Books like 'Out of the Dust'
Readers who enjoyed Out of the Dust by Karen Hesse also liked the following books featuring the same tropes, story themes, relationship dynamics and character types.
historical 20th century action / adventure historical-fiction classics children realistic family coming-of-age survival
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The War That Saved My Life by Kimberly Brubaker Bradley
38 ratings"2016 Newbery Honor book*Winner of the 2016 Schneider Family Book AwardThis #1 New York Times bestseller is an exceptionally moving story of triumph against all odds set during World War II. For fans of Counting by 7s and Sarah, Plain and Tall.Ten-year-old Ada has never left her one-room apartment. Her mother is too humiliated by Ada's twisted foot to let her outside... -
![The Light in Hidden Places by Sharon Cameron]()
The Light in Hidden Places by Sharon Cameron
26 ratingsThe extraordinary story of Stefania Podgorska, a Polish teenager who chose bravery and humanity by hiding thirteen Jews in her attic during WWII -- from #1 New York Times bestselling author Sharon Cameron.One knock at the door, and Stefania has a choice to make..Categorized as:
children coming-of-age family high-school historical-fiction realistic survival 20th-century -
![The Book Thief by Markus Zusak]()
The Book Thief by Markus Zusak
61 ratingsLibrarian's note: An alternate cover edition can be found hereIt is 1939. Nazi Germany. The country is holding its breath. Death has never been busier, and will be busier still.By her brother's graveside, Liesel's life is changed when she picks up a single object, partially hidden in the snow...Categorized as:
children classics coming-of-age drama family female-mc high-school historical-fiction -
![The Memory Keeper of Kyiv by Erin Litteken]()
The Memory Keeper of Kyiv by Erin Litteken
24 ratingsPerfect for fans of The Tattooist of Auschwitz and The Beekeeper of Aleppo.In the 1930s, Stalin’s activists marched through the Soviet Union, espousing the greatness of collective farming. It was the first step in creating a man-made famine that, in Ukraine, stole almost 4 million lives... -
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![Refugee by Alan Gratz]()
Refugee by Alan Gratz
30 ratingsJOSEF is a Jewish boy living in 1930s Nazi Germany. With the threat of concentration camps looming, he and his family board a ship bound for the other side of the world . . .ISABEL is a Cuban girl in 1994. With riots and unrest plaguing her country, she and her family set out on a raft, hoping to find safety in America . . .MAHMOUD is a Syrian boy in 2015... -
![Pather Panchali: Song of the Road by Bibhutibhushan Bandyopadhyay]()
Pather Panchali: Song of the Road by Bibhutibhushan Bandyopadhyay
18 ratingsPather Panchali deals with the life of the Roy family, consisting of Harihar, Sarbajaya, Apu and Durga, both in their ancestral village Nishchindipur in rural Bengal and later when they move to Varanasi in search of a better life, as well as the anguish and loss they face during their travels...Categorized as:
children classics coming-of-age drama family historical-fiction 20th-century action-adventure -
![Salt to the Sea by Ruta Sepetys]()
Salt to the Sea by Ruta Sepetys
40 ratingsWhile the Titanic and Lusitania are both well-documented disasters, the single greatest tragedy in maritime history is the little-known January 30, 1945 sinking in the Baltic Sea by a Soviet submarine of the Wilhelm Gustloff, a German cruise liner that was supposed to ferry wartime personnel and refugees to safety from the advancing Red Army... -
![Between Shades of Gray by Ruta Sepetys]()
Between Shades of Gray by Ruta Sepetys
41 ratingsLina is just like any other fifteen-year-old Lithuanian girl in 1941. She paints, she draws, she gets crushes on boys. Until one night when Soviet officers barge into her home, tearing her family from the comfortable life they've known...Categorized as:
classics coming-of-age drama family female-mc high-school historical-fiction realistic -
![Broken Angels by Gemma Liviero]()
Broken Angels by Gemma Liviero
24 ratingsA Nazi doctor. A Jewish rebel. A little girl. Each one will fight for freedom—or die trying. Imprisoned in the Lodz Ghetto, Elsi discovers her mother’s desperate attempt to end her pregnancy and comes face-to-face with the impossibility of their situation. Risking her own life, Elsi joins a resistance group to sabotage the regime... -
![Home in the Woods by Eliza Wheeler]()
Home in the Woods by Eliza Wheeler
14 ratingsThis stunningly beautiful picture book from New York Times bestselling author-illustrator Eliza Wheeler is based on her grandmother's childhood and pays homage to a family's fortitude as they discover the meaning of home... -
