5 Books to Read If You Like Black Mirror (but need a relatively happier ending)
Every single one of us on the team has a different TV show that we’re super into. For Savannah, it’s Game of Thrones. For Natali, it’s Gravity Falls. For me, it’s Black Mirror. Geez, it’s so addicting to fall into anything that depicts what reality could be and makes you feel better about actual reality. I have to admit, though, that it kind of scares me that some people can fathom such dystopic, messed up worlds…but with that fear also comes envy.
I took some of my favorite Black Mirror episodes and paired them with a book recommendation based on similar themes. While not all books on this list are as dark as Black Mirror is, they all still shake me to the core.
If you enjoyed San Junipero, read Everything Leads to You by Nina LaCour
SAN JUNIPERO. Holy cow, if you were as breath taken as the rest of the world was with this episode, then you’ll love Everything Leads to You. Emi is a film buff and a true romantic, but her real-life relationships are a mess. She has desperately gone back to the same girl too many times to mention. But then she meets Ava. Ava is unlike anyone Emi has ever met. The portrayal of what it means to find love and acceptance in both San Junipero and Everything Leads to You will fill your heart with butterflies and your eyes with tears.
If you enjoyed White Bear, read You Must Not Miss by Katrina Leno
If you liked White bear, then you probably enjoy a juicy revenge plot. Magpie started writing in her yellow notebook the day she walked in on her father having sex with her aunt. That was the night where her mom became self-destructive. That was the night her sister skipped town. That was the night of Brandon Phipp’s party. Her former best friend won’t speak to her, and she’s called a slut down the halls of her school. She creates a perfect place called Near, where she can have anything she wants…even revenge. I’m a Scorpio sun with a Virgo moon, so y’all know I LOVE myself revenge, especially after a long-time grudge, and Katrina Leno brought this all to glorious fruition in You Must Not Miss.
If you enjoyed Shut Up and Dance, read Phantom Wheel by Tracy Deebs
We all harbor dark secrets, and while that doesn’t justify the main character’s actions in Shut Up and Dance, it doesn’t feel good to be blackmailed and have your privacy on the line. In Phantom Wheel, six teen hackers arrive in LA believing that they have been recruited by the CIA for an aptitude test with the promise of a college scholarship and a job with the CIA after graduation. When they discover that they’ve created “Phantom Wheel, “a virus that allows a corporation to have unprecedented access to personal data, they must figure out how to stop Phantom Wheel before their own secrets get out.
If you enjoyed The Entire History of You, read Reality Boy by A.S. King
This has to be one of the best Black Mirror episodes, albeit the horror of being able to relive my own memories through recordings. I’m already a chronic over-thinker so how am I supposed to function properly if I can go through my life with a fine-tooth comb? Reality Boy is about Gerald Faust, whose mother invited a reality television crew into his life. Twelve years later, he’s still haunted by his rage-filled youth—which the entire world got to watch from every imaginable angle.
If you enjoyed Hang the DJ, read A Match Made in Mehendi by Nandini Bajpai
Okay, Hang the DJ was so cute! I didn’t expect it to end in the way that it did, but it was just…so sweet and a different pace than all the other episodes. It took dating apps and matchmaking to a place that’s unconventional to the ones that we’re all used to by now. In A Match Made in Mehendi, Simi comes from a long-line of Indian vichole-matchmakers with a rich history of finding good matches for their grown children. When Simi accidentally sets up her cousin and a soon-to-be lawyer, her family is thrilled that she has the “gift.” Simi starts a matchmaking service via an app, but chaos ensues when Simi accidentally upends the school’s social hierarchy.