Wednesday Addams has darkened our screens once again in Netflix’s fantastic new show Wednesday! Played by Jenna Ortega, this new series features the whole Addams funky bunch and some fun new characters ( I’m looking at you Enid).
I devoured this show in one weekend as Jenna’s rendition of the character was truly captivating (I also loved the cameo from the OG Family Values Wednesday – Christina Ricci as Miss Thornhill). Also – that dance scene was literal perfection and has been dominating my #ForYou Page non-stop (iykyk).
If you, like me, binged the new Wednesday series and are craving some more spooky vibes, we have you covered with some ghoulish book recommendations.
Gallant by V.E Schwab
Number one New York Times bestselling author Victoria Schwab spins a dark, original tale about our world full of life a world that mirrors it haunted by death and the manor that stands between them. The Secret Garden meets Crimson Peak in this novel perfect for readers of Holly Black and Neil Gaiman.
Cemetery Boys by Aiden Thomas
Yadriel has summoned a ghost, and now he can’t get rid of him.
When his traditional Latinx family has problems accepting his true gender, Yadriel becomes determined to prove himself a real brujo. With the help of his cousin and best friend Maritza, he performs the ritual himself, and then sets out to find the ghost of his murdered cousin and set it free.
However, the ghost he summons is actually Julian Diaz, the school’s resident bad boy, and Julian is not about to go quietly into death. He’s determined to find out what happened and tie off some loose ends before he leaves. Left with no choice, Yadriel agrees to help Julian, so that they can both get what they want. But the longer Yadriel spends with Julian, the less he wants to let him leave.
The Nightmare Before Christmas by Shea Ernshaw
In this sequel to ‘The Nightmare Before Christmas’, discover Sally’s story of how her new role as Queen of Halloween Town is a far cry from her whirlwind romance with Jack Skellington. Sally feels like she’s just traded her captivity under Dr. Finkelstein for a different cage, but when she accidentally discovers the existence of an ancient realm, she may have put her future as Pumpkin Queen as well as the future of Halloween Town into jeopardy. Can she save her beloved town, or will her future turn into her worst … well, nightmare?
Zodiac Academy by Caroline Peckham, Susanne Valenti
I’m a Gemini. Impulsive. Curious. Headstrong. A twin. Heir to a throne I know nothing about. And it turns out, I’m Fae.
But of course there’s a catch – all I have to do to claim my birth right is prove that I’m the most powerful supernatural in the whole of Solaria. And sure, technically that’s true as I’m the daughter of the Savage King. But the bit they didn’t put in the brochure was that every single Fae in this Kingdom would claim my throne if they could.
The school they’ve sent me to is both dangerous as sh*t and one helluva party. Vampires bite weaker students in the corridors, the Werewolf pack has orgies in the Wailing Wood at every full moon and don’t even get me started on the dark and twisted ways the Sirens use their powers on people’s emotions, or how my sinfully tempting Cardinal Magic teacher hosts detentions that leave people needing therapy.
The Once and Future Witches by Alix E. Harrow
In 1893, there’s no such thing as witches. There used to be, in the wild, dark days before the burnings began, but now witching is nothing but tidy charms and nursery rhymes. If the modern woman wants any measure of power, she must find it at the ballot box.
But when the three Eastwood sisters join the suffragists of New Salem, they begin to pursue the forgotten ways that might turn the women’s movement into the witch’s movement. Stalked by shadows and sickness, hunted by forces who will not suffer a witch to vote – and perhaps not even to live – the sisters must delve into the oldest magics, draw new alliances, and heal the bond between them if they want to survive.
There’s no such thing as witches. But there will be.
The Umbrella Academy Boxed Set by Gerard Way
In an inexplicable worldwide event, forty-three extraordinary children were spontaneously born by women who’d previously shown no signs of pregnancy. Millionaire inventor Reginald Hargreeves adopted seven of the children; when asked why, his only explanation was, “To save the world.” These seven children form The Umbrella Academy, a dysfunctional family of superheroes with bizarre powers. Nearly a decade after their first mission, the team disbands, but when Hargreeves unexpectedly dies, these disgruntled siblings reunite just in time to save the world once again.
A Deadly Education by Naomi Novik
From the leading talent in fantasy, a magical coming-of-age trilogy with a hilarious female anti-hero – a darker more intelligent Harry Potter for adults. In the start of an all-new trilogy, the bestselling author of Uprooted and Spinning Silver introduces you to a dangerous school for the magically gifted where failure means certain death – until one girl begins to rewrite its rules.
