35 Notable Books About Siblings

Explore how the family dynamics of brothers and sisters can shape your life with these notably dramatic books about siblings.

They say blood is thicker than water and anyone with siblings knows that your siblings are a major influence on your life.

It’s fascinating how different people can be even when raised by the same parents. In these books about siblings, the authors examine how brothers and sisters influence each other, showing nuanced family dynamics and dramatic life events.

Sometimes relatable, sometimes eye-opening, these books about siblings are a great choice for a book club night or just to cozy up with on the couch.

Raised by a single mother in Maine, Mia and Cricket Lowe have always been close. While Mia has become the academically minded caretaker, Cricket has thrown herself into become a soccer superstar. As the two sisters grow, they must grapple with their mother’s past and how to balance loyalty to each other with their own wishes and desires as they make impossible choices to pursue their dreams.

Publication Date: 1 July 2025
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When asked what inspired her famous work, The Love Poem, renowned poet Fiona Skinner tells the story of her family. After her father’s sudden death, Fiona’s mother goes into a deep depression for three years, basically leaving the young children to fend for themselves. The four Skinner siblings’ lives forever changed during this period which they refer to as “The Pause.” They emerge closer than ever, but that time changes each one of them, with consequences following them throughout the rest of their lives.

Publication Date: 5 February 2019
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When Kate develops leukemia as a child, her parents decide to have another child – one specifically with a perfect bone marrow match for Kate. Thus, all Anna’s life, she has undergone countless procedures to help her older sister. But now Anna has had enough and is ready to live her own life unconstrained by Kate’s illness. As Anna makes a life-or-death decision, you’ll feel torn between Anna’s needs, Kate’s needs, and the love and desperation of their mother. It’s a book that will make you question how you would react. Hopefully, you will never have to find out.

Publication Date: 6 April 2004
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The story of the charming March sisters’ New England life during the Civil War is a timeless tale that steals your heart. As you fall in love with headstrong Jo, sweet Beth, kind Meg, and impetuous Amy, you’ll feel drawn into all the concerns of their life. If you haven’t had the chance to enjoy this wonderful classic, there is no better time than now. And if you have read it before, well there are no better classic books worth reading again.

Publication Date: 1869
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How far would you be willing to go for someone you love? Koreda has the routine down pat when her little sister calls in a panic. This is the third time Ayoola has killed her boyfriend in “self-defense” and Koreda knows equally what to do. When Ayoola begins dating Koreda’s boss and long-time love interest, Koreda must decide where her loyalties lie in this darkly comic psychological thriller book.

Publication Date: 20 November 2018
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After serving 18 months in prison on a drug conviction, Tara Connelly tries to rebuild her life. She moves in with her siblings – a brother who’s a single dad trying to overcome a brain injury and a sister struggling with big secrets of her own. Just as Tara feels like she might find love again, the cop who arrested her begins to hassle her and the family’s secrets threaten to unravel everything she has worked to achieve. If you are looking for discussion-worthy book club books that are still heartwarming, The Connellys of County Down would be just the ticket.

Publication Date: 1 August 2023
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Estranged siblings Byron and Benny are brought back together by their mother’s death. For their inheritance, they find a traditional Caribbean black cake and a voice recording from their mother. Eleanor’s message tells the turbulent story of her life, one full of secrets and a long-lost child that will leave the siblings questioning everything they thought they knew. Wilkerson does an excellent job bringing to life the complicated family dynamics underlaid with the powerful story of Eleanor’s life.

Publication Date: 1 February 2022
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If you could know the day you will die, would you want to? And if you did know, how would that affect you? In 1969, the four teenage Gold children sneak out to have their fortunes told by a fortune-teller without realizing how that one encounter will affect the rest of their lives. Exploring the line between fate and free will, The Immortalists is an intriguing novel that will have you question your destiny.

Publication Date: 9 January 2018
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The four Plumb siblings are about to inherit “The Nest,” a small trust fund their father left them that has blossomed into a gigantic windfall. However, their mother uses most of the funds to hush up one brother’s reckless scandal. Let the trouble begin since the siblings have been counting on the long-anticipated inheritance to fix their poor decisions.

Publication Date: 21 March 2006
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In 1947, sisters Helen and Rose live with their families in a split Brooklyn townhouse. As quiet Rose tries to please her difficult husband and generous Helen struggles to raise her brood of rambunctious kids, the sisters are inseparable. During a blizzard, both sisters give birth over a dramatic night that will change them forever. Slowly, cracks begin in the sisters’ bond causing a rift that will affect generations to come.

Publication Date: 8 March 2016
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In this intensely emotional coming-of-age book, Lisa Wingate bases her story on a notorious real-life scandal of an adoption agency that kidnapped and sold poor children to wealthy families. In 1939, twelve-year-old Rill Floss is asked to watch her four younger siblings while her father takes her mother to the hospital. Suddenly, a group of strangers arrives and takes Rill and her siblings to a Memphis-based orphanage where Rill must fight to keep her siblings together under the eye of the cruel director.

