book recommendations · chosen family books · found family books · found family fantasy books · found family romance books · Windhaven Witches ·Nov 10, 2026

Found Family Books: 7 Stories About Chosen Family

There's a special kind of comfort in a story where strangers, misfits, and lost souls end up choosing each other. That's found family, and it's a trope I come back to again and again in my own writing. It's the people who show up, stay, and make a place feel like home.

If that's what you're craving, here are seven books built around it. One of my series is on the list (clearly labeled), and I checked every premise against a published description before adding it.

What makes a good found family book

A group of characters who aren't related but end up needing each other.
A place that slowly becomes home, whether it's a house, a ship, a shop, or a school.
Humor and warmth in the small moments, so the bond feels real.
Characters who show up for each other when it counts.
A story that is about more than the plot, so you miss these people when you're done.

7 found family books worth reading

1. The House in the Cerulean Sea by T.J. Klune

Linus Baker is a caseworker for a government agency that oversees orphanages for magically gifted children, and he believes he's doing right by them. His superiors send him to evaluate a remote island orphanage and report on its unusual young residents and the man who runs it, Arthur Parnassus. As Linus gets to know the children and grows close to Arthur, he realizes the harm he has caused as a cog in an indifferent bureaucracy and sets out to make amends.

2. The Windhaven Witches by Carissa Andrews (mine)

Autumn Blackwood arrives at Windhaven Academy with a lot of questions and very few answers, and she doesn't stay on her own for long. The gothic school is full of students with powers of their own, and the friends she makes there end up carrying her through the curse that has haunted her family. What I wanted to write was a group that teases each other, shows up on the worst days, and becomes the family she didn't know she was missing. There's a romance in the mix, and plenty of humor.

All four books are YA+ paranormal fantasy romance, with some strong language and mature situations. Start with Secret Legacy (Book 1), or pick up the complete series in the Windhaven Witches Omnibus.

3. Legends & Lattes by Travis Baldree

Viv, an orc and former adventurer, gives up her life of combat to open a coffee shop in the city of Thune. With help from Calamity, a hob carpenter, Tandri, a succubus assistant, and Thimble, a rattkin baker, she turns a rundown former livery into a cafe that gradually draws customers. Her commitment to a peaceful life is tested by a crime boss's extortion threats and a secret from her past.

4. Six of Crows by Leigh Bardugo

In Ketterdam, a city loosely based on Amsterdam during the Dutch Republic, the criminal mastermind Kaz Brekker assembles a team of thieves and misfits. Hired by a wealthy merchant, the crew plans to infiltrate the Ice Court, an almost impenetrable Fjerdan fortress, to rescue a scientist and stop his dangerous drug from becoming public. It's a YA fantasy and the first book in the Six of Crows duology, which concludes with Crooked Kingdom.

5. The Long Way to a Small, Angry Planet by Becky Chambers

Rosemary Harper is a young woman who has fled her disgraced father's shadow, and she joins the crew of the Wayfarer as ship's clerk. The tunnel-boring ship's diverse crew includes Captain Ashby Santoso, the pilot Sissix, the navigator Ohan, and the AI Lovelace. Their journey across the galaxy on a contract to open a wormhole to a newly admitted alien species becomes as much about the crew's bonds as about the mission.

6. The Very Secret Society of Irregular Witches by Sangu Mandanna

Mika Moon is a witch who keeps her magic hidden and has never quite fit in anywhere. After a retired actor spots her online videos, she's invited to Nowhere House to teach three unruly young witches. The household turns into a found family, and then there's Jamie Kelly, the guarded house librarian, who complicates things.

7. Howl's Moving Castle by Diana Wynne Jones

In the magical kingdom of Ingary, Sophie Hatter, the eldest of three sisters, is transformed into an old woman by the jealous Witch of the Waste. She takes a job cleaning for the wizard Howl and bargains with Calcifer, the fire demon bound to Howl's moving castle, to regain her youth. The castle's household also includes Howl's apprentice, Michael Fisher. The book was first published in 1986.

How to choose your next found family read

Want a gentle story about a caseworker, an island, and a houseful of magical children? Start with The House in the Cerulean Sea.
Want friends who turn into family inside a gothic academy? Try The Windhaven Witches (mine).
Want a retired orc adventurer and a brand-new coffee shop? Read Legends & Lattes.
Want a heist crew of thieves and misfits? Pick up Six of Crows.
Want a space crew and a journey across the galaxy? Go with The Long Way to a Small, Angry Planet.
Want a witch tutoring three young witches at Nowhere House? Choose The Very Secret Society of Irregular Witches.
Want a moving castle and a household full of surprises? Look at Howl's Moving Castle.