Here are 100 books that A Light in the Sky fans have personally recommended if you like A Light in the Sky. Book DNA is a community of 13,000+ authors and super readers sharing their favorite books with the world.

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Book cover of Iron Widow

Jean Thesquare Author Of AcClaim

From my list on unapologetic women reclaiming their power and owning their sexuality.

Why am I passionate about this?

I started writing to explore how women can reclaim their agency in worlds designed to control them—a topic that seems even more urgent now. I believe true empowerment comes from women owning their bodies, relying on fierce female friendships, and outsmarting the powerful men who try to break them. I read and write to celebrate women who unapologetically take what is rightfully theirs in a world where men are too often trying to lay claim to what they don’t own. With the billionaire class currently feeling even more unchained, I figured worlds that show you can reclaim things from them are also essential, which is why I’m drawn to these types of stories.

Jean's book list on unapologetic women reclaiming their power and owning their sexuality

Jean Thesquare Why Jean loves this book

I was absolutely blown away by the sheer, unfiltered female rage in this novel.

I love how the protagonist, Zetian, completely obliterates the patriarchal systems designed to crush her, refusing to conform to the role of a sacrificial, obedient woman. I felt an exhilarating rush watching her weaponize the expectations placed upon her to rise to absolute power.

It is a fierce, relentless, and wildly unapologetic story that resonated deeply with my belief that women shouldn’t have to play nice to win. I highly recommend it for anyone who wants to watch a woman burn the world down to rebuild it on her own terms.

By Xiran Jay Zhao ,

Why should I read it?

18 authors picked Iron Widow as one of their favorite books, and they share why you should read it. This book is for kids age 14, 15, 16, and 17.

What is this book about?

An instant #1 New York Times bestseller!

Pacific Rim meets The Handmaid's Tale in this blend of Chinese history and mecha science fiction for YA readers.

The boys of Huaxia dream of pairing up with girls to pilot Chrysalises, giant transforming robots that can battle the mecha aliens that lurk beyond the Great Wall. It doesn't matter that the girls often die from the mental strain.
 
When 18-year-old Zetian offers herself up as a concubine-pilot, it's to assassinate the ace male pilot responsible for her sister's death. But she gets her vengeance in a way nobody expected—she kills him…


If you love A Light in the Sky...

Book cover of These Blue Mountains

These Blue Mountains by Sarah Loudin Thomas,

A moving story of love, betrayal, and the enduring power of hope in the face of darkness.

German pianist Hedda Schlagel's world collapsed when her fiancé, Fritz, vanished after being sent to an enemy alien camp in the United States during the Great War. Fifteen years later, in 1932, Hedda…

Book cover of Within These Wicked Walls

Lyssa Mia Smith Author Of Revelle

From my list on young adult fantasy with high-stakes romance.

Why am I passionate about this?

Long before I was an author of romantic fantasies, I was an avid reader of all things romance. Genre romance. Fantasy Romance. Romantic Fantasy. Romantic suspense. An adventure where the characters smile at each other for a heartbeat longer than usual. Give me even a hint of attraction between two characters, and I’m hooked. Give me life-or-death stakes and a first kiss that takes hundreds of pages, and I’m addicted. As a psychologist, helping young adults sort through real-life romance dilemmas is one of my favorite parts of the job. Now that I get to write these stories, I’ve made it my mission to devour all the best high-stakes YA romances I can find—or write.

Lyssa's book list on young adult fantasy with high-stakes romance

Lyssa Mia Smith Why Lyssa loves this book

Jane Eyre retelling in Ethiopa with magic—need I say more? Rich, quirky Magnus lives in a seriously haunted house, and the only exorcist willing to help him is broke, blunt Andromeda. I could not love these two more. Magnus is a beautiful weirdo who has been haunted and spoiled for far too long, and Andromeda puts him in his place. The banter, the creepiness of the house that is literally trying to kill them—no wonder Reese Witherspoon picked this one for her book club! 

By Lauren Blackwood ,

Why should I read it?

4 authors picked Within These Wicked Walls as one of their favorite books, and they share why you should read it. This book is for kids age 13, 14, 15, and 16.

