100 books like The Black Book of Secrets

By F.E. Higgins,

Here are 100 books that The Black Book of Secrets fans have personally recommended if you like The Black Book of Secrets. Shepherd is a community of 11,000+ authors and super readers sharing their favorite books with the world.

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Book cover of Miss Peregrine's Home for Peculiar Children

Johnny B. Truant Author Of The Dream Engine

From my list on YA books that do not insult our intelligence.

Why am I passionate about this?

I’ve always had a healthy dose of skepticism, having been a scientist before I was an author. I look for the con when something’s too good to be true, even in fiction…so don’t insult me by saying, “a magic amulet that makes everyone nice all the time.” If you want me to believe in pixie dust, tell me what’s in place to keep pixie dust smugglers from rigging the system. I raised smart, critical-minded kids, so I always pointed them to my own favorite young-audience books: those that felt real, even if they were fantastical, instead of ones with the more common “just trust me” attitude. 

Johnny's book list on YA books that do not insult our intelligence

Johnny B. Truant Why did Johnny love this book?

If there were children in the world this peculiar, there’d need to be a system to deal with them. I hate it when we’re just expected to accept odd things in fiction without their logical consequences, but this book doesn’t do that. Yep, things would suck for kids like these…which is why they’d need a home and a caretaker as peculiar as they were. 

What I really liked about this book wasn’t the setup, though, so much as the part where we really figure out what’s protecting the Home and why it was created in the way it was. I can’t really say more without spoiling things, but it poses a very interesting dilemma: a choice as gray in scope as any real-world dilemma.  

By Ransom Riggs,

Why should I read it?

3 authors picked Miss Peregrine's Home for Peculiar Children 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?

A mysterious island. An abandoned orphanage. And a strange collection of very curious photographs. It all waits to be discovered in Miss Peregrine's Home for Peculiar Children, an unforgettable novel that mixes fiction and photography in a thrilling reading experience. As our story opens, a horrific family tragedy sets sixteen-year-old Jacob journeying to a remote island off the coast of Wales, where he discovers the crumbling ruins of Miss Peregrine's Home for Peculiar Children. As Jacob explores its abandoned bedrooms and hallways, it becomes clear that the children who once lived here - one of whom was his own grandfather…


Book cover of Ancient Appetites

S.B. Norton Author Of Dave Bi-Plane Fights the Red Winged Death Command

From my list on wildly worldly invention in fantasy and steampunk.

Why am I passionate about this?

I have been drawn toward tales and stories of the bizarre since childhood. As a reader, I look for works that will surprise me. The real world in general, I find very unsurprising (lord yes, I do!). When I read, when I enter the fictional world (my favorite!) I want to be inspired to read on. I have put down many a book through boredom. I am not a plough. If I am uninterested, I stop. These books have inspired me in my own craft. Currently writing my sixth novel of the unpredictable, I feel I have experienced enough to forward on some irregular reads of the pure and the awesome.  

S.B.'s book list on wildly worldly invention in fantasy and steampunk

S.B. Norton Why did S.B. love this book?

A wildly imaginative tale from the wildly underrated writer, Oisin McGann. A lot of the ideas here stem from his fantastic artwork. (So impressed was I with the read, I Googled his webpage!)

The Wildenstern family is a power-hungry lot, set in a slightly removed, Steampunk/Dystopian idea of a long-ago Ireland. Competitive cousins, Gerald and Nate Wildenstern are wonderful characters, and Nate’s sister-in-law, Daisy, is quite the uppity aristocrat (you can’t help but like!).

There are wild animal-like machines, a lot of deaths, twisted family values, and mystery to be had within this book. Very much a page-turner. I am rereading again – and the rest of the series as well!

By Oisín McGann,

Why should I read it?

1 author picked Ancient Appetites 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?

Nate Wildenstern's brother has been killed, and the finger is pointed at him . . .

After nearly two years, eighteen-year-old Nate returns home to the family empire ruled by his father - the ruthless Wildenstern Patriarch. But Nate's life is soon shattered by his brother's death, and the Rules of Ascension, allowing the assassination of one male family member by another, means he's being blamed. He knows that he is not the murderer, but who is?

