Books like The Story of Beautiful Girl by Rachel Simon

During World War II, a foster girl in Nazi Germany steals books to share with neighbors and a hidden Jewish man, proving literature’s power to nourish the soul amid darkness.

A lonely orphan girl on the Yorkshire moors befriends a disabled cousin and unlocks the secrets of a hidden garden.

After being murdered at fourteen, Susie Salmon watches from heaven as her family, friends, and killer grapple with grief and justice, revealing how love and forgiveness shape a family's future.

In the orderly suburb of Shaker Heights, a new family’s arrival and a custody dispute ignite tension, revealing secrets, art, and the complex pull of motherhood in a tightly knit community.

Sisters Vianne and Isabelle are pulled into the turmoil of World War II, each forging a path of courage and resistance against the Nazi occupation of France.

A five‑year‑old boy and his mother are held in a small room, and the story unfolds through the boy’s perspective, highlighting the harrowing effects of captivity.

Harold Fry, recently retired, embarks on an unlikely 250‑mile journey from Kingsbridge to Berwick‑upon‑Twed to visit a dying friend, and in doing so discovers his own past and the meaning of love.

A novel about a man who gives his daughter with Down syndrome to a nurse, sparking controversy and gaining widespread attention in the media.

Sage Singer, a baker, befriends retired teacher Josef Weber, who asks her to end his life. When his chilling secret surfaces, Sage must decide whether justice or forgiveness is the right path.

In Brian Selznick’s beautifully illustrated tale, two children — Rose in 1927, portrayed through pictures, and Ben in 1977, told in words — each search for a missing piece of their lives, intertwining loss, family and the mystery of the American Museum of Natural History.

Monsieur Perdu, a literary apothecary aboard a Seine barge, prescribes novels to heal broken hearts. When his own love remains a mystery, he journeys south of France to find closure and prove stories can mend souls.

A San Francisco-based florist with a gift for interpreting flowers transforms the lives of those around her while confronting her own painful past.

A touching biography for young readers that traces Helen Keller’s journey from a blind‑deaf childhood in America to becoming an internationally admired author, activist, and symbol of perseverance.

344 pages ; 22 cmHL660L Lexile

April Taylor, a teenage orphan who lost her parents, navigates heartbreak and betrayal, finding refuge with a deaf young woman named Echo. Together they confront danger and must rely on their friendship and inner strength to survive.

What do you do when you suddenly discover that you have a very strange reaction to water? Cleo, Emma and Rikki are about to find out...

Three interwoven novellas follow a wheelchair‑bound professor navigating a chaotic student party, a spurned fiancée of the Prince of England chronicling her life, and a scholarship winner struggling to define his academic identity.

A sweeping love story that spans Budapest and Paris, following three Jewish brothers whose lives are reshaped by World War II and the desperate strife of family.

When the Soviet Union invades its tiny neighbor Finland in November 1939, Marko volunteers to help the war effort. Even though his leg was weakened by polio, he can ski well, and he becomes a messenger on the front line, skiing in white camouflage through the forests at night. The dark forest is terrifying, and so are the odds against the Finns: the Russians have 4 times as many soldiers and 30 times as many planes. They have 3000 tanks, while the Finns have 30. But a tank is no help in the snowy forest--a boy on skis is. And the Russians don't know winter the way the Finns do, or what tough guerrilla warriors the Finns are. Marko teams up with another messenger, Karl. Gradually Marko learns that Karl's whole family was killed by the Russians. And Karl has a secret--he's really Kaari, a girl who joined up to get revenge for her family's deaths.From the Hardcover edition.

Hetty Deveraux returns to her crumbling Outer Hebrides estate to renovate it as a hotel, only to uncover a centuries‑old human remains and unravel family secrets that tie her present to a vanished past.

There was something special between them. Pete Karmer told Vonnie Morrison. And that made moving to a new town easier. This time Vonnie was determined to be outgoing and friendly. But her determination to hide a part of her life caused misunderstandings and, worse yet, threatened to break up her first real romance. [text from book flier]

Our Woman, Jimmy, and a son's enlistment in the Afghan war lead to an odyssey of grief and longing.

See https://openlibrary.org/works/OL19781733W/Eleanor_Oliphant_Is_Completely_Fine