Recommendations based on Z for Zachariahby Robert C. O'Brien

* statistically, based on millions of data-points provided by fellow humans

  1. Needful Things

    by Stephen King
    Small-town horror story filled with dark secrets, testing the limits of human morality.

    A new shop named "Needful Things" opens in the small town of Castle Rock , Maine , sparking the curiosity of its citizens. The proprietor, Leland Gaunt, is a charming elderly gentleman seemingly from ... (Wikipedia)

  2. The House of Mirth

    by Edith Wharton
    A young woman's struggle to navigate New York high society, in pursuit of financial security and true love.

    Lily Bart, a beautiful but impoverished socialite, is on her way to a house party at Bellomont, the country home of her best friend, Judy Trenor. Her pressing task is to find a husband with the ... (Wikipedia)

  3. 'Salem's Lot

    by Stephen King
    A small town is terrorized by a vampire, forcing its citizens to fight for survival.

    Ben Mears, a writer who spent part of his childhood in Jerusalem's Lot , Maine , has returned after 25 years. He quickly becomes friends with high-school teacher Matt Burke and strikes up a ... (Wikipedia)

  4. World War Z: An Oral History of the Zombie War

    by Max Brooks
    A collection of interviews recounting tales of the zombie apocalypse.

    It has been nearly twenty years since the start of the apocalyptic worldwide pandemic known as the Zombie War, and about ten years since the war has ended in humanity's victory. The framing device ... (Wikipedia)

  5. The Acid House

    by Irvine Welsh
    A collection of stories exploring the dark side of Edinburgh's working-class culture.

    Description from the inside sleeve:, This scintillating, disturbing, and altogether outrageous collection of stories introduces to these shores a young writer already being called "the Scottish ... (Goodreads)

  6. Kiss of the Spider Woman

    by Manuel Puig
    An unlikely friendship between two prisoners, exploring themes of sexuality, fantasy and politics.

    Two prisoners, Luis Molina and Valentín Arregui, share a cell in a Buenos Aires prison. The story takes place between September 9, 1975 and October 8, 1975. , Molina, a transgender woman, is in jail ... (Wikipedia)

  7. Alas, Babylon

    by Pat Frank
    A small town struggles to survive the aftermath of a nuclear war.

    The story is set in a fictional 1959, following two years of escalating tensions between the United States and the Soviet Union for dominance in the Middle East and in the Mediterranean Sea . The ... (Wikipedia)

  8. Noughts & Crosses

    by Malorie Blackman
    Exploring racism and prejudice in a world where the races are divided between Noughts and Crosses.

    Two young people are forced to make a stand in this thought-provoking look at racism and prejudice in an alternate society. Sephy is a Cross – a member of the dark-skinned ruling class. Callum is a ... (Goodreads)

  9. Disgrace

    by J.M. Coetzee
    A professor's fall from grace in post-apartheid South Africa, reckoning with the consequences of his actions.

    David Lurie is a South African professor of English who loses everything: his reputation, his job, his peace of mind, his dreams of artistic success, and finally even his ability to protect his own ... (Wikipedia)

  10. The Seventh Scroll

    by Wilbur Smith
    An Egyptian adventure leading to the lost tomb of Pharaoh Mamose.

    This book is set in the present and follows the adventurer Nicholas Quenton-Harper and his love interest, Dr. Royan Al Simma, as they uncover the tomb of Tanus. Duraid Al Simma and his wife Royan ... (Wikipedia)

  11. The Tempest

    by William Shakespeare
    A story of magical revenge, redemption, and forgiveness set on a remote island.

    A ship is caught in a powerful storm, there is terror and confusion on board, and the vessel is shipwrecked. But the storm is a magical creation carried out by the spirit Ariel , and caused by the ... (Wikipedia)

  12. Fables, Vol. 4: March of the Wooden Soldiers

    by Bill Willingham
    Tales of wit and adventure that follows a group of animals as they traverse a treacherous kingdom.

    Bill Willingham's runaway hit series continues its success in this fourth trade paperback, featuring the rise of a new threat to Fabletown. When Little Red Riding Hood suddenly walks through the gate ... (Goodreads)

  13. A Separate Peace

    by John Knowles
    A coming-of-age story about two boys and their complex friendship set during World War II.

    Gene Forrester returns to his old prep school, Devon (a thinly veiled portrayal of Knowles's alma mater, Phillips Exeter Academy ), , 15 years after he graduated, to visit two places he regards as ... (Wikipedia)

  14. Brokeback Mountain

    by Annie Proulx
    Forbidden love between two cowboys exploring their sexuality and emotions in a hostile environment.

    Annie Proulx has written some of the most original and brilliant short stories in contemporary literature, and for many readers and reviewers, "Brokeback Mountain" is her masterpiece. Ennis del Mar ... (Goodreads)

  15. Neverwhere

    by Neil Gaiman
    A mysterious journey through a hidden realm of London, filled with danger and unexpected allies.

    Neverwhere is the story of Richard Mayhew and his trials and tribulations in London. At the start of the story, he is a young businessman, recently moved from Scotland and with a normal life ahead. ... (Wikipedia)

  16. Otherwise Known as Sheila the Great

    by Judy Blume
    Sheila Tubman faces her fears and learns to be brave during a summer vacation in the country.