What is this book about?

INSTANT NEW YORK TIMES BESTSELLER
REESE'S BOOK CLUB FALL 2021 YA PICK

"Lauren Blackwood’s can’t-miss debut is a magical, Ethiopian-inspired remix of Jane Eyre." - Harper's Bazaar

What the heart desires, the house destroys...

Andromeda is a debtera―an exorcist hired to cleanse households of the Evil Eye. She would be hired, that is, if her mentor hadn’t thrown her out before she could earn her license. Now her only hope of steady work is to find a Patron―a rich, well-connected individual who will vouch for her abilities.

When a handsome young heir named Magnus Rochester reaches out to hire her,…


Book cover of The Binding Tempest

Asiel R. Lavie Author Of The Crossing Gate

From my list on debut young adult fantasy/science-fiction.

Why am I passionate about this?

I’ve been fascinated by fantasy and sci-fi books since childhood – ever since I read Harry Potter and my parents took me to Disneyland Park. My parents had a giant library, and they used to encourage me to buy books and read them. I enjoy reading books that mix genres with unexpected twists and turns, and I am always on the hunt for a good story to enjoy and review.

Asiel's book list on debut young adult fantasy/science-fiction

Asiel R. Lavie Why Asiel loves this book

I was hooked from page one and finished reading the book in just a few days. Although this is a complicated story, the description was vivid and clear. The plot was fast-paced and full of actions that will keep you on the edge of your seat most of the time.

By Steven Rudy ,

Why should I read it?

1 author picked The Binding Tempest as one of their favorite books, and they share why you should read it.

What is this book about?

“The expert combination of immersive storytelling, strong characters, and well-woven mixture of speculative and steampunk elements makes for an unforgettable experience.”
– The Prairies Book Review

Heroes only get better with age.

Forty years after The Great War that overthrew an Empire, a former war hero, Ellaria Moonstone, has discovered a new threat to the World she helped save.

When the Peace King of the Free Cities goes missing, Ellaria uncovers a plot to overthrow the tenuous republic. Fearing that a powerful being called a Sagean Luminary has returned to claim the throne, Ellaria sends for help from old allies…


If you love Shina Reynolds...

Book cover of Glimmer of the Other

Glimmer of the Other by Heather G. Harris,

Delve into this internationally best-selling series, now complete! A fast paced laugh-out-loud mix of Urban Fantasy and Mystery.

I can tell when you’re lying. Every. Single. Time. I’m Jinx, a PI hired to find a missing university student, I hope to find her propped up at a bar–yet my gut…

Book cover of Beasts of Prey

Asiel R. Lavie Author Of The Crossing Gate

From my list on debut young adult fantasy/science-fiction.

Why am I passionate about this?

I’ve been fascinated by fantasy and sci-fi books since childhood – ever since I read Harry Potter and my parents took me to Disneyland Park. My parents had a giant library, and they used to encourage me to buy books and read them. I enjoy reading books that mix genres with unexpected twists and turns, and I am always on the hunt for a good story to enjoy and review.

Asiel's book list on debut young adult fantasy/science-fiction

Asiel R. Lavie Why Asiel loves this book

This book is brilliant! The blurb alone was enough to hook me, and I couldn’t put it down until I reached the last sentence! The story was interesting, and the world-building was vivid, and the magic system was so interesting. Give it a shoot, you won’t regret it! 

By Ayana Gray ,

Why should I read it?

1 author picked Beasts of Prey as one of their favorite books, and they share why you should read it. This book is for kids age 12, 13, 14, and 15.

What is this book about?

In this blockbuster fantasy series, perfect for fans of Firekeeper’s Daughter and Iron Widow, fate binds two Black teenagers together as they journey into a magical jungle to hunt down a vicious monster.

“Rich in magic and mythos, Beasts of Prey is a feast for all the senses.” —Renée Ahdieh, New York Times bestselling author of The Beautiful

An Instant New York Times and Indie Bestseller

There’s no such thing as magic in the broken city of Lkossa, especially for sixteen-year-old Koffi, who indentured to the notorious Night Zoo, knows the fearsome creatures in her care and paying off her…


Book cover of The Settlement

Paul E. Hardisty Author Of The Forcing

From my list on dystopian worlds of our own making.

