Books like 'Fen: Stories'
Readers who enjoyed Fen: Stories by Daisy Johnson also liked the following books featuring the same tropes, story themes, relationship dynamics and character types.
contemporary fantasy horror mystery magical-realism literary-fiction outdoors myths paranormal lgbtq
-
Cemetery Boys by Aiden Thomas
Rated: 4.32 of 5 stars · 52 ratingsYadriel has summoned a ghost, and now he can’t get rid of him.When his traditional Latinx family has problems accepting his 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...Categorized as:
coming-of-age family friendship lgbtq magical-realism myths paranormal action-adventure -
Eleventh Grade Burns by Heather Brewer, Z Brewer
Rated: 4.30 of 5 stars · 36 ratingsThings have taken a darker turn for the half-human teenager with an appetite for blood. Joss, a vampire slayer and Vlad's former friend, has moved back to Bathory. A mysterious and powerful new vampire, Dorian, appears with a shocking secret and an overwhelming desire to drink Vlad's blood. And Vlad's arch enemy, D'Ablo, has a sinister plan to eliminate Vlad once and for all...Categorized as:
coming-of-age family friendship myths paranormal realistic vampires action-adventure -
The Ghost and the Birthday Boy by Bobbi Holmes, Anna J. McIntyre
Rated: 4.33 of 5 stars · 12 ratingsLily and Ian’s families come to Frederickport to celebrate Connor’s first Birthday. Bringing the in-laws together is not always easy, especially when uninvited guests from the spirit realm show up... -
There's a Nightmare in My Closet by Mercer Mayer
Rated: 4.21 of 5 stars · 24 ratingsAt bedtime a boy confronts the nightmare in his closet and finds him not so terrifying after all... -
-
In an Absent Dream by Seanan McGuire
Rated: 4.19 of 5 stars · 41 ratingsThis fourth entry and prequel tells the story of Lundy, a very serious young girl who would rather study and dream than become a respectable housewife and live up to the expectations of the world around her. As well she should.When she finds a doorway to a world founded on logic and reason, riddles and lies, she thinks she's found her paradise...Categorized as:
coming-of-age fairy-tale family friendship lgbtq magical-realism paranormal action-adventure -
Down Among the Sticks and Bones by Seanan McGuire
Rated: 4.14 of 5 stars · 49 ratingsTwin sisters Jack and Jill were seventeen when they found their way home and were packed off to Eleanor West’s Home for Wayward Children.This is the story of what happened first…Jacqueline was her mother’s perfect daughter—polite and quiet, always dressed as a princess. If her mother was sometimes a little strict, it’s because crafting the perfect daughter takes discipline... -
The Silver Dark Sea by Susan Fletcher
Rated: 4.20 of 5 stars · 10 ratingsOn the island of Parla some believe in the ancient tale of the Fishman, others believe in nothing. All carry with them the mourning and sadness for what the sea has taken away. But when a man with no name is washed up on the stones of Sye, it appears the mythical figure has returned... -
Into the Forest by Mark Z. Danielewski
Rated: 4.17 of 5 stars · 12 ratingsThe Familiar, Volume 1 Wherein the cat is found . . .The Familiar, Volume 2 Wherein the cat is hungry . . . From the universally acclaimed, genre-busting author of House of Leaves comes the second volume of The Familiar, a "novel [which] goes beyond the experimental into the visionary, creating a language and style that expands the horizon of meaning . .Categorized as:
animals literary-fiction magical-realism paranormal vampires 21st-century adult book -
Too Bright to See by Kyle Lukoff
Rated: 4.14 of 5 stars · 14 ratingsA haunting ghost story about navigating grief, growing up, and growing into a new gender identityIt's the summer before middle school and eleven-year-old Bug's best friend Moira has decided the two of them need to use the next few months to prepare... -
Switched by Sienna Mercer
Rated: 4.11 of 5 stars · 18 ratingsWhen Olivia Abbott moves to town, she's excited to join the cheerleading team and make new friends. Then she meets Ivy Vega. At first, Ivy, pale and dressed all in black, looks like Olivia's opposite... -
Legend of the Ghost Dog by Elizabeth Cody Kimmel
