon where a flash flood swept her dad away. The stakes are so high. And yet: Nora’s will to survive, her love for Dad, and her inner strength, pull her beautifully through. 

By Dusti Bowling,

Why should I read it?

5 authors picked The Canyon's Edge as one of their favorite books, and they share why you should read it. This book is for kids age 8, 9, 10, and 11.

What is this book about?

One year since she lost her mother to a random shooting, Nora and her father are exploring a slot canyon deep in the Arizona desert. They like to stay far away from other people now, or at least Nora's father does. Nora has been working with a therapist to try to heal, and she longs to have a normal life again, to be "just an ordinary girl" like she was when her mother was still alive.

But when she and her father reach the bottom of the canyon, a flash flood rips past them, sweeping away Nora's father and all…


Book cover of One for the Murphys

Sally J. Pla Author Of The Fire, the Water, and Maudie McGinn

From my list on children’s novels depicting real adversity—and hope.

Why am I passionate about this?

I went through some very tough times growing up. I was an undiagnosed autistic teen, terribly shy, with no real guidance, and I was often bullied and bewildered. But my heart was filled with only goodwill and good intentions, and a yearning to connect meaningfully with others. So, stories of adversity, of characters making it through very tough times, through trauma—these stories were like shining beacons that said, “survival is possible.” Now that I’m a grownup writer, it’s at the root of what I want to offer—hope—to today’s kids who may be going through similar tough stuff. Survival is possible.

Sally's book list on children’s novels depicting real adversity—and hope

Sally J. Pla Why did Sally love this book?

I loved how the slow and steady influence of a foster family’s kindness healed the deeply scarred and traumatized Carley.

I love stories that celebrate and uplift kindness and healing but don’t shy away from the tough stuff, either. Too many children face very hard realities. Books need to portray them! It helps kids to understand and to heal.

By Lynda Mullaly Hunt,

Why should I read it?

3 authors picked One for the Murphys as one of their favorite books, and they share why you should read it. This book is for kids age 10, 11, 12, and 13.

What is this book about?

A moving debut novel about a foster child learning to open her heart to a family's love

Carley uses humor and street smarts to keep her emotional walls high and thick. But the day she becomes a foster child, and moves in with the Murphys, she's blindsided. This loving, bustling family shows Carley the stable family life she never thought existed, and she feels like an alien in their cookie-cutter-perfect household. Despite her resistance, the Murphys eventually show her what it feels like to belong--until her mother wants her back and Carley has to decide where and how to live.…


Book cover of The True Confessions of Charlotte Doyle

Jerry Mikorenda Author Of The Whaler's Daughter

From my list on young people dealing with social and emotional trauma.

Why am I passionate about this?

When I think of great novels, I don’t recall plot twists, beautiful language, or exotic settings. I remember the characters. How they met or didn’t meet, the challenges put before them. Great, unforgettable characters create great stories. They take risks, become friends with people society tells them not to, and don’t hide their motivations or fears. They show their humanity. A great character can make walking down a supermarket aisle an exciting adventure. Boring, one-dimensional ones can make a rocket launch seem like you’re reading about paint drying. All the books I discuss hit the character checklist tenfold. 

Jerry's book list on young people dealing with social and emotional trauma

Jerry Mikorenda Why did Jerry love this book?

In my mind, this book shows one of the great character arcs in literature. The persnickety thirteen-year-old Charlotte begins her 1832 voyage from London to America admiring iron-fisted Captain Jaggery of the Seahawk. When she overhears the crew speaking of mutiny, she snitches on them.

At one point, I was hoping she’d get swept overboard. But Charlotte bonds with the ship’s black cook, Zachariah, and begins to see life beyond her vantage of a rich white child of privilege. As conditions worsen on the Seahawk, Charlotte sides with the crew, becomes a deckhand, and eventually their captain!

This is an old-time, swashbuckling, wind to yer back, sea adventure. I can still smell the bilgewater years after reading it.  

By Avi,

Why should I read it?

4 authors picked The True Confessions of Charlotte Doyle as one of their favorite books, and they share why you should read it. This book is for kids age 9, 10, 11, and 12.

What is this book about?

Avi's treasured Newbery Honor Book now with exclusive bonus content!

