Families who loved Billy by Laura Roybal often look for books with a similar feel. These 20 recommendations were selected for their similarity in style, theme, and reading level.
A parent might reach for this book when their teenager is struggling with a fractured sense of identity, particularly during major life transitions or family reunions. It speaks to the feeling of being a different person depending on who you are with and the difficulty of reconciling two versions of home. Billy follows a sixteen year old who was kidnapped by his biological father as a child and is suddenly forced back into the life of the adoptive family he barely remembers. It is a poignant exploration of loyalty, the definition of family, and the internal chaos of being caught between two worlds. While the premise is intense, the story is grounded in realistic emotions suitable for middle and high schoolers. It offers a safe space for teens to process feelings of displacement, anger, and the search for where they truly belong.