Rated: 4.10 of 5 stars · 10 ratingsA thrilling mystery set against a stark landscape and the inspiration of Nome's real-life dog hero, Balto.Twelve-year-old Tee didn't think she believed in ghosts . . . until a walk in the woods around her new rural Alaskan home changes her mind. She and her beagle, Henry, are stalked by a wolfish, decidedly spooky shadow. There's something out there - and it's not of this world... -
The Door by the Staircase by Katherine Marsh
Rated: 4.08 of 5 stars · 12 ratingsTwelve-year-old Mary Hayes can't stand her orphanage for another night. But when an attempted escape through the stove pipe doesn't go quite as well as she'd hoped, Mary fears she'll be stuck in the Buffalo Asylum for Young Ladies forever... -
Ghost Dog Secrets by Peg Kehret
Rated: 4.07 of 5 stars · 14 ratingsEach day, sixth-grader Rusty feeds a dog that's left chained in the frigid weather with no shelter, food, or water. When he realizes the dog has been injured, he tries to have Animal Control help - but when that fails, Rusty and his friend Andrew unchain the dog and take it... -
The China Garden by Liz Berry
Rated: 4.06 of 5 stars · 16 ratingsWhen Clare moves with her mother from London to Ravensmere, an historic English estate, she can't shake the feeling that the residents already know her, especially Mark, a maddeningly attractive biker. Clare also feels compelled to take midnight walks in Ravensmere's abandoned China Garden. Then her mother reveals that their own past is tragically linked to the estate... -
-
Lanny by Max Porter
Rated: 4.04 of 5 stars · 26 ratingsThere’s a village sixty miles outside London. It’s no different from many other villages in England: one pub, one church, red-brick cottages, council cottages and a few bigger houses dotted about. Voices rise up, as they might do anywhere, speaking of loving and needing and working and dying and walking the dogs...Categorized as:
coming-of-age family friendship gothic literary-fiction magical-realism myths outdoors -
The Ocean at the End of the Lane by Neil Gaiman
Rated: 4.01 of 5 stars · 85 ratingsSussex, England. A middle-aged man returns to his childhood home to attend a funeral. Although the house he lived in is long gone, he is drawn to the farm at the end of the road, where, when he was seven, he encountered a most remarkable girl, Lettie Hempstock, and her mother and grandmother...Categorized as:
coming-of-age fairy-tale family friendship literary-fiction magical-realism myths paranormal -
Elatsoe by Darcie Little Badger
Rated: 4.04 of 5 stars · 37 ratingsImagine an America very similar to our own. It's got homework, best friends, and pistachio ice cream. There are some differences. This America has been shaped dramatically by the magic, monsters, knowledge, and legends of its peoples, those Indigenous and those not... -
North American Lake Monsters by Nathan Ballingrud
Rated: 4.00 of 5 stars · 16 ratingsNathan Ballingrud's Shirley Jackson Award winning debut collection is a shattering and luminous experience not to be missed by those who love to explore the darker parts of the human psyche. Monsters, real and imagined, external and internal, are the subject. They are us and we are them and Ballingrud's intense focus makes these stories incredibly intense and irresistible.These are love stories...Categorized as:
family gothic literary-fiction magical-realism myths paranormal vampires 21st-century -
Monkey Beach by Eden Robinson
Rated: 4.06 of 5 stars · 29 ratingsLisamarie Hill, the protagonist of Eden Robinson's coming-of-age novel Monkey Beach, is a terror. She'll run out of an evacuating car to get a better view of a tidal wave. She'll drag you unconscious to a deserted island with nothing but cigarettes, marshmallows, and the need to get you talking. Whatever her age, she'll ask awkward questions... -
We Are All So Good at Smiling by Amber McBride
Rated: 4.00 of 5 stars · 13 ratingsThey Both Die at the End meets The Bell Jar in this haunting, beautiful young adult novel-in-verse about clinical depression and healing from trauma, from National Book Award Finalist Amber McBride.Whimsy is back in the hospital for treatment of clinical depression. When she meets a boy named Faerry, she recognizes they both have magic in the marrow of their bones...Categorized as:
magical-realism friendship grief fairy-tale family young-adult fantasy mental-illness -
The Luck Uglies by Paul Durham
