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Books about sibling relationships often focus on the great things about being siblings, like how different it is to be a sibling. If you like stories that show how siblings push and pull on each other for the rest of their lives, you'll love these great books about them.

Anyone who has kids knows that it can be hard to keep the emotions between siblings in check at all times.

If you have your own siblings, you might remember the important arguments that you had when you were young, too.

NOW I can push the button! When you touch me, stop! Then you can't use it! The bathroom isn't for you. Because you want everything.

In my house, I hear shrieks that sound like this all the time. I probably said them just as often when I was a child. It doesn't matter if those arguments don't make sense to you. I'm sure you have your own version of the arguments that were made at different times.

Of course, there are also times when siblings love each other and are best friends. There is a lot of push-and-pull in childhood and sometimes into adulthood, and of course, history plays a big role in how siblings treat each other.

Each sibling relationship is unique, and the books on this list show how complicated the friendships, rivalries, resentments, and blood-ties of brothers and sisters can be over the years, as well as how they can change over time.

You should read these books about sibling relationships if you want to see how things work in a real family.

Books About Siblings

The Dutch House

Author: Ann Patchett

This is the story of a brother and sister, Danny and Maeve, who are kicked out of their childhood home by their stepmother after their father dies. It's set at the end of World War II and told over five decades. When they think about their memories and their relationship, the house is a big part of it. They go back to it in different ways over the years, but they can't get rid of it or its secrets.

Patchett makes a dark fairy tale that doesn't go over the top. She carefully looks at the siblings' commitment to each other and their different views of their youth.

The Last Romantics

Author: Tara Conklin

As kids, Renee, Caroline, Joe, and Fiona all felt the Pause. Following their father's early death, their mother's years-long retreat shaped their relationships, cementing a lifelong closeness, sense of responsibility, and knowledge of one another. This is what happened after their father died.

In fact, each person goes on a different path into adulthood because of things they don't know about. The Last Romantics is a book that looks at love, commitment, and the strength of those bonds even as we learn more about them.

The Second Home

Author: Christina Clancy

Michael, the adoptive brother of Ann and Poppy, is coming to the family's summer home on Cape Cod. The two teenagers are excited to see him. After his mother died, Michael was happy to join the Gordon family, even though he didn't feel like a brother to Ann. As it turns out, Michael is never able to get back in touch with the rest of the family again, until their parents die suddenly fifteen years later.

The three are back together at the summer home to decide what will happen to it. Bitterness and secrets from the past are still there, and they have to figure out how to move forward as a family or not.

If You Want to Make God Laugh

Author: Bianca Marais

Post-Apartheid South Africa brings two sisters back to their childhood home. One's marriage has broken up, and the other has been kicked out of the convent because of their bad behavior. if the world lets them, they might be able to start over as a different kind of family.

South Africa's political upheaval, racism, and AIDS epidemic were interesting historical backdrops to this deeply personal story, but they didn't tell the whole story.

Mrs. Everything

Author: Jennifer Weiner

Sisters Jo and Bethie play certain roles during their childhood in the 1950s: Jo is a rebellious tomboy, and Bethie is traditional and feminine. This is how it was back then. After a lot of things happen, their roles change. There are two things that happen to Jo and Bethie: Jo becomes a suburban mother and Bethie goes to college.

If you like family stories that show how relationships change over time, this book is for you.

American Royals

Author: Katharine McGee

This is a fun way to look at the sibling book. You can go into an alternate world where the United States was a monarchy when it was founded. First, Princess Beatrice will become king of the United States. She is under a lot of pressure because she will be the first woman to do so. Because she's been told to choose a husband, Beatrice now thinks the sacrifice is too high. Samantha and Jefferson, her twin siblings, are having their own romantic problems and royal pressures.

The Lost Man

Author: Jane Harper

They are two brothers who live in the Australian outback. Their third brother is dead, and he is at their feet. A lot of people are sad because he died. They also look into what could have happened, but there aren't many possible suspects in the remote outback and people want to keep their secrets hidden.

Even though there's an unknown person or thing at the heart of this story, it's really a look at people and how their families interact in a desolate setting.

