95 books like Trickster Drift

When it comes to unforgettable protagonists fifteen-year-old Starr Carter definitely tops the list. Her father, Maverick, is also someone that I was left wanting to know more about and, luckily, Concrete Rose (Thomas’s follow-up to THUG), gives us the backstory to his life.

The Hate U Give details Starr’s journey as she struggles with deciding whether or not to testify in front of a grand jury after her best friend, Khalil, is killed by a police officer. The settings of the novel are critical to Starr’s inner conflict as she grapples with having to navigate between her home in Garden Heights, a tight-knit but underserved community where the lack of good schools and employment opportunities allows gangs and gun violence to flourish, and the wealthy neighbourhood where she attends private school.

It might seem strange for me to recommend the Amber Fang series seeing as how the main character is a librarian/vampire/assassin. But remember, I am recommending teen books with snappy dialogue. Amber’s repartee with her victims—folks who generally deserve to be turned into Amber’s next meal—is witty and laced with librarianisms, like, “You’re so 900.” Arthur also knows how to walk that fine line between being gory enough for young horror fans and sedate enough for—you guessed it—high school librarians.

You Don’t Have to Die in the End is just the sort of book I’d hand to a student who struggled with finding anything relatable. Eugenia Grimm could be down to her last chance when she is sent to Reason’s Wait, a facility for troubled teens. Because of her troubled past, she has programmed herself to lock horns with any adult who tries to cross—or help—her. I cringed during her tempestuous exchanges with social workers, staff, and fellow “inmates”—hoping one of them would find a way to save this bitter, angry girl from herself. Spoiler alert: As Daher’s title suggests, Eugenia’s train wreck of a life is salvaged in the end.

Julia Vanishes, Book One in the Witch’s Child series, is fantasy sprinkled liberally with strong female characters. One of those characters is most certainly Julia. She is deeply flawed, has a mysterious past, and makes a living as a thief, so she’s a bit of an anti-hero. Julia also has a talent for making herself unseen—but this talent is evolving and expanding in ways that are quite frightening. Although Egan’s world-building and plotting are brilliant, what I love most are Julia’s interactions with characters like her lover Wyn (the ultimate bad boy), the mysterious Mrs. Och, and most especially Pia the assassin. Dialogue fraught with tension and humor hurtled me from one chapter to the next.

Paranormal literature contains both entry-level texts and advanced reading.

George P. Hansen’s The Trickster and the Paranormal firmly occupies the latter category; it is best digested a paragraph at a time. Anyone taking the plunge is rewarded with an erudite argument for understanding the paranormal, one yielding ever-increasing dividends the more it is applied: everything supernatural, from the phenomenon itself to those who study it, is subject to the influence of a subversive Jungian archetype known as The Trickster.

This is not an entity but rather a set of pervasive characteristics manifesting independently: transgressive, self-negating, liminal, playful, and, dare it be said, dangerous. Hansen’s speculation makes a little more sense of the insensible, including why irrefutable evidence of the paranormal yet eludes the scientific establishment.

I’m sneakily recommending a trilogy here, of which this is the first book. By turns funny, gritty, dark, difficult, and magical, this book by Eden Robinson, who is a member of the Haisla and Heiltsuk First Nations from the Pacific Northwest, is another coming-of-age novel that dives into the gritty realism of life on a reservation, as well as the deep, magical roots of Haisla mythology. 

This is one of my favorite picture books. To me, the main character is life itself. A mischievous, greedy, daring, vulnerable, colorful aliveness. The strong colors and the bold shapes of the illustrations demonstrate the raw intensity of life. And the theme of Grandmother loving Pig-Boy unconditionally is one mothers would resonate with. Such a treat!

Technically two books (Trickster’s Choice and Trickster’s Queen), this duet follows Alianne, daughter of the heroine Alanna and spymaster George, who is kidnapped by pirates and sold as a slave to an outcast royal family. The trickster god enlists/coerces her to aid the family’s plot to reseize their throne, which has Aly working as a spy against her homeland. All of Pierce’s books are fantastic, and the Tortall series shaped me as both a reader and writer of fantasy. It was interesting to move away from the heroism and adventure of the earlier books in this universe to a more morally gray protagonist with spy and assassin training who is secretly working for a god. Also, her love interest is a crow turned human, and it works surprisingly well.

Another split realm recommendation! I loved every second of this spicy, enemies-to-lovers, magical book! The worldbuilding is next level, and I was transported to the world with vicious faeries. Lark is one of three sisters that have crossed the borders into the faerie world. Lark is sent to the mountain to the fae who rules over the sky. The journey up the mountain and Lark’s personality made me laugh and cheer her on. Lark is hilarious, witty, free-spirited, and doesn’t let her fear get the best of her. She’s inventive, always finding a way out of tough situations. I love the dynamic between Lark and her two other sisters, and who doesn’t love a found family? Ultimately, Lark’s story is captivating, compelling, and I highly recommend!

This follow-up to American Gods once again puts ancient gods in the modern world, but you don’t have to have read the first book to jump in. American Gods centers on Shadow, the son of Odin, while Anansi Boys focuses on the children of the trickster god, Anansi. Anansi is a classic storyteller, who fooled the animal god Tiger into giving him ownership of all stories. This book is all things you would expect from Gaiman—clever, humorous, and mythic. And it directly analyzes the power and purpose of storytelling, giving readers a rare glimpse into a storyteller’s toolbox.