Fans pick 100 books like The Savage Kind

By John Copenhaver,

Here are 100 books that The Savage Kind fans have personally recommended if you like The Savage Kind. Shepherd is a community of 12,000+ authors and super readers sharing their favorite books with the world.

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Book cover of Always Coming Home

Valerie Nieman Author Of In the Lonely Backwater

From my list on young women saving their own lives.

Why am I passionate about this?

Like my narrator Maggie, I was a child, then a teen wandering the woods and dreaming of a life. Iā€™ve always hated those books/TV shows/films where women, especially young women, are helpless and reliant on a man to get them out of trouble. I gravitate toward stories where females figure out their own paths, not always to a happy ending. Iā€™m still a wanderer today, mostly solo, from New York City to the vast Highlands of Scotland, and while the world can seem scary, Iā€™m confident and free on my own. 

Valerie's book list on young women saving their own lives

Valerie Nieman Why did Valerie love this book?

This is an incredibly intricate book, braiding many strands together to tell the story of people who ā€œmight be going to have lived a long, long time from now in Northern California.ā€ One thread tying it all together is Stone Telling, a young girl caught between her motherā€™s rich tribal life and the militaristic city life of the man who is her father. She tells him, ā€œI am a woman, and make my own choices,ā€ but learns that is not the case in the land of the Condors. Her story illuminates two of the many ways to be human. (Iā€™m re-reading this now.)

By Ursula K. Le Guin,

Why should I read it?

2 authors picked Always Coming Home as one of their favorite books, and they share why you should read it.

What is this book about?

An "ethnographic" novel that portrays life in California's Napa Valley as it might be a very long time from now, imagined not as a high tech future but as a time of people once again living close to the land.


Book cover of Parable of the Sower

Alina Leonova Author Of Entanglement

From my list on if you miss early Black Mirror.

Why am I passionate about this?

I remember the first season of Black Mirrorā€”how fascinated I was. Even though a lot of it was uncomfortable, I couldnā€™t look away. It was a perfect intersection of the subjects that excited my mind: technology that could exist in the future intertwined with social and political issues and human psychology. It provided a very personal look into how technology would affect peopleā€™s daily lives and how it could shape the world we live in. Well, the series has become what it has become, but I still remember the thrill of the first episodes. It always gave me food for thought. 

Alina's book list on if you miss early Black Mirror

Alina Leonova Why did Alina love this book?

Itā€™s a fascinating book. The story takes place in 2024, and some themes seem prophetic: water shortages, soaring food prices, the resulting social chaos, and Mars exploration. There is also a president who promises to ā€œmake America great againā€ (the book was written in 1993). 

I liked the story, though it left a rather heavy impression on me. I couldn't put it down despite how grim it was. I was especially fascinated by its invented religion, though Iā€™m more inclined to view it as a philosophy. It was refreshing, stimulating, and thought-provoking.

Through her dystopian vision, Octavia Butler explores the issues of inequality, poverty, slavery, politics, capitalism, religion, and human psychology. Her book is a great analysis of what human beings are capable of in crisis.

By Octavia E. Butler,

Why should I read it?

29 authors picked Parable of the Sower as one of their favorite books, and they share why you should read it.

What is this book about?

The extraordinary, prescient NEW YORK TIMES-bestselling novel.

'If there is one thing scarier than a dystopian novel about the future, it's one written in the past that has already begun to come true. This is what makes Parable of the Sower even more impressive than it was when first published' GLORIA STEINEM

'Unnervingly prescient and wise' YAA GYASI

--

We are coming apart. We're a rope, breaking, a single strand at a time.

America is a place of chaos, where violence rules and only the rich and powerful are safe. Lauren Olamina, a young woman with the extraordinary power toā€¦


Book cover of Alice's Adventures in Wonderland

Matthew Sussman Author Of Stylistic Virtue and Victorian Fiction: Form, Ethics, and the Novel

From my list on Victorian novels written in a weird style.

Why am I passionate about this?

