Books like The Virgin Suicides (Bloomsbury Classic) by Jeffrey Eugenides

The Lisbons—five Catholic sisters—live in a suburban Michigan town during the 1970s. Their outwardly calm household erupts when the eldest, Cecilia, attempts suicide by cutting her wrists; weeks later she jumps from a window during a chaperoned party, ending her life. The event sets them on a path of increasing seclusion. The middle sister, Lux, rebels by dating the popular boy Trip Fontaine; the resulting fallout strains the family, leading the parents to pull the girls out of school and keep them at home. Subsequent incidents—Lux’s secret sexual liaisons, a pregnancy scare, and escalating family tensions—create an atmosphere of decay. Ultimately, over a year later, four of the sisters take their own lives—Bonnie hangs herself, Therese overdoses, Lux dies of carbon monoxide, and Mary succeeds in suicide after an earlier attempt. The family leaves the neighborhood, the house is sold, and the community, haunted by rumors and a longing to understand, watches the grim legacy of the Lisbons. The narrative is told by a group of neighborhood boys who observe and later investigate the tragedy, seeking answers to the puzzling series of suicides. The novel explores grief, secrecy, and the impact of adolescent isolation within a suburban setting.

First publish date: 1993