Books Like Trell
Families who loved Trell by Dick Lehr often look for books with a similar feel. These 20 recommendations were selected for their similarity in style, theme, and reading level.
Families who loved Trell by Dick Lehr 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 if your child is beginning to ask difficult questions about the fairness of the legal system, or if they are navigating the emotional weight of a parent's absence due to incarceration. It is an essential choice for middle and high schoolers who have a strong sense of justice and want to see a young protagonist take agency in a world that often feels stacked against them. Through the eyes of thirteen-year-old Trell, the story explores the resilience required to maintain family bonds across prison walls and the courage needed to challenge authority. The narrative deals with serious themes of systemic racism and wrongful conviction with a grounded, realistic approach. Parents will appreciate how it balances the heavy reality of the 1980s urban gang era with a hopeful message about the power of persistence and truth-seeking.
