If You Love "Yellowjackets," Try Reading These 14 Books
Yellowjackets is one of TV’s hottest new shows, and for good reason. It follows a high school girl’s soccer team whose plane crashes in the Canadian wilderness, forcing them to survive by any means possible. This thrilling, terrifying, and empowering show’s first season is ending soon, but there’s no shortage of great reads that explore some of Yellowjackets themes (yes, with equal amount of nail-biting, edge-sitting, and held breath). Here are some books you must read if you love Yellowjackets.
1.Bunny by Mona Awad
What it's about: Bunny is the perfect book for anyone looking to dig deeper into the (not always positive) power of female friendship. Though this story happens in an MFA program rather than a remote forest with no cell service, Bunny chronicles a group of women who fall under each other’s spell, leading to some unusual rituals that feel like the Ivy League equivalent of a freshly butchered heart sacrifice and fur outerwear.
Get it from Bookshop or from your local indie via Indiebound here.
2.Room by Emma Donoghue
What it's about: If your favorite parts of Yellowjackets are the plans to get back to New Jersey and ensuing hope/heartbreak, this is the book for you. This award-winning read tells the story of a woman and her young son who have been held captive in a small room for seven years and their journey to escape and live normal lives despite their not-so-normal past.
Get it from Bookshop or from your local indie via Indiebound here.
3.Into the Wild by Jon Krakauer
What it's about: Unlike the Yellowjackets, Christopher McCandless chose to explore the Alaskan bush, but his experiences and adventures may be the closest real-life take on what it’s like to be isolated in the wild. This true story is a great read for anyone who wants more on the day-to-day life of surviving with zero contact to the outside world.
Get it from Bookshop or from your local indie via Indiebound here.
4.The Virgin Suicides by Jeffrey Eugenides
What it's about: TVS is written from the perspective of a group of boys who watch a family of sisters slowly deteriorate in a plan to end their lives due to their strict home life. While storytelling through the lens of the male gaze can feel a bit stale and pre-Bechdel test, it works extremely well in this terrific novel as it echoes the mystery and perception of the Yellowjackets as adults. Like our soccer faves, it also shows the powerful influence of teenage girls and how strong the bonds of sisterhood (biological or not) remain.
Get it from Bookshop or from your local indie via Indiebound here.
5.We Were Never Here by Andrea Bartz
What it's about: This novel follows two friends who vacation together regularly. After one member of the twosome kills her one night stand in self-defense for the second time, the other friend starts to get suspicious. We Were Never Here perfectly captures that scary feeling that someone close to you isn’t telling the truth, the ideal book for those of us who are more scared by the YJ current-day story than the flashbacks.
Get it from Bookshop or from your local indie via Indiebound here.
6.The Push by Ashley Audrain
What it's about: One of the creepiest and therefore best relationships in YJ is between current-day Taissa and her son Sammy. Can Taissa trust her own memories? Is she a danger to him? Will we get #JusticeforBiscuit? The Push perfectly encapsulates these feelings surrounding motherhood and the scary realization that something may be wrong with your child (or you).
Get it from Bookshop or from your local indie via Indiebound here.
7.When No One Is Watching by Alyssa Cole
What it's about: Alyssa Cole’s bestselling novel explores what happens when gentrification becomes deadly, as main character Sydney investigates the disappearance of her neighbors and community under the guise of revitalization. Like the plane crash survivors, Sydney’s stuck in an unfamiliar and potentially life-threatening situation, unsure of what is reality and what is not, and has to consider who is working with her and who (or what) is working against her.
Get it from Bookshop or from your local indie via Indiebound here.
8.The Glass Castle by Jeannette Walls
What it's about: This award-winning book memoir recounts Jeanette Walls’ real life growing up in poverty as she dealt with her father’s alcoholism and her family’s nomadic lifestyle. Jeannette, who has major Shauna vibes, struggles to escape from her situation even after years of “rescuing” herself, and must make the difficult choice between her father, to whom she’s always remained loyal, and herself. If you love the time jumps between teen and adult characters in YJ, bump this to next on your list as the reader gets to see both young and current Jeannette in this read.
Get it from Bookshop or from your local indie via Indiebound here.
9.Belzhar by Meg Wolitzer
What it's about: Teen Queen Meg Wolitzer never misses, and this book is a great example. In this novel, Jam and a group of her peers enrolled in a therapeutic boarding school discover a book that literally takes them to another place. Similar to Yellowjackets, supernatural elements are hinted at but not necessarily revealed, and the teenage friendships and great characters make it feel more grounded in reality than most stories.
Get it from Bookshop or from your local indie via Indiebound here.
10.The Circle by Dave Eggers
What it's about: The Circle is basically Yellowjackets for Patagonia Tech Bros. Though there’s no relation to the Netflix show, this story revolves around recent college grad, Mae, who agrees to livestream her every waking moment as part of her employment at a powerful tech company. Like the Yellowjackets, Mae has to decide between friends and family, and what is essentially the world’s most powerful cult. Bonus points for some deer antler imagery — Lottie would be proud.
Get it from Bookshop or from your local indie via Indiebound here.
11.White Oleander by Janet Finch
What it's about: This classic page-turner has many of the same themes as Yellowjackets: loyalty, friendship, and survival. To what extent can Astrid remain under the influence of her mother, Ingrid, after she is incarcerated for murder? How can the bonds remain so powerful and controlling after years without contact? How can Astrid survive in foster homes that are comparable in danger to the possibly inhabited backcountry? Astrid may start out as a Laura Lee, but she definitely ends up as a Natalie in this engrossing book.
Get it from Bookshop or from your local indie via Indiebound here.
12.The Girls by Emma Cline
What it's about: If Lottie’s athleisure cult is one of the main things you’re looking forward to in Season 2, The Girls is a great novel to tide you over. Loosely based on the Manson Family, this book tells the story of a young girl who spends the summer alongside a charismatic leader and his followers before the worst happens. Cline’s gorgeous writing transports readers in the 1960s in the same way the dialogue, music, and wardrobe of Yellowjackets are pure '90s.
Get it from Bookshop or from your local indie via Indiebound here.
13.The Outsiders by S.E. Hinton
What it's about: Yellowjackets has drawn some comparison to other stories like Lord of the Flies, but I see the most similarities with the classic coming-of-age novel The Outsiders. Like Shauna and the crash crew, this book tells the story of a group of tight-knit teens, held together by alliance and circumstance through tragedy. 1950s Tulsa replaces the wilderness, and an opposing gang of preppy rich kids take the place of the wolves, snow, and natural threats, but the feelings of isolation, desperation, and unity remain the same.
Get it from Bookshop or from your local indie via Indiebound here.
14.The Long Walk by Stephen King
What it's about: If you like your dystopia as a slow burn, this is the read for you. Originally published under Stephen King’s nom de plume Richard Bachman, The Long Walk starts off fairly normal with a group of kids competing to see how long they can walk. As it progresses, we start to see the cracks form as they struggle to survive amidst pressures and skewed perceptions. This one is a great blend of King’s suspenseful writing, a dash of Shirley Jackson’s patient horror, and a whole lot of how Misty would act if she participated in a marathon.
Get it from Bookshop or from your local indie via Indiebound here.