The True Confessions of Charlotte Doyle joins the Scholastic Gold line, which features award-winning and beloved novels. Includes exclusive bonus content!A Newbery Honor Book* "A thrilling tale, tautly plotted, vividly narrated." --Kirkus Reviews, starred reviewThirteen-year-old Charlotte Doyle is excited to return home from her school in England to her family in Rhode Island in the summer of 1832. But when the two families she was supposed to travel with mysteriously cancel their trips, Charlotte finds herself the lone passenger on a long sea voyage with a cruel captain and a…


Book cover of The Truth as Told by Mason Buttle

Sally J. Pla Author Of The Fire, the Water, and Maudie McGinn

From my list on children’s novels depicting real adversity—and hope.

Why am I passionate about this?

I went through some very tough times growing up. I was an undiagnosed autistic teen, terribly shy, with no real guidance, and I was often bullied and bewildered. But my heart was filled with only goodwill and good intentions, and a yearning to connect meaningfully with others. So, stories of adversity, of characters making it through very tough times, through trauma—these stories were like shining beacons that said, “survival is possible.” Now that I’m a grownup writer, it’s at the root of what I want to offer—hope—to today’s kids who may be going through similar tough stuff. Survival is possible.

Sally's book list on children’s novels depicting real adversity—and hope

Sally J. Pla Why did Sally love this book?

I love every book by this author. Mason is a different kid, learning-disabled, but with a heart full of goodness. He is bullied and discounted and put down and misunderstood, but his persistent goodness wins out.

I rooted for Mason, for his good heart, every step of the way. 

By Leslie Connor,

Why should I read it?

1 author picked The Truth as Told by Mason Buttle as one of their favorite books, and they share why you should read it. This book is for kids age 8, 9, 10, and 11.

What is this book about?

From the critically acclaimed author of Waiting for Normal and All Rise for the Honorable Perry T. Cook, Leslie Connor, comes a deeply poignant and beautifully crafted story about self-reliance, redemption, and hope.

Mason Buttle is the biggest, sweatiest kid in his grade, and everyone knows he can barely read or write. Mason's learning disabilities are compounded by grief. Fifteen months ago, Mason's best friend, Benny Kilmartin, turned up dead in the Buttle family's orchard.

An investigation drags on, and Mason, honest as the day is long, can't understand why Lieutenant Baird won't believe the story Mason has told about…


Book cover of This is What I Did:

Sara Zarr Author Of Kyra, Just for Today

From my list on not sugarcoating childhood.

Why am I passionate about this?

I was raised in a home where one parent was an acute alcoholic and the other parent was the child of an acute alcoholic, codependency and boundary issues flourished, and there was a touch of end-times religion to top it all off. This made me a kid who was highly tuned in to everything going on around me as a way to maintain a sense of control. Though that probably wasn’t the best thing for my emotional development, it’s turned me into a writer who strives to delve into the authentic human experience and a reader who wants that, too. The books on this list meet that bar!

Sara's book list on not sugarcoating childhood

Sara Zarr Why did Sara love this book?

As a writer, I absolutely worship the spare, unique voice that Ellis gives her main character, thirteen-year-old Logan.

Logan is intensely awkward and reluctant to tell the whole story of how he betrayed a friend, and as a reader, that kept me turning the pages. “Last week, Bruce kicked me in the balls at Scouts, and all his buddies were there laughing, and I started crying.” What an opening line for a book for any reader who has been through that no-man’s-land of thirteen.

By Ann Dee Ellis,

Why should I read it?

1 author picked This is What I Did as one of their favorite books, and they share why you should read it. This book is for kids age 13, 14, 15, and 16.

What is this book about?

Imagine if you had witnessed something horrific.
Imagine if it had happened to your friend.
And imagine if you hadn't done anything to help.

That's what it's like to be Logan, an utterly frank, slightly awkward, and extremely loveable outcast enmeshed in a mysterious psychological drama. This story allows readers to piece together the sequence of events that has changed his life and changed his perspective on what it means to be a good friend and what it means to be a good person.

This is What I Did: is a powerful read with clever touches, such as palindrome notes,…


Book cover of Restart

Dayna Lorentz Author Of Wayward Creatures

From my list on exploring ideas of justice and accountability.

Why am I passionate about this?

As a parent, I’ve been struck by the fierce sense of justice my children have, from the unfairness of one getting more screen time to bigger injustices, like bullying or discrimination. Kids have an innate sense of what’s right, of what’s fair, but they can also lack a sense of nuance and have rather Byzantine notions of what justice requires. I wrote Wayward Creatures to explore a different way of thinking about justice and accountability. Restorative justice practices seek to bring the offending party together with the people hurt by their actions to acknowledge the harm caused and find a solution together. These five books explore other aspects of what it means to seek justice.

