Books like 'Speak'
Readers who enjoyed Speak by Laurie Halse Anderson also liked the following books featuring the same tropes, story themes, relationship dynamics and character types.
contemporary young adult dark romance suspense mystery strong heroine tortured heroine high-school angst m-f
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Mafiosa by Catherine Doyle
A blood war rages on the streets of Chicago.Protected by an infamous mafia family, Sophie is living a dangerous lie, pretending to lead a normal life. But the deceit can’t last for ever. Her heart belongs to a killer and Sophie’s the prime target of a rival clan... -
![Elicit by Rachel Van Dyken]()
Elicit by Rachel Van Dyken
Cursed, numb, rejected, scorned, wicked, sinister, dark, twisted...my name is Tex Campisi and this is my legacy. I killed my father in cold blood and lost my soul right along with him. I crave war more than peace, and I'm about to take my place in history as the youngest Capo dei Capi in the Cosa Nostra...that is until someone stops me, saves me from myself... -
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![Real Girl by Sheridan Anne]()
Real Girl by Sheridan Anne
Lucien Valentine must die.It’s the thought that’s kept me going for four long years. I’ve imagined it, dreamed about it, relished in it. I want it so bad, but the question is, do I have what it takes to make it happen?Taking a life isn’t for the faint-hearted. Just ask Lucien, he knows.He’s taken me back to where it all started and I know exactly how it’s going to go... -
![Always Crew by Tijan]()
Always Crew by Tijan
Rated: 4.38 of 5 stars · 29 ratingsFor the longest time, I was Bren Monroe.I lived in Roussou, California.I had no parents, no brother, but I had a crew.Then things started to change.I never planned for any of it.I didn’t think I’d fall in love.I didn’t think I’d have a relationship with my brother again.I didn’t think that he’d come back.Now I’m in Cain.My crew is in college.They’re growing, going through their own things... -
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![Break Me by Meagan Brandy]()
Break Me by Meagan Brandy
I had a plan, and it was solid. Track down what was hidden away and take pleasure in toying with it. Toying with her. It worked like a charm.Until it didn’t. Turned out, the feisty little thing I found was far from what I hoped for. She was different from all I knew and more than I expected. She was light, and I’m the bastard who led her into darkness.But this girl..Categorized as:
angst suspense tortured heroine strong heroine slow burn high-school m-f contemporary -
![Ride or Die by Sheridan Anne]()
Ride or Die by Sheridan Anne
Gang life isn't for everyone, but a b*tch in colors always looks good.The West Side Wolves claim to be a brotherhood, but what do they do when a sister walks in demanding their attention?To everyone else, stepping into the Wolf Den was an epic mistake, filled with consequential betrayals... -
![Barely Breathing by Rebecca Donovan]()
Barely Breathing by Rebecca Donovan
Rated: 4.18 of 5 stars · 78 ratingsEmma’s struggle with an abusive home life came to a heart pounding conclusion in the final chapters of "Reason to Breathe". Now everyone in Weslyn knows Emma’s secret, but Carol can’t hurt Emma anymore. Some are still haunted by the horror of that night, and some must face the repercussions of their choices...Categorized as:
suspense tortured heroine angst high-school m-f contemporary young adult tearjerkers -
![The Female of the Species by Mindy McGinnis]()
The Female of the Species by Mindy McGinnis
Rated: 4.20 of 5 stars · 59 ratingsA contemporary YA novel that examines rape culture through alternating perspectives. Alex Craft knows how to kill someone. And she doesn’t feel bad about it.Three years ago, when her older sister, Anna, was murdered and the killer walked free, Alex uncaged the language she knows best—the language of violence. While her own crime goes unpunished, Alex knows she can’t be trusted among other people... -
![The Resolution of Callie & Kayden by Jessica Sorensen]()
The Resolution of Callie & Kayden by Jessica Sorensen
Rated: 4.25 of 5 stars · 36 ratingsThings are well for Callie and Kayden. They’re still dealing with their past and the pain connected to it, but for the most part they’ve moved on. The biggest decision they have at the moment is what they want to do with their lives in the future. Eventually, though, the past catches up with them and they’re left facing tough choices... -
![Out of the Dark by Danah Logan]()
Out of the Dark by Danah Logan
