Finally after publishing the fifth and final season of Stranger Things this year, this is the right time to review the famous Netflix series that entertained us with its amazing storyline. The story of web series is classy and some times far better than a movie, but the one thing that irritating it’s time taking. Horror! Sci-fi! 80s homage! Stories about growing up that are heartwarming! A bowl cut! Kate Bush needle drops and Demogorgons! I’ve put together a list of books that can capture the same kind of Stranger Things vibe you’ll find in Hawkins, even if you’ve already re-watched ahead of the new season.
The Bones Beneath My Skin by T.J. Klune
After watching Stranger Things, there are so many parts that are memorable and iconic. And if you love the bond between forms Eleven and Hopper in Stranger Things. And he protects her life against the doubtful organizations of the government that are interested in turning her into a lab rat (or worse). Then you read the The Bones Beneath My Skin by T.J. Klune.
This is story is based on the three characters: journalist, soldier and little girl. Journalist who meets a soldier and the remarkable girl he’s promised to protect is a combination of romance and sci-fi as it takes the trio on an legendry adventure. The story is gripping and emotional and there are a lot of chances you will cry in coming scenes.
Meddling Kids by Edgar Cantero
Dealing with phenomenal events is an easy way to summarize Stranger Things for teenagers, and Edgar Cantero’s Meddling Kids can be said in a similar manner (mostly at least). As precocious teens, a group of jaded adults (plus an extraordinarily smart dog) once solved summer mysteries. Now, their enigma has escaped them, and it still dominates everything they do, no matter what slimy-sharp-deadly-creepy monsters they come across.
You’re Not Supposed to Die Tonight by Kalynn Bayron
Kalynn Bayron’s summertime slasher is thrilling, especially in its first outing. With You’re Not Supposed to Die Tonight, she achieves that perfect balance between YA horror and retro thriller. The horrifying setting of a summer camp becomes the perfect stage for a final girl survival story. Where a group of teenagers face the terror of a deranged serial killer.
The story is familiar, but Bayron adds a layer of depth through queer representation. The gripping offering will appeal to fans of Netflix’s blood-soaked horrors like Fear Street: 1978. You’re pushed to the limits of the characters during the plot, and you’re left thinking long after you’ve closed the book. This horror experience is made even more memorable by a wild twist that shatters expectations.
The Saturday Night Ghost Club by Craig Davidson
This amazing novel is a great combo of Stranger Things and Stand By Me. The story revolves around a group of following kids spending their summer time in Niagara Falls in the 1980s where they chase conspiracy theories and ghosts. After months of investigating lighthearted ghosts, Calvin and the ‘Saturday Night Ghost Club’ crew realize there is more to their investigations. Once you sit and start reading the novel you can’t go anywhere until it’s finished because of its gripping story.
This Is Not the Jess Show by Anna Carey
Anna Carey’s exciting story takes the readers on a nostalgic trip to the 90s in her YA thriller, It’s Not the Jess Show, at first where everything seems normal. Jess Flynnis junior in high school, is just managing her year like any other teenage experience. Like it’s hope for love, dealing with drama, hope for pure love, and spending their free time with her best friend. When people start disappearing her small town suddenly changes, a stranger flu is spread everywhere, and even her dog does not act like normal and shows they never met before.
My Best Friend’s Exorcism by Grady Hendrix
Grady Hendrix wrote lots of amazing horror novels like Witchcraft for Wayward Girls, Horrorstor but one of my most favorite horror novels is My Best Friend’s Exorcism. There are hints of ’66, and a touch of ‘Sixteen Candles’ in this story about high school seniors Abby and Gretchen, who must deal with Gretchen’s possession by Satan. All at once, the events unfold in a disgusting, frightening, sad, and sweet way. (Seems like it should come from Stranger Things, no?)
Paper Girls by Brian K. Vaughan
The story of the Paper Girls is a critically admired series of graphic novels and the story takes us back to 1988. When twelve-year-old newspaper delivery girls stumble upon “a historic moment.” You’ve got yourself a story the Duffer Brothers would love to write with suburban drama and otherworldly mysteries. Once you begin the reading you will must complete it because of its gripping story.
Mister Magic by Kiersten White
Survivors of a mystery children’s TV series that ended in tragedy are follows in this horror novel. You need to imagine Barney & Friends, but if Barney had a sinister side like the Babadook. Now adults, the former stars are reuniting to find the truth about the show’s final days, only to realize some things were never meant to be remembered. Stranger Things comes with a terrible nostalgia, Stephen King’s It upset tone, and the uneasy mystery of Olivia Wilde’s 2022 sci-fi thriller, Don’t Worry Darling.
The story is a great way to capture the nostalgia-addicted millennials who have grown up watching strange, forgotten shows. Every moment is realistic in Kiersten White’s novel, uneasy feeling even after the last page has been turned because of amazing story.
All Hallows by Christopher Golden
Once you read Christopher Golden’s All Hallows, your perspective on Halloween will change. It won’t seem like the first time, because of its storyline. It’s part horror show and this novel combines suburban drama. It’s Halloween night in 1984 Massachusetts, and some strange children appear among trick-or-treaters, begging the locals to save them from ‘The Cunning Man.’ Who are they, and what is The Cunning Man really like?
Dead Eleven by Jimmy Juliano
Get ready for a one-of-a-kind ‘90s throwback with Jimmy Juliano’s Dead Eleven. Tucked away on a remote island near Wisconsin’s Door County, the locals live as if it’s permanently 1994—rocking vintage outfits, steering clear of modern gadgets, and obsessively replaying the O.J. Simpson car chase. It’s a strange and unsettling place. But when outsiders arrive, digging into a mysterious death and disappearance, making it back to the real world might not be so easy.
Signal to Noise by Silvia Moreno-Garcia
Back in 1988, follows 15-year-old Meche as she discoversr new thingsg about music and learnsn how to cast spells using music.Hoping for a better life, she experiments with this newfound magic together with her friends, Sebastian and Daniela.
Most things are discovered in youth, but the trio is not always satisfied with the answers they receive. Their teenage magic has gone on for decades, but the mystery surrounding them remains unsolved. The journeys of teenagers are filled with longing, power, and fragile connections.