    The book centers on Sheila Tubman, a 10-year-old girl who masks her insecurities with a much more self-assured, confident persona. In truth, she suffers from fears ranging from arachnophobia (fear of ... (Wikipedia)

  17. The Phantom Tollbooth

    by Norton Juster
    A whimsical adventure through a magical land, searching for a way out of the boredom of everyday life.

    Milo is a boy bored by the world around him; every activity seems a waste of time. He arrives home from another boring day at school to find a mysterious package. Among its contents are a small ... (Wikipedia)

  18. The Couple Next Door

    by Shari Lapena
    A suspenseful tale of a missing child, revealing the secrets and lies of the seemingly perfect neighbours.

    AN INSTANT, NEW YORK TIMES, BESTSELLER,Shari Lapena’s new thriller,, AN UNWANTED GUEST, is available now!,“,The twists come as fast [as] you can turn the pages.,”, ,—,People,“,Provocative and ... (Barnes & Noble)

  19. The Restaurant at the End of the Universe

    by Douglas Adams
    Quirky sci-fi adventure following a group of time travelers seeking to save the future.

    Arthur Dent , Ford Prefect , Trillian , and Zaphod Beeblebrox leave the planet Magrathea on the Heart of Gold . A Vogon ship attacks them, and Arthur's attempt to have the ship's computer make him a ... (Wikipedia)

  20. Cell

    by Stephen King
    A group of strangers fight against a virus that turns people into aggressive monsters.

    Clayton Riddell, a struggling artist from Maine , has just landed a graphic novel deal in Boston when "The Pulse", a signal sent out over the global cell phone network, suddenly turns every cell ... (Wikipedia)

  21. A Closed and Common Orbit

    by Becky Chambers
    A robot's adventures in a strange new world as she discovers her true identity.

    Lovelace was once merely a ship's artificial intelligence. When she wakes up in an new body, following a total system shut-down and reboot, she has no memory of what came before. As Lovelace learns ... (Goodreads)

  22. The Silver Chair

    by C.S. Lewis
    A journey through an enchanted land, revealing the power of courage and faith.

    Eustace Scrubb , now a reformed character following the events of, The Voyage of the Dawn Treader, , encounters his classmate and new friend Jill Pole at their school, Experiment House , where they ... (Wikipedia)

  23. Watchers

    by Dean Koontz
    A story of terror and suspense as a genetically engineered creature wreaks havoc in a small town.

    Travis Cornell, a former Delta Force operative, feels that his life has become pointless, and is exploring a canyon near his home when he encounters two genetically engineered creatures that have ... (Wikipedia)

  24. My Side of the Mountain

    by Jean Craighead George
    A young boy runs away to the Catskill Mountains, where he learns to survive on his own and befriends a falcon.

    Sam Gribley is a 12-year-old boy who intensely dislikes living in his parents' cramped New York City apartment with his eight brothers and sisters. He decides to run away to his great-grandfather's ... (Wikipedia)

  25. Fables, Vol. 8: Wolves

    by Bill Willingham
    A series of interconnected stories about creatures of myth and folklore, with an underlying theme of morality.

    Winner of Fourteen, Eisner, Awards Into the woods. The community of Fables living undercover in our midst has endured plenty of suffering at the hands of their longtime antagonist, the Adversary. Now ... (Goodreads)

  26. The Yellow Wallpaper and Other Stories

    by Charlotte Perkins Gilman
    A collection of short stories exploring the struggles of women in a patriarchal society.

    Best known for the 1892 title story of this collection, a harrowing tale of a woman's descent into madness, Charlotte Perkins Gilman wrote more than 200 other short stories. Seven of her finest are ... (Goodreads)

  27. The Railway Children

    by E. Nesbit
    A family's adventure of courage and resilience in the face of difficult times.

    In this much-loved children's classic first published in 1906, the comfortable lives of three well-mannered siblings are greatly altered when, one evening, two men arrive at the house and take their ... (Goodreads)

  28. Just Listen

    by Sarah Dessen
    A young girl's journey of self-discovery and self-acceptance, navigating the complexities of teenage life.

    Annabel Greene is a girl who has it all—at least, that's how it seems on TV commercials. Annabel's life is far from perfect. , Her friendship with her best friends Clarke and Sophie ended bitterly. ... (Wikipedia)

  29. The Tell-Tale Heart and Other Writings

    by Edgar Allan Poe
    Collection of short stories and poetry exploring the depths of human emotion.

    "The Tell-Tale Heart" is a first-person narrative told by an unnamed narrator. Insisting that they are sane, the narrator suffers from a disease (nervousness) which causes " over-acuteness of the ... (Wikipedia)

  30. Silas Marner

    by George Eliot
    A tale of redemption and a search for a lost love, set in a rural English village.

    The novel is set in the early years of the 19th century. Silas Marner, a weaver, is a member of a small Calvinist congregation in Lantern Yard, a slum street in Northern England . He is falsely ... (Wikipedia)