Books To Read if You Love the Show Wednesday
Whether you’re a fan of the comic strip turned television show from yesteryear, grew up loving the movies, or recently became obsessed with Netflix’s new hit series Wednesday, the Addams family is hard to forget. Now that the word is out that Wednesday will have a second season, you’re probably looking for something similar to hold you over until the new season arrives.
It’s hard to not get addicted to the cooky, ghoulish family that everyone loves. Wednesday took viewers by storm with her dark sense of humor and love for all things morbid and peculiar. Wednesday Addams is such a relatable, literary nerd, too. We’ve rounded up a list of ghastly dark academia, horror, and mystery reads that will satisfy you until the “pigtail protege” returns.
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Add to BookshelfOur Share of Night
by Mariana Enriquez
The relationship between Tyler and his father, Sheriff Donovan Galpin, had a lot of twists and turns throughout the series. Similarly, Enriquez’s novel covers an eerie and creepy story about a father and son who are grieving over the loss of their wife and mother. However, they discover that she comes from a family that has been part of a secret society for generations. The father and son stick together to try to survive the evil that will stop at nothing to get them. Sounds familiar, right?
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$18.99Buy from Other Retailers:
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The Raven
by Edgar Allan Poe
Wednesday loves Edgar Allan Poe. And the show draws much inspiration from the writer, too. Between Wednesday randomly quoting Poe to attending Nevermore Academy which is based on The Raven, you’ll be doing yourself a great disservice by not becoming acquainted with his legendary works. Filled with dreary, gothic vibes and dark riddles, reading Poe will make you feel more in tune with Wednesday in no time.
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$26.00Buy from Other Retailers:
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Skin of the Sea
by Natasha Bowen
The sirens in the Netflix series were no joke, especially their leader Bianca Barclay. Throughout the series, we learn just how powerful sirens can be. This New York Times bestseller combines Black diaspora with epic fantasy storytelling about a siren who goes against the rules and saves an enslaved human boy that’s been tossed overboard at sea. Like Bianca, Simi does what she feels is right while trying to gain more power to protect those she loves.
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$12.99Buy from Other Retailers:
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The Secret History: A Read with Jenna Pick
by Donna Tartt
Despite Nevermore Academy being an academic destination for outcasts, it’s still a prestigious school. Combining a sophisticated mystery with quick, polished wit, you’ll love reading this tale set at a university where a wordsmith narrator named Richard confesses to a murder. Tartt’s prose is so intoxicating you’ll find yourself wrapped up in her dark world quickly and willingly.
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$18.00Buy from Other Retailers:
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In the Woods
by Tana French
A lot of the mystery in Wednesday happens in the woods, so French’s Dublin Murder Squad series seems fitting for those looking for something in the same vein. Just like in the series, something is afoot in the woods and is harming the local kids. However, one kid survives and grows up to become a cop. As a cop, he now finds himself solving the case of more murdered youngsters in the woods. As he tries to put the pieces together, he forces himself to unlock those traumatic memories he had tried to leave in his past.
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$19.00Buy from Other Retailers:
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Hex
by Rebecca Dinerstein Knight
Wednesday has a cast full of unique and memorable characters including the teachers at Nevermore Academy. One teacher, the botanical science teacher, Marilyn Thornhill, is considered a “normie.” Her love for science and plants will make you embrace the journey of Nell Barber in this unique prose that reads like a stream of consciousness. Barber gets expelled from her university when her peer dies from one of her plants. Knight doesn’t solely focus on all things botany but she explores how those events impact Barber which reveals her toxicity – just like Thornhill.
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$16.00Buy from Other Retailers:
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One of Us Is Lying
by Karen M. McManus
You’re getting a two-for-one special with this book. This novel has already been adapted and has two seasons available to stream now. Fans of Wednesday will appreciate the outcast in this story named Simon. Simon created a gossip app and had a plan to reveal the secrets of his high school’s most popular students. But when he turns up dead after detention, those students turn into suspects.
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$12.99Buy from Other Retailers:
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Bunny
by Mona Awad
Samantha is similar to Wednesday Addams. She’s smart, tends to be a loner, and prefers the company of her own macabre thoughts that straddle the line between horror and dramedy. Samantha also has a bestie who is similar to Wednesday’s roommate Enid Sinclair. Instead of being set in a high school, this novel is set in a university where they tackle more serious subjects like capitalism under a dark academic setting.
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$18.00Buy from Other Retailers:
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A Lesson in Vengeance
by Victoria Lee
Nevermore Academy is atmospheric, making you want to get lost in the halls. Lee channels similar vibes in their book where queer students, mental health, and mystery meet for a dark and moody tale.
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$12.99Buy from Other Retailers:
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Small Town Monsters
by Diana Rodriguez Wallach
Vera Martinez is another character with similarities to Wednesday. Both are outcasts, and people have pegged Vera as weird because her parents are demonologists. But she finds herself helping Maxwell who is worried about his mother’s sleepwalking. Together, they try to find a solution and end up finding something even more sinister about their small town.
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$9.99Buy from Other Retailers:
