Books like Spring Pearl by Laurence Yep

The story of a greaser and his friend, who are torn apart by the world's two types of people and must learn to cope with their differences.

A spirited eleven‑year‑old orphan named Pollyanna moves in with her stern Aunt Polly in Beldingsville, Vermont, and spreads optimism through her "Glad Game," uplifting residents while facing resistance from those who refuse her help.

Jo March, now Jo Bhaer, runs the progressive Plumfield school for boys with her husband, Professor Bhaer, two sons and twelve rescued orphan boys, navigating adventures and challenges that test their ideals and friendships.

In 12th‑century Korea, orphan Tree‑ear rises from a bridge in a potters’ village to follow his dream of making celadon by apprenticing with master potter Min, facing hardship and learning the art of pottery.

Two South African siblings brave dangers of apartheid-era Johannesburg to rescue their sick sister.

A Korean brother and sister navigate the growing oppression of the Japanese occupation during World War II, confronting threats to their culture while embodying courage and family loyalty.

When thirteen‑year‑old Callie nurses a broken‑winged butterfly and delivers a baby lamb in 1901 rural Texas, her mother’s disapproval of her "unladylike" kindness sparks a quiet tale of family, nature, and growing up.

A Chinese New Year story featuring family and friendship, suitable for young readers and adults alike.

Jacky Faber, a wealthy diver who once owned the ship *Lorelei Lee*, is sentenced to life in the new Australian penal colony. Forced to transport 200 female convicts, she rallies her companions for daring escape attempts and unlikely adventures.

When privileged education is denied to sixteen‑year‑old Elizabeth because of her gender and lower social standing, she defies expectations by cutting her hair and posing as the upscale schoolmate of her wealthy patron's grandnephew, Will.

In 1592, Donata is a noble girl living in a palazzo on the Grand Canal. Girls of her class receive no education and rarely leave the palazzo. In a noble family, only one daughter and one son will be allowed to marry; Donata, like all younger daughters, will be sent to a convent. Donata longs to be tutored like her brothers and to see the Venice she has glimpsed only on the map. What is the world beyond her balcony, beyond what she sees when she glides, veiled, in a gondola down the canal? She dresses as a boy and escapes the palazzo on the Grand Canal to see the world before she is shut away, and to try to find a way to escape her fate. Donata risks everything; she changes her life, and her family's life, forever when she walks through the door and encounters a Venice she never knew existed.From the Hardcover edition.

In Victorian London, Mary Quinn, an apprentice builder and key member of Miss Scrimshaw’s all‑female detective academy, infiltrates the city’s underworld to expose a hidden murderer.

In a Bangladeshi village, ten‑year‑old Naimi must disguise herself as a boy to help her family earn money through her talent for painting alpanas.

After escaping the gallows in 1850s London, orphaned thief Mary Quinn joins Miss Scrimshaw’s Academy for Girls, training with the all‑female investigative unit, The Agency, to infiltrate a wealthy merchant’s home and uncover his lost cargo ships.

Eleven-year-old Nell moves to Chicago to live with her aunt, Kate Warne, the pioneering female detective of Pinkerton’s National Detective Agency, and helps her solve intriguing mysteries including one linked to Abraham Lincoln and her own family.

A young detective from the palace must navigate London's underworld and royal intrigue to solve a murder mystery involving a Chinese sailor in Buckingham Palace.