Rated: 4.06 of 5 stars · 26 ratingsThe Luck Uglies is the first in a tween fantasy-adventure trilogy brimming with legends come to life, a charming wit, and a fantastic cast of characters-and is imbued throughout with the magic of storytelling.Strange things are happening in Village Drowning, and a terrifying encounter has Rye O'Chanter convinced that the monstrous, supposedly extinct Bog Noblins have returned...Categorized as:
animals coming-of-age fairy-tale family friendship myths paranormal action-adventure -
A Tiny Upward Shove by Melissa Chadburn
Rated: 4.00 of 5 stars · 10 ratings“Wild and ambitious . . . [with] something ablaze at its core. It burns.” ― The New York Times Book ReviewA Tiny Upward Shove is inspired by Melissa Chadburn's Filipino heritage and its folklore, as it traces the too-short life of a young, cast-off woman transformed by death into an agent of justice―or mercy.Marina Salles’s life does not end the day she wakes up dead... -
The Wonder State by Sara Flannery Murphy
Rated: 4.00 of 5 stars · 10 ratingsFrom the author of Girl One comes a spellbinding adventure about a strange power lurking in the Arkansas Ozarks, and the group of friends obsessed with finding it.Five friends arrive back in Eternal Springs, Arkansas, the small town they all fled after high school graduation. Each is drawn home by a cryptic, scrawled two-word letter that reads, You promised... -
Spirit's Key by Edith Cohn
Rated: 4.00 of 5 stars · 8 ratingsSpirit's Key is a mystery with a bit of magic for fans of Savvy and Because of Winn Dixie.By now, twelve-year-old Spirit Holden should have inherited the family gift: the ability to see the future. But when she holds a house key in her hand like her dad does to read its owner's destiny, she can’t see anything... -
-
I Will Never Leave You by Kara A. Kennedy
Rated: 4.00 of 5 stars · 8 ratingsThis emotional debut thriller follows a teen girl being haunted by the ghost of her toxic ex-girlfriend, who gives her a chilling ultimatum—help her possess another girl or go down for her murder."A blistering exploration of the ugliest and tenderest parts of love, Kennedy turns the classic ghost story on its head."—Courtney Gould, author of The Dead and the DarkMaya has always belonged to Alana... -
Fallen Thorns by Harvey Oliver Baxter
Rated: 4.00 of 5 stars · 6 ratings‘A great death is in the air.’Arlo is lost. He thought he had everything figured out. Go to university, fall in love, get a job.But life doesn’t always work like that, and before he has a chance to figure it out, he dies.In the space of a night, Arlo is plunged into a world of blood and immortality and finds a group of people who swear to always have his back... -
The House That Whispers by Lin Thompson
Rated: 4.00 of 5 stars · 5 ratingsFrom the author of The Best Liars in Riverview comes a subtle exploration of gender identity, family, and the personal ghosts that haunt us all, perfect for fans of Kyle Lukoff and Ashley Herring Blake. Eleven-year-old Simon and his siblings, Talia and Rose, are staying the week at Nanaleen's century-old house. This time, though, it’s not their usual summer vacation trip... -
The Honeys by Ryan La Sala
Rated: 3.95 of 5 stars · 19 ratingsFrom Ryan La Sala, the wildly popular author of Reverie, comes a twisted and tantalizing horror novel set amidst the bucolic splendor of a secluded summer retreat.Mars has always been the lesser twin, the shadow to his sister Caroline's radiance... -
Cursed Daughters by Oyinkan Braithwaite
Rated: 4.10 of 5 stars · 10 ratingsA young woman must shake off a family curse and the widely held belief that she is the reincarnation of her dead cousin in this wickedly funny, brilliantly perceptive novel about love, female rivalry, and superstition from the author of the smash hit My Sister, the Serial Killer (“A bombshell of a book..Categorized as:
literary-fiction magical-realism paranormal family fiction contemporary fantasy mystery -
Things We Say in the Dark by Kirsty Logan
Rated: 3.93 of 5 stars · 15 ratings'Gripping . . . You won't put it down' Sunday TelegraphA shocking collection of dark stories, ranging from chilling contemporary fairytales to disturbing supernatural fiction.Alone in a remote house in Iceland a woman is unnerved by her isolation; another can only find respite from the clinging ghost that follows her by submerging herself in an overgrown pool... -
Monstrous by Nicole M. Rubino
