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The Choice

Jason Mott

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Similar in characterization + relationships

These books are ranked using the characterization + relationships labels extracted for The Choice. Books rank higher when they are close on every selected axis.

Characterization labels used: married man, wife, first love, teenage sweetheart, returned teenager, father, mother, content present life, torn protagonist

Relationships labels used: marriage, first love, love triangle, parent-child, family disruption, romantic rivalry, lost love, past relationship, infidelity of mind

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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A Page in Your Diary: An 1980s Time Travel Adventure

Keith A. Pearson · 2020

A middle-aged man is sent back to 1980s Britain for one last chance to change a devastating love story.

Why this is here

Characterization labels: middle-aged protagonist · older self in younger time · first love · flawed protagonist · likeable protagonist · angsty youth · supporting cast · relatable characters · emotionally invested characters

Relationships labels: first love · ex-partners · romance · lost love · marriage breakdown · divorce · family blame · friendship · old schoolmates · parent-child distance

Semantic match: ranked by characterization + relationships

Distance: 0.1584

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The '86 Fix

Keith A. Pearson · 2021 · The '86 Fix

A regretful middle-aged man gets one brief chance to revisit 1986 and try to rewrite the life that followed.

Why this is here

Characterization labels: middle-aged protagonist · unhappy husband · dead-end worker · former teen · underdog · bitter protagonist · ordinary guy · relatable protagonist

Relationships labels: loveless marriage · father-son conflict · school bully rivalry · high school crush · parents relationship · family tension · romantic regret · reunion dynamics · marriage breakdown

Semantic match: ranked by characterization + relationships

Distance: 0.1715

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Catfish Rolling

Clara Kumagai · 2023

After an earthquake fractures time in Japan, a grieving teen searches the zones for her missing mother and father.

Why this is here

Characterization labels: grieving teen · mixed-heritage protagonist · sensitive protagonist · searching daughter · scientist father · missing mother · isolated protagonist · complicated protagonist

Relationships labels: father-daughter relationship · parental loss · missing mother · romantic thread · sapphic relationship · friendship · complicated family dynamics · protective bond · estranged parent-child relationship · messy relationships

Semantic match: ranked by characterization + relationships

Distance: 0.1732

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Both Sides of Time

Caroline B. Cooney · 1995 · Time Travelers

A romance-loving teen falls into 1895 and must choose between a dream love and the life she left behind.

Why this is here

Characterization labels: teen protagonist · hopeless romantic · awkward heroine · passive heroine · romantic hero · rich heir · jealous rival · chivalric hero · chauvinistic male characters · shallow characters · teen characters · sympathetic side characters

Relationships labels: love triangle · star-crossed lovers · first love · insta-love romance · boyfriend-girlfriend conflict · unrequited love · betrothal · family conflict · parent-child strain · romantic rivalry · cross-class romance · power imbalance

Semantic match: ranked by characterization + relationships

Distance: 0.1754

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The Mother Fault

Kate Mildenhall · 2020

In a near-future Australia, a mother defies a surveillance state to find her missing husband and save her children.

Why this is here

Characterization labels: mother protagonist · flawed heroine · protective parent · ordinary woman · strong female protagonist · young children · missing husband · working mother · maternal guilt · resilient heroine

Relationships labels: mother-child bond · marriage · family separation · parent-child conflict · sibling relationship · former lovers · romantic subplot · state vs citizen · family threat · dependence on friends

Semantic match: ranked by characterization + relationships

Distance: 0.1774

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You & Me and You & Me and You & Me

Josie Lloyd, Emlyn Rees · 2026

A long-married couple discovers mixtapes that send them into their past, tempting them to rewrite their future.

Why this is here

Characterization labels: flawed protagonists · relatable couple · middle-aged couple · married couple · resentful spouses · sympathetic but annoying · selfish choices · emotionally stuck · frustrated parents · ambitious wife · discontented husband · regretful characters · ordinary people

Relationships labels: marriage · long-term partnership · parent-child · spousal resentment · shared history · romantic reconnection · family tension · friendship · mutual dependence

Semantic match: ranked by characterization + relationships

Distance: 0.1794

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The Space Between Here & Now

Sarah Suk · 2023

A Korean-Canadian teen with scent-triggered time slips goes to Korea to uncover her mother’s disappearance and her own past.

Why this is here

Characterization labels: teen protagonist · reserved protagonist · brave protagonist · emotionally mature teen · emotionally unavailable father · single father · absent mother · supportive best friend · sweet love interest · supportive aunt · complex side characters

Relationships labels: father-daughter relationship · absent parent · estranged mother · best friendship · budding romance · family dynamics · found family · parent-child miscommunication · supportive friendship

Semantic match: ranked by characterization + relationships

Distance: 0.1800

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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: 0.1805

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The Beginning Place

Ursula K. Le Guin · 2005

Two troubled young adults find a doorway to a twilight world, where escape, fear, and love become a single test.

Why this is here

Characterization labels: disaffected young man · young woman · stuck protagonist · outsider protagonist · gatekeeper · traumatized character · abusive family survivor · emotionally dependent mother · abusive stepfather · baffled hero · shy protagonist · strong female character

Relationships labels: romance · forbidden romance · dependency · parent-child conflict · abusive family · mother-son conflict · mother-daughter conflict · rivalry · trust · partnership · companionship · community outsider

Semantic match: ranked by characterization + relationships

Distance: 0.1818

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Lightbreakers

Aja Gabel · 2025

A grieving physicist and his artist wife are drawn into a secret time-travel project that forces them to face memory, love, and loss.

Why this is here

Characterization labels: artist protagonist · physicist protagonist · grieving father · grieving ex-wife · eccentric billionaire · flawed characters · relatable characters · character-driven

Relationships labels: marriage in crisis · ex-wife · former lover · parent-child bond · family grief · rekindled past relationship · romantic strain · shared loss · complicated couple

Semantic match: ranked by characterization + relationships

Distance: 0.1818

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Flux

Jinwoo Chong · 2023

A young man’s life unravels across timelines as a tech company, a TV obsession, and a buried trauma collide.

Why this is here

Characterization labels: young man · child protagonist · middle-aged man · estranged family member · queer protagonist · biracial protagonist · disabled character · obsessive fan · emotionally absent parent

Relationships labels: parent-child · estranged family · sibling relationship · romance · marriage · father-son · mother-son · power imbalance · workplace hierarchy · parasocial attachment

Semantic match: ranked by characterization + relationships

Distance: 0.1819

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I'm Starved for You

Margaret Atwood · 2012 · Positron

In a near-future gated community, a married couple’s monthly prison exchange is disrupted by a forbidden note and obsession.

Why this is here

Characterization labels: married couple · unhappy marriage · obsessive protagonist · unsympathetic characters · self-absorbed characters · world-weary · repressed · secretive

Relationships labels: marriage · love triangle · affair · sexual jealousy · desire and obsession · marital dissatisfaction · partner swap · forbidden contact · power imbalance · community surveillance

Semantic match: ranked by characterization + relationships

Distance: 0.1830

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