With the aid of his troublesome sister-in-law, Daisy, and his cousin Gerald, he means to find out. But when the victims of the…


Book cover of Mortal Engines

S.B. Norton Author Of Dave Bi-Plane Fights the Red Winged Death Command

From my list on wildly worldly invention in fantasy and steampunk.

Why am I passionate about this?

I have been drawn toward tales and stories of the bizarre since childhood. As a reader, I look for works that will surprise me. The real world in general, I find very unsurprising (lord yes, I do!). When I read, when I enter the fictional world (my favorite!) I want to be inspired to read on. I have put down many a book through boredom. I am not a plough. If I am uninterested, I stop. These books have inspired me in my own craft. Currently writing my sixth novel of the unpredictable, I feel I have experienced enough to forward on some irregular reads of the pure and the awesome.  

S.B.'s book list on wildly worldly invention in fantasy and steampunk

S.B. Norton Why did S.B. love this book?

How can one not love a book about moving Traction Cities? In a magnificently imagined world where these Traction Cities fight for what is left of a destroyed future earth (left behind by us humans – from a stupid massive war to end all wars – go figure eh!).

Tom Natsworthy is aboard the traction city of London. London needs to feed and hunt for smaller cities to feed into its mighty jaws. Tom soon learns that London’s sinister hierarchy of scientists are building their own bomb – MEDUSA. Tom is thrown from London when he befriends a physically and emotionally scarred stow-away slave girl, Hester. 

The journey back to the ever-moving London to try and stop – MEDUSA is an amazing one – I must say. So well written, brilliant actually.

By Philip Reeve,

Why should I read it?

1 author picked Mortal Engines 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?

"A breathtaking work of imagination, Hester Shaw is a heroine for the ages. The moment we finished reading this book we knew we wanted to make it into a movie." -- Producer Peter Jackson

* "Reeve's [Mortal Engines] remains a landmark of visionary imagination." -- School Library Journal, starred review

窶銀�窶起ow a major motion picture produced by Peter Jackson!

London is hunting again. Emerging from its hiding place in the hills, the great Traction City is chasing a terrified little town across the wastelands. Soon London will feed.

In the attack, Tom Natsworthy is flung from the speeding city with…


Book cover of The Hunchback Assignments

S.B. Norton Author Of Dave Bi-Plane Fights the Red Winged Death Command

From my list on wildly worldly invention in fantasy and steampunk.

Why am I passionate about this?

I have been drawn toward tales and stories of the bizarre since childhood. As a reader, I look for works that will surprise me. The real world in general, I find very unsurprising (lord yes, I do!). When I read, when I enter the fictional world (my favorite!) I want to be inspired to read on. I have put down many a book through boredom. I am not a plough. If I am uninterested, I stop. These books have inspired me in my own craft. Currently writing my sixth novel of the unpredictable, I feel I have experienced enough to forward on some irregular reads of the pure and the awesome.  

S.B.'s book list on wildly worldly invention in fantasy and steampunk

S.B. Norton Why did S.B. love this book?

This was my very first read in the Steampunk genre. 

What a great book and series this is. 

As a baby, Modo is purchased from a travelling gypsy by a well-to-do aristocrat, the mysterious Mr. Socrates. Modo is hideously ugly. Mr. Socrates raises and educates Modo in proper English and manners and fight craft. He lives his life tucked away in a manor, hiding his face from society. 

One day, on a rare carriage ride through London, a grown Modo is abandoned in the streets by Mr. Socrates and has to fend for himself. He becomes a detective, yet he can never show his real face to anyone – he meets the beautiful Octavia Milkweed – she finds him curious and befriends him. The evil Clockwork Guild is causing chaos throughout London and Modo must get to the bottom of it. Then find a way to stop it. The adventure…

By Arthur Slade,

Why should I read it?

1 author picked The Hunchback Assignments 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?

A gripping new series combines Steampunk, spying, and a fantastic Victorian London.