![The Four Winds by Kristin Hannah]()
The Four Winds by Kristin Hannah
42 ratings“My land tells its story if you listen. The story of our family.”Texas, 1921. A time of abundance. The Great War is over, the bounty of the land is plentiful, and America is on the brink of a new and optimistic era. But for Elsa Wolcott, deemed too old to marry in a time when marriage is a woman’s only option, the future seems bleak... -
![Anne of Green Gables by L.M. Montgomery]()
Anne of Green Gables by L.M. Montgomery
47 ratingsThis heartwarming story has beckoned generations of readers into the special world of Green Gables, an old-fashioned farm outside a town called Avonlea. Anne Shirley, an eleven-year-old orphan, has arrived in this verdant corner of Prince Edward Island only to discover that the Cuthberts—elderly Matthew and his stern sister, Marilla—want to adopt a boy, not a feisty redheaded girl...Categorized as:
children classics coming-of-age drama family female-mc high-school historical-fiction -
![A Tree Grows in Brooklyn by Betty Smith]()
A Tree Grows in Brooklyn by Betty Smith
46 ratingsThe beloved American classic about a young girl's coming-of-age at the turn of the century, Betty Smith's A Tree Grows in Brooklyn is a poignant and moving tale filled with compassion and cruelty, laughter and heartache, crowded with life and people and incident...Categorized as:
children classics coming-of-age drama family female-mc high-school historical-fiction -
![Once Upon a Wardrobe by Patti Callahan]()
Once Upon a Wardrobe by Patti Callahan
24 ratingsNow available in trade paper with an eye-catching new cover from the bestselling author of Becoming Mrs. Lewis: Megs Devonshire sets out to fulfill her younger brother George’s last wish by uncovering the truth behind his favorite story. The answer provides hope and healing and a magical journey for anyone whose life has ever been changed by a book... -
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![Projekt 1065 by Alan Gratz]()
Projekt 1065 by Alan Gratz
24 ratingsInfiltrate. Befriend. Sabotage.World War II is raging. Michael O'Shaunessey, originally from Ireland, now lives in Nazi Germany with his parents. Like the other boys in his school, Michael is a member of the Hitler Youth.But Michael has a secret. He and his parents are spies. Michael despises everything the Nazis stand for... -
![After by Morris Gleitzman]()
After by Morris Gleitzman
18 ratingsA Holocaust survival story that combines hopeful melancholy with gentle humourFollowing a heartbreaking struggle to survive as a Jewish child in Germany, Felix faces perhaps his greatest challenge—to find hope when he's lost almost everything.As Europe goes through the final agonizing stages of the war, Felix struggles to reconcile hatred and healing... -
![We Are Not Free by Traci Chee]()
We Are Not Free by Traci Chee
20 ratingsNATIONAL BOOK AWARD FINALIST From New York Times best-selling and acclaimed author Traci Chee comes We Are Not Free, the collective account of a tight-knit group of young Nisei, second-generation Japanese American citizens, whose lives are irrevocably changed by the mass U.S. incarcerations of World War II. Fourteen teens who have grown up together in Japantown, San Francisco... -
![Anne of the Island by L.M. Montgomery]()
Anne of the Island by L.M. Montgomery
41 ratingsAnne Shirley has come a long way since her days as a mischievous orphan living in the house at Green Gables. She is now eighteen and headed to faraway Redmond College in Kingsport. Anne's college years are sure to be full of fun, but they will also be a time for soul–searching and big decisions... -
![La casa del bosque by Laura Ingalls Wilder]()
La casa del bosque by Laura Ingalls Wilder
45 ratingsWolves and panthers and bears roamed the deep Wisconsin woods in the 1860's. Still, Laura Ingalls' father preferred to live miles away from the nearest neighbors. So Pa built a snug cabin for Ma, Laura, Mary and Baby Carrie. He hunted and trapped and farmed. Ma made her own cheese and sugar...Categorized as:
children classics coming-of-age drama family female-mc high-school historical-fiction -
![Soon by Morris Gleitzman]()
Soon by Morris Gleitzman
16 ratingsAfter the Nazis took my parents I was scared. After they killed my best friend I was angry. After I joined the partisans and helped defeat the Nazis I was hopeful. Soon, I said, we'll be safe. I was wrong.Soon continues the incredibly moving story of Felix, a Jewish boy still struggling to survive in the wake of the liberation of Poland after the end of World War Two...Categorized as:
