Books like The Dare by John Boyne

A 1930s wartime tale of a blind French girl and a German boy whose lives intersect in occupied France, weaving themes of survival, friendship, and the moral choices people make amid World War II.

After being adopted by a quirky Dublin couple who treat him only as a house‑guest, Cyril embarks on a life‑spanning quest to discover his origins, his place in Ireland, and the meaning of true belonging.

Set in early 1870s England, the novel follows a pious, working‑class kitchen maid who, after a seduction and abandonment, becomes a single mother and defies Victorian expectations.

Annie Black, a successful interior‑light designer and mother, is drawn back to a London night of indiscretions after a mysterious photograph resurfaces, threatening the stability of her family and marriage.

In September 1919, nineteen‑year‑old Tristan Sadler travels from London to Norwich to deliver letters to Will Bancroft’s sister, but the real purpose is to confess the truths of their shared war experience and a long‑hidden bond.

In 1867, governess Eliza Caine arrives at Gaudlin Hall in Norfolk, where a hidden past and unseen forces threaten her, the children, and the house itself.

The stunning new novel from the author of The Boy in the Striped Pyjamas.Russia, 1915: At the age of 16, Georgy Jachmenev steps in front of an assassin's bullet intended for the heart of a senior member of the Russian Imperial Family. He is instantly proclaimed a hero. Before the week is out, his life as the son of a peasant farmer is changed forever when he is escorted to St Petersburg to take up his new position - as bodyguard to Alexei Romanov, the only son of Tsar Nicholas II.Sixty five years later, visiting his wife Zoya as she lies dying in a London hospital, memories of the life they have lived together flood his mind. Their marriage, while tender, has been marked by tragedy, the loss of loved ones, and experiences of exile that neither can forget.THE HOUSE OF SPECIAL PURPOSEis a novel about a young man ripped from a loving home and thrust into the heart of a dying empire. Privy to the secrets of Nicholas and Alexandra, the machinations of Rasputin and the events which led to the final collapse of the autocracy, Georgy is a witness and participant in a drama which will echo down the century. His is also a story of a marriage in which a husband finds it impossible to live in the present and a wife unable to reconcile herself with the past.Part love story, part historical epic, part tragedy, the novel moves from revolutionary St Petersburg to Paris after the First World War, and from London during the Blitz to the eastern coast of Finland during the 1980s, before returning to a quiet hospital bed where Georgy and Zoya's story must finally be resolved.

A ten‑year‑old boy’s quest to find his father brings a fragmented family together, revealing love, secrets and healing across generations.

A coming-of-age story about a 13-year-old boy's tumultuous summer in New Hampshire, featuring unexpected encounters and lessons on love, betrayal, and friendship.

A teenage runaway in 1980s Arkansas discovers her sexual desires and takes on a foster brother as a new life starts in the small town of Excelsior Springs.

When a church catches fire, seventeen‑year‑old Andy Lockwood rescues children and survives, but the blaze raises doubts about the kind of hero his overprotective mother, Laurel, fears she might have missed.

A History of Loneliness follows Irish priest Odran Yates as he wrestles with the secrets of the church, personal guilt and the lingering impact of past abuse.

A mother named Darlene, grieving her husband’s death, falls into drug addiction and is lured away by a company called Delicious Foods to work on a remote farm. Her twelve‑year‑old son, Eddie, struggles to find her while they both confront exploitation and hope for freedom.

In John Boyne’s suspenseful historical thriller, Owen Montignac—a charismatic heir—must outwit a sudden inheritance twist that favors his cousin Stella, using a looming royal crisis to secure his fortunes.