There exists in every heart a small, stubborn flame—the kind that flickers when someone tells you what you cannot become. Some would have you believe this flame ought to be sensibly extinguished, traded for practical pursuits and respectable ambitions. But you and I know better, don’t we? We know that dreams, like certain magical children, grow stronger precisely when they are told they cannot exist.
What follows is a collection of books about dreamers—glorious, stubborn, occasionally foolish dreamers who refused to let the world tell them who they ought to be. Whether you seek inspiration for your own impossible ambitions or simply wish to spend time in the company of those who dared greatly, these tales shall serve you well.
1. The Wendy by Erin Michelle Sky and Steven Brown
In the year 1780, when young girls were expected to dream of nothing grander than advantageous marriages and well-kept households, there lived an orphan named Wendy Darling who harboured an altogether different sort of ambition. She wished, you see, to become a sailor—to captain her own ship and sail the seven seas. Everyone assured her this was quite impossible, and Wendy did what any sensible dreamer would do: she refused to listen.
What unfolds is a Peter Pan retelling that reviewers have called “a modern classic in its own right,” where the familiar characters of Barrie’s tale—Peter, Hook, Tinker Bell, John, and Michael—appear reimagined in an adventure of sword fights, magic, and one young woman’s unshakeable determination to prove that “women can do anything.” The writing style captures that delicious quality of classic storytelling, with a narrator possessing a keen wit and readers reporting they “laughed out loud in several parts.”
Unlike the Wendy of the original tale who was content to mother the Lost Boys, this Wendy trains in navigation and marksmanship, joins England’s secret service, and battles magical forces—all while never losing sight of her dream. As one reader observed, she is “both soft and feminine, as well as tough, witty, self-aware, moral, hard-working, and tenacious.” The complete Tales of the Wendy trilogy is now available, so you may follow Wendy’s entire journey from dreaming orphan to the captain she was always meant to become.
2. The Alchemist by Paulo Coelho
If ever a book were written to remind us that the universe conspires in favour of those who pursue their dreams, it is this one. Santiago, a shepherd boy in the hills of Andalusia, dreams of treasure buried near the Egyptian pyramids—and the remarkable thing is, he actually sets off to find it.
His journey across the desert becomes a parable about listening to one’s heart, recognizing omens along life’s path, and understanding that what we seek most earnestly has a way of finding us. “When you want something,” the story teaches us, “all the universe conspires in helping you to achieve it.” Over sixty-five million copies sold would suggest there is something in that message worth hearing.
3. Anne of Green Gables by L.M. Montgomery
“Oh, it’s delightful to have ambitions,” Anne Shirley declares with characteristic enthusiasm. “And there never seems to be any end to them—that’s the best of it. Just as soon as you attain to one ambition you see another one glittering higher up still.”
This red-haired orphan arrives at Green Gables dreaming of beauty, belonging, and a future bright with possibility. What makes Anne such an enduring inspiration is how her imagination transforms from mere escapism into a genuine path toward her ambitions—teaching, writing, and finding the family she always craved. Her philosophy of the “bend in the road” reminds us that detours are not defeats.
4. On the Come Up by Angie Thomas
Sixteen-year-old Bri wants to be one of the greatest rappers of all time—or at least win her first battle. As the daughter of an underground hip hop legend who died right before making it big, she carries both inheritance and expectation in every verse she writes.
When homelessness threatens her family and her lyrics are misinterpreted by those determined to see her as a menace rather than an artist, Bri must decide how far she will bend her dreams without breaking them. This is a story, as its author intended, “about fighting for your dreams, even as the odds are stacked against you.”
5. With the Fire on High by Elizabeth Acevedo
In Emoni Santiago’s hands, ingredients transform into something magical—dishes that transport anyone who tastes them into their most precious memories. She possesses a rare gift, and everyone knows it. But Emoni became a mother at fourteen, and now she cannot quite imagine how culinary school fits into a life already full of responsibilities.
When her high school announces a cooking class culminating in a trip to Spain, Emoni must confront an uncomfortable question: can she be both a good mother and someone who chases her own dreams? The answer, discovered through perseverance and the right mentors, proves wonderfully encouraging.