I have always loved literature, especially for its daring use of language. Thatā€™s how I became interested in the weird and strange styles of the nineteenth century. For many scholars, the Victorian novel is the most realistic form of writing ever produced and the closest that the novel comes to cinemaā€”so if you notice an authorā€™s style, then somethingā€™s gone wrong because it disrupts the illusion of reality. But it doesnā€™t take much to realise that even the most realistic novels have styles that are highly distinct and that the Victorian period is full of other writers whose styles are bizarre, extreme, or fascinatingly eccentric. 

Matthew's book list on Victorian novels written in a weird style

Matthew Sussman Why did Matthew love this book?

This book has become so familiar to us through cartoons and movies that we often forget how very weird it is as a piece of writing. The book begins when Alice, bored of her sisterā€™s company, notices a white rabbit muttering to itself ā€œOh dear! Oh dear!ā€, and starts to become curiousā€”not, mind you, because talking rabbits are impossible, but only because they are so very intriguing.

The rest of the book shares this bemused tone: Alice will be subjected to all sorts of indignities, including a near-beheading, but as a ā€œgoodā€ Victorian girl, she will generally accept the bizarre reality that is presented to her. Carrollā€™s mastery of language is key to this effect. Nearly every character sounds sensible, turning well-formed logical sentences, but they never make much actual sense, and their speeches are riddled with so many puns, double meanings, and other linguistic tricks that one can neverā€¦

By Lewis Carroll,

Why should I read it?

11 authors picked Alice's Adventures in Wonderland as one of their favorite books, and they share why you should read it. This book is for kids age 4, 5, 6, and 7.

What is this book about?

Alice's Adventures in Wonderland (commonly shortened to Alice in Wonderland) is an 1865 novel by English author Lewis Carroll (the pseudonym of Charles Dodgson). It tells of a young girl named Alice, who falls through a rabbit hole into a subterranean fantasy world populated by peculiar, anthropomorphic creatures. It is considered to be one of the best examples of the literary nonsense genre. The tale plays with logic, giving the story lasting popularity with adults as well as with children.

One of the best-known and most popular works of English-language fiction, its narrative, structure, characters and imagery have been enormouslyā€¦


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Book cover of The Midnight Man

The Midnight Man by Julie Anderson,

A historical thriller set in south London just after World War II, as Britain returns to civilian life and the men return home from the fight, causing the women to leave their wartime roles. The South London Hospital for Women and Children is a hospital, (based on a real place)ā€¦

Book cover of The Girls in the Stilt House

Karen Dionne Author Of The Wicked Sister

From my list on getting lost in the wilderness, or the ocean.

Why am I passionate about this?

USA Today and #1 internationally bestselling author of The Marsh King's Daughter - ā€œSubtle, brilliant and mature . . . as good as a thriller can be.ā€ ā€“ The New York Times Book Review, and soon to be a major motion picture starring Daisy Ridley and Ben Mendelsohn, and The Wicked Sister, a Publishers Weekly Best Book of 2020. "Massively thrilling and altogether unputdownable. Dionne is proving to be one of the finest suspense writers working today.ā€ ā€“ Karin Slaughter

Karen's book list on getting lost in the wilderness, or the ocean

Karen Dionne Why did Karen love this book?

Set in 1920s Mississippi, this Southern novel weaves a harrowing tale of two teenage girls who are drawn into a dangerous world of bootleggers and moral corruption. Forced to come to terms with their hidden past, they discover that they are linked in ways that could cost them their lives.

As rich and lush as the Natchez Trace swamps where the story takes place, Mustianā€™s lyrical prose combined with her deep insight into the resiliency of the human spirit make this novel shine. You know a book is good when you wish youā€™d written it!

By Kelly Mustian,

Why should I read it?

5 authors picked The Girls in the Stilt House as one of their favorite books, and they share why you should read it.

What is this book about?

