Love TV? Love books? Us too! Check out these book recommendations based on some of your favorite television shows.
If You Like ‘Arrow’ read ‘The Young Elites’ by Marie Lu
What it’s about: As a child, Adelina Amouteru survived the deadly blood fever that swept her country, but it marked her for life with silver hair and only a scar where her left eye used to be. Her father and much of society believe she is a “malfetto”, an abomination, for surviving the fever that killed so many, but there are rumors that the fever may have left Adelina and others like her with more than just scars — they may possess strange and awesome powers. No one knows exactly who they are, but they have come to be known as the Young Elites.
After being kicked out by her father, Adelina stumbles across the Dagger Society, a secret group of Young Elites trying to find others like themselves. Adelina’s powers are like nothing they have ever seen before. She is powerful. She is dangerous. Adelina wants to believe the Dagger Society is on her side, but it is obvious they fear her and her powers, and there is a darkness inside her that cannot seem to be stopped and which may destroy everything.
Why you’ll like it: Arrow is a show about people with superpowers, but at its core it is a show about people trying to protect their city and the people they love, sometimes at the cost of doing what is considered right. The same kind of darkness and moral ambiguity can be found in The Young Elites. Adelina is not a hero. In fact, she tends to lean more toward villainy than good. The Young Elites has all the dark grittiness of Arrow plus some.
And much like being a vigilante in Starling can be a dangerous occupation, the gifted teens of The Young Elite face fear and opposition from the leaders of their country. They are in constant danger from the Inquisition Axis who wants to end the powered teens once and for all.
If You Like ‘Dollhouse’ read ‘More Happy Than Not’ by Adam Silvera
What it’s about: Aaron Soto is trying to find happiness. That’s not exactly easy when the memory of his father’s suicide and the scar on his wrist serve as constant reminders of all the bad in life, but with the help of his girlfriend Genevieve and his mom, Aaron seems to be finding it. Then he meets Thomas, and life gets complicated.
The two begin spending all their time together, but the closer her grows to Thomas, the more confused he becomes, because Aaron isn’t gay— or at least he wasn’t — but these newfound feelings seem to say otherwise, and being gay in Aaron’s neighborhood isn’t just taboo, it’s dangerous. The perfect solution may be just around the corner at the Leteo Institute where their revolutionary new memory-alteration procedures hold the promise of erasing any memories you want. But is the peace Leteo will bring worth the price of losing his memories, and maybe himself, in the process?
Why you’ll like it: Although the characters and plot of this book differ greatly from the Joss Whedon classic, fans of Dollhouse will find some similar themes in More Happy Than Not. In particular, both focus on questions of memory and identity. In Dollhouse one of the central questions of the series is whether memory is an intrinsic part of a person’s identity or if it exists outside of it (i.e. is a person still the same person if all of their memories and their ‘personality’ are wiped away from their mind?). In the novel More Happy Than Not the main character Aaron Soto learns the answer to that question in a very difficult way: you can wipe away memories, but you cannot change who you are—no matter how much you might want to.
If you like ‘Parks and Recreation’ read ‘Yes Please’ by Amy Poehler.
What it’s about: It’s basically the love child of an autobiography, journal, advice book, and comedy. If you have any interest at all in the life of Amy Poehler, you’ll definitely find plenty about that here, but you’ll also learn a lot about the improve scene, showbiz, and how to get through the nitty gritty of life without losing you mind or your sense of humor. To give you an idea of the kind of quirky humor mixed with sound advice you’ll find in this book, here are some choice chapter titles: “Talk to Yourself Like You’re Ninety”, “Every Mother Needs A Wife”, “Treat Your Career Like a Bad Boyfriend”, “The Robots Will Kill Us All”.
Why you’ll like it: Okay, okay, maybe I’m cheating a little here with the main connection between Yes Please and Parks and Recreation being Amy Poehler, but what a connection, right? Amy Poehler is a comedy queen, and if you love Parks and Rec chances are you love the amazing lady who brought her to life on your TV screen. In addition to that, though, there are several chapters in Yes Please documenting Amy’s time at Parks and Rec and her love for the show, and let me tell you they are wonderful. They are also some comments from Mike Schur, one of the show’s creators, and between Amy and Mike these chapters give us a lot of inside tidbits on the little show that could.
More recommendations
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