The Book of Lost Things by John Connolly

If you found yourself drawn into David's eerie passage into a sinister fantasy realm, you'll love Coraline. Here, Coraline Jones discovers a door to a shadowy mirror world where her 'Other Mother' waits, blending childhood fears with dark magic and fairy-tale logic. The sense of creeping menace and the way the mundane turns extraordinary will feel hauntingly familiar.

If you were moved by David's coming-of-age story—his grief, bravery, and transformation—The Ocean at the End of the Lane offers a beautifully resonant experience. Gaiman’s narrator, revisiting his childhood, encounters ancient magic and unspeakable dangers, all while wrestling with the pain of growing up and the mysteries of memory.

If you admired how The Book of Lost Things weaves unsettling fantasy and real-world trauma, Pan’s Labyrinth will captivate you. Set in war-torn Spain, Ofelia escapes into a world of ancient fauns and dangerous quests, echoing the book’s dark magic, ambiguous morality, and the way fantasy can reflect—and distort—real-world horrors.

If you loved the intricate, dangerous fairytale realm David navigates, The Girl Who Circumnavigated Fairyland will enchant you. September journeys through a land full of odd and menacing creatures, where beauty and danger are intertwined, and every rule is bent by the logic of old stories.

If the dark, unpredictable magic and the sense of ancient myth in The Book of Lost Things drew you in, Jonathan Strange & Mr Norrell will delight you with its dangerous fairies, enigmatic magic, and the way English folklore is transformed into something both wondrous and disturbing.