Families who loved Nightlights by Lorena Alvarez often look for books with a similar feel. These 20 recommendations were selected for their similarity in style, theme, and reading level.

Reach for this book when your child has a vivid imagination that sometimes tips into anxiety, or when they feel their unique creative gifts make them stand out in ways they do not yet understand. Sandy is a young girl who captures the magical sparks of her dreams and turns them into art, but she soon meets a mysterious new friend who demands more than just her drawings. This lushly illustrated graphic novel explores the thin line between inspiration and obsession, using a surrealist lens to examine the pressures of talent and the importance of setting emotional boundaries. It is an ideal choice for middle-grade readers who love atmospheric stories and are learning to navigate the intensity of their own inner worlds.