THE USA TODAY BESTSELLER!
"Remarkable debut.... [a] nearly flawless tale of loss, perseverance and redemption."-Publishers Weekly, STARRED review
Set in 1920s Mississippi, this debut Southern novel weaves a beautiful and harrowing story of two teenage girls cast in an unlikely partnership through murder-perfect for readers of Where the Crawdads Sing and If the Creek Don't Rise.
Ada promised herself she would never go back to the Trace, to her hard life on the swamp and her harsh father. But now, after running away to Baton Rouge and briefly knowing a different kind of life, she finds herself with nowhere toā€¦


Book cover of Jar of Hearts

Michelle Godard-Richer Author Of Fatal Hunt

From my list on fiction with realistic portrayal of crime.

Why am I passionate about this?

Iā€™ve always had a fascination with crime and human behavior which led me to complete an Honours Degree in Criminology at the University of Ottawa. I studied the minds of criminals and what drives their behavior. Itā€™s truly disturbing that under the right circumstances, people are capable of horrific things. I also studied victims of crime and the impact their suffering has on their lives and the way it can influence their behavior in the future. Naturally with this background, I gravitate towards writing and reading books that explore these topics in depth.

Michelle's book list on fiction with realistic portrayal of crime

Michelle Godard-Richer Why did Michelle love this book?

Jennifer always puts her characters through the wringer, and she keeps you on the edge of your seat with her clever plotting. This story has split timelines in which we get to see the circumstances surrounding the disappearance of a teenage girl and the horrible secrets her friends are forced to live with into adulthood when the truth finally comes out.

By Jennifer Hillier,

Why should I read it?

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

What is this book about?

Nationally Bestselling Author!

* Winner - Best Novel, 2019 ITW Thriller Award * Authors on the Air Network - Thriller of the Year 2018 * Finalist - Anthony Award for Best Novel * Finalist - Macavity Award for Best Novel * MysteryTribune Ten Women Mystery and Thriller Writers You Should be Reading * Milwaukee Journal Sentinel Best of 2018 * Bustleā€™s Best Thriller 11 Authors Read This Year * CrimeReadsā€™ 20 Best of 2018 * Writer Types Podcast Favorite Books * LitReactor Best Books of 2018 * CrimeReads Favorite Crime Books of the Year * BOLO Books Top Reads ofā€¦


Book cover of Dead Girls

Sarah A. Denzil Author Of The Housemaid

From my list on for fans of Gone Girl.

Why am I passionate about this?

Iā€™ve enjoyed dark fiction ever since I picked up Dracula for school. But I mostly avoided crime and thriller fiction. I couldnā€™t relate to a rogue detective with an alcohol problem or an FBI agent on the heels of the next Hannibal Lector. Police procedural books just arenā€™t my thing. But then Gone Girl came out and changed the genre. The domestic suspense subgenre has exploded over the last decade, and now thereā€™s an abundance of books centered around the dangers within our family and friendship circle. And isnā€™t that the scariest part of life? Serial killers are rare, but domestic violence is, unfortunately, not rare. Where is more dangerous than in our own homes?

Sarah's book list on for fans of Gone Girl

Sarah A. Denzil Why did Sarah love this book?

This book is difficult to describe. One part crime, the other part literary fiction and narrated by a child, Dead Girls is unlike any other thriller Iā€™ve read. I couldnā€™t put it down. When Theraā€™s best friend goes missing, despite being eleven years old, she decides the grown-ups are doing a bad job at finding Billie and begins investigating on her own. This is a super dark tearjerker about violence towards girls and women. But do check trigger warnings because this one is disturbing.

By Abigail Tarttelin,

Why should I read it?

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

What is this book about?

When her best friend Billie is found murdered, eleven-year-old Thera - fearless and forthright - considers it her duty to find the killer.

Aided by a Ouija board, Billie's ghost, and the spirits of four other dead girls, she's determined to succeed. The trouble with Thera, though, is that she doesn't always know when to stop - and sometimes there's a fine line between doing the right thing and doing something very, very bad indeed.

Tense, visceral and thought-provoking, Dead Girls is the new novel from Abigail Tarttelin, the critically acclaimed author of Golden Boy.