Rated: 4.20 of 5 stars · 5 ratings"I’ve never been afraid of the dark. I never needed any reassurance that there was no monster in my closet or under my bed. Perhaps that’s because a part of me always knew I was one." Monstrous claws weren't the type of gift I’d been expecting for my eighteenth birthday, along with the desire to eat my ex-boyfriend... -
The Summer that Melted Everything by Tiffany McDaniel
Rated: 3.98 of 5 stars · 32 ratingsFielding Bliss has never forgotten the summer of 1984:the year a heatwave scorched the small town of Breathed, Ohio.The year he became friends with the devil.When local prosecutor Autopsy Bliss publishes an invitation to the devil to come to the country town of Breathed, Ohio, nobody quite expected that he would turn up...Categorized as:
coming-of-age family friendship gothic lgbtq literary-fiction magical-realism paranormal -
Best Nerds Forever by James Patterson, Chris Grabenstein
Rated: 3.91 of 5 stars · 11 ratingsFinn McAllister was a normal middle school nerd--now he’s a ghost with a big mystery to solve.One minute, Finn was biking home from school, and the next, he was run off the road by a maniac in a big van. Now, he's a ghost. He can do lots of fun things, like try every ice cream flavor in the store, sneak up on people, and play as many video games as he wants... -
Raised by Wolves by Jennifer Lynn Barnes
Rated: 3.92 of 5 stars · 26 ratingsAdopted by the Alpha of a werewolf pack after a rogue wolf brutally killed her parents right before her eyes, fifteen-year-old Bryn knows only pack life, and the rigid social hierarchy that controls it. That doesn't mean that she's averse to breaking a rule or two... -
-
Bad Cree by Jessica Johns
Rated: 4.00 of 5 stars · 15 ratingsIn this gripping debut tinged with supernatural horror, a young Cree woman's dreams lead her on a perilous journey of self-discovery that ultimately forces her to confront the toll of a legacy of violence on her family, her community and the land they call home.When Mackenzie wakes up with a severed crow's head in her hands, she panics... -
Denis Ever After by Tony Abbott
Rated: 3.88 of 5 stars · 8 ratingsDenis Egan is dead. He’s okay with that. It’s been five years since he died, and the place where souls go is actually pretty nice. Sure, there are some things about his life and how it ended he can’t quite recall, but that’s how it’s supposed to be. Remembering could prevent Denis from moving on to whatever’s next. However, something is standing in his way... -
The Lost by Sarah Beth Durst
Rated: 3.98 of 5 stars · 21 ratingsIt was only meant to be a brief detour. But then Lauren finds herself trapped in a town called Lost on the edge of a desert, filled with things abandoned, broken and thrown away. And when she tries to escape, impassable dust storms and something unexplainable lead her back to Lost again and again...Categorized as:
fairy-tale family literary-fiction magical-realism paranormal realistic action-adventure audiobook -
Come Tumbling Down by Seanan McGuire
Rated: 3.95 of 5 stars · 40 ratingsWhen Jack left Eleanor West's School for Wayward Children she was carrying the body of her deliciously deranged sister—whom she had recently murdered in a fit of righteous justice—back to their home on the Moors.But death in their adopted world isn't always as permanent as it is here, and when Jack is herself carried back into the school, it becomes clear that something has happened to her... -
The Vampire Knife by Jack Henseleit
Rated: 3.83 of 5 stars · 6 ratingsStranger Things meets the Brothers Grimm in this thrilling new series for only the bravest of children. After a chance encounter in a dark and stormy forest, two siblings are caught up in the dangerous underworld of fairies and must fight their way free. A storm is raging around the forests of Transylvania, where siblings Anna and Max are visiting with the Professor... -
Open Mic Night at Westminster Cemetery by Mary Amato
Rated: 3.83 of 5 stars · 6 ratingsWhen Lacy wakes up dead in Westminster Cemetery, final resting place of Edgar Allan Poe, she's confused. It's the job of Sam, a young soldier who died in 1865, to teach her the rules of the afterlife and to warn her about Suppression--a punishment worse than death. Lacy desperately wants to leave the cemetery and find out how she died, but every soul is obligated to perform a job... -