children coming-of-age family historical-fiction realistic survival 20th-century action-adventure -
![Little House on the Prairie by Laura Ingalls Wilder]()
Little House on the Prairie by Laura Ingalls Wilder
44 ratingsSet in the 1870's, these American classics present an authentic description of life in the uncharted West, and offer an intimate perspective on growing up during those trying times... -
![A Little Princess by Frances Hodgson Burnett, Nancy Bond]()
A Little Princess by Frances Hodgson Burnett, Nancy Bond
43 ratingsSara Crewe, an exceptionally intelligent and imaginative student at Miss Minchin's Select Seminary for Young Ladies, is devastated when her adored, indulgent father dies. Now penniless and banished to a room in the attic, Sara is demeaned, abused, and forced to work as a servant...Categorized as:
children classics coming-of-age drama family female-mc high-school historical-fiction -
![Anne of Avonlea by L.M. Montgomery]()
Anne of Avonlea by L.M. Montgomery
41 ratingsAt sixteen, Anne is grown up...almost. Her gray eyes shine like evening stars, but her red hair is still as peppery as her temper. In the years since she arrived at Green Gables as a freckle-faced orphan, she has earned the love of the people of Avonlea and a reputation for getting into scrapes. But when Anne begins her job as the new schoolteacher, the real test of her character begins... -
![Number the Stars by Lois Lowry]()
Number the Stars by Lois Lowry
46 ratingsTen-year-old Annemarie Johansen and her best friend Ellen Rosen often think of life before the war. It's now 1943 and their life in Copenhagen is filled with school, food shortages, and the Nazi soldiers marching through town. When the Jews of Denmark are "relocated," Ellen moves in with the Johansens and pretends to be one of the family...Categorized as:
children classics coming-of-age drama family female-mc high-school historical-fiction -
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![Mandy by Julie Andrews Edwards]()
Mandy by Julie Andrews Edwards
24 ratingsThe magic of finding a home Mandy, a ten-year-old orphan, dreams of a place to call her own. Escaping over the orphanage wall to explore the outside world, Mandy discovers a tiny deserted cottage in the woods. All through the spring, summer, and fall, Mandy works to make it truly hers. Sometimes she "borrows" things she needs from the orphanage. Sometimes, to guard her secret, she even lies...Categorized as:
children classics coming-of-age family female-mc historical-fiction realistic 20th-century -
![Madeline and the Bad Hat by Ludwig Bemelmans]()
Madeline and the Bad Hat by Ludwig Bemelmans
24 ratingsThe Spanish Ambassador has moved next door, and Madeline knows right away that his son, Pepito, is bad news...Categorized as:
children classics family female-mc historical-fiction realistic 20th-century action-adventure -
![Daughter of the Reich by Louise Fein]()
Daughter of the Reich by Louise Fein
24 ratingsFor fans of The Nightingale and All the Light We Cannot See, a spellbinding story of impossible love set against the backdrop of the Nazi regime. She must choose between loyalty to her country or a love that could be her destruction… As the dutiful daughter of a high-ranking Nazi officer, Hetty Heinrich is keen to play her part in the glorious new Thousand Year Reich...Categorized as:
coming-of-age drama family female-mc historical-fiction survival 20th-century action-adventure -
![Rilla of Ingleside by L.M. Montgomery]()
Rilla of Ingleside by L.M. Montgomery
31 ratingsAnne's children were almost grown up, except for pretty, high-spirited Rilla. No one could resist her bright hazel eyes and dazzling smile. Rilla, almost fifteen, can't think any further ahead than going to her very first dance at the Four Winds lighthouse and getting her first kiss from handsome Kenneth Ford... -
![The Black Stallion by Walter Farley]()
The Black Stallion by Walter Farley
36 ratingsAlec Ramsay is the sole human survivor of a devastating shipwreck. Trapped on a deserted island, Alec finds his only companion is a horse, beautiful, unbroken, and savage . . . a horse whose beauty matches his wild spirit.This first classic story of the Black Stallion, full of action, excitement, and suspense, has set the pace for horse stories for sixty years . . -
![Little Town on the Prairie by Laura Ingalls Wilder]()
Little Town on the Prairie by Laura Ingalls Wilder
39 ratingsLaura is almost fifteen. The long winter is over. With spring comes socials, dances, and "Literaries." There is also work to be done. Laura spends many hours each day sewing shirts to help send Mary to a college for the blind. But, in the evenings, Laura makes time for a new caller, Almazo Wilder...Categorized as:
