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When Through Deep Waters

Rachelle Dekker

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Similar in characterization + relationships

These books are ranked using the characterization + relationships labels extracted for When Through Deep Waters. Books rank higher when they are close on every selected axis.

Characterization labels used: grieving mother, guilt-ridden protagonist, unreliable perception, eccentric grandmother, supportive friend, controlling mother, complex antagonist, therapist character, psychiatrist character, emotionally isolated

Relationships labels used: mother-daughter conflict, childhood friendship, supportive friendship, marital strain, family blame, caregiver support, motherly surrogate, authority conflict

This does not mean the books share the same plot, setting, quality, or difficulty. It means their characterization + relationships embeddings are close.

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Sweet Virginia

Caroline Kepnes · 2020

A frustrated wife and new mother falls into a Hallmark-fueled escape fantasy that turns darkly surreal.

Why this is here

Characterization labels: unlikable protagonist · flawed mother · passive protagonist · anxious protagonist · frustrated wife · struggling mother · working woman · writer protagonist · unemployed protagonist · overbearing mother · controlling family · women under pressure

Relationships labels: marriage strain · mother-daughter conflict · parent-child distrust · family control · romantic dissatisfaction · domestic tension

Semantic match: ranked by characterization + relationships

Distance: 0.1223

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But Won't I Miss Me

Tiffany Tsao · 2026

In a world where childbirth creates a replacement self, a new mother’s failed rebirth exposes the cost of motherhood.

Why this is here

Characterization labels: exhausted mother · isolated protagonist · complicated protagonist · sympathetic characters · flawed characters · single mother · new mother · postpartum struggle · mentally struggling · chronically fatigued · disabled mother · judged mother · supporting characters · maternal identity · self-doubt

Relationships labels: marriage breakdown · divorce · husband conflict · mother-son bond · parent child · community judgment · female comparison · family pressure · chosen family · friendship · caregiving burden

Semantic match: ranked by characterization + relationships

Distance: 0.1312

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Knife Edge

Malorie Blackman · 2005 · Noughts and Crosses

In a racist near-future society, a grieving young mother and a vengeful brother move toward a devastating reckoning.

Why this is here

Characterization labels: flawed protagonists · antihero · vengeful character · grieving mother · young mother · complex characters · emotionally damaged characters · politically aware characters

Relationships labels: mother-daughter · family conflict · parent-child · romantic relationship · rivalry · betrayal · revenge · power imbalance · community prejudice

Semantic match: ranked by characterization + relationships

Distance: 0.1330

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Before Mars

Emma Newman · 2018 · Planetfall

A Mars geologist-artist confronts memory gaps, a false note, and a suspected conspiracy while doubting her own mind.

Why this is here

Characterization labels: geologist · artist · reluctant mother · flawed protagonist · complicated heroine · depressed protagonist · paranoid protagonist · resourceful protagonist · sympathetic antihero · traumatized character

Relationships labels: marriage strain · mother-child estrangement · family separation · parent-child guilt · colleague distrust · therapist-patient tension · crew dynamics · power imbalance · corporate dependency

Semantic match: ranked by characterization + relationships

Distance: 0.1338

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I Keep My Exoskeletons to Myself

Marisa Crane · 2023

A grieving queer mother raises a child marked by a punitive shadow system in a surveilled near-future America.

Why this is here

Characterization labels: grieving mother · widow protagonist · single parent · queer parent · shamed outsider · marginalized protagonist · precocious child · difficult mother · flawed protagonist · inner turmoil

Relationships labels: mother-child bond · queer couple · widowhood · chosen family · parent-child tension · family grief · friend network · mother-in-law conflict

Semantic match: ranked by characterization + relationships

Distance: 0.1348

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Hum

Helen Phillips · 2024

After losing her job to AI, a mother takes a risky deal that buys her family a brief escape into a climate-ravaged, overtracked future.