Why am I passionate about this?

After half a lifetime working all over the world as an environmental scientist, I am now a full-time writer of fiction and non-fiction. I’ve studied the effects of oil industry waste in Yemen, monitored groundwater contaminated with radioactive tritium from bomb-making sites in Europe, and remediated oil pits in the South American jungle. I ran Australia’s national climate adaptation program and was CEO of Australia’s national marine science agency, which does much of the research on the Great Barrier Reef. And everywhere I’ve gone, I’ve seen how environmental destruction hurts people, societies, and, inevitably, our future. Each of my six novels and my non-fiction examines this issue in different ways.

Paul's book list on dystopian worlds of our own making

Paul E. Hardisty Why Paul loves this book

The Settlement describes a dystopian world set not in the future, but in the past. The 1830s, to be precise.

The misguided evangelist George Augustus Robinson sets himself the task of rounding up the last remaining original inhabitants of Van Diemen’s Land, now known as Tasmania, to save them from slaughter. Under his care, they are convinced to surrender and are relocated to desolate Flinders Island in the Bass Strait.

This is a finely-wrought historical novel of great compassion that brings to life the extinction of a race.

By Jock Serong ,

Why should I read it?

1 author picked The Settlement as one of their favorite books, and they share why you should read it.

What is this book about?

On the windswept point of an island at the edge of van Diemen’s Land, the Commandant huddles with a small force of white men and women.

He has gathered together, under varying degrees of coercion and duress, the last of the Tasmanians, or so he believes. His purpose is to save them—from a number of things, but most pressingly from the murderous intent of the pastoral settlers on their country.

The orphans Whelk and Pipi, fighting for their survival against the malevolent old man they know as the Catechist, watch as almost everything about this situation proves resistant to the…


Book cover of The Memory Police

Andrew Najberg Author Of In Those Fading Stars

From my list on imagine how weird the universe can be.

Why am I passionate about this?

Throughout my life, I’ve moved around quite a bit, and in the process, members of my family and I have encountered many wildly strange people and things. The universe itself is a wild place when you delve into the more exotic aspects: black holes, quantum physics, and measurable differences in subjective realities. It’s hard to say what the real boundaries are, and so I look for stories that stretch my ability to conceive what could be–and that help me find wonder in all the darkness and strangeness around me.

Andrew's book list on imagine how weird the universe can be

Andrew Najberg Why Andrew loves this book

Yoko Ogawa’s dystopian, magical realist novel delves into the darkness underneath our pursuit of—if not the normal—the routine. We witness a protagonist’s world shrink day by day through legally enforced forgetting. As the situation on the isolated island in which the protagonist lives deteriorates, perhaps the most terrifying part is that she finds herself complicit in her own isolation and near-total lack of agency.

By Yoko Ogawa , Stephen Snyder (translator) ,

Why should I read it?

7 authors picked The Memory Police as one of their favorite books, and they share why you should read it.

What is this book about?

Shortlisted for the International Booker Prize 2020, an enthralling Orwellian novel about the terrors of state surveillance from one of Japan's greatest writers.

'Beautiful... Haunting' Sunday Times
'A dreamlike story of dystopia' Jia Tolentino
__________

Hat, ribbon, bird rose.

To the people on the island, a disappeared thing no longer has any meaning. It can be burned in the garden, thrown in the river or handed over to the Memory Police. Soon enough, the island forgets it ever existed.

When a young novelist discovers that her editor is in danger of being taken away by the Memory Police, she desperately…


If you love A Light in the Sky...

Book cover of Tsunami

Tsunami by LeeAnn Pickrell,

On the morning of December 26, 2004, an undersea earthquake struck off the coast of Sumatra in the Indian Ocean. The resulting tsunami killed an estimated 230,000 people across fourteen countries, from Indonesia to Sri Lanka to Thailand to the Maldives to India and all the way to East Africa.…

Book cover of Climate Wars: The Fight for Survival as the World Overheats

Paul E. Hardisty Author Of The Forcing

From my list on dystopian worlds of our own making.

