Authors like Rainbow Rowell

August 24, 2015 10:33 AM

I love Rainbow Rowell! Can anyone recommend me books that are similar to hers in genre/content/tone? More details after the jump.

Rainbow Rowell's novels make me super happy. I have read everything she's written, although my favourite has to be Attachments.

What I like about her books are:
(1) They're hard to categorise. They have romantic, YA, or even magical plot elements without adhering to a particular genre. They're very character-focused and feel a bit more literary than your basic genre novel.
(2) The dialogue is always funny and fast; think Joss Whedon without the vampires.
(3) They have an undercurrent of sadness - the characters are often struggling with real problems such as depression, unhappy marriages, family problems - but are not depressing. (This is important!)
(4) They're really romantic but manage to steer clear of cliche. I love a good mushy love story but I really don't like cliches - they snap me right out my happy suspension of belief.
(5) They're happy reads, for me. The endings are always happy or hopeful.

I don't really keep up with book news. Who else would I like, if I like her? Adult recommendations (as opposed to young adult) preferred. They don't have to be romance novels. But I would prefer to steer clear of anything high-fantasy-related. Low fantasy is ok.

Other authors I really like who somewhat scratch this itch for me are Robin McKinley, Jojo Moyes, Helen Fielding, Jennifer Crusie. But there's a lot of junk out there, so I hope you well-read MeFites can help me find my next happy read. I'm getting over a bit of a rough patch, and one really helpful thing has been burying myself in happy books.

posted by Ziggy500 to Writing & Language (18 answers total)

Have you read any of Liane Moriarty's stuff? I read Big Little Lies and think it might fit the bill.
posted by amarynth at 10:43 AM on August 24, 2015 [6 favorites]

Marion Keyes, although there are a couple of hers that might be too depressing right now. I would suggest starting with The Other Side of the Story, The Mystery of Mercy Close, or her earlier books. I would avoid Anybody Out There and The Brightest Star in the Sky for the time being; they have reasonably OK resolutions but the middles are tough.

Meg Cabot -- anything Meg Cabot, YA or adult, although personally I prefer her adult stuff. I especially like her Heather Wells mysteries and the The Boy series. More humorous/surface than the others, but she does have characters going through tough times or who have gone through tough times in the past.

Sophie Kinsella (minus the Shopaholic series, which I cannot read because the main character's spending makes me extremely stressed). Her stand-alone novels are fun reads and include serious issues with happy endings.

Shannon Hale has three adult novels which are all terrific. If you have any interest in Austen, try her Austenland books. The Actor and the Housewife is also amazing, but has a really upsetting middle and might not be a good match right now.

Hester Browne and Sarah Mlynowski (the chick lit stuff, she now writes MG) might also fit your preferences.
posted by pie ninja at 10:48 AM on August 24, 2015 [1 favorite]

i may be shot down for this, but i think some of murakami's work might fit. maybe after dark or colorless tsukuru. however, they may not be upbeat enough. anyhow, i'll put this out there and if someone else agrees....

(murakami seems to alternate between books that are romantic and largely normal, and books that are more "odd" - i'm not recommending the "odd" ones).
posted by andrewcooke at 11:02 AM on August 24, 2015

Joshilyn Jackson!

I also second Liane Moriarty and Marian Keyes.
posted by Kriesa at 11:20 AM on August 24, 2015

You gotta read The Royal We.
posted by something something at 11:23 AM on August 24, 2015 [3 favorites]

You also may like Jennifer Weiner, Lisa Jewell, or Mary Kay Andrews (though she tends toward straight up chick lit cliche, I enjoy her writing style).
posted by Kriesa at 11:24 AM on August 24, 2015

I thought The Book of Unknown Americans by Cristina Henriquez was a bit similar to Eleanor & Park. (Though honestly, it fits almost none of your other criteria. Still.)
posted by vunder at 11:43 AM on August 24, 2015

You might like Susan Juby's Home to Woefield and its sequel, Republic of Dirt. I think she's similar to Rainbow Rowell in tone and execution, and checks off most of the boxes you've listed.
posted by hurdy gurdy girl at 11:46 AM on August 24, 2015

I found Why Can't I Be You by Allie Larkin by looking at Rainbow Rowell's Goodreads account. I adore it and think it fits exactly what you're looking for.
posted by wsquared at 11:58 AM on August 24, 2015 [2 favorites]

Except for (2), Banana Yoshimoto may once again fit the mould.
posted by LoonyLovegood at 12:03 PM on August 24, 2015 [1 favorite]

I found Why Can't I Be You by Allie Larkin by looking at Rainbow Rowell's Goodreads account. I adore it and think it fits exactly what you're looking for.

I did the exact same thing and then moved on to Allie Larkin's Stay, which I loved and which I think will be right up your alley. Sadly, Allie Larkin only has two novels out.
posted by Area Man at 12:59 PM on August 24, 2015

I also really like Rowell's writing. I don't have any perfect suggestions, but I would second both The Royal We, and Jennifer Weiner (at least the early stuff, I haven't kept up with everyone she's done more recently). I don't know how you feel about mysteries (or historical fiction), but I feel like Laurie R. King's Mary Russell series, particularly the first few ones, also manage to go beyond genre, and are more characterized based than typical mystery novels.
posted by Caz721 at 1:42 PM on August 24, 2015 [1 favorite]

You might like Connie Willis' Bellweather. Also there are some similarities between Scott Westerfeld's Afterworlds and Fangirl. Both feature protagonists who are 18 year old authors. And I hear Rowell is writing a side-book to Fangirl that is based on the fan fiction stories her protagonist writes about Basil and what's his name.
posted by puddledork at 2:47 PM on August 24, 2015 [2 favorites]

nthing Marian Keyes. I tend to not be a romance fan in general but her books are leavened with enough sadness and wit and expansive humanity that I enjoy them. I think she ticks almost every box on your list, too. Her books aren't going to make the wait for Rainbow Rowell's next any shorter, but, sorry, nothing will. (I think I'll go reread Fangirl now.)
posted by thetortoise at 3:02 PM on August 24, 2015

Oh man, I could have written this exact question! Rainbow Rowell gives her own recommendations here, including, like all the Mefites above, Marian Keyes. I second her vote for YA author Stephanie Perkins. I also loved the YA novel "I'll Give You the Sun" by Jandy Nelson -- romantic, sad but not depressing, character-focused, non-cliched, beautiful writing, SO SO good.
posted by kayram at 6:01 PM on August 24, 2015 [1 favorite]

I've never read Rowell, but everything in your description of what you liked about them reminds me of Michelle Tea's YA Series published through McSweeney's that starts with The Mermaid in Chelsea Creek. Here's an article about it. I really, really liked it, but I'm a huge Michelle Tea stan.
posted by Juliet Banana at 9:12 PM on August 24, 2015

You might like My Heartbeat by Garret Freymann-Weyr
(My review at the time said "I think this is about all the different kinds of love you can have in your life. Sweet and a little sad.")

And Of Sound Mind by Jean Ferris, a sweet romance between two kids who are both children of Deaf parents.
posted by exceptinsects at 11:56 AM on August 25, 2015

My Real Children by Jo Walton absolutely floored me. It's another book that defies genre. One of the best books I've read this year... however, I would not characterize it as a "happy" book. More of a "life is so beautiful and sad and I need to call my family right now and tell them how much I love them" book.
posted by duffell at 6:19 AM on September 30, 2015 [1 favorite]