Publication Date: 6 June 2017
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Set in a small village in occupied France, the story centers around two sisters. Forced to house a German officer in her home, the older sister Vianne Mauriac must decide, to protect her daughter, where exactly she should draw the line of being complicit with German demands. On the other hand, her younger sister Isabelle Rossignol feels committed to doing anything she can to resist the German occupation.

Publication Date: 3 February 2015
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In the last days of the Trujillo dictatorship in the Dominican Republic, three sisters are assassinated for working to overthrow the government. Alvarez mixes fact and fiction as she recounts the lives of the Mirabel sisters – outspoken Minerva, faithful Patria, sensitive Maria Teresa, and cautious Dede.

Publication Date: 1994
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Shortly after World War II, a real estate mogul buys The Dutch House, a lavish estate outside of Philadelphia. This purchase changes everything for his children, Danny and Maeve – driving out their mother, and leading to Cyril’s remarriage and their exile from the house by their stepmother. A story of the bond between siblings, The Dutch House warns of the dangers of obsessive nostalgia.

Publication Date: 24 September 2019
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When the Commodore, a mysterious and powerful man in the Wild West, declares something done, Eli and Charlie Sisters have no say in the matter. So when the Commodore orders the death of Hermann Kermit Warm, they must obey. Yet as they travel from Oregon City to Sacramento, Eli begins to question what he and his brother do for a living in this darkly comedic novel.

Publication Date: 26 April 2011
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Growing up in a Southern black community obsessed with skin color, the Vignes sisters run away at age sixteen. Though identical twins, their lives end in completely different paths. One returns to live in their hometown while the other secretly passes as white. A fascinating story from beginning to end, Bennett explores more than race, as she contemplates how the past affects future generations when their daughters’ lives intersect. Nuanced and complicated, this thought-provoking book is just what you want out of literary fiction and every bit deserving of its spot among the best books about siblings.

Publication Date: 2 June 2020
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After a childhood of being ignored by his family, William Waters finds refuge playing basketball in college. When William meets Julia Padavano, a lively girl extremely close to her parents and three sisters, he quickly becomes a part of the close-knit Padavano family. Although cracks start to appear in the family, William never imagined he’d be the wedge to drive them apart. A homage to Little Women, Hello Beautiful gorgeously describes family and sisterhood, mental health, and forgiveness, in such a way that you will never forget this story.

Publication Date: 14 March 2023
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The three Blue sisters are each exceptional in her own way: Avery, a former heroin addict turned London lawyer; Bonnie, a former boxer turned bouncer in LA; Lucky, a former party girl turned model in Paris. But the death of their sister Nicky left the family reeling. A year after Nicky’s death, the estranged sisters gather to stop the sale of the apartment they grew up in and are forced to reckon with their childhood disappointments, their addictive tendencies, and their grief.

Publication Date: 3 September 2024
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Seventeen years ago, contaminated water runoff from a chemical plant caused deaths and birth defects throughout the small town of Bourne. One Two Three tells the story of sixteen-year-old triplets: Mirabel, a genius trapped in a wheelchair using a computer to speak; Monday, a neurodivergent bookworm; and Mab, who feels guilty for being “normal.” When the company decides to reopen the chemical plant, the sisters become obsessed with finding the necessary proof to stop them with the help of the owner’s grandson who just moved to town.

Publication Date: 8 June 2021
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After shooting her mother, Rachel Cunningham has spent the last 15 years in a self-imposed exile living in a psychiatric facility. Now Rachel begins to question all of her memories. Returning to her family’s home in Michigan’s Upper Peninsula, Rachel begins to wonder: What if she is innocent and her sister is the wicked one?

Publication Date: 3 July 2020
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A quirky free-spirited librarian with Asperger’s, Fern Castle likes to keep her life strictly regimented. On the other hand, Fern’s twin sister Rose is the responsible one with the perfect house and the perfect marriage, a sister who spent their childhood protecting Fern from their abusive mother. As Fern starts making more choices on her own, she begins to realize that maybe Rose might not be such a good sister after all.

Publication Date: 13 April 2021
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The night after having Easter dinner with their three grown children, a wealthy couple is murdered. Of course, the Merton children are devastated. Or are they? They stand to inherit millions and Daddy dearest wasn’t exactly the nicest guy. Was it a random act of violence or was the perpetrator someone much closer to home? But if one of your siblings was a murderer, you would know … wouldn’t you? 

Publication Date: 27 July 2021
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Way out in the Australian outback, brothers Nathan and Bub Bright find the body of their brother Cameron on the edge of their ranch. Did Cam end his own life walking out into the desert or did someone end it for him? More an enveloping character study than a murder mystery, The Lost Man looks at the secrets a family keeps combined with a fascinating portrayal of life in the outback.