Why am I passionate about this?

After half a lifetime working all over the world as an environmental scientist, I am now a full-time writer of fiction and non-fiction. I’ve studied the effects of oil industry waste in Yemen, monitored groundwater contaminated with radioactive tritium from bomb-making sites in Europe, and remediated oil pits in the South American jungle. I ran Australia’s national climate adaptation program and was CEO of Australia’s national marine science agency, which does much of the research on the Great Barrier Reef. And everywhere I’ve gone, I’ve seen how environmental destruction hurts people, societies, and, inevitably, our future. Each of my six novels and my non-fiction examines this issue in different ways.

Paul's book list on dystopian worlds of our own making

Paul E. Hardisty Why Paul loves this book

The only non-fiction book on my list, this prescient, chilling work examines the geopolitics of climate change.

Written in 2008 by an ex-naval officer turned journalist, this book works on two levels. First, cogent explanations of the science and interviews with senior military personnel from America and Great Britain. Then, eight scenarios that describe how the world might react as emissions rise.

Scenario One: 2045. The average global temperature is 2.8°C higher than in 1990. Prognosis: Awful.

And the scary thing is that’s pretty close to the trajectory we are currently on.

By Gwynne Dyer ,

Why should I read it?

1 author picked Climate Wars as one of their favorite books, and they share why you should read it.

What is this book about?

Dwindling resources. Massive population shifts. Natural disasters. Spreading epidemics. Drought. Rising sea levels. Plummeting agricultural yields. Crashing economies. Political extremism. These are just some of the expected consequences of runaway climate change in the decades ahead - and any of them could tip the world towards conflict. Bold, unflinching, and based on exhaustive research, "Climate Wars" grippingly reveals how world leaders are likely to react, and promises to be one of the most important books of the coming years.


Book cover of Unbound

Jessica Lauren Author Of Liberation

From my list on Christians who loved the Hunger Games.

Why am I passionate about this?

I have always loved fictional works that explore deep truths of humanity and existence. As a teen struggling to understand my purpose and beliefs, I grew fond of dystopian books with subtle, hope-filled messages pointing to God as our salvation amid chaos. I loved the genre so much that I began writing a Christian dystopian novel of my own and self-published it at 19, weaving pieces of my testimony throughout the main character's inner journey. For me, a book is only as good as its characters, no matter how gripping the plot is. So, the books on this list contain some of the genre's most authentic, intricately written souls.

Jessica's book list on Christians who loved the Hunger Games

Jessica Lauren Why Jessica loves this book

As a fast-paced sci-fi dystopian book about the end times, Unbound took me by surprise. The main character is amusingly real in his unbelief in God and skepticism about the prophecies from the book of Revelation, telling things as they are and unable to comprehend the intense visions he experiences.

The storyline is compelling, and I could not help but continually compare it to the biblical prophesies because they were so eerily parallel and realistically portrayed. This book had my heart racing and made me want to read the next in the series as soon as I finished it.

By J. B. Simmons ,

Why should I read it?

1 author picked Unbound as one of their favorite books, and they share why you should read it.

What is this book about?

"The Da Vinci Code meets Hunger Games meets Left Behind...An imagining epic." Hugh Hewitt, New York Times Bestseller

Elijah Goldsmith has nightmares he needs to ignore. Why would a rich kid from Manhattan dream three straight nights about a dragon and the destruction of St. Peter's Basilica? He's never even been to Rome.

It's bad timing, too. He's graduating soon and applying to be a spy in the International Security Agency. That's where he meets Naomi. She's the kind of girl who makes boys like Elijah want to share their secrets. Were they brought together to learn what his secrets…


Book cover of The Water Cure

Fiona Tolan Author Of The Fiction of Margaret Atwood

From my list on dark, dystopian futures written by women.

Why am I passionate about this?

