If You Love These Movies and Shows, Read These Books

Most of us are probably familiar with that weird, lost sort of feeling you get when you finally emerge hours later from a Netflix marathon. You spend so much time with characters and a story that you really care about, and once it’s over, it’s hard to move on. Luckily, there’s tons of media out there to discover and fall in love with all over again. Check out our list below to find your next great read, inspired by the things you love to watch. Then join our Box O' Books campaign to promote literacy in your community!

If You Love Stranger Things...

Read Meddling Kids by Edgar Cantero

If you just finished binge-watching Stranger Things season three and are looking for a fix of supernatural-fueled friendship, look no further than Edgar Cantero’s horror-comedy, Meddling Kids. The four protagonists were pre-teens in the late ‘70s, solving mysteries with their dog in tow. Now young adults in the ‘90s, the group reunites to get to the bottom of what really happened on the night they solved the case of the Sleepy Lake Monster. The setting of Blyton Hills, Oregon gives it the same small-town Americana charm of Hawkins, and just like Stranger Things, its characters and their relationships are what’s really at the heart of this story.

If You Love To All the Boys I’ve Loved Before...

Read Love, Rosie by Cecelia Ahern

Yes, we know this Netflix film is already adapted from a book by the same name. But if you’re looking for something a little less on-the-nose, definitely check out Love, Rosie by Cecelia Ahern. The book’s plot is told entirely through letters, emails, texts, and newspaper articles, taking To All the Boys’ letter-writing subplot and running with it. Through these snippets of conversation, we see the shifting relationship between childhood friends Alex and Rosie, forced apart when Alex’s family moves an ocean away. It’s a set-up perfect for anyone still swooning over the will-they-won’t-they dynamic between Laura Jean and Peter.

If You Love Black Mirror...

Read Uglies by Scott Westerfeld

Because Black Mirror is a sci-fi anthology with a different story every episode, it may be more appropriate to give you a whole library of books, but for now, we’ll leave you with this one great find. Uglies by Scott Westerfeld takes place in a dystopian future world where everyone is considered an “ugly” until their 16th birthday brings a full-body cosmetic surgery and a guaranteed life of luxury among the “pretties.” Tally is eagerly awaiting her transition when her friend gets her caught up in a mess that jeopardizes the perfect future she imagined. There’s plenty of high-tech world-building for fans of Black Mirror’s imagined futures -- everything from hoverboards and interface rings to literal party machines.

If You Love Riverdale...

Read Two Can Keep a Secret by Karen M. McManus

This novel from Karen M. McManus may have more similarities to Riverdale than even its source material, the Archie Comics. The elements are all there: a town shrouded in mystery, an unsolved murder, and an angst-filled cast of high-schoolers. Just swap Riverdale for Echo Ridge and Archie for the crime-solving Ellery, and you’ve got the basic murder-mystery premise of Two Can Keep a Secret. You’ll find yourself just as invested in the plot and its characters as you follow them in uncovering their town’s secrets and risking their lives in the process. The show and book are both autumnal, perplexing, and just a little spooky.

If You Love Five Feet Apart...

Read Extraordinary Means by Robyn Schneider

While a Five Feet Apart novel does exist, it was actually written after the original screenplay, and three years before either of those came about, there was Extraordinary Means by Robyn Schneider. It’s another story set against the backdrop of chronic illness, with a protagonist whose life gets changed dramatically when he’s diagnosed with a drug-resistant strain of tuberculosis. Like Five Feet Apart, the love story at the center of Extraordinary Means is complicated by the strict rules of its medical setting and the characters’ looming feelings of grief and loss.

If You Love The Umbrella Academy...

Read Renegades by Marissa Meyer

If there’s one thing that keeps us coming back to The Umbrella Academy, it’s the characters -- a dysfunctional family of superheroes brought together when one of their own becomes a supervillain. In a way, Renegades flips this narrative, following Nova as she seeks revenge against the superpowered Renegades who failed to protect her family. She poses as a hero-in-training, and her allegiance to the villains is tested as she infiltrates the inner circle of the Renegades. Fans of The Umbrella Academy can expect just as much superpowered action and interpersonal conflict within the pages of this novel.