Books like Sweet like sugar by Wayne Hoffman

Of Mice and Men follows two migrant ranch workers—George and Lennie—who dream of owning land while struggling with the hardships of the Great Depression; their friendship is tested by tragedy.

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.

Raina Telgemeier’s graphic novel follows middle‑school theater enthusiast Callie as she designs a blue‑grass‑tired set for a school play, grappling with teamwork, budgets, and the drama of friendship and family.

In the unforgettable Le Cirque des Rêves, two young magicians, Celia and Marco, are locked in a nocturnal duel of wonder and will—an impossible game where love and magic collide on a stage of breathtaking spectacle.

The Goldfinch chronicles the life of thirteen‑year‑old Theo Decker, who survives a museum attack that kills his mother and carries an art piece that becomes a lifelong obsession, exploring loss, identity, and art in contemporary America.

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.

John Irving’s narrative follows two eleven‑year‑old boys in New Hampshire whose friendship is shattered when a foul ball kills one boy’s mother. The survivor, Owen Meany, believes he is a divine instrument, and the novel traces the impact of that belief on his life and the lives of those around him.

In 1983 London, twenty‑year‑old Nick Guest, a recent Oxford graduate, becomes entangled in the lavish, politically charged world of MP Gerald Feddens, his wife Rachel, and their family, discovering love, ambition, and the temptations of an era in sharp, humor‑laden prose.

In 1899 New York, a clay golem from Poland and a fire jinn from the Syrian desert meet, forming an unlikely friendship that explores Yiddish and Middle Eastern folklore, Kabbalistic magic, and the immigrant experience.

Caseworker Linus travels to a remote orphanage to investigate ragged kids and their enigmatic caretaker Arthur, only to discover that the island’s magical children—and his own heart—are part of something larger than he imagined.

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.

Emma Donoghue’s debut novel follows a French burlesque dancer who, after a murder in 1876 San Francisco, seeks justice for her friend amid heat, smallpox and fierce class tensions.

Six talented teens bond at an arts summer camp amid Nixon's resignation and follow them into adulthood, exploring how friendship, talent, and life choices shape their destinies.

Two close friends in their early thirties navigate a life‑shifting change when one of them unexpectedly discovers she is pregnant.

It is 1974 when Leni Allbright's impulsive father Ernt decides the family is moving to Alaska. But the Alaskan winter is just as unforgiving as Ernt, and life quickly becomes a struggle for survival.

The autobiographical thriller-drama DON'T ASK FOR SUGAR is about the extraordinary adventures of a young European man who falls head over heels in love in Bangkok with a beautiful New Zealander woman who has been traveling the world for years. The two have a happy life in Western Australia. Christoph, who struggles along as a garden helper for lack of a work permit, admires the experienced Suzanne, who works as a well-paid nude model at Perth's university. One weekend, the future is predicted for both of them. According to the fortune teller in the small chapel, Suzanne will soon be living far south and pursuing an ancient profession there, but when she holds Christoph's hand, the seer suddenly trembles and sees dark forces and sinister demons. Shortly afterwards, Suzanne is offered an extraordinarily cheap plane ticket to New Zealand, and as she hasn't been home for a very long time, she makes a spontaneous decision, whereupon the world falls apart for Christoph as he loses the love of his life. A few days later, however, Christoph pulls himself together again, sells his car and hitchhikes through the middle of the Australian desert to get some fresh ideas from new impressions. But can he simply forget Suzanne? After three weeks in New South Wales, he meets Dave, an Australian, and Bryce, a Scotsman. The two of them have been in a car accident. One of the tires is flat. A headlight is broken. Having managed to pull the mudguard out, the young men decide to drive north for two days because the small coastal town of Cairns at the Great Barrier Reef turns into a party hotspot at the end of the year when divers from all over the world wash up on its beaches together with jellyfish. This is a true story and it's far from over.

A wealthy Alabama planter confesses his hidden past when he marries off his daughter to a husband who rejects their child, forcing his family into a web of secrets that threatens to unravel their prosperity.

In the tense 1980s, shy seven‑year‑old Sarah Zuckerman befriends the nouveau‑rich Jenny Jones of Washington, D.C.; their letters to Soviet Premier Andropov spark a media sensation, but when Jenny dies in a plane crash, ten‑years later Sarah discovers a mystery that forces her to confront the tangled truths of friendship, politics, and loss.

SHE COULD LOSE HER SON, AFTER ALL Little Danny Woodson witnessed a murder, and now the killer is after him. Claire Woodson will do anything to protect her son. Even if it means living with the enemy. And Mack McMollere, Danny's uncle, is the enemy. The wealthy Louisiana sugar baron is fighting Claire for custody of the boy. Mack -- and the powerful McMollere family -- swear they can keep Danny safe. But there's new danger. Danny is fitting in too well with his late father's family. And when she's with Mack, Claire's finding it all too easy to forget that the McMolleres want her son

Tina Mills leaves her life in search of her real mother in Sugartown, Connecticut, where her quest as a documentary filmmaker pulls her into a romance with the local police chief, Colby Evans, and their families discover new meanings of parenthood.

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