Miss Peregrine’s Home for Peculiar Children by Ransom Riggs
A mysterious island. An abandoned orphanage.A strange collection of very curious photographs.It all waits to be discovered inMiss Peregrine’s Home for Peculiar Children, an unforgettable novel that mixes fiction and photography in a thrilling reading experience. As our story opens, a horrific family tragedy sets sixteen-year-old Jacob journeying to a remote island off the coast of Wales, where he discovers the crumbling ruins of Miss Peregrine’s Home for Peculiar Children.
As Jacob explores its abandoned bedrooms and hallways, it becomes clear that the children were more than just peculiar. They may have been dangerous. They may have been quarantined on a deserted island for good reason. And somehow-impossible though it seems-they may still be alive. ??A spine-tingling fantasy illustrated with haunting vintage photography,Miss Peregrine’s Home for Peculiar Childrenwill delight adults, teens, and anyone who relishes an adventure in the shadows.
The Book Eaters by Sunyi Dean
Hidden across England and Scotland live six old Book Eater families. The last of their lines, they exist on the fringes of society and subsist on a diet of stories and legends. Children are rare and their numbers have dwindled, so when Devon Fairweather’s second child is born a dreaded Mind Eater – a perversion of her own kind, who consumes not stories but the minds and souls of humans – she flees before he can be turned into a weapon for the family… or worse.
Living among humans and finding prey for her son, Devon seeks a cure for his hunger. But time is running out – for her family want her back, and with every soul her son consumes he loses a little more of himself… This is a story of escape, a savage mother’s devotion and a queer love that will electrify readers looking for something beguiling, thrilling, strange and new.
Ninth House by Leigh Bardugo
Galaxy ‘Alex’ Stern is the most unlikely member of Yale’s freshman class. A dropout and the sole survivor of a horrific, unsolved crime, Alex was hoping for a fresh start. But a free ride to one of the world’s most prestigious universities was bound to come with a catch.
Alex has been tasked with monitoring the mysterious activities of Yale’s secret societies – well-known haunts of the rich and powerful. Now there’s a dead girl on campus and Alex seems to be the only person who won’t accept the neat answer the police and campus administration have come up with for her murder.
Because Alex knows the secret societies are far more sinister and extraordinary than anyone ever imagined. They tamper with forbidden magic. They raise the dead. And sometimes they prey on the living . . .
Over My Dead Body by Sweeney Boo
From comic creator, Sweeney Boo comes a witchy teen tale in this full-color graphic novel perfect for fans of Chilling Adventures of Sabrina and Knives Out.
Another school year begins at the Younwity Hidden Institute of Witchcraft, and Abigail knows that this is the year she needs to buckle down, grow up, and start taking her studies seriously.
But everything is thrown off course when her mentee, Noreen, goes missing. Abby’s classmates are quick to put Noreen’s disappearance behind them the Coven will find her, they say. They have it under control. But Abby can’t let it go, and her search for answers leads her down a rabbit hole that uncovers more secrets than she can handle.
As the mounting evidence steers her toward the off-limits woods that surround the academy, Abby begins to see that Noreen’s disappearance has a lot in common with another girl who went missing, all those years ago.
House of Salt and Sorrows by Erin A. Craig
In a manor by the sea, twelve sisters are cursed.
Annaleigh lives a sheltered life at Highmoor with her sisters and their father and stepmother. Once there were twelve, but loneliness fills the grand halls now that four of the girls’ lives have been cut short. Each death was more tragic than the last–the plague, a plummeting fall, a drowning, a slippery plunge–and there are whispers throughout the surrounding villages that the family is cursed by the gods.
Disturbed by a series of ghostly visions, Annaleigh becomes increasingly suspicious that her sister’s deaths were no accidents. The girls have been sneaking out every night to attend glittering balls, dancing until dawn in silk gowns and shimmering slippers, and Annaleigh isn’t sure whether to try to stop them or to join their forbidden trysts. Because who–or what–are they really dancing with?
When Annaleigh’s involvement with a mysterious stranger who has secrets of his own intensifies, it’s a race to unravel the darkness that has fallen over her family–before it claims her next. House of Salt and Sorrows is a spellbinding novel filled with magic and the rustle of gossamer skirts down long, dark hallways. Get ready to be swept away. “An eerie, lovely Twelve Dancing Princesses retelling full of ghosts and gods and a fascinating waterfront world and I’m reading it from behind my fingers.”
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About the Contributor
Kassidy Fisher
Kass is Booktopia's resident Comms and Social Media Specialist. She spends her day scrolling TikTok, picking up the latest trends, and posting content. When she isn't on social media, you can find her on BookTok, reading the latest contemporary romance, or playing with her dog, Leia.
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