Dayna's book list on exploring ideas of justice and accountability

Dayna Lorentz Why did Dayna love this book?

I love stories that force characters to grapple with big questions. In both Wayward Creatures and Restart, the main character has done something they realize is huge and has hurt a lot of people. Only in Restart, the narrator, Chase, has suffered a traumatic brain injury and doesn’t remember anything about who he was or what he did. The story asks readers to think about what justice and accountability require, both inside and outside the courtroom.

By Gordon Korman,

Why should I read it?

1 author picked Restart as one of their favorite books, and they share why you should read it. This book is for kids age 9, 10, 11, and 12.

What is this book about?

The amazing New York Times bestseller about what you can do when life gives you a second chance.

Chase's memory just went out the window. Chase doesn't remember falling off the roof. He doesn't remember hitting his head. He doesn't, in fact, remember anything. He wakes up in a hospital room and suddenly has to learn his whole life all over again . . . starting with his own name. He knows he's Chase. But who is Chase? When he gets back to school, he sees that different kids have very different reactions to his return. Some kids treat him…


Book cover of Stella Brings the Family

Meryl G. Gordon Author Of The Flower Girl Wore Celery

From my list on children with LGBTQ family members.

Why am I passionate about this?

When my son and son-in-law were getting married back in 2010, my cousin’s four-year-old daughter Emma was excited to be their flower girl. I wanted to buy Emma a book about a flower girl to prepare her for the wedding, but I couldn’t find anything that worked for our situation, since we were having two grooms and no bride—at an otherwise traditional Jewish wedding. Then one day, my cousin called, laughing, and said “Emma said she’s afraid to come to the wedding because of the Ring BEAR!” So I needed to write this for Emmaa story where everything isn’t what the child imagines, but it’s all joyful. 

Meryl's book list on children with LGBTQ family members

Meryl G. Gordon Why did Meryl love this book?

Stella has two daddies. Who can she bring to school as her special guest for the Mother’s Day party? A classmate asks who kisses her when she is hurt. She lists Papa, Daddy, Nonna, Aunt Gloria, Uncle Bruno and Cousin Lucy. Another classmate suggests that she bring them all! And she does. Another lovely story, charmingly illustrated by the same artist who illustrated my book, about how love makes a family, this one with two dads instead of two moms.

By Miriam B. Schiffer, Holly Clifton-Brown (illustrator),

Why should I read it?

2 authors picked Stella Brings the Family as one of their favorite books, and they share why you should read it.

What is this book about?

Stella's class is having a Mother's Day celebration, but what's a girl with two daddies to do? It's not that she doesn't have someone who helps her with her homework, or tucks her in at night.
Stella has her Papa and Daddy who take care of her and a whole gaggle of other loved ones who make her feel special and supported every day. She just doesn't have a mum to invite to the party. Fortunately, Stella finds a unique solution to her party problem in this sweet story about love, acceptance and the true meaning of family.


Book cover of Full Disclosure

Kalena Miller Author Of The Night When No One Had Sex

From my list on sex-positive YA.

Why am I passionate about this?

I grew up in Texas where sex-ed curriculums ranged from spotty and misinformed to totally nonexistent. Therefore, as a teenager, I learned about sex from the novels I read—at that time, I was devouring Meg Cabot and John Green books—and I remember wishing for more tangible information. (This was before Urban Dictionary and Tumblr, unfortunately.) Fast forward a decade, and I’m the one writing YA novels. I no longer live in Texas, but my passion for crafting sex-positive, uplifting, and accessible books for teenagers remains central to my life as a writer and reader.

Kalena's book list on sex-positive YA

Kalena Miller Why did Kalena love this book?

This contemporary YA novel is honest, open-hearted, and rings true to the teenage experience. Simone is HIV positive, a reality that makes sexual relationships complicated and her presence at a new school potentially dangerous, thanks to a series of anonymous notes in her locker threatening to out her. In this debut novel, Camryn Garrett deftly navigates complex subjects while infusing Simone’s story with humor, hope, and all the excitement that accompanies first love.

By Camryn Garrett,

Why should I read it?

1 author picked Full Disclosure as one of their favorite books, and they share why you should read it. This book is for kids age 14, 15, 16, and 17.

What is this book about?

"An unflinchingly honest, eye-opening, heartful story that's sure to keep readers talking." --Angie Thomas, #1 New York Times bestselling author of The Hate U Give and On the Come Up

"Romantic, funny, hopeful, and unflinchingly real." --Becky Albertalli, New York Times bestselling author of Simon Vs. The Homosapiens Agenda

The uplifting story of an HIV-positive teen, falling in love and learning to live her truth.

