Yoru Sumino’s I Want to Eat Your Pancreas has left an indelible mark on countless readers for a reason. It’s more than just a story about a girl with a terminal illness; it's a profound and surprisingly uplifting meditation on what it means to live a meaningful life, told through the lens of an unlikely friendship.
The novel masterfully balances humor, introspection, and heartbreak, leaving us with the powerful message that our value is defined by the connections we forge with others.
If you’re searching for another story that captures that same bittersweet essence—exploring life’s fragility, the transformative power of relationships, and the quiet courage found in facing mortality—this curated list is for you.
Organized by format, these recommendations move beyond simple plot similarities to offer the same emotional depth and thoughtful reflection that made I Want to Eat Your Pancreas so unforgettable.
Often considered the quintessential "sick-lit" romance, John Green's novel is the most direct parallel to Pancreas. Yet, its brilliance lies in its sharp, witty dialogue and its unflinching look at the identities of its protagonists, Hazel and Gus.
Where Pancreas uses a secret illness to bring two opposites together, The Fault in Our Stars places its characters in a community defined by cancer. The result is a raw, intelligent, and deeply moving exploration of finding "a forever within the numbered days," a sentiment that Sakura Yamauchi would have wholeheartedly embraced.
What happens when the one person you want to be closest to is the one person you can’t touch? This is the central conflict for Stella and Will, two teens with cystic fibrosis whose treatments require them to maintain a six-foot distance. This novel intensifies the theme of longing by making physical connection a life-or-death risk.
It captures the same tension found in Pancreas—the desperate desire to bridge a gap, whether it's emotional distance or a literal six feet—and beautifully illustrates how love can thrive even under the most restrictive circumstances.
If the unconventional humor and awkward, heartfelt friendship of Pancreas were what drew you in, this novel is your perfect next read. Awkward high school senior Greg Gaines is forced by his mother to befriend Rachel, a classmate with leukemia. What begins as a reluctant obligation evolves into a messy, funny, and profoundly honest bond.
The book avoids melodrama, instead using sharp humor and cinematic flair to navigate the complexities of teenage friendship in the shadow of mortality. Its raw, unsentimental approach to a difficult topic feels refreshingly authentic.
For readers who appreciated the quiet, introspective melancholy of Sumino’s novel, Murakami’s masterpiece offers a more adult and atmospheric exploration of similar themes. Set in 1960s Tokyo, the story follows Toru Watanabe as he navigates love and devastating loss, haunted by the memory of his best friend’s death.
The novel is less about physical illness and more about the invisible wounds of grief and mental health. Its power lies in its subtle, elegiac tone and its deep dive into how we carry the people we’ve lost with us, making it a sophisticated thematic cousin to Pancreas.
While originally a manga, the novelization of A Silent Voice captures its powerful story of redemption and connection with nuanced depth. Shoya Ishida is a high school student haunted by guilt after mercilessly bullying Shoko Nishimiya, a deaf girl, in elementary school.
His journey to atone and forge a genuine friendship with her is a painstaking, emotional, and ultimately beautiful process. This story mirrors the core message of Pancreas: that a single, meaningful connection can give a person a reason to live and fundamentally change their path.
It’s a powerful testament to the difficulty and necessity of forgiveness—both for others and for ourselves.
Before there was Sakura, there was Alaska Young. Miles "Pudge" Halter goes to boarding school seeking a "Great Perhaps," and he finds it in the enigmatic, vibrant, and self-destructive Alaska. When tragedy strikes, Miles and his friends are left to grapple with the unanswerable questions she leaves behind.
This novel is not about a prolonged illness but about the suddenness of loss and the challenge of understanding someone you can no longer ask. It powerfully captures the idea that a single person can irrevocably alter your world, leaving you to make sense of the before and after.
This is perhaps the most spiritually aligned story to Pancreas on the entire list. Kosei Arima is a piano prodigy who has lost his ability to hear the music he plays after a personal tragedy.
His monochrome world bursts into color when he meets Kaori Miyazono, a free-spirited and brilliant violinist who is determined to pull him back onto the stage. The dynamic between the withdrawn, traumatized boy and the radiant, life-affirming girl who is hiding her own secret will feel instantly familiar.
It is a stunningly beautiful story about how music, love, and passion can give you the courage to face the inevitable.
What is a life worth? In this poignant story, a disillusioned 20-year-old sells the remaining thirty years of his life for a pittance, leaving himself with only three months to live. To ensure he doesn't cause any trouble, a stoic observer, Miyagi, is assigned to watch him.
Much like Haruki and Sakura, these two characters—one who has given up on life and one who is rediscovering its value—form an unexpected bond that forces them to confront what truly matters. It’s a compact, philosophical, and heart-wrenching tale about finding meaning when your time is explicitly running out.
This is the real-life embodiment of the questions posed in I Want to Eat Your Pancreas. Dr. Paul Kalanithi was a brilliant neurosurgeon on the verge of completing his training when he was diagnosed with stage IV lung cancer.
His memoir is a profound, beautifully written meditation on the shift from being a doctor who treats death to a patient who must face it. He asks, "What makes life worth living in the face of death?"
His search for an answer—through medicine, literature, and family—is a powerful and unforgettable journey that provides no easy answers, only grace and clarity.
The enduring appeal of I Want to Eat Your Pancreas is its hopeful conclusion: that a life, no matter how short, finds its meaning in the hearts of those who remember it. Each of the stories on this list, in its own way, echoes that sentiment.
They remind us that grief is the price of love, that connection is the antidote to despair, and that the most beautiful moments are often the most fleeting. By exploring these narratives, we can continue the conversation that Yoru Sumino started—learning, once again, what it truly means to be alive.