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The Last Human

Zack Jordan

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Similar in characterization + relationships

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

Characterization labels used: teen protagonist, outsider, misfit, sulky teen, brave heroine, curious protagonist, hidden heir, adopted child, murderous guardian, quirky side characters, sentient AI, mischievous helper, philosophical characters

Relationships labels used: mother-daughter bond, adoptive family, found family, protector-protected, mentor-like parenting, friendship, team of misfits, interspecies family, trust issues, power imbalance

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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The Nightmare Brigade: The Girl from Déjà Vu

Franck Thilliez · 2022 · La Brigade des cauchemars

Two teens enter patients’ nightmares to cure fear, but a new case and hidden secrets threaten their fragile team.

Why this is here

Characterization labels: teen protagonists · scientist mentor · adopted child · amnesiac protagonist · disabled protagonist · brave · curious · secretive adults · troubled children

Relationships labels: found family · adoption · mentor-child · sibling-like bond · parent-child · teamwork · trust · protective

Semantic match: ranked by characterization + relationships

Distance: 0.1104

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Shade's Children

Garth Nix · 1997 · Shade's Children

In a ruined future where children vanish at fourteen, escaped teens join a mysterious AI-led resistance.

Why this is here

Characterization labels: teen protagonists · mysterious mentor · AI character · morally ambiguous guardian · rebellious youth · survivor protagonist · battle-hardened leader · eccentric character · cynical character · resourceful characters

Relationships labels: found family · mentor-ward · leader and team · trust and betrayal · romantic pairing · team loyalty · parental substitute · power imbalance · dependency relationship

Semantic match: ranked by characterization + relationships

Distance: 0.1276

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Seckry Sevenstars and the City of the Falling Sky

Joseph Evans · 2011 · Seckry Sequence

A relocated teen in a futuristic city stumbles into a corporate secret, a missing girl, and a mystery that upends his life.

Why this is here

Characterization labels: teen protagonist · kind-hearted hero · shy protagonist · curious protagonist · brave protagonist · protective protagonist · flat characters · memorable side characters · mentor figure · villainous corporation

Relationships labels: friendship · first love · teen romance · mentor-student · family relocation · parent-child loss · found family · trust issues · group of friends · protector bond

Semantic match: ranked by characterization + relationships

Distance: 0.1411

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Shiny Happy People

Clay McLeod Chapman · 2025

A traumatized teen investigates a viral party drug that makes her town eerily perfect—and dangerously not themselves.

Why this is here

Characterization labels: teen girl protagonist · adopted protagonist · anxious protagonist · straight-edge protagonist · outsider protagonist · new kid ally · mysterious outsider · perfectionist · smart protagonist · controlling protagonist · traumatized protagonist · loner

Relationships labels: adoptive family · best friends · brother-sister relationship · romantic tension · friendship under pressure · peer pressure · trust issues · community conformity · family trauma · protective alliance

Semantic match: ranked by characterization + relationships

Distance: 0.1412

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Concealed

Christina Diaz Gonzalez · 2021

A girl in witness protection races to save her missing parents and uncover the truth about her hidden past.

Why this is here

Characterization labels: female protagonist · clever protagonist · resourceful protagonist · curious protagonist · smart girl · young teen protagonist · computer whiz · hacker · foster kid · scientist parent · mysterious handler · untrustworthy adult · loyal friend · brave kids

Relationships labels: parent-child · friendship · trust issues · found friendship · family secrecy · surrogate mentoring · caregiver conflict · dependency

Semantic match: ranked by characterization + relationships

Distance: 0.1447

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Family

Robert J. Crane · 2012 · The Girl in the Box

A sheltered young meta-human faces war, betrayal, and a painful reckoning with her family and powers.

Why this is here

Characterization labels: teen heroine · sassy protagonist · resilient heroine · abused child · sheltered upbringing · powerful but uncontrolled · emotionally guarded · snarky protagonist · moral uncertainty · betrayed protagonist

Relationships labels: mother-daughter conflict · family betrayal · found family · friendship bonds · romantic breakup · mentor suspicion · team loyalty · trust issues

Semantic match: ranked by characterization + relationships

Distance: 0.1450

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Fever Crumb

Philip Reeve · 2009 · Fever Crumb

A logic-trained girl engineer is pulled into a secret dig that forces her to confront forbidden memories and a hunted identity.

