Books

The Book You Should Read Next, Based on Your Favorite Nostalgic TV Drama

written by STEPHANIE MCKINLEY

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Graphics by: Aryana Johnson
Graphics by: Aryana Johnson

It’s no secret that we can’t help rewatching our favorite 2000s TV dramas. We love Gilmore Girls for its mother-daughter relationship, The Vampire Diaries for its love triangle, Everwood for its heart, and Pretty Little Liars for its wild murder mystery. But sometimes, we want to experience our favorites in less than nine seasons. And when that is the case, we can always turn to books. Here are book recommendations read based on our favorite 2000s TV dramas:

1. If you love Gilmore Girls

J. Courtney Sullivan
Friends and Strangers

The only one of her friends who wasn’t able to afford to study abroad this semester, Sam is feeling lonely. When she picks up a babysitting job, she can’t help but connect with the children’s mother, Elisabeth. Having just left New York City after 20 years, Elisabeth is dealing with her own feelings of loneliness, spending all of her time obsessing over her Brooklyn moms’ Facebook group and her influencer sister’s Instagram feed. But as Sam and Elisabeth grow closer, Sam soon learns just how different from Elisabeth she really is. Elisabeth comes from a world of money and connections, and Sam is always trying to make ends meet. Like Gilmore Girls, Friends and Strangers is a masterful exploration of motherhood, power dynamics, and privilege.

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2. If you love Alias

Ally Carter
The Blonde Identity

A woman wakes up on the streets of Paris in the middle of the night with no memory. She only knows three things: she has a splitting headache, a gorgeous man is standing over her telling her to run, and people are trying to kill her. According to her enemies, she’s a rogue CIA operative named Alex who stole from a Russian mob. According to gorgeous Sawyer, she’s actually Alex’s identical twin sister, Zoe. As Zoe and Sawyer pretend to be lovesick newlyweds on their honeymoon in an attempt to escape the criminal organization and intelligence services who are after them, Zoe must decide who she can trust: the twin she can’t remember or the mysterious man she can’t let herself forget. Fans of the mystery, danger, and action of Alias will fly through The Blonde Identity.

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3. If you love Everwood

Jessica Joyce
You, With a View

Unemployed, living with her parents, and grieving the loss of her beloved grandmother, Noelle Shepard jumps at the chance to go on the honeymoon road trip Gram never got to take—even though Gram’s ex and his grandson, Noelle’s high school nemesis Theo Spencer, have to tag along. As Noelle learns more about her grandmother’s history and reignites her passion for photography, she’s surprised to find that she isn’t that mad that Theo is on the trip. That is until she discovers that Theo is hiding a secret that could cause their tenuous relationship to end before it can restart. If you like the will they or won’t they romance, the grandparent relationships, and the gorgeous views of Everwood, you’ll love You, With a View.

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4. If you love The OC

Emma Rosenblum
Bad Summer People

The town of Salcombe, Fire Island may seem picture-perfect, but all of its residents have something to hide. Sam and Jason, who have summered together since childhood, hold lifelong grudges. Their wives, Jen and Lauren, act like the best of friends but may not be. And the gang’s one single friend, Rachel, is desperate to meet her match, even if it’s someone else’s husband. That all seems like plenty to gossip about. But then a body is discovered. If you enjoyed the culture clash and comedic drama of The OC, you’ll enjoy Bad Summer People.

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5. If you love One Tree Hill

Elle Kennedy
The Deal

Hannah Wells knows her way around a textbook, but she’s never felt confident when it comes to sex and seduction. If she wants to get her crush’s attention, she’ll need to learn how to step out of her comfort zone. Garrett Graham has only ever wanted to play professional hockey, but his plummeting GPA is threatening everything he’s worked so hard for. The two agree that Hannah will tutor Garrett in exchange for a pretend date. But when one kiss leads to the wildest sex of both their lives, Garrett will have to convince Hannah that he’s the guy she really wants. If your favorite couple in One Tree Hill is Nathan and Haley, then you need to read The Deal.

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6. If you love Shameless

Brittany Cavallaro and Emily Henry
Hello Girls

Winona’s celebrity weatherman father locks the pantry door to control her eating and leaves bruises where no one can see them. Lucille’s waitressing money goes straight to her needy mother and drug-dealing brother. When Winona and Lucille realize they can’t wait until high school graduation to start their new lives, it only takes them an hour to make a plan. But as the two take a stolen convertible from their small Michigan town to Chicago, they learn they are going to need to reclaim their strength if they are going to get away with their daring escape. If you rooted for Shameless’s Gallagher children, no matter what shenanigans they got into, you’ll root for Hello Girls’ Winona and Lucille.