children classics coming-of-age family female-mc historical-fiction realistic 20th-century -
![Sarah's Key by Tatiana de Rosnay]()
Sarah's Key by Tatiana de Rosnay
44 ratingsParis, July 1942: Ten-year-old Sarah is brutally arrested with her family in the Vel' d'Hiv' roundup, the most notorious act of French collaboration with the Nazis. but before the police come to take them, Sarah locks her younger brother, Michel, in their favorite hiding place, a cupboard in the family's apartment. She keeps the key, thinking that she will be back within a few hours... -
![They Went Left by Monica Hesse]()
They Went Left by Monica Hesse
20 ratingsGermany, 1945. The soldiers who liberated the Gross-Rosen concentration camp said the war was over, but nothing feels over to eighteen-year-old Zofia Lederman. Her body has barely begun to heal; her mind feels broken... -
![An Artificial Light by Petra Durst-Benning, Edwin Miles]()
An Artificial Light by Petra Durst-Benning, Edwin Miles
12 ratingsA defiant woman in pre–World War I Germany carves out her own unconventional destiny as the enthralling Photographer’s Saga continues.Germany, 1911. Certain things are expected of a woman. Defiant Mimi Reventlow has chosen to be the woman she wants to be. For now, that’s the resident, if temporary, photographer in Laichingen...Categorized as:
drama family female-mc historical-fiction 20th-century action-adventure adult audiobook -
![The Lions of Little Rock by Kristin Levine]()
The Lions of Little Rock by Kristin Levine
24 ratingsEverything’s changing for twelve-year-old Marlee. Her brother’s gone off to college and her sister’s moved out of the room they’ve shared since Marlee was born. To Marlee, it feels like her whole world’s falling apart. On top of all that, she’s starting middle school and has to break in new teachers—teachers who don’t yet know Marlee doesn’t talk... -
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![A River Runs Through it and Other Stories by Norman Maclean, Annie Proulx]()
A River Runs Through it and Other Stories by Norman Maclean, Annie Proulx
26 ratingsJust as Norman Maclean writes at the end of "A River Runs through It" that he is "haunted by waters," so have readers been haunted by his novella. A retired English professor who began writing fiction at the age of 70, Maclean produced what is now recognized as one of the classic American stories of the twentieth century...Categorized as:
classics coming-of-age drama family high-school historical-fiction realistic 20th-century -
![By the Shores of Silver Lake by Laura Ingalls Wilder]()
By the Shores of Silver Lake by Laura Ingalls Wilder
36 ratingsThe adventures of Laura Ingalls and her family continue as they move from their little house on the banks of Plum Creek to the wilderness of the unsettled Dakota Territory. Here Pa works on the new railroad until he finds a homestead claim that is perfect for their new little house...Categorized as:
children classics coming-of-age family female-mc historical-fiction realistic survival -
![Anne's House of Dreams by L.M. Montgomery]()
Anne's House of Dreams by L.M. Montgomery
40 ratingsAnne's own true love, Gilbert Blythe, is finally a doctor, and in the sunshine of the old orchard, among their dearest friends, they are about to speak their vows. Soon the happy couple will be bound for a new life together and their own dream house, on the misty purple shores of Four Winds Harbor.A new life means fresh problems to solve, fresh surprises... -
![Anne's House of Dreams by L.M. Montgomery]()
Anne's House of Dreams by L.M. Montgomery
40 ratingsAnne's own true love, Gilbert Blythe, is finally a doctor, and in the sunshine of the old orchard, among their dearest friends, they are about to speak their vows. Soon the happy couple will be bound for a new life together and their own dream house, on the misty purple shores of Four Winds Harbor. A new life means fresh problems to solve, fresh surprises... -
![Road To Memphis by Mildred D. Taylor]()
Road To Memphis by Mildred D. Taylor
16 ratingsAs America hovers on the brink of World War II, Cassie Logan fights a battle closer to home--the battle of black against white.The third book in the powerfully written Logan family saga finds the 17-year-old Cassie Logan dreaming of college and law school...Categorized as:
children classics coming-of-age family female-mc high-school historical-fiction realistic -
![The Long Winter by Laura Ingalls Wilder]()
The Long Winter by Laura Ingalls Wilder
38 ratingsOn the empty winter prairie, gray clouds to the northwest meant only one thing: a blizzard was seconds away. The first blizzard came in October. It snowed almost without stopping until April. The temperature dropped to forty below. Snow reached the roof-tops. And no trains could get through with food and coal. The townspeople began to starve. The Ingalls family barely lived through that winter... -
