What to Read if You Loved Beetlejuice Beetlejuice
Did I hear that the Juice is, once again, loose?! GO AHEAD, MAKE MY MILLENIUM!!!!
After years of wondering if Beetlejuice would ever return, we FINALLY have a sequel, and I am (literally) dying of excitement. I can’t wait to see the bevvy of Astrid Deetz and all the other creeps stalking around NYC this Halloween…
There is nothing quite like the brilliant and bizarre Beetlejuice, so this blog post was a bit difficult to write. I had to stretch the old brain more than the Maitlands stretched their faces in the original Beetlejuice! My eyeballs nearly popped out of my head, and I almost called the Juice man himself for some help. But I REALLY don’t want to get mixed up with that guy, so I did my very best on my own.
They’re dark, they’re creepy, they’re horror and comedy… and if you say “NOVL NOVL NOVL,” you might just summon this list of books. If you can’t get enough of the ghost with the most, I hope you enjoy these spook-tacular titles!
Horrid
by Katrina Leno
Horrid starts very similarly to Beetlejuice Beetlejuice– the Deetz family must return home to Winter River after a death in the family; Jane North-Robinson must return to an old house in Maine. Oh, and the houses? Haunted. Most definitely. By grief? Mental illness? Or a trickster demon named Betelguese? You’ll have to read to find out…
From the author of You Must Not Miss comes a haunting contemporary horror novel that explores themes of mental illness, rage, and grief, twisted with spine-chilling elements of Stephen King and Agatha Christie.
Following her father’s death, Jane North-Robinson and her mom move from sunny California to the dreary, dilapidated old house in Maine where her mother grew up. All they want is a fresh start, but behind North Manor’s doors lurks a history that leaves them feeling more alone … and more tormented.
As the cold New England autumn arrives, and Jane settles in to her new home, she finds solace in old books and memories of her dad. She steadily begins making new friends, but also faces bullying from the resident “bad seed,” struggling to tamp down her own worst nature in response. Jane’s mom also seems to be spiraling with the return of her childhood home, but she won’t reveal why. Then Jane discovers that the “storage room” her mom has kept locked isn’t for storage at all—it’s a little girl’s bedroom, left untouched for years and not quite as empty of inhabitants as it appears…
Is it grief? Mental illness? Or something more … horrid?
The Bone Houses
I believe that Astrid Deetz and Ryn would be close friends if they met. They could hang out in Ryn’s family’s graveyard together, summon the dead, and fight demons. You know, just girly things!!!
Buffy the Vampire Slayer meets Sky in the Deep in this bewitching historical horror novel, perfect for fans of Holly Black and V.E. Schwab!
Seventeen-year-old Aderyn (“Ryn”) only cares about two things: her family and her family’s graveyard. And right now, both are in dire straits. Since the death of their parents, Ryn and her siblings have been scraping together a meager existence as gravediggers in the remote village of Colbren, which sits at the foot of a harsh and deadly mountain range that was once home to the fae. The problem with being a gravedigger in Colbren, though, is that the dead don’t always stay dead.
The risen corpses are known as “bone houses,” and legend says that they’re the result of a decades-old curse. When Ellis, an apprentice mapmaker with a mysterious past, arrives in town, the bone houses attack with new ferocity. What is it that draws them near? And more importantly, how can they be stopped for good?
Together, Ellis and Ryn embark on a journey that will take them into the heart of the mountains, where they will have to face both the curse and the deeply-buried truths about themselves. Equal parts classic horror novel and original fairy tale, The Bone Houses will have you spellbound from the very first page.
I Was Told There Would Be Romance
by Marie Arnold
This sweet rom-com may seem like an odd pairing with Beetlejuice, but HEAR ME OUT. I Was Told There Would Be Romance is just as laugh-out-loud whacky, has a rebellious and funny female protagonist, and even gets a little ~spooky~ when Fancy is accused of voodoo magic.
Also, I can 100% picture Beetlejuice saying “I was told there would be romance” when he gets summoned from the Afterlife, much to Lydia and Astrid’s dismay…
For fans of Never Have I Ever and To All the Boys I’ve Loved Before comes a hilarious and heartfelt novel about a young Haitian girl navigating high school, friendship, and crushes.