Simone Garcia-Hampton is starting over at a new school, and this time things will be different. She's making real friends, making a name for herself as student director of Rent, and making a play for…


Book cover of To Night Owl from Dogfish

Danielle Svetcov Author Of Parked

From my list on for a 5th-grade book group.

Why am I passionate about this?

In addition to being an author of MG fiction, I run two book groups for kids, which means I spend lots of time in libraries, communing with kids’ librarians, placing wagers on which books will win the Newbery, so that I can pass along great books to my groups. While there are all kinds of terrific MG books out there, I find that boisterous group meetings require something special – i.e. books with a controversial idea or character or act that merits debate/discussion. I remember when we read From the Mixed-Up Files of Mrs. Basil E. Frankweiler -- one girl just could not get past the idea that two kids left home without telling their parents. I love that sort of passionate objection!

Danielle's book list on for a 5th-grade book group

Danielle Svetcov Why did Danielle love this book?

An entire book group of girls decided to try sleep-away camp after reading this hilarious title. Constructed entirely of emails between anxious Avery Bloom (NYC) and gonzo Bett Devlin (Los Angeles), it’s about an unlikely friendship that is aided-and-abetted by the existence of the Internet and summer camp…and theatre…and love-at-first-sight…and unvarnished truth.

By Holly Goldberg Sloan, Meg Wolitzer,

Why should I read it?

2 authors picked To Night Owl from Dogfish as one of their favorite books, and they share why you should read it. This book is for kids age 10, 11, 12, and 13.

What is this book about?

A REVERSE PARENT TRAP FOR A NEW GENERATION FROM NEW YORK TIMES BESTSELLING AUTHORS HOLLY GOLDBERG-SLOAN AND MEG WOLITZER.

Avery (Night Owl) is bookish, intense, likes to plan ahead, and is afraid of many things. Bett (Dogfish) is fearless, outgoing, and lives in the moment. What they have in common is that they are both twelve years old, and their dads are dating each other.

Bett and Avery are sent, against their will, to the same camp for the summer vacation. Their dads hope that they will find common ground and become friends - and possibly, one day, even sisters.…


Book cover of Adventures with My Daddies

Meryl G. Gordon Author Of The Flower Girl Wore Celery

From my list on children with LGBTQ family members.

Why am I passionate about this?

When my son and son-in-law were getting married back in 2010, my cousin’s four-year-old daughter Emma was excited to be their flower girl. I wanted to buy Emma a book about a flower girl to prepare her for the wedding, but I couldn’t find anything that worked for our situation, since we were having two grooms and no bride—at an otherwise traditional Jewish wedding. Then one day, my cousin called, laughing, and said “Emma said she’s afraid to come to the wedding because of the Ring BEAR!” So I needed to write this for Emmaa story where everything isn’t what the child imagines, but it’s all joyful. 

Meryl's book list on children with LGBTQ family members

Meryl G. Gordon Why did Meryl love this book?

A new two-daddies book! The two dads, one Black and one white, embark on exciting and brightly illustrated adventures with their daughter through the magic of reading books. And what is their favorite story of all? The story of their daughter’s adoption! The sweet rhyming text is ideal for very young listeners.

By Gareth Peter, Garry Parsons (illustrator),

Why should I read it?

1 author picked Adventures with My Daddies as one of their favorite books, and they share why you should read it. This book is for kids age 4, 5, 6, and 7.

What is this book about?

Set off on a series of incredible adventures with a family that has two dads!

As they read bedtime stories with their little one, the pages burst into colorful life. Together, this LGBTQ+ family battles dragons, dodges deadly dinosaurs, zooms to the moon, and explores the world in a hot air balloon, before winding down to sleep in a wonderfully cozy ending.

This rhyming read aloud celebrates the power of imagination and champions the love that brings all kinds of families together.

Author and illustrator team Gareth Peter and Garry Parsons deliver an imaginative, heartwarming tale filled with bright and…


Book cover of The Canyon's Edge
Book cover of One for the Murphys
Book cover of The True Confessions of Charlotte Doyle

Share your top 3 reads of 2024!

And get a beautiful page showing off your 3 favorite reads.

1,188

readers submitted
so far, will you?

5 book lists we think you will like!

Interested in bullying, bully romance, and school?

Bullying 85 books
Bully Romance 20 books
School 276 books