6. Circe by Madeline Miller
Born the overlooked daughter of the sun god Helios, Circe possesses neither the beauty nor the power expected of divine offspring. When she discovers an affinity for witchcraft—a power the gods fear—she is banished to a remote island, alone for eternity.
What was meant as punishment becomes transformation. Over centuries of exile, Circe grows from a timid, dismissed goddess into a woman who defines herself on her own terms. Her journey reminds us that discovering one’s true nature sometimes requires stepping away from everything others expected us to become.
7. The House in the Cerulean Sea by T.J. Klune
Linus Baker spent forty grey years filing reports about magical orphanages, never imagining a different sort of life. Then he is sent to evaluate the most dangerous children in existence—including the Antichrist himself—and discovers something inconvenient: they are simply children, with dreams and fears like any others.
Under the care of the enigmatic Arthur Parnassus, Linus confronts a choice between duty and dreams, between the safe life he knows and the belonging he never dared imagine. It is, at heart, a story about discovering that you are never too old to want something different.
8. A Cuban Girl’s Guide to Tea and Tomorrow by Laura Taylor Namey
Lila Reyes had a plan: take over her grandmother’s Cuban bakery, move in with her best friend, and live happily ever after with her boyfriend. Then everything fell spectacularly apart, and she found herself shipped off to a small English town where nothing went according to plan—especially not falling for a teashop clerk named Orion.
What begins as exile becomes discovery, as Lila realizes that sometimes our most carefully constructed dreams must crumble before we can see what we actually want. A New York Times bestseller that understands how we can both honour our roots and grow beyond them.
9. The Paris Seamstress by Natasha Lester
When Germans advance on Paris in 1940, young seamstress Estella Bissette flees with little more than her signature gold dress and an impossible dream: to make her mark on the world of fashion. In New York, she begins as a copyist, but her ambitions reach far higher.
Decades later, her granddaughter Fabienne begins uncovering secrets that reveal just how much Estella sacrificed for her dreams. This sweeping tale across generations proves that pursuing what we love most often demands more courage than we anticipated—and rewards more richly than we dared hope.
10. Someday, Someday, Maybe by Lauren Graham
Franny Banks gave herself three years to make it as an actress in New York. With six months remaining, she has precisely one credit: an advertisement for ugly Christmas sweaters. Her agent does not return calls, her bank account dwindles, and everyone suggests perhaps it is time for a sensible backup plan.
Set in the pre-internet nineties of answering machines and pay phones, this charming novel captures the particular ache of wanting something deeply, madly, desperately—and the stubborn hope required to keep believing when evidence suggests you probably should not.
11. A Long Walk to Water by Linda Sue Park
Based on the true story of Salva Dut, one of Sudan’s Lost Boys, this novel follows an eleven-year-old separated from his family by war, forced to walk across hundreds of miles of hostile territory while maintaining an impossible thing: hope.
Years later, safe in America, Salva cannot forget the suffering of his people. He founds Water for South Sudan, turning his own survival into the means of others’ salvation. “Stay calm when things are hard,” he advises. “You will get through it when you persevere instead of quitting.” His life proves the advice sound.
12. The Invention of Hugo Cabret by Brian Selznick
In the walls of a 1930s Paris train station lives a twelve-year-old orphan who keeps the clocks running and nurtures a desperate belief: that a broken automaton will somehow make his dreams come true. Hugo Cabret knows nothing of the old man who runs the toy booth, nor how their lives are about to interlock like the gears Hugo so carefully tends.
This remarkable book—part novel, part picture book, part something entirely its own—celebrates the magic of cinema and the wonder of dreams realized through determination. It reminds us that even broken things, and broken people, can be mended when someone believes they are worth saving.
Chase Your Dreams Through Stories
There exists no shortage of voices in this world eager to explain why your particular dream is impractical, ill-timed, or simply impossible. These books exist as a counterargument—twelve tales of characters who heard such voices and chose not to listen.
Perhaps you are pursuing an artistic career against all advice, or nurturing ambitions that make practical people uncomfortable, or simply trying to become someone the world insists you cannot be. If so, you are in excellent company. The dreamers in these pages walked similar paths, and their stories stand as evidence that the flame in your heart deserves protection.
After all, as a certain orphan girl who dreamed of sailing ships once discovered, the only truly impossible dreams are the ones we abandon.
