All Grown Up: Childhood Reads Find Adult Counterparts
"She didn't like to play with dolls, she didn't like to skate. She learned to read quite early and at an incredible rate."
So begins The Library by Sarah Stewart, a children's book about a woman named Elizabeth Brown who loves to read and does little else. I adored this book as a kid, especially the ending where Elizabeth has so many books she opens a free library for the town.
I've always been the bookish kid, taking them with me to the cafeteria and reading at recess; begging my parents to take me to the library over the summer, and having to choose which book I'd use for my next book report.
Like most readers, the moments from books I read as a kid have stuck with me well into my adulthood: the first time Matilda Wormwood moves the glass of water with her mind, when Percy Jackson fails to protect his mother from the Minotaur, when Bella Swan first sees the group of vampires walk into the cafeteria.
The books I loved as a kid have definitely translated over to the books I've read as an adult. I continue to search out plot-heavy novels, with rich world building set in magical settings and featuring strong women at the center. However, I never read nonfiction as a kid and had little interest in anything that wasn't fantasy. I still enjoy the fantasy genre but have found I reach more often for realistic fiction and will often dip into true crime and history texts. All in all, though, my love for reading continues to be rooted in my first loves: badass women, magical worlds (be that literally or figuratively), and a story so well thought out it takes my breath away.
How do your childhood favorites lineup with what you're currently reading? Check out our suggestions below and try a new favorite, or revisit an old friend!
If you liked The Princess Diaries, you should read Anna K.
While this is still technically a book for young adults, it's enjoyable for an older audience as well. A modern retelling of Anna Karenina, the characters feel like modern royalty dealing with modern problems as teenagers, reminiscent of Mia Thermopolis and her own diary entries.
If you liked Percy Jackson, you should read Madeline Miller.
Both are rooted in Greek Mythology with characters you'll love! Her first book, Song of Achilles, tells the queer love story of Achilles and Patrocolus leading up to the Trojan War, and her second, Circe, tells the story of the titular woman on her island, before Odysseus arrives.
If you liked Twilight, you should read the Sookie Stackhouse series by Charlene Harris.
This is the series the tv show True Blood, is based on, following a world in which vampires live amongst humans but are still treated with prejudice and fear. The main character, Sookie, quickly falls for a vampire and simultaneously falls into a sexy underground world of equally fantastical creatures and danger. Think Twilight but dial up the sex and cheese to about two billion!
If you liked Harry Potter, you should read The Magicians series by Lev Grossman.
Of course, the elephant in the room is Harry Potter and its author's most recent bout of transphobia online. It's never been a better time to search out a similar read! The Magicians takes place at a school for magicians in upstate New York, following a single class of young adults as they work their way to graduation. Compared to Potter, it's sexier, has a heavier plot, and more intricate world building that won't leave your mind anytime soon.
Blog contribution by Abby Bennsky. Edited by Shannon McCarthy.