The Immeasurable Depth of You by Maria Ingrande Mora
Rated: 3.83 of 5 stars · 6 ratingsHow do you face your fears when everything is terrifying?Fifteen-year-old Brynn can’t stop thinking about death. Her intrusive thoughts and severe anxiety leave her feeling helpless—and hopeless... -
Bruja Born by Zoraida Córdova
Rated: 3.96 of 5 stars · 26 ratingsThree sisters. One spell. Countless dead.Lula Mortiz feels like an outsider. Her sister's newfound Encantrix powers have wounded her in ways that Lula's bruja healing powers can't fix, and she longs for the comfort her family once brought her. Thank the Deos for Maks, her sweet, steady boyfriend who sees the beauty within her and brings light to her life...Categorized as:
coming-of-age family lgbtq magical-realism myths paranormal vampires action-adventure -
In Every Generation by Kendare Blake
Rated: 3.88 of 5 stars · 13 ratingsA new Slayer for a new generation...Frankie Rosenberg is passionate about the environment, a sophomore at New Sunnydale High School, and the daughter of the most powerful witch in Sunnydale history. Her mom, Willow, is slowly teaching her magic on the condition that she use it to better the world...Categorized as:
coming-of-age family friendship lgbtq paranormal vampires action-adventure audiobook -
Beneath the Sugar Sky by Seanan McGuire
Rated: 3.94 of 5 stars · 47 ratingsBeneath the Sugar Sky, the third book in McGuire's Wayward Children series, returns to Eleanor West's Home for Wayward Children in a standalone contemporary fantasy for fans of all ages. At this magical boarding school, children who have experienced fantasy adventures are reintroduced to the "real" world... -
-
Road Seven by Keith Rosson
Rated: 4.00 of 5 stars · 6 ratings2021 IPPY Award Bronze Medalist - Best Fantasy NovelMark Sandoval—resolutely arrogant, covered head to foot in precise geometric scarring, and still marginally famous after Hollywood made an Oscar-winner based off his memoir years before—has been strongly advised by his lawyer to leave the country following a drunken and potentially fatal hit and run... -
The Lost Girl by Anne Ursu
Rated: 3.86 of 5 stars · 14 ratingsWhen you’re an identical twin, your story always starts with someone else. For Iris, that means her story starts with Lark. Iris has always been the grounded, capable, and rational one; Lark has been inventive, dreamy, and brilliant—and from their first moments in the world together, they’ve never left each other’s side...Categorized as:
animals coming-of-age family friendship magical-realism paranormal realistic action-adventure -
Headhunter by Timothy Findley
Rated: 3.86 of 5 stars · 14 ratingsIt all starts when Lilah Kemp - librarian, spiritualist, schizophrenic - inadvertantly lets Kurtz out of page 92 of Heart of Darkness and is unable to get him back in.While Kurtz is stalking the streets of Toronto, Lilah frantically begins her search for Marlow to help her deal with the literary villainMeanwhile, the city is becoming increasingly chaotic and terrifying... -
The City of Lost Fortunes by Bryan Camp
Rated: 3.86 of 5 stars · 14 ratingsThe fate of New Orleans rests in the hands of a wayward grifter in this novel of gods, games, and monsters. The post–Katrina New Orleans of The City of Lost Fortunes is a place haunted by its history and by the hurricane’s destruction, a place that is hoping to survive the rebuilding of its present long enough to ensure that it has a future... -
The Walker in Shadows by Barbara Michaels
Rated: 3.83 of 5 stars · 12 ratingsThe house next door to Pat Robbins—eerily identical to the home Pat shares with her college-aged son, Mark—has been empty for years, the darkness within seeming to warn all to stay away. Now new tenants are moving in: affable Josef Friedrichs and his lovely daughter, Kathy, who has stolen Mark's heart on first glance... -
The Rattled Bones by S.M. Parker
Rated: 3.83 of 5 stars · 12 ratingsUnearthing years of buried secrets, Rilla Brae is haunted by ghostly visions tied to the tainted history of a mysterious island in this haunting novel from the author of The Girl Who Fell.Maine-bred, independent Rilla Brae is no stranger to the deep. She knows the rhythms of hard work and harder seas...
Or - use our amazing romance book finder to get recommendations based on your favorite content tropes and themes. Mix and match at will.