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Quick answer: If you loved Bones and All, try Let the Right One In, Carrie, Tender Is the Flesh, The Vegetarian, We Have Always Lived in the Castle and The Shining Girls. Each one is a dark, strange coming-of-age story about outsiders, hunger and love on the road.
Camille DeAngelis's 2015 novel follows Maren Yearly, a teenage girl who has eaten the people who get close to her since she was a baby. When her mother abandons her, Maren travels across America to find her father and meets others like her, including a drifter named Lee. It is a horror story and a coming-of-age road trip. Readers love its tender, eerie tone. These books share its outsiders, its darkness and its yearning.
Table of Contents
Quick Picks at a Glance
| Book | Author | Mood | Best For |
|---|---|---|---|
| Let the Right One In | John Ajvide Lindqvist | Very dark | readers who like lonely monsters |
| Carrie | Stephen King | Dark | readers who like outcast girls |
| Tender Is the Flesh | Agustina Bazterrica | Very dark | readers ready for extreme horror |
| The Vegetarian | Han Kang | Dark | readers who like appetite and rebellion |
| We Have Always Lived in the Castle | Shirley Jackson | Eerie | readers who like strange girls |
| The Shining Girls | Lauren Beukes | Dark | readers who like strange road-trip killers |
| The Girl with All the Gifts | M.R. Carey | Dark | readers who like hungry children |
| Sharp Objects | Gillian Flynn | Dark | readers who like damaged heroines |
| Interview with the Vampire | Anne Rice | Dark | readers who like monstrous love |
| Hannibal | Thomas Harris | Very dark | readers who like a cannibal antihero |
| Lost Souls | Poppy Z. Brite | Very dark | readers who like vampire road trips |
| Lovecraft Country | Matt Ruff | Dark | readers who like horror road trips |
| Wilder Girls | Rory Power | Dark | readers who like YA body horror |
| Mexican Gothic | Silvia Moreno-Garcia | Eerie | readers who like gothic horror |
| The Final Girl Support Group | Grady Hendrix | Dark | readers who like survivors |
1. Let the Right One In by John Ajvide Lindqvist
A bullied boy befriends a vampire girl.
Best for: readers who like lonely monsters.
2. Carrie by Stephen King
A bullied girl with telekinesis takes revenge.
Best for: readers who like outcast girls.
3. Tender Is the Flesh by Agustina Bazterrica
A world where human flesh is legal food.
Best for: readers ready for extreme horror.
4. The Vegetarian by Han Kang
A woman's refusal to eat meat upends her family.
Best for: readers who like appetite and rebellion.
5. We Have Always Lived in the Castle by Shirley Jackson
Two sisters live apart from a hostile village.
Best for: readers who like strange girls.
6. The Shining Girls by Lauren Beukes
A time-traveling killer stalks women.
Best for: readers who like strange road-trip killers.
7. The Girl with All the Gifts by M.R. Carey
A girl infected with a fungus may save humanity.
Best for: readers who like hungry children.
8. Sharp Objects by Gillian Flynn
A reporter returns home to cover two murders.
Best for: readers who like damaged heroines.
9. Interview with the Vampire by Anne Rice
A vampire tells his life story.
Best for: readers who like monstrous love.
10. Hannibal by Thomas Harris
Hannibal Lecter escapes and is pursued.
Best for: readers who like a cannibal antihero.
11. Lost Souls by Poppy Z. Brite
Teen vampires drift through the South.
Best for: readers who like vampire road trips.
12. Lovecraft Country by Matt Ruff
A Black family's road trips cross into horror.
Best for: readers who like horror road trips.
13. Wilder Girls by Rory Power
Girls at a quarantined school change.
Best for: readers who like YA body horror.
14. Mexican Gothic by Silvia Moreno-Garcia
A woman visits a decaying mansion.
Best for: readers who like gothic horror.
15. The Final Girl Support Group by Grady Hendrix
Survivors of slasher films are hunted again.
Best for: readers who like survivors.
How We Chose These Books
Every pick is a real, widely available book that shares something specific with Bones and All: its tone, its themes, its pace or the kind of characters it puts at the center. We mixed well-known favorites with a few less obvious titles, and we noted who each book suits best so you can match it to the reader. Where a book belongs to a series, we list the first volume so you can start at the beginning.
If you are not sure where to begin, start with the first three picks in the table: they are the closest match to Bones and All. The rest of the list moves further out, so it works well once you know which part of the original you liked most. If a pick is part of a longer series, read the first book before you commit, and check the age or content notes in the table before passing a book to a younger reader.
How to Choose
For the closest mood, try Let the Right One In. If you want even darker cannibal horror, Tender Is the Flesh is extreme. Readers who loved Maren's hunger as a metaphor should try The Vegetarian. For YA body horror, Wilder Girls is a good choice.
Related: We Have Always Lived in the Castle by Shirley Jackson: Summary and Key Takeaways · Sharp Objects by Gillian Flynn: Summary and Key Takeaways
Frequently Asked Questions
What is Bones and All about?
A teenage girl who eats people searches for her father and finds others like her.
Is Bones and All a horror novel?
Yes, though it is also a coming-of-age road story.
Is there a movie?
Yes. The 2022 film starred Taylor Russell and Timothée Chalamet.
Is the book different from the film?
Yes. The film changes several characters and the ending.
Is Bones and All YA?
It was published as young adult, but its content suits mature readers.
Is it very gory?
It has disturbing scenes, but much is implied.