You’d Be Home Now by Kathleen Glasgow is a YA story about substance abuse, siblings, unrequited love, bullying, finding one’s voice, friendship, hope, and so much more. I couldn’t put it down.

Emory’s older brother Joey is struggling to recover from opioid addiction. Her overbearing mother assigns her the task of monitoring his progress, and when he stumbles, Emory tries to cover for him. Meanwhile, Emory is hooking up with the baseball star next door, and things have gone too far. She finds herself in a storm where everything—everything—is wrong!

I loved this book. I love all Kathleen Glasgow’s book. If you’re looking for similar books like You’d Be Home By Now, you will find something on this list that catches your interest. Happy reading!

The Delinquent Hero by Khristina Chess

“I stare at my sister in this bed. She is mine. She is here, and I cannot imagine that she is not. That she will never be here again. How can it be true? I see her before me. Her chest is rising, falling, rising, falling. Her hand is warm in mine.“ ― Khristina Chess, quote from The Delinquent Hero

Kat is dying.

The big question is: why?

Everyone is saying Kat fell and hit her head, causing a catastrophic brain bleed. She’s severely malnourished and on life support, and in a few days, the doctors will remove the ventilator.

But when 18-year-old Molly visits her sister’s rental house, it looks more like a crime scene that someone cleaned up. Stories about what happened are inconsistent.

Later at the hospital, when Molly whispers into her sister’s ear about the odd things she discovered, alarms start wailing on Kat’s cardiac monitor. It’s like, even though she’s supposedly brain dead, some part of Kat still hears her. Like maybe something evil happened in that house.

Like maybe someone tried to murder her.

Wow! The Delinquent Hero grabbed me from the first page and never stopped! What I love most about The Delinquent Hero is the puzzle that Molly is trying to solve—not just about the how this terrible thing happened, but also about her sister herself. Although pitched as an action-packed murder mystery, this YA is also a raw and unforgettable story about a complicated sisterhood, eating disorders, addiction, and loss. It’s hard to put down. The present story line is an investigation of the odd circumstances and events that landed Kat in the hospital on a ventilator, but as the hours and days unfold, the close relationship between these sisters becomes apparent.

You won’t want to miss this heartbreaking YA novel. Fans of You’d Be Home Now will enjoy this one.

Drive to June by Khristina Chess

“You do realize that a car is a mobile make-out location, right?” ― Khristina Chess, quote from Drive to June.

Eighteen-year-old Adriana refuses to text anymore.

She doesn’t drive.

And she’s secretly guzzling her dead mother’s wine collection.

With her father traveling so much and her older sister away in college, no one knows about Adriana’s drinking. She drinks to forget something awful that she did; she drinks to go numb. To avoid her grief. And now she can't seem to stop. Since moving to this new school, she doesn't have close friends or teachers, so there's nothing to stop her free-fall.

But then one night, Ian spots her on the roof and makes an offer she can’t refuse. He comes into her life, and everything begins to change.

Amazing, what a ride! Drive to June took off from the start and accelerated all the way to the finish. I had to find out Adriana’s secret. What makes this book so special is the sweet relationship that develops between Adriana and Ian as he teaches her how to drive and helps her get her driver’s license. Although it starts as a story about alcohol abuse, this is a dreamy and hopeful YA novel with heart.

If you liked You’d Be Home Now, you won’t want to miss this this surprisingly romantic YA book about sisterhood, addiction, grief and loss. In fact, Khristina Chess is also on my list of Best YA Authors to Binge on Kindle Unlimited, so be sure to check out her other books.

Heroine by Mindy McGinnis

“When I wake up, all my friends are dead. I don’t know when they stopped breathing, or how long I slept while they dropped off one by one.” ― Mindy McGinnis, quote from Heroine

Those are the opening words of Heroine, the compelling novel about the slow slide of Mickey from Catalan from her position as a star student athlete to heroin addict. It begins with a terrible car accident and pain. Determine to make it back on the field, she uses the prescription painkillers to accelerate her recovery.

But then she’s out of pills and needs more.