![When We Were Young & Brave by Hazel Gaynor]()
When We Were Young & Brave by Hazel Gaynor
20 ratingsTheir motto was to be prepared, but nothing could prepare them for war. . .The New York Times bestselling author of The Girl Who Came Home sets her unforgettable new novel in China during WWII, inspired by true events surrounding the Japanese Army’s internment of teachers and children from a British-run missionary school.China, December 1941... -
![Be Still the Water by Karen Emilson]()
Be Still the Water by Karen Emilson
6 ratingsFinalist 2019 Canadian Book Club AwardsShortlisted for the 2017 Margaret Laurence Award for Fiction2017 IPPY Silver Medal WinnerSet in 1906 along the unspoiled shores of Lake Manitoba, Be Still the Water brings us into the fold of the Gudmundsson Family—immigrants determined to begin life anew in the Icelandic farming and fishing community of Siglunes...Categorized as:
historical-fiction family survival coming-of-age female-mc fiction historical literary-fiction -
![The Things They Carried by Tim O'Brien]()
The Things They Carried by Tim O'Brien
43 ratingsThis depicts the men of Alpha Company. They battle the enemy (or maybe more the idea of the enemy), and occasionally each other. In their relationships we see their isolation and loneliness, their rage and fear. They miss their families, their girlfriends and buddies; they miss the lives they left back home... -
![The Librarian of Auschwitz by Antonio Iturbe]()
The Librarian of Auschwitz by Antonio Iturbe
30 ratingsBased on the experience of real-life Auschwitz prisoner Dita Kraus, this is the incredible story of a girl who risked her life to keep the magic of books alive during the Holocaust.Fourteen-year-old Dita is one of the many imprisoned by the Nazis at Auschwitz... -
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![A Girl Of The Limberlost by Gene Stratton-Porter]()
A Girl Of The Limberlost by Gene Stratton-Porter
24 ratingsDeeply wounded by her embittered mother's lack of sympathy for her aspirations, Elnora finds comfort in the nearby Limberlost Swamp, whose beauty and rich abundance provide her with the means to better her life...Categorized as:
children classics coming-of-age drama family female-mc high-school historical-fiction -
![The Paul Street Boys by Ferenc Molnár]()
The Paul Street Boys by Ferenc Molnár
24 ratingsThe war between two groups of Hungarian boys living in Budapest. One with Hungarian national colours (red, white, green) is defending the square from redshirts (from Garibaldi's redshirts), who want to occupy the square...Categorized as:
children classics coming-of-age drama historical-fiction sad 20th-century action-adventure -
![Never Fall Down by Patricia McCormick]()
Never Fall Down by Patricia McCormick
24 ratingsThis National Book Award nominee from two-time finalist Patricia McCormick is the unforgettable story of Arn Chorn-Pond, who defied the odds to survive the Cambodian genocide of 1975-1979 and the labor camps of the Khmer Rouge...Categorized as:
children coming-of-age drama family high-school historical-fiction poverty realistic -
![My Mother's Secret by J.L. Witterick]()
My Mother's Secret by J.L. Witterick
24 ratingsA novel based on a true story, a mother and daughter risk their lives to provide shelter to two families and a German soldier--all unbeknownst to each other--in a tiny two-room house in Sokal, Poland, during the Nazi invasion...Categorized as:
drama family historical-fiction sad survival 20th-century action-adventure audiobook -
![Lassie Come-Home by Eric Knight]()
Lassie Come-Home by Eric Knight
26 ratingsA beloved classic gets a beautiful new look.Lassie is Joe's prize collie and constant companion. But when Joe's father loses his job, Lassie must be sold. Three times she escapes from her new owner, and three times she returns home to Joe, until finally she is taken to the remotest part of Scotland—too far a journey for any dog to make alone.But Lassie is not just any dog... -
![The Box-Car Children by Gertrude Chandler Warner]()
The Box-Car Children by Gertrude Chandler Warner
41 ratingsThe Boxcar Children is a children's literary franchise originally created and written by American writer and first-grade school teacher,[1] Gertrude Chandler Warner. Today, the series includes well over 100 titles. The series is aimed at readers in grades 2-6...Categorized as:
children classics coming-of-age family historical-fiction poverty realistic survival
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