Why this is here

Characterization labels: teen protagonist · female protagonist · only female · rationalist · emotion-suppressed · orphan · foundling · apprentice · engineer · archaeologist · antagonist group · mixed motives · secretive mentor · resourceful · naive

Relationships labels: adoptive parent · mentor-mentee · father-daughter · found family · parental guardianship · caregiver bond · family secrets · suspected kinship · community hostility · power imbalance

Semantic match: ranked by characterization + relationships

Distance: 0.1463

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Dark Blue Rising

Teri Terry · 2020 · The Circle Trilogy

A secluded teen’s world collapses when she learns her mother was lying about everything, and the sea may hold the answers.

Why this is here

Characterization labels: teen protagonist · naive protagonist · mistrustful protagonist · isolated protagonist · sympathetic protagonist · resourceful heroine · protective caregiver · mysterious caregiver · messed-up family dynamics · emotionally vulnerable · identity formation · development arc

Relationships labels: mother-daughter · found family · kidnapping · betrayal · trust issues · dependency · friendship · romantic tension · family reunion · authority conflict

Semantic match: ranked by characterization + relationships

Distance: 0.1471

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Caught

Margaret Peterson Haddix · 2012 · The Missing

A time-traveling pair is sent to 1903 to protect history, but Einstein’s family makes the mission far more complicated.

Why this is here

Characterization labels: teen protagonists · siblings · seasoned time travelers · brave · curious · resourceful · secretive · enigmatic adult · clever woman · scientist · parental figure · strong female lead · maturing protagonist · emotionally driven

Relationships labels: siblings · parent-child · mother-daughter · family protection · marriage · spousal tension · power imbalance · secrecy · trust

Semantic match: ranked by characterization + relationships

Distance: 0.1472

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Leonard

Carlie Sorosiak · 2021

An alien meant to spend a month as a human on Earth accidentally lands in a cat’s body and finds a friend.

Why this is here

Characterization labels: quirky protagonist · socially awkward girl · animal lover · empathetic friend · alien scholar · immortal being · hive mind · lonely child · supportive grandmother · lovable side character · weird kid · outsider · rescuer · curious observer · catlike behavior

Relationships labels: found family · friendship · human-animal bond · grandmother-grandchild · mother-daughter · stepfamily tension · chosen family · mentor friendship · rescue relationship · companionship

Semantic match: ranked by characterization + relationships

Distance: 0.1474

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After: Nineteen Stories of Apocalypse and Dystopia

Ellen Datlow · 2012 · Across the Universe

Nineteen YA short stories imagine what survives after collapse, from plague and war to monsters, walls, and strange new orders.

Why this is here

Characterization labels: teen protagonists · young women · young men · survivors · rebellious teens · cured outcasts · students · siblings · orphans · indigent characters · leaders · outcasts · resourceful kids · curious protagonists

Relationships labels: siblings · mother-daughter · friendship · family loyalty · community exclusion · social distrust · mentor-protege · institutional power · group belonging · parent-child

Semantic match: ranked by characterization + relationships

Distance: 0.1494

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The Search for WondLa

Tony DiTerlizzi · 2010 · The Search for WondLa

A sheltered girl leaves her underground home and crosses an alien world to find other humans and the truth of WondLa.

Why this is here

Characterization labels: curious heroine · twelve-year-old protagonist · robot caretaker · mother figure · alien guide · relatable child protagonist · brave child · naive protagonist · lonely child · protective guardian · grumpy side character · dynamic trio · emotionally expressive robot · simple companion

Relationships labels: found family · mother-daughter · caretaker bond · friendship · companionship · mentor-protege · chase rivalry · loyalty · non-biological family · trust and dependency

Semantic match: ranked by characterization + relationships

Distance: 0.1498

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