Top 16 Books Like Stranger Things Updated 04 /2024

Is season 3 ofStranger Things complete? A book likeStranger Things might be just the thing for those who don't want to sit around reading fan theories and (im)patiently await the release of season 4. Find your answer here. We're here for you.

The Best Books Like Stranger Things

1. My Best Friend’s Exorcism by Grady Hendrix

Look no further than this '80s-inspired story of friends banding together to fight off supernatural threats if you're looking for something to read this summer. Because of the strange behavior of her best friend Gretchen, Abby comes to the conclusion that Gretchen is under the influence of some kind of demonic entity. She will have to rely on the power of friendship in order to save Gretchen from the devil, but no one else believes her. You'll come for the demonic possession, but you'll stay for the beautiful depiction of young female friendship. Hopefully, Max and El from Stranger Things will develop the same level of friendship as Gretchen and Abby did in the first season.

2. The Body By Stephen King

Many Stephen King novels can be linked toStranger Things, and there are many of them.

In the television series, King's work is clearly a source of inspiration. If you're looking for a story about a young girl with supernatural powers, you could check out Carrie. Alternatively, if you'd like to read about a group of teenagers battling a supernatural foe, check outIt. Because of its focus on friendship and adolescence, this 1982 novella is the best King novel for Stranger Things fanatics And yes, there is a high level of nostalgia, but King's nostalgia focuses more on the 1950s than the 1980s.

3. White is for Witching by Helen Oyeyemi

The story of fraternal twins Miranda and Eliot Silver, who live with their father in an English bed and breakfast, is told in the book White Is for Witching. Bed and breakfasts are common, but this one has a supernatural presence that has plagued the Silver women for generations. Her connection to the house's strangeness grows stronger the more time she spends there. And the more it eats away at her, the worse she feels. Fair warning: this novel's subject matter is far darker thanStranger Things, but the main character who is coming of age while discovering horrible dark magic secrets all around her gave meStranger Thingsvibes.

4. Something Wicked This Way Comes By Ray Bradbury

Best friends Jim Nightshade and William Halloway are both 13. (around the same age as the kids inStranger Things). For some reason, the two boys find themselves enthralled by a mysterious carnival that has rolled into their town. It doesn't take long for them to find themselves in a terrifying battle against forces of darkness they never expected to face. Fans of Stranger Things will enjoy this novel's dark take on the classic coming-of-age story.

5. The Power by Naomi Alderman

What if, like El in Stranger Things, all of the world's young women were suddenly endowed with superhuman abilities? Naomi Alderman's novel has this as its central theme. Female superpowers and the ability to use electric currents to control men are imagined by Alderman in the world of The Power. As a follow-up to Strange Things, this novel examines gender and feminism in an interesting way.

6. The Ballad of Black Tom by Victor LaValle

Cthulhu mythology is heavily influenced by Stranger Things, a popular television show. That's why we couldn't have a Lovecraftian reference on this list. H.P. Lovecraft's "The Horror at Red Hook" is retold in this novella by LaValle. Unknowingly reawakening the Sleeping King, Charles Thomas Tester unleashes the forces of darkness by giving an occult tome to a reclusive woman in Queens.

7. Sawkill Girls By Claire Legrand

The police on Sawkill Rock, a small island off the coast of Maine, are powerless to stop the disappearances of young women. Because of this, a group of three girls - Marion, Zoey, and Val - who have all been implicated in the disappearances decide to act on their own. There are many similarities between this book and Stranger Things. An organization that studies strange creatures from other dimensions? Check. Do you have any friends who are in their teens? Check. The existence of magical girls is a mystery. Check. There are dark secrets in this small town? It's time to double-check.

8. Let the Right One In by John Ajvide Lindqvist

This dark and atmospheric vampire story, set in the early 1980s in Sweden, will transport you back to that decade. To put it simply: Oskar is a 12-year-old boy who becomes friends with a young vampire child named Eli. As much as Eli is much more dangerous than El, the relationship between Oskar and Eli is very much like the relationship between Mike and El inStranger Things.

9. The Lost Girls of Camp Forevermore by Kim Fu

Check out The Lost Girls of Camp Forevermore if you're a fan of Strange Things' childhood friendships or the idea of kids working together to survive against the odds.

It's a character-driven story about five girls who get lost while camping at Camp Forevermore and how they survive this shared traumatic experience and grow up to become successful adults.

10. Meddling Kids by Edgar Cantero

This mashup of Scooby Doo, H.P. Lovecraft, and the Hardy Boys is perfect for us Stranger Things fans who love that nostalgic feel. It was 1977 when the Blyton Summer Detective Club, a group of children, solved their last case. In their minds, at least. A decade has passed since that fateful year of 1990, and each member of the group is grappling in different ways with the trauma of his or her upbringing. At night, Kerri suffers from nightmares; Nate is institutionalized; Amy is in denial; and Peter tragically overdosed on heroin and died. All of them are haunted by that last case and the nagging suspicion that they made a terrible mistake in it. Reuniting the team and confronting old demons will help us discover what really transpired all those years ago.

If you're looking for more books likeStranger Things, check out these recommendations.

These books for young adults are similar to Strange Things.

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