7 YA Book Recs For Netflix Fans

The Walls Around Us, by Nova Ren Suma
Weaving together elements of mystery and magic realism, The Walls Around Us follows three girls—Violet, a revered dancer performing for her town a final time; Amber, locked up in a juvenile detention center for murder; and Ori, who connects them together. Amber’s point of view highlights life within a women’s prison, particularly the tendency toward self-preservation—and, ultimately, the familial dynamic—that has become emblematic of Orange in the New Black. But, much like the TV show, the novel’s exploration of female friendships, justice, and the darkness within us that transcends prison walls.
 
 
If you love Sense8, read…

Shadowshaper, by Daniel José Older
Brooklyn is under attack. In order to accumulate power, a zealous anthropologist tries to kill off the city’s shadowshapers, or magicians who funnel spirits into art. Sierra Santiago, an Afro-Latina girl who is one such shadowshaper, finds herself under attack by the anthropologist’s supernatural forces. But in Daniel José Older’s novel, the threat to Brooklyn is more than just magical; Sierra confronts everything from gentrification to street harassment to police brutality, all of which are tearing apart the borough she loves. But ultimately, like Sense8, Shadowshaper is a celebration of diverse cultures and individuals; Sierra is Puerto Rican and her best friend is Haitian, and two girls within their friend group are dating each other.

Otherbound, by Corinne Duyvis
Otherbound’s similarities to Sense8 begin at the very obvious level: Amara, the novel’s protagonist, has a fantastical connection with a boy, Nolan, who is able to experience her life through her eyes, a concept that is reminiscent of the Netflix show. Only while on the run from a group of malevolent mages with a princess she’s been forced to protect does Amara begin to communicate with Nolan. But Otherbound’s appeal to Sense8 fans also revolves around its diversity: it’s a fantasy novel with main characters of various marginalized identities (based off race, disability, and sexuality, specifically bisexuality).
 
 
If you love Unbreakable Kimmy Schmidt, read…

Noggin, by John Corey Whaley
Travis Coates is only the second person ever to be brought back from the dead. Five years ago, when he was dying of cancer, he agreed to participate in an experimental trial in which a doctor cryogenically froze his head so that he might in the future live again. As it turns out, the technology to revive him came sooner than anyone expected, and now Travis is back. But while he remains a 16-year-old boy, everyone in his life before has aged—and moved on. Travis’s best friend is struggling with his sexuality, and his girlfriend is engaged to another man. Travis shares much of the idealism and (sometimes unintentional) humor of Kimmy in Unbreakable Kimmy Schmidt. Both characters have been removed from society for an extended period of time, and both mistakenly believe they can jump right back into their lives.
If you love Master of None, read…

Does My Head Look Big In This?, by Randa Abdel-Fattah
A student at an elite Australian private school, Amal decides to further embrace her Muslim faith and wear a hijab full-time. Immediately she’s exposed to ignorance and prejudice, both in and out of her school. Like Master of None, Does My Head Look Big In This? is hilarious, and both center on South Asian protagonists in predominantly white nations (the former in the U.S., the latter in Australia).

Winger, by Andrew Smith
Master of None’s laugh-out-loud self-deprecating humor is reminiscent of Winger. Though the two works deal with very different topics—Winger centers on a rugby player at a boarding school who is obsessed with rising in the social hierarchy, while Master of None explores family, love, and racism from the point of view of an Indian American aspiring actor—they each boast a similar, self-critical wit.
 
 
 
 
 
If you love House of Cards, read…

Tiny Pretty Things, by Sona Charaipotra and Dhonielle Clayton
Told from the points of view of three girls who are competing, for different reasons, to become the star of their ballet school, Tiny Pretty Things explores a world that is as high pressure as it is cutthroat. The novel doesn’t revolve around characters who want to accumulate power for power’s sake, as in House of Cards, but both works will intoxicate fans of all things dark, daring, and backstabbing.