My Sister, The Serial Killer

Author: Oyinkan Braithwaite

For her sister, Korede would do anything. When her sister Ayoola starts killing her boyfriends, Korede does what she can for Ayoola. This is what happens when Korede realizes that her sister is going to become a serial killer. The doctor Korede is in love with happens to be the one Ayoola wants to get. Korede isn't sure how to protect both the man and her sister, but she may have to choose.

This book is filled with dark humor and a little absurdity, which makes it great to listen to.

Lights All Night Long

Author: Lydia Fitzpatrick

The teen in this story is called Ilya, and he wants to go to the United States more than anything in the world. He loves his brother, Vladimir, even though he was a troublemaker and ended up taking drugs. Eventually, Ilya makes it to a family in Texas. He keeps going on the straight and narrow.

His brother is in prison in Russia because he killed three local women. Ilya wants to clear Vladimir's name, but he finds that drugs are just as bad in the United States as they are in Russia.

Dark and gloomy, with an interesting mix of Russian and American places.

The Most Fun We Ever Had

Author: Claire Lombardo

The Sorenson family is based on the seemingly perfect marriage of Marilyn and David, who live in the same town. The four adult daughters seem to be stymied by this perfection, given an example that is impossible to achieve and that makes their own failures and struggles stand out. It turns out that perfection in any kind of life is a myth, and there is no one way to deal with adversity.

Full of characters you think you might not like, but end up loving. Some of them are people you think you might not like. An excellent book about family and siblings.

All My Puny Sorrows

Author: Miriam Toews

It was a Mennonite community where they lived when they were young. As an adult, Elf is a well-known and beautiful pianist. Yoli isn't as successful as Elf. She's going through her second divorce and having a hard time raising two kids. She is so depressed that she wants to die.

Yoli isn't sure what it means to show her sister love and compassion, but not help her with her plans. This book can be funny, insightful, and heartbreaking at the same time.

The Vanishing Half

Author: Brit Bennett

As a child, two black twin sisters were raised in a small town where light skin is prized and sought after when families are built. The Vanishing Half tells the story of how these two sisters grew up. When they were teenagers, the two ran away to New Orleans. They then took very different paths, only to be reunited decades later and forced to think about what they had done.

An intricately drawn, multi-generational story that talks about race, identity, and family. One of the best things about 2020.

Saints for All Occasions

Author: J. Courtney Sullivan

Their age is young when they leave Ireland for the United States. Nora is very serious and wants to marry a man she doesn't know. Theresa, on the other hand, is having a lot of fun in Boston. In the end, Theresa gets pregnant. Nora comes up with a plan that changes both of their lives for the better.

Nora has a big family now, and Theresa is a nun now that they've been together for a long time. When the two come together again after a tragedy, they have to face the past.

First Frost

Author: Sarah Addison Allen

There are a lot of women in the Waverly family who can do things that make people happy, look better, or live better. They even seem to be enchanted and have minds of their own. Each year, as the first frost comes, the women get nervous. This year, when a stranger comes and changes their understanding of their family and themselves, they get even more nervous.

For a light choice, this story about magical siblings and their families would be a good one to read. It's a continuation of Garden Spells, but you don't need to read the first one to enjoy this one.

I’ll Give You the Sun

Author: Jandy Nelson

When Jude and Noah were little they were always together, but now they can't talk to each other. Noah is very caring and artistic, and he is in love with the boy next door. Jude is a little more outgoing and a little crazy, though. It takes a long time for different stories to tell the story of how they were separated and how they tried to get back together.

It is a beautiful, imaginative YA book that is also a good book for adults to read.

Clap When You Land

Author: Elizabeth Acevedo

Their father died in a plane crash, so they didn't know they were sisters until then. It is hard for the teens to deal with not having their father around. A pimp is after Cami in the Dominican Republic, and Yaya, in New York City, is trying to figure out how to deal with this new information about her father, who she used to love. Two girls have to decide: will they hold on to their resentment against Yaya, or will they become family?

A well-written book in verse; I'd love to listen to this on audio.

Far from the Tree

Author: Robin Benway

When three siblings were born, they went in different directions and ended up in different homes. Far from the Tree is the story of how they ended up. Find each other when they are teenagers and learn how to deal with each other and their other families. A heartwarming, complicated, and realistic look at what it means to be a family.

Because these are teenagers, the story has a lot of humour. This is one of my favorite audiobooks. Julia Whelan narrates and she is excellent.

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