Find similar books by
Combine common axes
These books are ranked using the setting labels extracted for Brain Child.
Setting labels used: small town, California, 1980s, contemporary setting, historical backstory, local history, high school setting, suburban community
This does not mean the books share the same plot, setting, quality, or difficulty. It means their setting embeddings are close.
Lucas Sinclair’s own voice fills the gap between seasons, tracing high school, racism, friendship strain, and change.
Why this is here
Setting labels: 1980s · small town · Midwest · high school · fictional town · rural town · white majority town · school setting
Semantic match: ranked by setting
Distance: 0.1436
In a fogbound California town, outsiders and locals uncover a tech experiment turning people into something inhuman.
Why this is here
Setting labels: small town · coastal town · northern California · nighttime · foggy atmosphere · 1980s setting · near-present fictional reality · isolated community
Semantic match: ranked by setting
Distance: 0.1827
In an 1980s small town, grieving parents uncover a secret genetic project tied to missing and endangered children.
Why this is here
Setting labels: small town · Massachusetts · 1980s · New England · contemporary 1980s setting
Semantic match: ranked by setting
Distance: 0.1859
A Mormon family’s move to North Carolina brings everyday tensions, eerie friendships, and a slow-building threat to their young son.
Why this is here
Setting labels: 1980s · early 1980s · North Carolina · small Southern town · suburban neighborhood · workplace setting · church community · household setting · real-world setting · contemporary setting
Semantic match: ranked by setting
Distance: 0.1921
A stranded alien botanist befriends a boy on Earth while trying to stay hidden and find a way home.
Why this is here
Setting labels: suburban home · 1980s suburban family · Earth · small neighborhood · school · government pursuit · residential area
Semantic match: ranked by setting
Distance: 0.1945
A teen from 2023 lands in 1985 and teams with a local girl to stop a tragedy tied to his family.
Why this is here
Setting labels: small town · high school · 1985 · 2023 · 1980s · present day · local politics · school fire
Semantic match: ranked by setting
Distance: 0.1964
A widow’s return to her childhood town turns sinister when insect attacks and disappearances point to a hidden horror.
Why this is here
Setting labels: small town · California · rural countryside · farm setting · community setting
Semantic match: ranked by setting
Distance: 0.1991
A bullied teen in the 1970s discovers nicotine-fueled powers and a death ray, then grapples with what to do with them.
Why this is here
Setting labels: 1970s · high school · suburbia · small town · city streets · United States · post-nuclear family · contemporary reality
Semantic match: ranked by setting
Distance: 0.2112
With a month left before an asteroid ends the world, a misfit teen hunts the truth behind her friend’s death.
Why this is here
Setting labels: small town · coastal town · high school · pre-apocalyptic future · present-day contemporary reality
Semantic match: ranked by setting
Distance: 0.2198
A sleeping sickness strikes a California college town, and the wakeful struggle to protect each other as dreams deepen.
Why this is here
Setting labels: Southern California · college town · small town · campus setting · dormitory · hospital · quarantine zone · contemporary setting · isolated community · fictional town
Semantic match: ranked by setting
Distance: 0.2205
A grieving teen reopens her father’s alien hunt and finds the truth is far stranger—and darker—than anyone believed.
Why this is here
Setting labels: small-town Iowa · rural Iowa · high school setting · woods · contemporary setting · school environment · present day
Semantic match: ranked by setting
Distance: 0.2218
An outsider psychologist investigates a closed California valley where consumer goods fail and a strange substance binds everyone together.
Why this is here
Setting labels: California valley · small town · farm community · present day · 1960s America · isolated community · closed community · contemporary America
Semantic match: ranked by setting
Distance: 0.2220
