Showtime’s Yellowjackets was the unlikely sleeper hit of 2021 with its dark, off-kilter narrative and female characters who are messy, deeply flawed (and sometimes just downright sinister). The series follows a 1990s high school girls soccer team who, after dominating at the state championships, are on their way to nationals. But their plane goes down in a nondescript mountain range, leaving them stranded. And then there’s the present-day timeline, where the survivors are navigating their daily lives, following a pact to never speak of what happened after the crash. That is, until it becomes clear that their past isn’t going to stay suppressed.
The second season of Yellowjackets was even darker than the first, planting erotic cannibalism in the public consciousness. Here are 7 books to devour while you’re waiting for season 3. Eat up!
Nightbitch by Rachel Yoder
When an ambitious artist puts her career on hold to be a stay-at-home mom, she begins to wonder if her lifestyle changes are manifesting in rather… dog-like ways. Are her canines growing sharper? Has that patch of fur-like hair always been there? With her husband away pursuing his own career, she is left on her own to determine what—if anything—is happening to her. Yoder’s debut is dark, meaty, and deeply hilarious.
Small Game by Blair Braverman
When Mara decides to join the cast of a new survival TV show, she isn’t that concerned about being in the wilderness or living off the land. As a professional survivalist, she’s more worried about navigating her new TV teammates and being under the camera’s constant eye. But one day the show’s stars wake up to find that everything has changed. Mara and the others can no longer drop out of the challenge to be helicoptered to safety—the stakes, now, are truly life and death. And not everyone will make it out of the wilderness.
Bunny by Mona Awad
Samantha doesn’t fit in with the other girls in her prestigious MFA program. But when she’s invited to a mysterious gathering by the popular girls, who call themselves the “Bunnies,” she gets more than the literary workshop she bargained for. Bunny delves into the dark side of female friendship as Samantha becomes entangled in cult rituals and fantastical creations.
Alive: The Story of the Andes Survivors by Piers Paul Read
In 1972, a team of rugby players boarded a plane for a match they would never play. On their way to Santiago, Chile, the plane crashed deep within the Andes mountains—leaving the survivors stranded in the snow. As the days turn into weeks, the team must learn to survive against the freezing temperatures, avalanches, and starvation. This real-life survival story is more engrossing than any horror tale, even without an Antler Queen.
My Sister, the Serial Killer by Oyinkan Braithwaite
Korede has a secret: Her sister, Ayoola, murdered her boyfriend. And not just one—the sister she loves seemingly can’t stop putting knives into men, and Korede is always there to don rubber gloves and clean up the mess. But just how far will she go to protect Ayoola and her deadly habits?
Lord of the Flies by William Golding
Yellowjackets was directly inspired by William Golding’s 1954 classic, where a plane carrying prepubescent boys crashes on a deserted island. Left without adults to direct them, the boys begin building their own semblance of civilization. But it doesn’t take long before their newfound society to grow sour, cultish, and murderous.
A Head Full of Ghosts by Paul Trembley
Are the teen Yellowjackets experiencing a shared delusion, or is there something supernatural happening in those woods? While the show keeps us guessing about Lottie’s powers and the lingering “darkness,” A Head Full of Ghosts is equally as suspenseful. Is 14-year-old Marjorie really possessed by a demon? Or are her erratic behaviors due to something not so sinister? Don’t be surprised if your opinion changes with each flipped page.