The mysterious Mr. Socrates rescues Modo, a child in a traveling freak show. Modo is a hunchback with an amazing ability to transform his appearance, and Mr. Socrates raises him in isolation as an agent for the Permanent Association, a spy agency behind Brittania’s efforts to rule the empire. At 14, Modo is left on the streets of London to fend for himself. When he encounters Octavia Milkweed, another Association agent, the two uncover a plot by the Clockword Guild behind the murders of important men. Furthermore, a…


Book cover of Claire of the Sea Light

Robert Lunday Author Of Disequilibria: Meditations on Missingness

From my list on using disappearance in innovative ways.

Why am I passionate about this?

Since my stepfather disappeared in 1982, disappearance has been my obsession. In writing Disequilibria, I read everything I could on missing persons. By now, I might be the chief authority on Missingness! – that is, on disappearance as a theoretical construct. I’m especially interested in how, across different sensibilities (in fiction, nonfiction, and poetry, but also law, social science, journalism, philosophy, history, and media studies), we can compose a shared language and create shared understanding. My larger goal is to discover creative and redemptive ways of responding to loss, grief, and trauma; to find how disappearance in all its forms creates a framework for understanding what it means to be human.

Robert's book list on using disappearance in innovative ways

Robert Lunday Why did Robert love this book?

Haitian-born Edwidge Danticat’s linked short-story collections brilliantly balance a focus on detail, gesture, and situation with a cumulative vision of place and fateful circumstance.

In Claire of the Sea Light, the disappearance of a young girl frames a sequence of tales about several members of the small seaside community where the girl lives with her father.

After Claire’s sudden disappearance in the opening narrative, we follow the adults’ betrayals, sacrifices, and missteps to the final story, when the missing girl’s own perceptions provide a moral and imaginative frame for the family and community she must now choose to rejoin or escape permanently.

By Edwidge Danticat,

Why should I read it?

1 author picked Claire of the Sea Light as one of their favorite books, and they share why you should read it.

What is this book about?

From the national bestselling author of Brother, I’m Dying and The Dew Breaker: a “fiercely beautiful” novel (Los Angeles Times) that brings us deep into the intertwined lives of a small seaside town where a little girl, the daughter of a fisherman, has gone missing.

Just as her father makes the wrenching decision to send her away for a chance at a better life, Claire Limyè Lanmè—Claire of the Sea Light—suddenly disappears. As the people of the Haitian seaside community of Ville Rose search for her, painful secrets, haunting memories, and startling truths are unearthed. In this stunning novel about…


Book cover of Here There Are Monsters

Dawn Kurtagich Author Of Teeth in the Mist

From my list on YA horror creepy creatures to keep you up at night.

Why am I passionate about this?

I am and have always been fascinated with supernatural creatures, particularly if they have horns and dwell in the dark swamps of wooded hinterlands. I spent a greater part of my childhood in the African bush. A formative experience was the day an isangoma (witchdoctor) cast knuckle bones at me in a particularly energetic frenzy. Rather than being scared, I was fascinated by the power these little bones had to command spirits and creatures I had only seen in my nightmares. An obsession was born.

Dawn's book list on YA horror creepy creatures to keep you up at night

Dawn Kurtagich Why did Dawn love this book?

When I went into this book, I sensed that Amelinda would pull zero punches. I was so right it was glorious. Skye is fed up. Fed up of being responsible for her insufferable little sister, Dierdre. Fed up with the stories, with the games, with their endless childhood fantasies. Moving halfway across the country seems like the perfect chance to start over. Finally, in this new, isolated neighbourhood, Skye is managing to fit in. Not Dierdre, though. No, Dierdre seems to be slipping more and more into a world of her own. And then one day: Dierdre vanishes. When a creature unlike anything Skye has ever seen comes scratching at her door claiming to know who took Dierdre, Skye is going to have to suspend her disbelief and re-enter a childhood of warped imagination.

By Amelinda Bérubé,

Why should I read it?

2 authors picked Here There Are Monsters 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?