LillyMy name is the only truth they didn’t take from me.Betrayed by my family, my desperate need for answers put me back on his radar.The one person who was never supposed to find me.Again.I was unprepared for the world I got thrust into—the connection we shared.The deeper I dug, the more unstable my future became.With Rhys as my anchor, I will fight to bring my past out of the dark... -
![Wild Girl by Sheridan Anne]()
Wild Girl by Sheridan Anne
Have you ever known what it feels like to die?It’s not great. Trust me, I don’t recommend it.I’ve always said that my life is about surviving, but I didn’t realize how true that was until the devil sent me soaring off a bridge with the love of my life and lodged a bullet through my thigh.It’s not my time to die... -
![Reckless Dynasty by Tracy Lorraine]()
Reckless Dynasty by Tracy Lorraine
USA Today and Wall Street Journal bestselling author Tracy Lorraine brings you the next installment of her dark mafia, high school bully romance story set in the Knight's Ridge Empire world.My life has been full of half-truths tangled in lies—I’d been to hell and back more times than I could count... -
![The Storyteller by Antonia Michaelis]()
The Storyteller by Antonia Michaelis
Rated: 4.21 of 5 stars · 36 ratingsAnna and Abel couldn’t be more different. They are both seventeen and in their last year of school, but while Anna lives in a nice old town house and comes from a well-to-do family, Abel, the school drug dealer, lives in a big, prisonlike tower block at the edge of town. Anna is afraid of him until she realizes that he is caring for his six-year-old sister on his own... -
![Game by Barry Lyga]()
Game by Barry Lyga
Rated: 4.23 of 5 stars · 32 ratingsBilly grinned. “Oh, New York,” he whispered. “We’re gonna have so much fun.” I Hunt Killers introduced the world to Jazz, the son of history’s most infamous serial killer, Billy Dent. In an effort to prove murder didn’t run in the family, Jazz teamed with the police in the small town of Lobo’s Nod to solve a deadly case... -
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![Now Is Everything by Amy Giles]()
Now Is Everything by Amy Giles
Rated: 4.26 of 5 stars · 27 ratingsThis is a previously published edition of ISBN 0062495739.The McCauleys look perfect on the outside. But nothing is ever as it seems, and this family is hiding a dark secret.Hadley McCauley will do anything to keep her sister safe from their father... -
![Finding Eden by Mia Sheridan]()
Finding Eden by Mia Sheridan
The second book in the Acadia Duology, a forbidden friends-to-lovers romance, from the New York Times bestselling author of Archer's Voice . When the world as you know it has ended, when all that you love has been washed away, where do you find strength? Calder and Eden are free from the stifling grasp of Acadia, but the new world they've stepped into is just as isolating... -
![Like Gravity by Julie Johnson]()
Like Gravity by Julie Johnson
Rated: 4.16 of 5 stars · 39 ratingsTwenty year-old Brooklyn “Bee” Turner is no stranger to grief. After witnessing her mother’s brutal murder at age six, Brooklyn is guarded, damaged, and – by all accounts – a bitch. And that’s just the way she likes it, if it means keeping everyone at arm’s length...Categorized as:
mystery suspense strong heroine tortured heroine m-f young adult contemporary tattoos -
![Forever Golden by Rachel Jonas, Lessa Lamb]()
Forever Golden by Rachel Jonas, Lessa Lamb
Rated: 4.20 of 5 stars · 33 ratingsWest Golden—Fierce protector. The one.The cocky jock I once wanted to kill with my bare hands is now the only one I trust with my heart.In a city full of corruption and dark secrets, knowing who’s on your side gets harder to determine every day. Especially now that Vin’s on the warpath, passing out threats he fully intends to see through to the end... -
![River Knight by K. Webster]()
River Knight by K. Webster
Rated: 4.41 of 5 stars · 14 ratingsLife was nearly stolen from me. In the blink of an eye, everything changed. I'm no longer the charismatic, hot playboy Hornet. I'm irrevocably altered. Damaged both inside and out. I can't think. I can't function. I can't live. Not with all this darkness and pain dragging me into unknown depths. Some days, I wish I never woke up. But then life takes an unusual turn...Categorized as:
angst suspense m-f strong heroine high-school multicultural contemporary friends to lovers -
![Requiem by Callie Hart]()
Requiem by Callie Hart