Why this is here

Characterization labels: mother protagonist · wife protagonist · financially strained · anxious protagonist · sympathetic lead · frustrated parent · tech worker · obsolete worker · annoying children · strained husband · ordinary family

Relationships labels: marriage strain · parent-child tension · family dependency · family protection · technology-mediated family life · emotional disconnection · trust under pressure · mother-child bond · spousal conflict

Semantic match: ranked by characterization + relationships

Distance: 0.1391

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This Fragile Earth

Susannah Wise · 2021

In near-future London, a mother and son flee as a tech-dependent society suddenly shuts down.

Why this is here

Characterization labels: young mother · protective parent · precocious child · clever child · anxious protagonist · resourceful woman · frustrated parent · difficult protagonist · unlikeable protagonist · weak partner · single parent · unreliable protagonist · survival-minded

Relationships labels: mother son bond · strained marriage · co-parenting · family loyalty · parent child protection · relationship under pressure · survival partnership · protective caregiving · romantic fracture

Semantic match: ranked by characterization + relationships

Distance: 0.1393

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The Possibilities

Yael Goldstein-Love · 2023

A new mother’s search for her vanished baby opens into a multiverse where every version of her life feels dangerously real.

Why this is here

Characterization labels: new mother · first-time mother · anxious protagonist · protective parent · sympathetic heroine · traumatized mother · horror writer · estranged mother

Relationships labels: mother-child bond · marriage strain · parent-child devotion · support group · mother-daughter relationship · estranged mother · family dysfunction · partner conflict

Semantic match: ranked by characterization + relationships

Distance: 0.1419

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Hey, Zoey

Sarah Crossan · 2024

A woman’s life unravels after she discovers her husband’s AI sex doll and begins confronting buried truths.

Why this is here

Characterization labels: unlikable protagonist · traumatized woman · middle-aged woman · teacher · anesthesiologist husband · mentally declining mother · older sister · younger sister · family victimization · depressive protagonist · emotionally numb · controlling · lonely · logical · organized

Relationships labels: strained marriage · marital betrayal · emotionally disconnected couple · sister bond · family dysfunction · parent-child care · dependency · power imbalance · conflicted intimacy

Semantic match: ranked by characterization + relationships

Distance: 0.1445

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The Cats We Meet Along the Way

Nadia Mikail · 2022

A grieving teen joins a Malaysian road trip to find her estranged sister before an unavoidable apocalypse arrives.

Why this is here

Characterization labels: teen protagonist · angry protagonist · grieving protagonist · estranged sister · single mother · supportive boyfriend · boyfriend's parents · loving family · emotionally unavailable mother · deceased father · stray cat

Relationships labels: mother-daughter bond · sibling estrangement · romantic relationship · family reconciliation · parent-child grief · in-law family · community care

Semantic match: ranked by characterization + relationships

Distance: 0.1447

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Concept M

Aafke Romeijn · 2017

In near-future Netherlands, a chronically ill young woman is pulled toward radical politics as her society strains under a costly disease.

Why this is here

Characterization labels: chronically ill protagonist · radicalized protagonist · political activists · extremist group · activist mother · public figure · politician · morally ambiguous characters · nuanced villains

Relationships labels: mother-daughter conflict · friend group · political alliance · family tension · group recruitment · community division · us-vs-them conflict

Semantic match: ranked by characterization + relationships

Distance: 0.1450

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Sealed

Naomi Booth · 2017

A heavily pregnant woman flees a polluted city, only to find danger, doubt, and bodily horror following her into the countryside.

Why this is here

Characterization labels: pregnant protagonist · anxious protagonist · paranoid protagonist · obsessive protagonist · dismissive partner · unsympathetic boyfriend · gaslighting partner · maternal grief

Relationships labels: romantic tension · toxic relationship · partner conflict · mother-daughter bond · pregnancy and parenthood · power imbalance · gaslighting · community mistrust

Semantic match: ranked by characterization + relationships

Distance: 0.1462

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