By Sarah Statz Cords
I am eagerly waiting for my copy of Breaking Dawn, the fourth book in Stephenie Meyer’s massively popular Twilight series which is due to be published August 2. I’m on the library waiting list, and I’m starting to get desperate! So, to keep my mind off the wait, I thought it might be a good time to talk Twilight read-alikes, as well as to show off a bit of what the Reader’s Advisor Online can do for readers jonesing for books “just like” the Meyer novels.
The most obvious stop for read-alikes in the RAO is, of course, the basic title record for the first book in the series, Twilight. Diana Tixier Herald, author of Genreflecting and numerous other titles on fantasy and science fiction, as well as a voracious reader of the genres herself, suggested these read-alikes:
“The Twilight series is not just about vampires, but also features strong girls, strong friendships, and romantic entanglement. The following series all share those themes. P.C. Cast and Kristin Cast’s House of Night series features 16-year-old Zooey Redbird, whose adventures involve friendship, enemies and romantic interests; start with Marked. Richelle Mead’s Vampire Academy series is set at St. Vladimir’s school where Lissa and Rose find danger and romance; start with Vampire Academy. Julie Kenner’s Ghoul series (aka Beth Frasier series) features a normal high school girl who is turned into a vampire so she can find the formula that will allow the vampires in her school to go out in the daytime; start with The Good Ghoul’s Guide To Getting Even. Ellen Schreiber’s Vampire Kisses series features Raven, a goth girl who falls for a vampire; start with Vampire Kisses.”
Nothing there catches your fantasy? Then you could always pick the genre “Teen Paranormal Romance” from the Read-Alike Finder and get these titles: Vivian Vande Velde’s Companions of the Night, Richie Tankersley Cusick’s The House Next Door, or Meg Cabot’s Jinx. Still not tired? Combining the tags “Vampires” and “Teen” also yields some interesting suggestions: the short story compilation The Restless Dead; Cassandra Clare’s City of Ashes, and Scott Westerfeld’s Peeps (which happens to be one of my favorite books of all time).
That’s what I love about RAO—tailored title-to-title read-alike lists made specifically by RA experts, as well as additional ways to combine searches and find even more. Okay. I think I can keep waiting…and in the meantime I’m totally going to look into Richie Tankersley Cusick’s The House Next Door.
