5 Heartbreaking Books Like The Fault in Our Stars

What are books like The Fault in Our Stars by John Green? Well, there were similar books that came before, and a LOT of books that came after, as The Fault in Our Stars started a trend of YA Illness Books in the 2010s.

BTW, I checked Books Like The Fault in Our Stars Reddit and wow. Their recommendations are TERRIBLE. Take the advice of someone who’s been reading and reviewing YA since 2011 and check out these 5 Heartbreaking 2000s YA Books Like The Fault in Our Stars!

Did you miss my review of The Fault in Our Stars? You can find it here.

When I sat down to write this post (back in 2012) I could think about was what Hazel, one of the main characters in The Fault in Our Stars, said about books about sick kids. Here are her exact words:

“Cancer books suck. Like, in cancer books, the cancer person starts a charity that raises money to fight cancer, right? And this commitment to charity reminds the cancer person of the essential goodness of humanity and makes him/her feel loved because s/he will leave a cancer curing legacy.”

What Are the Tropes and Elements of The Fault in Our Stars?

I am ready. I have my branded The Fault in Our Stars Tissues all ready to go!

Books Like The Fault in Our Stars

Five Feet Apart by Rachael Lippencott

How Five Feet Apart is Like The Fault in Our Stars:

• Patients with the same diagnosis fall in love
• Hospital setting
• Rebellious characters

Five Feet Apart is definitely more dramatic than The Fault in Our Stars, but it does have many of the TFiOS elements.

The two main characters in the book have cystic fibrosis, a genetic disease. Thick, sticky mucus builds up inside patients’ lungs, creating an ideal environment for bacterial infections. And that’s the explanation behind the title. CF patients are often advised to always stay at least five (or six feet) away from one another.

Will and Stella meet in the hospital, where Stella is on the list for a lung transplant and Will is participating in a clinical trial. They know the “five feet” rule.

But then they fall in love. And Stella declares that all that CF has stolen from her, she’s stealing something back. As she and Will inch both literally and emotionally closer, what will the consequences be?

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Elsewhere by Gabrielle Zevin (2005)

Why Elsewhere is like The Fault in Our Stars:

• Sad!
• Romantic subplot
• Unique narrative voice (snarky teen vibe)

If you’re a young Millennial or a older Gen Z, you’ll remember that everyone in middle school and high school was reading this book. Which is a book like The Good Place.

Fifteen year-old Liz dies in a hit-and-run and finds herself in “elsewhere.” It’s kind of like Earth, yet completely different. Liz will age backward until she becomes a baby again and returns to Earth. But Liz wants to turn sixteen, graduate from high school and go to college.

Liz is being forced to live a life she doesn’t want with an (also dead) grandmother she just met. How can Liz let go of the only life she has ever known and embrace a new one? Is it possible that a life lived in reverse is no different from a life lived forward?

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Invincible by Amy Reed (and the sequel, Unforgivable)

If you’re looking for ALL the angst, look no further. Evie is diagnosed with terminal cancer, gets a second chance at life, and then meets … Marcus.

This one is like TFiOS meets Colleen Hoover, so be warned! MELODRAMA. The sequel is from Marcus’s POV.

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The Pull of Gravity by Gae Polisner

Why The Pull of Gravity is Like The Fault in Our Stars

• Teen with a terminal illness
• A quest
• Quirky humor

Nick’s friend Scooter is dying of a freak disease. His Dad, who’s very overweight, has left on a cross-country walk across America. After Scooter dies, Nick and his friend Jaycee go on a road trip to return a first edition copy of Of Mice and Men to Scooter’s father, who hasn’t been heard from in years.

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Last Summer of the Death Warriors by Francisco X. Stork

Why The Last Summer of the Death Warriors is like The Fault in Our Stars

• A quest
• Teen with health issues
• A quirky feel

I think I’ve discussed my love for Marcelo in the Real World on the blog. Death Warriors is the second book by author Francisco X. Stork. Pancho, a ward of the state after his sister’s unexpected death, is sent to St. Anthony’s Home in Las Cruces. There he meets DQ, who has brain cancer. DQ wants Pancho to accompany him to Albequerque, where he’s scheduled to participate in an experimental treatment.

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Before I Die by Jenny Downham

• Teen with a serious illness
• Snarky feel
• Bucket list plot

Jenny Downham has the ability to take topics that, handled by a less skilled writer, could come off as very movie-of-the-week. Sixteen year-old Tessa has had leukemia for four years. Now with just months to live, she makes a “Before I Die” list. Tessa isn’t the noble cancer patient in the sucky books that Hazel hates. She can be angry and bitter. Some of the things on her list are funny and outrageous: have sex, do drugs, break the law. I think Tessa and Hazel would get along just fine.

If you loved this post about Books Like The Fault in Our Stars check out The Fault In Our Stars: What Happened Next?