73 books like The Princess in Black

The voice of this book hooked me right away—the main character, Bea, is hilariously self-deprecating and quirky; I felt immediately connected to her. Plus, I tend to love epistolary books, meaning books that are structured in the form of letters, or this case, a diary with lots of fun cross-outs, footnotes, and lists. Even saying the word ‘epistolary’ is fun!

I was also charmed by the setting—a school for witches, which Bea’s charming, absent-minded-professor-type dad has accidentally enrolled her in. It has witchy trademarks like flying brooms, levitation spells, and rebellious magic wands.

And I was compelled to read to the end because I wanted to find out how Bea would fit in with a bunch of witches when she was a regular kid!

To be honest, I don’t normally like fairy tale retellings. I like my stories to be brand new. But this one won me over with hilarity. It is full of eccentric characters and laugh-out-loud moments, making the narrative feel fresh. Not to mention, there are so many original twists and turns, that by the end, there’s only a smidge of the Sleeping Beauty tale left hiding in the adventure.

This is another story where the princess does the rescuing, which I like, and we discover that many villains can actually be pretty sweet if they’re treated with respect. There’s also a wise guinea pig character, which is a big bonus for me as a guinea pig owner. With all of its wonderful irreverence, I wasn’t expecting it to end with as much heart as it did, but this book gives you the whole package. 

As a fan of the Wednesday TV series, this book was right up my alley. Similar in tone and humor, VAMPIRITA also has a misanthropic anti-hero who wishes she were somewhere more dreary than she is. In this case, Vampirita has moved from Lima, Peru, where she lived with her extended vampire family, to sunny Southern California (her mother reassures her that the sun will be fine for her vampire skin thanks to the wonders of modern sunscreen).

I enjoyed all the specifics about the creepy and crawly environment she desires, but I also loved how my heart swelled at the end when her uber-cheerful new neighbors finally win her over. Written by a Peruvian American author, this book comes in both English and Spanish, which is great. Even the English version has numerous Spanish phrases that were fun for me to learn.

This is one of the books my daughter kept in bed with her while she slept in third grade—she was obsessed with it. This obsession was totally understandable to me, as I also went through a big sticker phase as a child. So, stickers that magically come to life? What could be more engaging than that?

I love how this book tackles a lot of normal elementary school struggles, like making new friends and conquering your nerves during a class presentation, but it does so with the added fun and excitement of a pink Pegasus sticker jumping off the paper and flying into the sky.

The best part of the book for me, though, is the main character’s sticker sidekick—a blunt and snarky talking cupcake named Craig. He’s too cute!

In a world with superpowers, two abilities mean you’re a Super and none means you’re Normal.

The Twist? Merrin Grey has a single power, meaning she’s half a Super called a One. And when she’s forced to transfer to a normal high school she meets Elias who is also a One. When they combine their powers, they can fly! 

One is a love letter to superheroes and comics and plays with the idea of what makes someone a superhero vs a less than. I loved all the sci-fi tropes stood on their heads in this book. And Merrin and Elias are the cutest. This was one of the first indie-published novels I read. It showed me the art of possible, and how fantastic the world of indie publishing is.

The God: Thor

Marvel doesn’t always get it right, mythologically speaking, but this all-ages title was a fantastic introduction to the superhero version of everyone’s favorite Norse God, Thor. Romantic and full of adventure, with peeks at Thor’s goat chariot and guest appearances by a handful of other superheroes along the way, paired with the gorgeously expressive artwork of Chris Samnee, this is definitely a graphic novel worth gifting to both the young and young at heart in your life—if you can find it to give!

Superheroes and zombies seem like a terrible combination, but Peter Clines makes a fascinating story of zombies destroying the Earth but for a collection of superhero guarded survivors.

It's a bit like The Walking Dead combined with the Justice League, though the power level of the people involved is closer to Marvel's street level. The first book has some crass jokes that get dropped from the sequels but not enough that I didn't enjoy it. I have to say my favorite characters are Saint George (a Superman analog) and Stealth (a female Batman).

The next Avengers movie is a few years away and there’s no way of knowing when (or if) there will be another Justice League movie. So if you’re looking for some epic, superhero team action to hold you over until then, look no further than Van Allen Plexico’s Sentinels series. This is the kind of widescreen superhero action you’ve come to expect from the MCU and Plexico’s love of the genre drips off every page.

Kit is a scavenger in a city ruined by an alien spaceship that crashed decades ago, giving rise to superheroes. When a chance meeting leads to her starting a relationship with Valene Blackwood, one of the most powerful superheroes on the planet. A little too powerful. 

Valene’s powers are slowly driving her mad. Kit sets out to find a way to help Valene, but ends up getting superpowers of her own, and in a duel to the death with Valene’s father, who wants to take over the city. 

I love this book because it’s a unique take on the question of what makes someone a hero, while also looking at how people with privilege respond to marginalized people gaining power, and why some relationships are doomed to fail.

This is a great story about a Muslim Pakistani high school student in Jersey City who suddenly body-morphs as she develops superhero powers. As Kamala discovers, being Ms Marvel is about following her faith’s call to help others regardless of who they are. Ms. Marvel’s engaging story educates readers on immigrant culture, debates, and shared values within Muslim families and communities and how closely aligned Islam is with the central tenets of superhero life to address wrongs while at the same time challenging Islamophobic ideas. 

Why is this comic important? It is a great way for teens, both inside and outside Islam, immigrants or not, to learn about this faith as one set of characters live it and to follow a character whose life is, in a variety of ways, not so different from their own. It’s also a series that invites readers to think about shared values and norms,… show more.