100 Books Like A Door in the Dark

It was the first spooky book for kids I’d ever read. I loved every second of it.

Once again, the school vibe was appealing, and watching a group of kids battle a field of scarecrows was spine-chilling stuff. Their friendship strengthened as their school trip began going horribly wrong.

This book kept me on the edge of my seat–I won’t ever look at a scarecrow the same way again!  

The dialogue between the two former friends seriously transported me back to grade school. On top of the authentic voice, throw in the fact that these poor girls are lost in a National Forest with nothing but their bathing suits. Ugh! My skin itches with bug bites just thinking about it. The writing is so good, it also manages to make the Northwoods sound like a lovely place. 

Kali, is an orphan, living with the Sister Warriors in their mountain temple. She wants nothing more than a simple life of prayer and seclusion with her best friend. 

That changes when the Rajah of the Tarachand Empire chooses her to become his 100th rani. She soon discovers her true ancestry and that her destiny is that of anything beyond what she could have imagined. 

I fell in love with the rich descriptions and beautiful imagery that Kali (through King) describes to us. And the danger which dogged her every step; whether in the court of the rajah and his rani’s or when she learns the truth behind her childhood fevers.  

This is a high fantasy adventure that does hilarious things with classic RPG tropes.

A magical kingdom grows fed up with hosting epic fantasy adventures for tourists from the world next door, complete with Wizard Guides, tavern stays, dragons, and epic battles with a Dark Lord.

Wizard Derk is assigned to be this year’s Dark Lord and—while he’s at it—save the world from these destructive tours.

The story romps across countries and continents, includes plenty of action, and doesn’t hold back when it comes to the somewhat messy familial relationships between Derk, his wife, and his children.

This is one of those books that reveals something new every time you read it.

Spell Sweeper is another fantastic recent release by the talented Lee Edward Fodi that I just couldn't put down. Set in an updated magic school, the story will pull you in with its incredible world-building. The main character, Cara, is a loveable outcast. She's a sort of anti-chosen-one who is forced into an adventure with her fellow remedial magic students, the nervous Gusto, and the talking, magical fox Zuki. But when she finds out she will also have to work with her rival, the seemingly too perfect Harlee Woo, who Cara thinks might be secretly behind the recent magical instabilities, the heat really turns up. Though Cara feels isolated and intentionally pushes others away, she ultimately has to learn to trust her companions and, more importantly, herself. 

When I first read this book, I realized that the adventure Nita has—opening a book to enter a magical world of magic—was what I wanted every time I had collected my stack of books at the library.

Books are magical, of course, but this was real magic. I think I always hope that I’ll find a portal inside an old book. Still. Even as an adult, I’m looking for the entry into a magical reality.

Baker’s Magic is a lovely tale of adventure, magic, and baking. When orphan Bee tries to steal a bun from the village bakery, instead of harsh punishment, she’s given a chance to work off her debt. Through the kindness of the baker, Master Bout, she discovers she is much more than she thought she was and can do much more than she ever dreamed. This realization leads her to rescue a princess, save the land, and discover the importance of family. I adored this story more than cinnamon rolls! 

With the topic of Roe V. Wade in the United States, the chasm between pro-life and pro-choice has grown even more, and in a novel that is solely about a great compromise between the two ideologies, Shusterman’s dystopian saga could not be more relevant. Ultimately, Shusterman seems to have great worry about societies lack of value for human life, taking the choice away from those whose lives are being debated over. 

Unwind is a classic study on the intertwining of personal choice and the value of human life. Who owns our bodies? Do we? Does someone else? Does the government? Does anyone but the individual have the right to determine the value of their life? Because of society’s proximity to abortion, this storyline seems extreme and disturbing. However, The Unwind Dystology is no more extreme and disturbing than other classic dystopian novels such as 1984 and A Brave New World… show more.

This book is set in a post-apocalyptic world where humans are living in domes to keep them safe from the deadly radiation of the planet. The story follows: Aria is a young woman living in the safety of one of these domes, and her quest to find her mother, whom she lost contact with recently after her mother was sent out to repair damage to a pod in the outer wastelands. She knows she likely won’t survive, but she ventures out into the unknown anyway, finding help from a young man named Perry. Perry is an outsider, one of the few humans left able to survive the planet’s harsh conditions. His people are referred to as uncivilized savages.

This story has a great plot twist, and Aria finds out that the savages might not be the people who live outside the domes but within them. I love a good plot… show more.

I read this play first aged sixteen, and connected strongly with it, because of the young motherless shipwrecked heroine. 

I spent significant periods of time with my grandfathers when I was growing up, and I read Prospero more as a grandfather figure than a father one.

When Freud and I were in the studio for days and weeks and months together, I felt like Miranda on Prospero’s island. The same created world. The same isolation. 

With Lucian as the Prospero figure, summoning a few other characters that came and went to his studio.

No one can go to a fictional island of course, but yet Shakespeare takes us there.