SORRELLHe’s going to pay for what he’s done…Theo Merchant was born into a kind of privilege I’ve never known.He has everything I don’t: Money. A private school education. Popularity. A bright and shiny future, full of success to look forward to. He took the only thing I had going for me—my best friend, Rachel. Now that she’s gone, I have nothing left to lose.I will infiltrate his world... -
![Collateral Damage: A Second Chance Mafia Romance by Amy McKinley]()
Collateral Damage: A Second Chance Mafia Romance by Amy McKinley
Rated: 4.83 of 5 stars · 6 ratingsThe spark is real, but the timing’s wrong.When Mafia surgeon, Trey La Rosa, met the one woman who could bring him to his knees, grief from his girlfriend’s recent death loomed between them. He forced himself to walk away. Months later, she’s been kidnapped—and he’ll do anything to save her... -
![Dangerous Girls by Abigail Haas, Abby McDonald]()
Dangerous Girls by Abigail Haas, Abby McDonald
Rated: 4.14 of 5 stars · 44 ratingsIt's Spring Break of senior year. Anna, her boyfriend Tate, her best friend Elise, and a few other close friends are off to a debaucherous trip to Aruba that promises to be the time of their lives. But when Elise is found brutally murdered, Anna finds herself trapped in a country not her own, fighting against vile and contemptuous accusations... -
![The Girl in the Hoodie by SarcasticallyWitty]()
The Girl in the Hoodie by SarcasticallyWitty
A girl moved to California two years ago.No one knows what she looks like.All they know is that she wears a hoodie...Categorized as:
mystery high-school angst contemporary young adult friends to lovers dark found-family -
![Unraveling You by Jessica Sorensen]()
Unraveling You by Jessica Sorensen
Rated: 4.16 of 5 stars · 37 ratingsLyric Scott has always had a good life. Outgoing, spunky, and musically talented, she’s constantly surrounded by family and friends, yet she still feels there’s something missing. Then she meets her new next-door neighbor Ayden Gregory. Mysterious, sweet, and sad, Ayden is the exact opposite of Lyric and exactly what she needs to fill the void in her life... -
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![Just Like Heaven by Trilina Pucci]()
Just Like Heaven by Trilina Pucci
He’s a criminal—an abomination. We’re wrong in every way. If only I could’ve convinced my heart. His lips whispered promises of all the stars in the sky.I dreamt of a love that would last forever.We were gorgeously young and desperate for one another.But we're star-crossed.Fate had decided our course.Leaving us to cling to each other as we crumbled to ash.His need became possession... -
![Brutal Precious by Sara Wolf]()
Brutal Precious by Sara Wolf
Rated: 4.15 of 5 stars · 39 ratingsLife meets death. The end meets the beginning. Eighteen-year-old Isis Blake hasn’t fallen in love in three years, forty-three weeks, and two days. Or so she thinks. The boy she maybe-sort-of-definitely loved has dropped off the face of the planet after his girlfriend's death, leaving a Jack-shaped hole...Categorized as:
mystery strong heroine tortured heroine angst suspense contemporary humor young adult -
![Web of Lies by Aly Beck]()
Web of Lies by Aly Beck
My enemy is invisible.Nameless. Faceless. Controlled. Puppets on strings. Sheep in the masses.And I’ve turned into their number one plaything.When I transferred to East Point Prep, I had one mission in mind: find the people responsible for murdering Magnolia. Someone within these entitled walls killed my only friend and threw her overboard like she was human trash.Now, they’ll pay... -
![Broken Hate by Thandiwe Mpofu]()
Broken Hate by Thandiwe Mpofu
Rated: 4.26 of 5 stars · 19 ratingsWhat’s wrong Baby Blue? Did you mistake his forced sincerity for love?Every kiss will fade in time.Every memory will fade in time.Every smile, every teardrop, every wound—it’ll all dry up—in time.But every lie? That shit only gets bigger and more devastating with time.In time.. -
![Perfectly Flawed by Nessa Morgan]()
Perfectly Flawed by Nessa Morgan
Rated: 4.26 of 5 stars · 18 ratingsI thought I was okay.I mean, I went through my days just fine, pushing toward a goal I could easily achieve. I had friends that loved me, an aunt who adored me, and everything was just okay.But what I thought was okay and fine, all of that changed... -
![Normal by Danielle Pearl]()
Normal by Danielle Pearl
"Normal is a riveting and magnetic story of abuse, love, and hope. It pushes the reader in every way possible. Normal is one of the most thought provoking stories I've ever read." -Biblio Belles "Wow, Normal was intense, gritty, dark, sad, uplifting, and heartbreaking all in one. This was a story rich in detail, and by the end I truly felt as if I lived in between the pages... -