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Book cover of Death on a Shetland Longship: The Shetland Sailing Mysteries

Death on a Shetland Longship by Marsali Taylor,

Liveaboard sailor Cass Lynch thinks her big break has finally arrived when she blags her way into skippering a Viking longship for a Hollywood film. However, this means returning to the Shetland Islands, the place she fled as a teenager. When a corpse unexpectedly appears onboard the longship, she canā€¦

Book cover of The Girl From The Sea

Carolyn Watson Dubisch Author Of Deluge: The People That Melt in the Rain #1

From my list on YA graphic novels about a magical world that are not Harry Potter.

Why am I passionate about this?

As an author and illustrator, I much prefer to present my writing with visuals. Itā€™s how I write, by ā€œseeing the storyā€ in my mind. I have written and illustrated many graphic novels and comics on my own and as a part of a team. The art in comic books can be so much work it is often broken into stages: penciled art, then inked, and then colored. These graphic novels are some of the best magical stories for kids that Iā€™ve ever read, and as someone who reads all the time, thatā€™s saying a lot.    

Carolyn's book list on YA graphic novels about a magical world that are not Harry Potter

Carolyn Watson Dubisch Why did Carolyn love this book?

A young high school girl, Morgan, struggling with her parentā€™s recent divorce, falls into the ocean while walking along the sea cliffs. What she thought was certain death turned out to be the start of a new relationship and the discovery of a whole new world. Rescued by a selkie, a shapeshifting creature from the sea, her life is forever changed. 

The art is spectacular in this epic graphic novel, and the environmental message of protecting the seal's habitat makes it an emotional and memorable read.

By Molly Knox Ostertag,

Why should I read it?

1 author picked The Girl From The Sea 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?

From the author of The Witch Boy trilogy comes
a graphic novel about family, romance, and first love.

Fifteen-year-old Morgan has a secret: She can't wait to escape
the perfect little island where she lives. She's desperate to
finish high school and escape her sad divorced mother, her volatile
little brother, and worst of all, her great group of friends...who
don't understand Morgan at all. Because really, Morgan's
biggest secret is that she has a lot of secrets, including the
one about wanting to kiss another girl.

Then one
night, Morgan is saved from drowning by a mysterious girl namedā€¦


Book cover of Dust

Casey Wolfe Author Of A Mage's Power

From my list on LGBTQ fantasy and science fiction.

Why am I passionate about this?

A member of the LGBTQ community, I set out to write books about people that looked like me, that were under-represented in the media. Iā€™m disabled, living with multiple medical conditions and mental health issues, which also inform my writing. I self-identify as a ā€œfull-time geekā€ ā€“ I have a passion for history and science, as well as being an avid gamer. My reading (and writing) time is spent wandering through fantasy realms, traveling the outer reaches of space, or delving into historical time periods.

Casey's book list on LGBTQ fantasy and science fiction

Casey Wolfe Why did Casey love this book?

Fans of DONTNODā€™s time-bending sci-fi video game will love this ongoing comic series, as will new readers. Itā€™s like leaping straight back into the world of the game, following Max and Chloeā€™s relationship in the wake of the destruction of their hometown. The magic of the game is captured perfectly on the page. Itā€™s a beautiful story, with equally beautiful art, that stays true to the lore of the source material.

By Emma Vieceli, Claudia Leonardi (illustrator), Andrea Izzo (illustrator)

Why should I read it?

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

What is this book about?

Titan Comics and SQUARE ENIX(R) are thrilled to announce an all-new graphic novel set in the world of the critically acclaimed, award-winning, highly successful video game series, LIFE IS STRANGE(TM). Titan Comics' LIFE IS STRANGE(TM) returns readers to the setting of Arcadia Bay, offering fans the opportunity to dive back into the story of its beloved characters.

The popular and celebrated video game, LIFE IS STRANGE(TM), is available on PC, Mac, Linux, PlayStation, XBOX and iOS. Achieving undeniable success, LIFE IS STRANGE(TM) has sold over 3 million units to date across all formats.

The first game in the series, LIFEā€¦


Book cover of Making Friends

Steph Mided Author Of Club Kick Out! Into the Ring

From my list on middle grade inspiring creativity in their readers.

Why am I passionate about this?