A bone-chilling read about creating monsters, sisterhood turned toxic, and secrets that won't stay buried, perfect for fans of The Night She Disappeared, Wilder Girls, and The Blair Witch Project.
Sixteen-year-old Skye is done playing the knight in shining armor for her insufferable younger sister, Deirdre. And moving across the country seems like the perfect chance to start over as someone different.
In their isolated new neighborhood, Skye manages to fit in, but Deirdre withdraws from everyone, becoming fixated on the swampy woods behind their house and building monstrous sculptures out of sticks and bones.
Then Deirdre disappears.
And when…


Book cover of Love & Gelato

Kristina Miranda Author Of Perfume Princess

From my list on YA contemporary romances that take you abroad.

Why am I passionate about this?

I write romantic comedies for readers who want adventure in the great wide somewhere and can’t wait until the next time they hear the words bon voyage! Even as a young, midwestern farm girl, I always had a passion for languages and a strong desire to travel. As soon I flew the coop and went to college, I made friends with students from all over the world. Eventually, I followed my travel plans, learned to speak three languages, and now can’t decide whether to adopt London or Paris as my European hometown. 

Kristina's book list on YA contemporary romances that take you abroad

Kristina Miranda Why did Kristina love this book?

Let’s take this European adventure to Italy. Like most of the books on my list, Love & Gelato doesn’t go heavy on the romance, which is an aspect I really appreciate. Lina, the sixteen-year-old protagonist, comes to terms with grief and uncertainty in this beautiful, tender story. The fact that it’s set in Italy is a big bonus.

Jenna Evans Welch has written similar books with settings in Ireland and Greece. She has a great voice and takes the reader to some of my favorite settings in the world. That’s amore!

By Jenna Evans Welch,

Why should I read it?

1 author picked Love & Gelato 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?

Now a Netflix movie, starring Susanna Skaggs

A New York Times bestseller

The dying wish of 16-year-old Lina's mother was for her daughter to live in Tuscany and get to know her father, whom Lina has never met. "Howard is the best man I've ever known," her mother says, "he'll keep you safe." Why did her mother wait so long to tell her about him? Lina has a happy life in Seattle and doesn't want to leave. Shortly after she arrives at Howard's home, Lina meets Sonya, who gives Lina a diary that belonged to Lina's mother, the one she…


Book cover of White Smoke

Emily Kazmierski Author Of Don't Look Behind You

From my list on YA that will haunt your dreams tonight.

Why am I passionate about this?

Since I was a child, stories steeped in secrets have fascinated me. I spent many hours devouring books about detectives and spies, shadows and deceit. As an adult, it is a rare treat to discover one that is so engaging I must know how it unfolds as soon as possible, and is told in a way that leaves me surprised by how it ends. Each of these books is deliciously tricky, inspiring me to read quickly, before the ghosts between the pages could escape to haunt me. 

Emily's book list on YA that will haunt your dreams tonight

Emily Kazmierski Why did Emily love this book?

An allegedly haunted house, an evil step-sister, an abandoned and rotting town, and distrustful neighbors crowd together in this sharply told story about a girl running from her past. With each page, my paranoia grew until there was no easy way to tell what was real, and what was a red herring. This book was freaky. I was afraid to read it late at night because if I did, my over-active imagination would absolutely torture me with sinister nightmares.

By Tiffany D. Jackson,

Why should I read it?

3 authors picked White Smoke as one of their favorite books, and they share why you should read it.

What is this book about?

The Haunting of Hill House meets Get Out in this chilling YA psychological thriller and modern take on the classic haunted house story from New York Times bestselling author Tiffany D. Jackson!

Marigold is running from ghosts. The phantoms of her old life keep haunting her, but a move with her newly blended family from their small California beach town to the embattled Midwestern city of Cedarville might be the fresh start she needs. Her mom has accepted a new job with the Sterling Foundation that comes with a free house, one that Mari now has to share with her…


Book cover of The Daydreams

Katta Kis Author Of Love in the Liner Notes

From my list on for pop star lovers.