![Fall With Me by Lucy Smoke]()
Fall With Me by Lucy Smoke
Rated: 4.32 of 5 stars · 14 ratingsIsaac Icari: The God of Hazelwood University. My stepbrother.My lover.My enemy.It was dangerous to let myself be swept up by him but he’s a drug that I crave.I should have walked away the second I realized what he was involved with, when he revealed who his father truly was.Now it’s too late.We should have known better. Get too close to the sun and you get burned... -
![Unlit Star by Lindy Zart]()
Unlit Star by Lindy Zart
Rated: 4.11 of 5 stars · 32 ratingsWe are not guaranteed anything, not even this life. Rivers Young is the popular guy untouchable by reality. He is like a star—bright, consuming, otherworldly. The thing about stars, though, is that they eventually fall, and he is no different. He falls far and he falls hard. Delilah Bana is the outcast enshrouded in all of life's ironies... -
![Fear of Falling by S.L. Jennings]()
Fear of Falling by S.L. Jennings
Rated: 4.09 of 5 stars · 48 ratingsI can’t remember the last time I felt completely safe. Security seemed more like a luxury to me, reserved for those who were fortunate enough to have picture perfect childhoods. For those who didn’t bear the ugly scars that keep me bound in constant, debilitating fear. I’ve run from that fear my entire life. But when I met him, for once, I couldn’t run anymore... -
![Persuasion by T.K. Leigh]()
Persuasion by T.K. Leigh
Rated: 4.67 of 5 stars · 6 ratingsI came to Hawaii to get answers about my sister’s death.But that all changes when I meet her.Beautiful. Charming. Haunted.And the last thing I need in my life.But that doesn’t mean I can stay away from her, a powerful force pulling me toward her when all rationale tells me to keep my distance.So we make an agreement.One week. No names. No falling in love.It’s the perfect plan... -
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![Echoes by Dylan Page]()
Echoes by Dylan Page
Rated: 4.44 of 5 stars · 9 ratingsBlurb & cover to come!!Release date is a placeholder... -
![Never His Girl by Rachel Jonas, Nikki Thorne]()
Never His Girl by Rachel Jonas, Nikki Thorne
Rated: 4.11 of 5 stars · 36 ratingsWest Golden--Football star. Playboy. Dead to me.Nothing puts the final bullet in a girl’s rep like a leaked sex tape. Especially one starring her and the cocky quarterback who’s had it out for her since day one. Yep, you guessed it. That girl is me.At Cypress Prep, West is king, but all I see when I look at him is the wicked prick who gets off on trying to break me.His plaything.Go ahead... -
![Lovely Vicious by Sara Wolf]()
Lovely Vicious by Sara Wolf
Rated: 4.03 of 5 stars · 54 ratings1.Don't talk about love. 2.Don't think about love. 3.Thinking and talking about love leads to Love, which is the enemy... For 17-year-old Isis Blake, the list has one goal: to ensure she never falls in love again. Ever. As Isis and her mom settle into their new home in Buttcrack-of-Nowhere, Ohio, Isis is rockin' the purple hair and a beat up old car..Categorized as:
suspense strong heroine mystery tortured heroine angst contemporary young adult love triangle -
![A Whole New Crowd by Tijan]()
A Whole New Crowd by Tijan
Rated: 4.04 of 5 stars · 43 ratingsTaryn grew up in a different world. Her boyfriend was a criminal. His older brother was part of a gang. They weren’t great people, but they were her family. Then everything changes when she’s adopted by a family in the neighboring town. New family. New friends. A new world. She’s elated...Categorized as:
mystery strong heroine suspense slow burn angst high-school contemporary young adult -
![These Dark Hearts by L.A. Cotton]()
These Dark Hearts by L.A. Cotton
Rated: 4.28 of 5 stars · 13 ratingsHarleigh Wren Maguire has loved Phoenix Wilder for as long as she can remember.He's everything she isn't.Brave.Reckless.One-hundred percent unapologetic.But it's Halloween... the perfect excuse to dress up and be someone you're not. To step out of your comfort zone and do things you wouldn't usually do.And Harleigh is determined to make her best friend notice her for once.There's only one problem... -
![The Fight In Us by Becca Steele]()
The Fight In Us by Becca Steele
Lust. Mystery. Betrayal. Weston Cavendish. My brother's best friend. I'd perfected the art of pretending that I didn't want him, that he didn't affect me every time he was near.Or so I thought.When his world comes crashing down, I'm the one he turns to, and I can't deny my feelings any longer.I know there's something between us.Until he finds out that I've been hiding things from him, too...Categorized as:
