There’s arguably no greater way to inflame a room full of readers than to bring up the Stephanie Meyer’s Twilight Saga. Often mocked, the series was/is a favorite of many teenage girls, now adult women. (Perhaps this is the source of the ridicule?) As the generation of readers who devoured the Twilight Saga ages, so has our reading taste. Here are six books perfect for the TWILIGHT fan in all of us.
The Best Books to Satisfy Your Post-Twilight Cravings
Warm Bodies
Probably the novel on this list that’s most similar to TWILIGHT, WARM BODIES features a fictional monster—a sentient zombie, in this case—who soon finds himself in love with a human. These two teenagers find themselves locked in a battle to save humanity, but can they also find a way to stay in love as the world falls apart?
Warm Bodies
In this unexpected retelling of Romeo and Juliet, R is having a no-life crisis—he is a zombie. And then he meets Julie, a blast of living color in his gray landscape. However, their unlikely bond will cause ripples they can’t imagine, and their hopeless world won’t change without a fight.
MENTIONED IN:
Close
Indecent
In this stunning debut, Corinne Sullivan writes a vivid and authentic narrator named Imogene—a new fresh-out-of-college 22-year-old teacher at an upper-crust boarding school. Imogene soon finds herself in over her head when the eighteen-year-old boys prove more trouble than she thought they’d be and she enters an obsessive, elicit affair with one of the students.
Indecent
Close
She Regrets Nothing
I love this one because it reminds me of the fish-out-of-water scenario Bella finds herself in when she encounters the world of vampires. In SHE REGRETS NOTHING, Laila Lawrence enters unfamiliar territory in NYC after the death of her parents. The new girl in town, she uncovers scandal after scandal while trying to remain unscathed.
She Regrets Nothing
Close
'Salem's Lot
Definitely the most adult novel on this list, ’SALEM’S LOT is a horror novel by the master storyteller himself. Stephen King has called ’SALEM’S LOT one of his favorite novels, and it features a mythical creature we know and love: vampires.
'Salem's Lot
One of the most ambitious and terrifying novels about the undead ever written, ’SALEM’S LOT explores what would happen if vampires existed in our modern world. When a young man returns to his hometown, he quickly realizes that it’s harboring something dark and evil. Can a small, insular town survive, or is it—and the rest of the country—doomed?
MENTIONED IN:
Close
Asking For It
I love this book because it tackles a timely—and controversial—issue from a female perspective: victim-blaming. Looking back, TWILIGHT had some glaring issues when it came to female representation. Giving a voice to a woman is hardly the only positive in ASKING FOR IT, but it’s a great start.
Asking For It
Close
Sex Object
In the only memoir on this list, Jessica Valenti’s writing is self-aware and sharp. A coming-of-age feminist story, this is one woman’s exploration of self. It is noticeably short on vampires, but a large part of the Twilight Saga is Bella seeking her own agency and finding herself. Is this angst- ridden? No, but it’s an amazing memoir for a reader looking for an entertaining reader that unapologetically explores sexism.
Sex Object
MENTIONED IN:
Close