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7. If you love Veronica Mars

Elizabeth Foscue
Pest

All Hallie Mayhew wants to do is get to school on time, get her homework done, and maybe even see a movie with her friends. Instead, she’s always working, be it for her dad’s pest control company, her mom’s pond cleaning service, or a tourist hotspot in Santa Barbara. Hallie knows that she needs to get out, but her only hope of making it to her dream East Coast school is the prestigious Verhaag Scholarship. But the scholarship has a proud history of nepotism, and when a last-minute contender crawls out of the woodwork, Hallie has two options. She can enlist the help of Spencer Salazar, the dim, infuriating (and kinda hot) rich kid next door, or she can pad her resume with an extracurricular like the Yearbook Committee if only her parking lot nemesis wasn’t the editor. Of course, neither option is easy. If you love amateur sleuth Veronica Mars, then you’ll love Hallie Mayhew.

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8. If you love Brothers and Sisters

Meg Mitchell Moore
Vacationland

Struggling with managing her career while keeping her husband and children happy, Louisa escapes to her parents’ house in Maine, where she hopes to focus on her writing while her parents help with her children. But Louisa’s father is suffering from Alzheimer’s, her mother doesn’t know how to handle the diagnosis, and one of Louisa’s children happens upon a very confusing and heartfelt letter referring to something Louisa doesn’t think her father could possibly have done. Additionally, Kristie, a woman new to Maine who has secrets of her own, keeps turning up. If you love families with lots of secrets, like the Walkers in Brothers and Sisters, then you’ll love Vacationland.

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9. If you love Friday Night Lights

Cora Carmack
All Lined Up

Tired of coming second to the game in her ex’s and her father’s minds, Dallas Cole is ready to put football behind her. But when her ex and father both follow her to Rusk University, Dallas finds herself in the shadow of football all over again. She thinks she has found a way out when she literally falls into Carson McClain. But Dallas doesn’t know Carson is on the team, Carson doesn’t know Dallas is his new coach’s daughter, and neither of them know how to walk away from the attraction they feel. If you love the romance, drama, and, of course, football of Friday Night Lights, then you’ll love All Lined Up.

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10. If you love Gossip Girl

Katharine McGee
The Thousandth Floor

In 2118, New York City is a thousand-story tower where the rich live at the top and the poor live far below, but everyone has something they want to gain and something they don’t want to lose. Leda is hiding a drug addiction and a forbidden lover. Eris’s family is torn apart by betrayal. Rylin’s job on one of the highest floors has swept her into a romance she never could have imagined. Watt is a tech genius hired to spy on an upper-floor girl. And Avery, living on the thousandth floor, is tormented by the one thing she can never have. Because in this world, the higher you go, the farther there is to fall. If you like the class dynamics and teen drama of Gossip Girl, then you need to read The Thousandth Floor.

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11. If you love The Vampire Diaries

Laura Hankin
A Special Place for Women

No one knows the truth about an exclusive, women-only social club where the elite tastemakers of NYC meet. That is until journalist Jillian Beckley decides she’s going to break into the club. With her career in freefall and a personal interest in bringing these women down, Jillian is the perfect person for the job. But the deeper she gets into this new world, the more she learns about the club members’ witchy powers. And the more danger she’s in. Fans of the fantasy aspects and the love triangle of The Vampire Diaries will devour A Special Place for Women.

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12. If you love Pretty Little Liars

Stacy Willingham
Only If You’re Lucky

Lucy Sharpe is magnetic, addictive, bold, and dangerous. When she approaches quiet, shy Margot and asks her to room together, something in Margot can’t say no. And so Margot finds herself living in an off-campus house with three other girls: Lucy, the ringleader, Sloane, the sarcastic one, and Nicole, the nice one. With the help of her new friends, Margot finally comes out of the shell she’s been in since the end of high school when her best friend Eliza died three weeks after graduation. But by the middle of their sophomore year, one of the fraternity boys from the house next door has been brutally murdered… and Lucy is missing without a trace. If you were captivated by the messy female friendships and murder mystery in Pretty Little Liars, you won’t be able to put down Only If You’re Lucky.

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13. If you love Parenthood

Kristy Woodson Harvey
The Summer of Songbirds

After running a summer camp for girls for 30 years, June Moore is in danger of losing the place. June’s niece, Daphne, and the two best friends she made at the camp, Lanier and Mary Stuart, want nothing more than to help June save Camp Holly Springs. But as each of the women deal with their own issues, from work problems that become personal to choosing between a fiancé and a first love to starting a new relationship as a single mother, they will have to remember what is most important: each other. If you enjoyed the multi-generational stories in Parenthood, you’ll enjoy The Summer of Songbirds.

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14. If you love Revenge

Rachel Koller Croft
Stone Cold Fox

After years of being forced to swindle men with her mother, a now-solo Bea wants nothing more than to disappear into the safety of old money. She chooses her target: the fully loaded though thoroughly dull Collin Case. Bea has no problem getting a ring from Collin, but she finds it harder to win over Collin’s family and friends, especially his childhood best friend, Gale. As the games she plays with Gale turn life-and-death, Bea must finally decide who she really wants to be. Fans of the secret identities and revenge plots of Revenge will be taken with Stone Cold Fox.

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