suspense mystery strong heroine m-f new adult contemporary college friends to lovers -
![Wicked Promises by S. Massery]()
Wicked Promises by S. Massery
Rated: 4.12 of 5 stars · 30 ratingsI made a promise to Caleb, and I intended to keep it.I just didn’t anticipate the aftermath.One betrayal.One lie.One devastating cover up.It’s all out in the open now, and this time, I’m not running away.The secrets I hold are enough to destroy us.The truth is supposed to set us free—but we aren’t destined for freedom.This is a dark high school bully romance with mature content and themes... -
![Wicked Promises by S. Massery]()
Wicked Promises by S. Massery
I made a promise to Caleb, and I intended to keep it.I just didn’t anticipate the aftermath.One betrayal.One lie.One devastating cover up.It’s all out in the open now, and this time, I’m not running away.The secrets I hold are enough to destroy us.The truth is supposed to set us free—but we aren’t destined for freedom.This is a dark high school bully romance with mature content and themes... -
![Reason to Breathe by Rebecca Donovan]()
Reason to Breathe by Rebecca Donovan
Rated: 4.04 of 5 stars · 112 ratings"No one tried to get involved with me, and I kept to myself. This was the place where everything was supposed to be safe and easy. How could Evan Mathews unravel my constant universe in just one day?" In the affluent town of Weslyn, Connecticut, where most people worry about what to be seen in and who to be seen with, Emma Thomas would rather not be seen at all... -
![Hometown Girl Memories by Kirsten Fullmer]()
Hometown Girl Memories by Kirsten Fullmer
Rated: 4.38 of 5 stars · 8 ratings"I was crying one minute and laughing the next. A definite must read!" Winnie is content in her role as the reining matriarch of Smithville, but when a letter arrives from a long-lost friend, the door to her past is reopened. Memories come flooding in, drawing her back to 1968, her college days; a time filled with people and events she hasn’t allowed herself to recall... -
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![Burying Water by K.A. Tucker]()
Burying Water by K.A. Tucker
The top-selling, beloved indie author of Ten Tiny Breaths returns with a new romance about a young woman who loses her memory—and the man who knows that the only way to protect her is to stay away. Left for dead in the fields of rural Oregon, a young woman defies all odds and survives—but she awakens with no idea who she is, or what happened to her... -
![Shattered Legacy by Caitlyn Dare]()
Shattered Legacy by Caitlyn Dare
Rated: 4.13 of 5 stars · 17 ratingsMia Thompson wants only one thing: to survive Gravestone University, graduate, and get far far away from her hometown and its archaic traditions.But she’s about to become a pawn in a game she doesn’t understand.Bexley Danforth wants only one thing: to keep his head down, survive four years at college, and get far far away from his past and the mistakes that haunt him... -
![Hate List by Jennifer Brown]()
Hate List by Jennifer Brown
Rated: 4.01 of 5 stars · 57 ratingsFive months ago, Valerie Leftman's boyfriend, Nick, opened fire on their school cafeteria. Shot trying to stop him, Valerie inadvertently saved the life of a classmate, but was implicated in the shootings because of the list she helped create. A list of people and things she and Nick hated. The list he used to pick his targets... -
![Like You Know by Kaydence Snow]()
Like You Know by Kaydence Snow
Rated: 4.33 of 5 stars · 6 ratingsThe fourth, and final, book in the Devilbend Dynasty series... -
![Whiteout by Dyan Layne]()
Whiteout by Dyan Layne
Rated: 4.13 of 5 stars · 12 ratingsDear Miss Dalton,On behalf of our client, your presence at Dalton House is kindly requested.She’d been summoned. By the grandmother she’d never met.After missing twenty-one years of her life, why did she want to see her now?Please make arrangements to travel before the arrival of winter weather in the Sierra Nevada.Breanna had questions. Grandmama had the answers...Categorized as:
mystery suspense forced proximity age difference breeding dark young adult contemporary -
![Right Behind You by Gail Giles]()
Right Behind You by Gail Giles
Rated: 4.03 of 5 stars · 30 ratingsWhen he was nine, Kip set another child on fire. Now, after years in a juvenile ward, he is ready for a fresh start. But the ghosts of his past soon demand justice, and he must reveal his painful secret...
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