Books like Tower — picked by fans

In this dystopian romance, I love how the society Claire lives in is not ours, but a futuristic, prescribed society where she does her best to fit in, but she never feels comfortable.

Sometimes I’ve felt that way about my life, too. Outside the walls, where the Wastelanders live, is violent and unknown, with a reputation like the badlands in a Mad Max movie. When a rebellion happens, and Claire is exiled, she’s immediately on her own.

I like that the people who rescue her are not what she expected and that living with them forces her to examine her beliefs. I enjoyed her character arc and look forward to seeing where John and Claire go next. 

I loved that we got to the main story so quickly and its unique beginning.

A man kidnaps his pretty neighbor and locks her in a cage in his basement to keep her safe from a deadly virus. This is chapter one. Her rage-fueled reaction to this felt authentic, and until the pandemic kills almost everyone, bringing about the end of the world, we are on her side.

I love the banter and dynamics between the two main characters, who might have dated before the end of the world if they’d been brave enough to connect, but only met because of the abduction. When they emerge into the new world together, I love that they choose to stick together, rebuild, and include others.

This book could have been bleak, but instead, like the wildflowers, it is surprisingly sweet and hopeful. 

While the characters of this story are preppers and likely to survive an end-of-the-world event, I love that the story focuses on a young woman and her grandmother, who, despite all the planning, face this cyberattack without the men in their lives.

It is also believable that a cyber-attack and the climate crisis would play a role in the story, as the worst winter in over a hundred years isolates the survivors. I like how we are introduced to the fiercely protective MMC in the spring after a second tragedy has struck.

I also loved the bits of my mythology and lore woven into the story that make it stand out among other apocalyptic and post-apocalyptic stories. This one also focuses on connection and rebuilding. 

I enjoyed this book because of its unusual premise.

As a deadly pandemic sweeps the world, killing ninety-nine percent of people, a convicted convict rots in his prison cell. When the warden falls sick, he directs the immune prisoner to find his daughter.

I also like that the warden’s daughter is out there trying to save herself, not waiting to be rescued. Like the other stories on my list, it is the dynamic between the main characters and how they learn to care for each other despite their opposite backgrounds that makes this story work. 

Napoli is a master at rewriting fairy tales and other classic stories, and Zel might just be my favorite of her works. A young adult retelling of Rapunzel from three perspectives, it sticks to the original tale’s basic plot points but deeply expands the reader’s understanding of each character, particularly Rapunzel’s mother, whose feelings and motivations are written with exquisite nuance. Though it’s written for a YA audience, I still enjoy this story as much now as I did when I first read it at age 13, and now that I’m a mother myself, I experience it on an entirely different level. This is a deceptively simple book that really has layers upon layers to unwrap. 

Rapunzel meets Snow White, and this encounter will reveal the true colours of all those involved. The Fairest of Them All acts as a continuation of one classic tale that eventually intrudes on another, making for a creative “what if” narrative while maintaining a strict fairy tale atmosphere. A more mature tone adds a layer of depth to this story, where characters are not limited to purely virtuous or villainous qualities, and happily ever afters are neither simple nor guaranteed. As a reader, you really feel for Rapunzel as she struggles to overcome hardship, betrayal, jealousy, and regret—she’s human after all—and the author doesn’t hold back when it comes to unexpected plot twists and dark themes.

In this graphic novel adventure (followed by the equally compelling Calamity Jack), the twist is that the story of Rapunzel is set in a magical fantasy version of the Wild West. Yes, you read that right: Fairy Tale + Wild West + High Fantasy. Oh, and humor too. With incredible and satisfyingly dense world-building, all of Hale’s work seamlessly combines to create a complex and believable landscape, unlike anything I’ve seen. The story is gripping, since Rapunzel must basically save the world from magical destruction with her wits, weaponized braids, and her new buddy Jack, the lovable rascal of beanstalk fame.

I may be cheating here. Rapunzel is an old-time fairy tale, and Cress is a science fiction re-writing of that story, so I'm going to count it in this list as "historical." This is the third book in Meyers' Lunar Chronicles and it is my favorite of the bunch. Cress (Rapunzel) is incredibly smart and completely naive to the world. Her romantic interest is a completely dopey bad guy, who you shouldn't waste your time disliking. The odd situations they get themselves into mirror, to an extent, the famous fairy tale. Lots of fun.

I was captivated by this picture book. The first two illustrations I have never forgotten: Bartholomew living at the bottom of a hill looks up at King Derwin's Castle at the top of the hill -- a mighty view, and it makes Bartholomew feel mighty small. King Derwin in his castle looks down at Bartholomew sees the houses down below: a mighty view, that makes King Derwin feel mighty important. Bartholomew is told to obey a stupid rule made by the King which leads to surprising consequences.

I learned from this story about the difference between riches and poverty, and the power that riches bring. Later I realised that King Derwin was a Dictator.

An elderly man goes in search of a cat to make him and his wife less lonely. He comes home with not one but millions of them: how to choose which to keep? The cats solve the problem by fighting among themselves until “they must have eaten each other all up.” But one unexpected little kitten is left…. 

I couldn’t have articulated this when I first sat raptly turning its pages, but Ga’g’s fable, with its handwritten text and charming 1928 black-and-white drawings, acknowledges both the ferocious and the vulnerable in children’s natures.