Iā€™ve been drawing and writing ever since I could hold a pencil, and a big inspiration for me to start my lifelong creative journey were graphic novels. So even as an adult, I love to read work from a wide range of genres and age ranges to see what my fellow authors and artists are up to. Especially making my own middle grade graphic novel series, I look up to so many of the authors and artists on this list and chances are you and your kids will too if you pick one of these up!

Steph's book list on middle grade inspiring creativity in their readers

Steph Mided Why did Steph love this book?

Making Friends is a fun, thoughtful graphic novel that overflows with creativity!

It centers around a middle schooler who feels lonely so she uses a magic sketchbook to design her dream best friend and to her surprise- she becomes real! It brings me right back to the days of doodling for hours on end and dreaming of all the possibilities of the future! Itā€™s also a good message for young readers that even the most hard-to-express emotions can be worked out through art.

Even as an adult itā€™s inspired me to keep drawing and keep dreaming. 

By Kristen Gudsnuk,

Why should I read it?

1 author picked Making Friends as one of their favorite books, and they share why you should read it. This book is for kids age 8, 9, 10, and 11.

What is this book about?

A heart-warming graphic novel that thoughtfully explores
friendship, family and school issues.
Danielle needs a perfect friend, but sometimes making
(or creating) one is a lot easier than keeping one!

Sixth grade was SO much easier for Dany - she knew exactly
what to expect out of life.

Now that she's in seventh grade, she's in a new middle school,
her friends are in different classes and forming new cliques, and
she is totally lost.

What Dany really needs is a new best friend!

So when she inherits a magic sketchbook, she
draws Madison, the most amazing, perfect, and awesomeā€¦


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Book cover of Lethal Legacy

Lethal Legacy by H.R. Kemp,

Buried Secrets. A web of deceit, betrayal, and danger. Can she survive her fight for justice and truth? Laura thought she knew everything about her late husband before he died. Now, her life and the lives of those she loves are in danger. As Laura delves into his previous roleā€¦

Book cover of Worm and Caterpillar Are Friends: Ready-To-Read Graphics Level 1

Jay Cooper Author Of Styx and Scones in the Sticky Wand: Ready-to-Read Graphics Level 2

From my list on silly early graphics readers.

Why am I passionate about this?

I take ā€œsillyā€ graphic books quite seriously: Iā€™m a firm believer that encouraging young people to read for pure enjoyment creates lifelong readers. Originally a reluctant reader myself, it was primarily graphic books that strengthened my reading skills, my vocabulary, and that ultimately turned me into a fierce advocate for literacy. Now a professional creative, I try to share my love of books and graphic books by paying it forward and creating my own books that I hope will resonate with readers and turn them into strong readers as well! 

Jay's book list on silly early graphics readers

Jay Cooper Why did Jay love this book?

If your reader struggles a bit with a Level Two, Worm and Caterpillar is an even simpler leveled graphic reader at Level One, but also a wonderful, silly book about friendship. And I adore Kazā€™s illustration style: it has a crunchiness all its own.

Another of her books, Bitsy Bat, School Star is also worth a read. 

By Kaz Windness,

Why should I read it?

1 author picked Worm and Caterpillar Are Friends as one of their favorite books, and they share why you should read it. This book is for kids age 4, 5, 6, and 7.

What is this book about?

This heartwarming and affirming Level 1 Ready-to-Read Graphics book celebrates the beauty of true friendship!

Worm and Caterpillar are friendsā€”best friends. Worm loves how they are just alike, but Caterpillar has a feeling there is a big change coming. Then Caterpillar disappears for a while and comes back as Butterfly. Will Butterfly and Worm still be friends?

Ready-to-Read Graphics books give readers the perfect introduction to the graphic novel format with easy-to-follow panels, speech bubbles with accessible vocabulary, and sequential storytelling that is spot-on for beginning readers. Thereā€™s even a how-to guide for reading graphic novels at the beginning ofā€¦


Book cover of Always Coming Home
Book cover of Parable of the Sower
Book cover of Alice's Adventures in Wonderland

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Interested in best friends, murder, and murder mystery?

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