Fifteen-year-old Fancy Augustine is a Haitian American girl with simple desires. She’d like to trade in her floppy, oversize boobs for cute, perky ones. She’d love a boyfriend. And she’s desperate for an invite to the biggest event of the school year: Imani Park’s birthday party. When Fancy learns her BFF, Tilly, has received a coveted invite and has a secret boyfriend, she is (understandably) devastated and wholeheartedly determined to do whatever it takes to get her own happily ever after.
So what if she makes a deal with the devil (Imani) that guarantees her an invite—but only if she can bring a boyfriend? And what’s so bad about letting her crush, Rahim, believe that she can create a voodoo potion for him in exchange for him posing as her boyfriend? And, yeah, maybe she’s destroying her friendship with Tilly and falling hopelessly behind in her schoolwork, but Fancy knows it’ll all be worth it in the end. Plus, it’s not like Fancy’s parents would really make good on their threats of sending her back to Haiti…right?
Neanderthal Opens the Door to the Universe
Another one that might seem like an odd pairing! But this book is described as “funny and sweetly oddball,” which is very Beetlejuice-eqsue to me… well, maybe minus the “sweet” part. And, there is a portal to another universe in both. Only, one is a portal to the Afterlife…
A “funny and sweetly oddball” (Publishers Weekly, starred review) novel about an odd-couple friendship formed by a mission to make their high school to suck less, for readers “seeking doors to the universe” (Booklist, starred review) and a razor sharp, moving, and outrageously funny read.
Cliff Hubbard is a huge loser. Literally. His nickname at Happy Valley High School is Neanderthal because he’s so enormous—6’6” and 250 pounds to be exact. He has nobody at school, and life in his trailer-park home has gone from bad to worse ever since his older brother’s suicide. And there’s no one Cliff hates more than the nauseatingly cool quarterback Aaron Zimmerman, who after a near-death experience claims God gave him a list of things to do to make Happy Valley High suck less. And God said there’s only one person who can help: Neanderthal. To his own surprise, Cliff says he’s in. As he and Aaron make their way through the List, which involves a vindictive English teacher, a mysterious computer hacker, a decidedly unchristian cult of Jesus Teens, the local drug dealers, and the meanest bully at HVHS, Cliff feels like he’s part of something for the first time since losing his brother. But fixing a broken school isn’t as simple as it seems, and just when Cliff thinks they’ve completed the List, he realizes their mission hits closer to home than he ever imagined.
Beyond the Ruby Veil
This twisty fantasy thriller is just as gruesome and surprising as Beetlejuice Beetlejuice can be! Jump scares, bloodshed, absolute overall bonkers-ness. Not to mention, Emanuela’s humor and irreverent tone lift this dark fantasy and set it apart from the pack.
A dark, queer YA fantasy that’s perfect for fans of the Three Dark Crowns series. After Emanuela Ragno kills the one person in Occhia who can create water, she must find a way to save her city from dying of thirst.
Emanuela Ragno always gets what she wants. With her daring mind and socialite schemes, she refuses to be the demure young lady everyone wants her to be. In her most ambitious move yet, she’s about to marry Alessandro Morandi, her childhood best friend and the heir to the wealthiest house in Occhia. Emanuela doesn’t care that she and her groom are both gay, because she doesn’t want a love match. She wants power, and through Ale, she’ll have it all.
But Emanuela has a secret that could shatter her plans. In the city of Occhia, the only source of water is the watercrea, a mysterious being who uses magic to make water from blood. When their first bruise-like omen appears on their skin, all Occhians must surrender themselves to the watercrea to be drained of life. Everyone throughout history has given themselves up for the greater good. Everyone except Emanuela. She’s kept the tiny omen on her hip out of sight for years. When the watercrea exposes Emanuela during her wedding ceremony and takes her to be sacrificed, Emanuela fights back … and kills her. Now Occhia has no one to make their water and no idea how to get more. In a race against time, Emanuela and Ale must travel through the mysterious, blood-red veil that surrounds their city to uncover the secrets of the watercrea’s magic and find a way to save their people — no matter what it takes.
Wisteria
by Adalyn Grace
The Belladonna series brings to life a highly romantic, Gothic-infused world of wealth, desire, and betrayal. I like to think this description would make Lydia Deetz’s goth heart very, very happy. In Belladonna, the story of Signa and Death had me in a chokehold, and now we get to follow the feisty Blythe and her story…. PERFECTION! THE TIME HAS COME!!