Publication Date: 23 October 2018
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Ever since her older sister Kasey went missing seven years ago, Nic’s life has been in a complete free-fall. Similar to the disappearance of Jules O’Connor two weeks earlier, Kasey’s car was found abandoned 100 miles from home with the door left open and Kasey missing. When Jules’s sister shows up with a new lead, Nic must decide how far they are willing to go to find their missing halves.

Publication Date: 6 May 2025
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In 1983, four famous siblings throw an epic summer party at their Malibu mansion. Secrets come out, the party gets out of control, and a fire will burn it all down by dawn. Malibu Rising is a gorgeous family drama that surpasses a simple beach read. The story of the Riva children abandoned by their famous rockstar father is heartbreakingly sad and yet still hopeful. The characters come alive as each sibling ponders if they can escape their parents’ fates.

Publication Date: 01 June 2021
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Sela is in desperate need of a kidney transplant. She’s possibly found the perfect match; but how do you turn someone else’s life upside down by revealing that you are her previously unknown half-sister, the product of her father’s affair? As Sela begins to connect with Caroline, she must decide which she wants more – a sister or a kidney. With realism and nuance, Strawser’s family drama of complicated relationships is a perfect choice for the best books about siblings.

Publication Date: 23 March 2021
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After a car accident, Sunday Brennan returns to her large Irish family in New York. Five years earlier, she had abandoned them and her high school sweetheart with no explanation. Determined to rebuild her relationships, Sunday is startled when a man threatens the family’s business and forces the family to confront painful mistakes. Delving into the ways guilt and shame can affect our interactions, We Are the Brennans is the a great story about family dynamics.

Publication Date: 3 August 2021
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In a small Kansas town, a feud between two competing fried chicken restaurants has lasted generations. After marrying the son of the competing side, Amanda is tired of the family feud. Hoping to end things once and for all, she enters them as contestants on a reality food show. Amanda won’t have it easy when her sister returns home to help their parents with the business. This story of complicated relationships will be just the comfort food you need.

Publication Date: 1 December 2020
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Effervescent and ambitious Zoe and shy musical prodigy Cassie could not be more different even though they are sisters. Catapulted to fame as a pop duo sensation, the sisters spent a whirlwind year in the early 2000s touring the nation until they abruptly broke up. Now twenty years later, Zoe’s teenage daughter Cherry also wants to be a star and runs away to try out for a reality singing show. To up her chances of winning, Cherry is determined to reunite The Griffin Sisters if she can find her Aunt Cassie.

Publication Date: 8 April 2025
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Brothers Phil and George own the biggest ranch in their Montana valley. George is slow and silent but kind while Phil is handsome, charming, and sadistically cruel. When George marries a young widow and brings her and her son to the ranch, Phil sets out to destroy her in this blend of Western and psychological thriller set in the 1920s.

Publication Date: 1 January 1967
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With its focus on the message of the Biblical story of Cain and Abel, East of Eden is often considered one of Steinbeck’s greatest novels. Set in the Salinas Valley of California, the story follows Adam Trask, a wealthy man whose troubles with his brother are paralleled in his own twin sons. Covering the power of love and the pain of its absence, East of Eden is enduring classic literature for your to-read list.

Publication Date: 19 September 1952
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When Mr. Dashwood dies, his estate passes to his son from his first marriage. Thus, Mrs. Dashwood and her three daughters settle into the modest Barton Cottage. Detailing the love and heartbreak experienced by Marianne and Elinor Dashwood, Sense and Sensibility is a witty study in contrast of wearing your heart on your sleeve versus being too sensitive to social conditions.

Publication Date: 1811
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Six years ago, the entire Blackwood family was poisoned by arsenic in their sugar. Even though Constance, who prepared the meal, was acquitted, the villagers shun her and the family. Now Constance hides away with her uncle, disabled from the arsenic, and her younger sister Merricat. When an estranged cousin arrives, he upsets the balance between the sisters and threatens to bring to light hidden secrets.

Publication Date: 21 September 1962
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One of my favorite classic books, The Brothers Karamazov tells of 4 brothers – the brilliant Ivan, the honest Alyosha, the hedonic Dimitri, and the illegitimate Smerdyakov. You’ll spend the whole novel trying to figure out which one killed their father. Not a light read, but oh so worth the effort.

Publication Date: 1879
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To round out the classic books about siblings, I couldn’t help but mention John Galsworthy’s masterpiece. Published as a series of three novels between 1906 and 1921, The Forsyte Saga describes the ups and downs of a large upper-middle-class English family keenly aware of their “new money” status. The saga heavily focuses on Soames Forsyte, who mistakenly thinks that more wealth will make him happier.

Publication Date: 1922
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Do You Enjoy Reading Books About Siblings?

What do you think? Do you agree or disagree with my books about siblings list? What books about siblings have I forgotten? As always, let me know in the comments!

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