I am an academic and a passionate reader of women’s fiction. My job title, Reader in Contemporary Women’s Writing, is also, fortunately, my hobby. I love to think about how women’s writing explores women’s lives today. I chose the theme of dystopian fiction because The Handmaid’s Tale has been so central to my work. Still, other potential topics that came to mind were motherhood, home and domestic labour, reproductive politics, and feminist protest. It strikes me now that each of the books on my list also cover these topics. This is the element of my work I love – drawing out the connections and political convictions that make today’s women’s writing so powerful.

Fiona's book list on dark, dystopian futures written by women

Fiona Tolan Why Fiona loves this book

In a list of dystopian futures, Mackintosh’s book sits a little unsurely. It’s a dreamy, otherworldly novel, and we’re never quite sure when or where it’s taking place. Three sisters live in isolation with their parents, avoiding an outside world ravaged by contagion – but is the threat real or imagined?

I love this book for its strangeness: it’s an uncanny fairy tale, partly set in some kind of decrepit Victorian seaside retreat for lady hysterics, partly set in the woods where wolves (or men) may prowl.

Mackintosh builds layered dystopias, where both the diseased, brutal world of male violence and the claustrophobic, emotionally manipulative "care" of home and family threaten the sisters’ security. This hazy fever-dream of a book stayed with me for a long time after I finished it. 

By Sophie Mackintosh ,

Why should I read it?

1 author picked The Water Cure as one of their favorite books, and they share why you should read it.

What is this book about?

'A gripping, sinister fable' - MARGARET ATWOOD, via Twitter

'An extraordinary debut novel. Otherworldly, luminous, precise... She is writing the way that Sofia Coppola would shoot the end of the world' Guardian

Shortlisted for the Books Are My Bag Breakthrough Award

'Bold, inventive, haunting... With shades of Margaret Atwood and Eimear McBride, you'll be bowled over by it' Stylist

'Visceral, hypnotic... with one of my favourite endings I've read in a long while' The Pool

Imagine a world very close to our own: where women are not safe in their bodies, where desperate measures are required to raise a daughter.…


If you love Shina Reynolds...

Book cover of In Bad Faith

In Bad Faith by Geoffrey Carter,

Nelson West, a former Chicago homicide detective, is hired by wealthy heir Lionel Bing to discreetly help “fix” scandals and legal problems for his father’s wealthy friends.

Bing, a brilliant but troubled investigator, suffers from PTSD symptoms as a result of being kidnapped and witnessing the murder of his mother…

Book cover of A Time to Die

Jessica Lauren Author Of Liberation

From my list on Christians who loved the Hunger Games.

Why am I passionate about this?

I have always loved fictional works that explore deep truths of humanity and existence. As a teen struggling to understand my purpose and beliefs, I grew fond of dystopian books with subtle, hope-filled messages pointing to God as our salvation amid chaos. I loved the genre so much that I began writing a Christian dystopian novel of my own and self-published it at 19, weaving pieces of my testimony throughout the main character's inner journey. For me, a book is only as good as its characters, no matter how gripping the plot is. So, the books on this list contain some of the genre's most authentic, intricately written souls.

Jessica's book list on Christians who loved the Hunger Games

Jessica Lauren Why Jessica loves this book

A Time to Die is a gritty dystopian book with many unexpected twists and a unique, intricate world that transported me right into it from the first chapter. I loved how genuine and transparent the main character is in her approach to every new circumstance and her newfound relationship with God.

Each chapter is fast-paced, intense, and almost always ends on a cliffhanger. It is one of the most thrilling, raw survival stories I have read, and I recommend it to anyone looking for a book that will keep them engaged and begging for more when it is over.

By Nadine Brandes ,

Why should I read it?

1 author picked A Time to Die as one of their favorite books, and they share why you should read it. This book is for kids age 13, 14, 15, and 16.

What is this book about?

How would you live if you knew the day you'd die? 

Parvin Blackwater believes she has wasted her life. At only seventeen, she has one year left according to the Clock by her bedside. In a last-ditch effort to make a difference, she tries to rescue Radicals from the government's crooked justice system. 

But when the authorities find out about her illegal activity, they cast her through the Wall -- her people's death sentence. What she finds on the other side about the world, about eternity, and about herself changes Parvin forever and might just save her people. But her…


Book cover of Iron Widow
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Book cover of The Binding Tempest

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