#1 New York Times bestselling author Adalyn Grace delivers a sensational conclusion to the deathly and decadent Belladonna trilogy, with dramatic twists and a seductive new romance that will set readers’ hearts ablaze.
Blythe Hawthorne has never let anyone tell her what to do—not society, not her overprotective father, and certainly not the man she’s bound herself to, no matter how rude and insufferable he is. In fact, she’s determined to be a thorn in his side for the rest of her days, even as he ensures that her life in his palace is anything but a fairytale. But as Blythe discovers a new side of herself linked to his past, she’ll have to decide if she’s willing to let an unexpected spark ignite…and to discover the truth about who she really is.
So Witches We Became
WELP, the title says it all for this one. GIRL POWER, baby! Described as “An eerie and powerful exploration of feminine rage and embracing your own power,” So Witches We Became is creepy, profound, and will stay with you for a while after you put it down.
A queer, feminist spin on Stephen King’s The Mist, this ode to female-rage is a perfect pick for fans of She Is a Haunting, and a reminder that if “boys will be boys”, girls will fight back.
For high school senior Nell and her friends, a vacation house on a private Florida island sounds like the makings of a dream spring break. But Nell brings secrets with her—secrets that fuse with the island’s tragic history, trapping them all with a curse that surrounds the island in a toxic, vengeful mist and the surrounding waters with an unseen, devouring beast.
Getting out alive means risking her friendships, her sanity, and even her own life. In order to save herself and her friends, Nell will have to face memories she’d rather leave behind, reveal the horrific truth behind the encounter that changed her life one year ago, and face the shadow that’s haunted her since childhood.
Easier said than done. But when Nell’s friends reveal that they each brought secrets of their own, a solution even more dangerous than the curse begins to take shape. Reading like a YA feminist spin on Stephen King’s The Mist, So Witches We Became is a diverse, queer horror about female friendship, the emotional aftermath of surviving assault, and how to find power in the shadows of your past.
Step into your witchy power or be swallowed by the curse–the choice is yours.
I’ll Be Waiting for You
by Mariko Turk
“The living. The dead. Can they coexist? That’s what we’re here to find out.” – Lydia Deetz
I’ll Be Waiting For You is for ghost lovers, as well as those who may be questioning a ghostly existence. It’s spooky, haunting, funny, and heart wrenching all at the same time. Supernatural and super sweet, I’ll Be Waiting For You is sure to be your next #booktok hit!
“By turns funny, heartbreaking, and beautiful, [I’ll Be Waiting for You] deftly handles the complexities of grief, the possibilities of the universe, and the power of belief.” – Booklist, starred review
Perfect for fans of the tearjerker You’ve Reached Sam, this emotional will-they-won’t-they romance follows Natalie and Leander, two teens who navigate love, loss, and everything in between during a fateful summer internship.
Natalie and Imogen are inseparable, and wildly different—Imogen is infuriatingly humble and incredibly intelligent, while Natalie is brave, jumping into danger and new adventures. Still, one thing ties them together: their love of the supernatural. Every summer, they vacation with their parents at the famously haunted Harlow Hotel. Imogen is a true believer, while Natalie sees ghost stories as nothing but pure fun.
Then, Imogen suddenly passes away from an undiagnosed heart condition that no one saw coming, and Natalie is left to take on the summer before senior year alone.
Without Imogen, Natalie throws herself into her senior project. Her passion is still horror, so she plans to spend her summer back at The Harlow Hotel recording fun fake footage that will get her on the teen ghost hunting show of her dreams. And her plans would be a lot less complicated if Leander, her irritatingly attractive arch rival from school, wasn’t working on his senior project at the very same hotel.
The longer Natalie stays at the Harlow Hotel, the more she realizes that Leander might be helpful for her project. After all, she could use an extra hand to help record her fake footage.
But, when strange things start happening at the Harlow, Natalie wonders, could there really be something to these ghosts after all?
Readers of Emily X.R. Pan, Nina LaCour, and Dustin Thao will fall for this story that explores what it means to believe—in ghosts, in the people you love, and in yourself.