What’s so compelling about Heroine is Mickey’s slow slide into addiction and her denial about her situation. She justifies every step of the way. The means justifies the ends, every time.

I did not watch my friends die.
I did not leave their bodies cooling in a basement.
I am not an addict.

Heroine is one of the best YA books featuring characters dealing with substance abuse that I’ve ever read. It’s real and raw, and I couldn’t look away. I really rooted for her to find a way to health. If you enjoyed You’d Be Home Now, you won’t want to miss this one!

The Sky Is Everywhere by Jandy Nelson

“What kind of girl wants to kiss every boy at a funeral, wants to maul a guy in a tree after making out with her sister’s boyfriend the previous night? Speaking of which, what kind of girl makes out with her sister’s boyfriend, period?” ― Jandy Nelson, quote from The Sky Is Everywhere

I love, love, loved this book! The writing is so lyrical, and the story is incredibly sad. It begins with protagonist Lennie, who is grieving the sudden death of her sister. Although Bailey is dead, the relationship between these siblings is very much alive on the pages of this novel. Lennie writes beautiful poems, and she spends time in their room and shares so many memories that I feel I know Bailey.

A charismatic new boy shows up at school, and Lennie ends up entering into 2 romances at the same time. This is the love triangle. One romance is with the new boy at school, and the other is with her dead sister’s grieving boyfriend. Sooner or later, she has to decide which one of these guys is the one she’s going to stick with. Oh, boy.

All of the characters are vivid, and the story is captivating. The creative visual aspect of the novel is also a nice touch; Lennie writes her poems on scraps and scatters them everywhere, and these appear at the beginning of chapters.

This book is a must-read for anyone looking for books similar to Kathleen Glasgow’’s You’d Be Home Now.

Looking for Alaska by John Green

“There comes a time when we realize that our parents cannot save themselves or save us, that everyone who wades through time eventually gets dragged out to sea by the undertow-that, in short, we are all going.” ― John Green, quote from Looking for Alaska

A quiet boy at boarding school meets a charismatic girl, then loses her.

Miles Halter goes away to boarding school, where he makes new friends, takes up drinking and smoking, breaks some rules, and meets a hot girl named Alaska Young. She’s the ringleader of the merry group’s adventures. She’s the one who can get alcohol and cigarettes.

She’s a bit wild.

Then one night while they’re all partying, she receives a phone call and takes off in her car. She never returns.

I don’t want to give too much away. For a cautionary tale about alcohol and drug abuse, this award-winning story is a must-read. If you liked You’d Be Home Now, read this one.

Car Heroin Train by Virginia Austin

This slim novel is a fast and unexpected read. The main story is about Evan, who leaves graduation in Chicago and travels to Buffalo to find a girl who survived the car crash that killed his father. He's looking for some closure. Instead, he meets a beautiful young woman who is a heroine addict and also a child. The child is an unexpected subplot, equally important, and a bit odd.

Although the viewpoint character is a recent college graduate (and therefore technically knocks this one outside the YA genre), you should add this one to your list of books like You’d Be Home Now by Kathleen Glasgow. It’s great.

The First True Thing by Claire Needell

“People sometimes go with their instincts. They have sympathy. They care about people. I think Martin learned something when he messed up. Like now he really knows he wants to be here. Like he actually knows why he’s here and what this Group is really for.” ― Claire Needell, quote from The First True Thing

The First True Thing is both a mystery and a book about a teen working through the hard parts of recovery.

The mystery is that Marcelle’s friend Hannah is missing, and Marcelle was the last person to hear from her. What happened? What should she do? And if she tells the truth, the whole truth, what does that mean for her friends?

Working through this dilemma is part of her recovery because lying, hiding, hanging out with people who aren't good for her are all behaviors associated with her drinking.

Books about people in recovery can be hard to read. Addiction and drug abuse makes people choose the wrong thing, and Marcelle does that before she chooses the right thing. Therapy and group can seem dull or even frustrating. However, the ending of her story was satisfying to me because she grew and made the positive steps she needed to make. I felt she was on a good track by the end.

If you’re looking for books about alcohol and drug abuse like You’d Be Home Now, The First True Thing is definitely worth a look.