Why am I passionate about this?

I’ve had a love-hate relationship with pop music since I was a kid singing Britney Spear’s “Lucky” with my friends. Eventually, I evolved into a punk-ass cynical teenager who disavowed my love of pop, but the fascination remained. In college, I started a pop star romance that would–many, many years later–become my debut book Love in the Liner Notes. In the process, I read an obsessively large number of books touching on music, celebrities, musicians, and the entertainment industry. I hope you enjoy a selection of my favorites, mostly romances (what can I say, I have a type) that brought me the kind of joy only a pop star can. 

Katta's book list on for pop star lovers

Katta Kis Why did Katta love this book?

This is a darker, more realistic take on former child stars.

I don’t normally enjoy non-linear timelines, but the way the story jumped back and forth, from the heyday of the TV show, where the characters played in a fictional teen pop band to present day, where they are trying to pretend they’ve moved on from the scandalous ending, was compelling.

The central mystery of what went wrong and why kept me hooked while the details of the behind-the-scenes conflicts and pressures fascinated me. As someone who grew up in LA, close to the orbit of these kind of wildly popular teen shows, I appreciated the stark look at what these productions do to their young stars and the sometimes creepy attention underage girls get.

I also appreciated that it didn’t get so dark I couldn’t finish it.

By Laura Hankin,

Why should I read it?

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

What is this book about?

A deliciously entertaining novel about the stars of a popular teen show from the early 2000s—and the reunion special, thirteen years after their scandalous flameout, that will either be their last chance at redemption, or destroy them all for good.

Back in 2004, The Daydreams had it all: a cast of innocent-seeming teenagers acting and singing their hearts out, amazing ratings, and a will-they-or-won’t-they romance that steamed up fan fiction forums. Then, during the live season two finale, it all imploded, leaving everyone scrambling to understand why.

Afterward, the four stars went down very different paths. Kat is now a…


Book cover of Family Secrets: The Path from Shame to Healing

Karin Blak Author Of The Essential Companion to Talking Therapy: Everything You Need to Know about the Therapy Journey

From my list on how we can all be affected by trauma and recovery.

Why am I passionate about this?

Throughout my life as a therapist, I have focused on couple and family relationships, including the relationship we have with ourselves. When trauma was beginning to be recognised as something most people can and do experience, when we began to realise that it isn’t just front-line combat soldiers who get traumatised, I began my journey into how trauma affects our relationships. My study of trauma and relationships has helped my work with clients and, without naming their experiences as trauma, has moved them on from re-enacting the damage caused to them or unknowingly inflicting the same on others. 

Karin's book list on how we can all be affected by trauma and recovery

Karin Blak Why did Karin love this book?

We might believe that not saying the unsayable will keep family members from being affected by the awful truth. Well, nothing could be further from reality, and John Bradshaw's Family Secrets explains perfectly why keeping awful secrets can be more damaging than having truthful conversations. 

This is one of the best books recommended to clients who came to me with family trauma. A mum who was emotionally distant, unable to show love or give support, a dad who terrorized the dinner table with silence or sudden flairs of anger. Perhaps an uncle or aunt in front of whom certain subjects were never mentioned. Secrets that were kept so tight yet were on display at every family gathering.

Family Secrets clarified many questions for a lot of clients, clearing the way for therapy to go deeper.

By John Bradshaw,

Why should I read it?

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

What is this book about?

What you don't know can hurt you—
but it can also lead to self-acceptance and healing.

Family Secrets gives you the tools you need to understand your family—and yourself—in an entirely new way.

In his bestselling books and compelling PBS specials, John Bradshaw has transformed our understanding of how we are shaped by our families. Now join him on this fascinating journey of discovery, which starts with your life today and takes you back through the conflicts, the strengths, and the weaknesses of your parents’ generation—and even your grandparents’. Using a powerful technique for exploring your “family tree,” you’ll trace…


5 book lists we think you will like!

Interested in secrets, steampunk, and villages?

Secrets 263 books
Steampunk 94 books
Villages 159 books