Authors Like Alex Flinn – 25 Exciting Book Recommendations

Author Alex Flinn is famous for her varied teenage novels, from romance to violence.

Books like “Beastly” and “Breathing Underwater” cover a wide variety of topics for young adults.

Authors Like Alex Flinn - 25 Exciting Book Recommendations

Flinn was born in New York State, and she knew from the age of five that she wanted to be a writer.

When she was twelve, her family decided to move to Florida where she struggled to make friends.

As a shy teenager, Flinn read a great range of different books to escape her lonely reality.

She also started writing her first novel but never completed it.

Alex Flinn later attended a performing arts high school program with the idea to become an opera singer.

But she quickly realized that the job prospects were slim, so she changed to law school.

This turned out to be the perfect place for her to start her first works on teenage fiction.

As Flinn specialized in domestic violence cases, she gained more experience and inspiration for her very first novel that was published “Breathing Underwater”.

“Breathing Underwater” received a variety of accolades.

This encouraged Flinn to focus on her writing with many other books, such as “Beastly”, “Diva”, “Fade to Black” and “Breaking Point”.

From fantasy to real-life teen problems, Alex Flinn covers a wide range of fascinating topics for young adults in her books.

If you love “Beastly”, “Diva” and “Breathing Underwater” by Alex Flinn, then also take a look at Catherine Gilbert Murdock, K.A. Fox, Alyson Noel, and Neal Shusterman. Read here to find out more about what books you can read.

Books By Alex Flinn

Alex Flinn has written over 27 novels with themes ranging from domestic violence and abuse to teenage vanity and romance.

Here are some of her most famous teenage fiction books.

Breathing Underwater

Breathing Underwater

Published in 2019, Alex Flinn’s novel “Breathing Underwater” follows the handsome, intelligent, and wealthy teenage boy Nick Andreas who seems all too perfect on the outside.

However, he has a secret that nobody knows about: his father’s violent outbreaks of anger and abuse.

When Nick falls in love with Caitlin, he confides his troubles to her.

But soon, he begins to feel jealous and angry. That is the turning point when he realizes that he is just like his father.

In this emotional teenage book, Alex Flinn adds all of her experience from her time as a law student. This makes the novel more engaging and close to life.

A Kiss In Time

A Kiss in Time

Inspired by the Disney story “The Beauty and the Beast”, “A Kiss in Time” tells the tale of Talia and Jack.

Jack is looking for adventure away from his tour group when he discovers Talia asleep and awakens her with a kiss.

This is the story of two young adults who meet across time and social boundaries that tie them together.

Diva

Diva

In “Diva” young Caitlin is trying to deal with the leftovers of an abusive relationship and her obsessed mother.

Between diets and picky friends, she tries to escape her rich lifestyle and become a singer at the Miami High School of the Arts.

But this doesn’t change much in Caitlin’s life, instead growing up seems to be suddenly all more difficult.

Beastly

Beastly (Kendra Chronicles, 1)

In “Beastly”, Flinn tells the story of young Kyle who was turned into a terrible beast by his English class teacher.

And unless he finds a way to break the spell, Kyle will stay as this strange creature forever.

Authors Like Alex Flinn

If you like Alex Flinn’s novels, then there are a variety of similar books like “Beastly”, “Breaking Point” and “Diva”. Here are some of the best authors like Alex Flinn.

Catherine Gilbert Murdock

Dairy Queen

Catherine Gilbert Murdock is an American author who was born in South Carolina in 1967. She writes young fiction and true life stories.

She lives in Philadelphia with her family, a range of different animals, and a small yard that she slowly transforms into a wildlife space.

Murdock’s series “Dairy Queen” reflects her interest in farm life. This four-book series follows D. J. Schwenk and her life out in the country.

Other books by Catherine Gilbert Murdock include “Princess Ben”, “The Book of Boy”, “Off Season”, “DaVinci’s Cat” and “Wisdom’s Kiss”.

Pros

  • The fantastic writing style brings out the character’s voices
  • Fully developed characters that bring the books to life
  • Great insight into family relationships and teenage problems

Cons

  • Plot development is slow in some books

Themes: contemporary, young adult, teenagers, fun YA

Alyson Noel

The Immortals

Born in California but dividing her time today between Greece and Manhattan, Alyson Noel is a New York Times best-selling author who won several awards for her varied novels.

Many of her novels for all age groups have been translated into different languages and they appeared in famous bestseller lists, such as LA Times, Wall Street Journal, and Publisher’s Weekly.

Noel is most famous for her different series “The Immortals”, “Stealing Infinity” and “Riley Bloom”.

Some of her books have also been turned into television series as well as internationally awarded-films.

Pros

  • Additional material to the stories, such as an aura chart
  • The storyline has a balanced pace
  • Ideal for Twilight fans

Cons

  • Some characters are much more detailed than others

Themes: paranormal teenage, immortality, ghosts, high school, auras, Twilight

Neal Shusterman

Unwind Dystology

Neal Shusterman is famous for his many novels for young adults and teenagers. He works and lives in South Carolina with his family.

Shusterman has written a variety of different paranormal stories and series, including “Unwind Dystology”, “Arc of Scythe” and “The Skinjacker Trilogy”.

His writing style is vivid and engaging thanks to his experience in screenplay writing for television shows and motion pictures, such as Goosebumps (looking for something like Goosebumps but for a more grownup audience? Check out R.L Stine’s YA series Fear Street).

Pros

  • Plots are well-developed and surprising
  • The main characters are very deep
  • Engaging and varied stories

Cons

  • Weak dialogues

Themes: dystopia, teen, society, civil war, civilization

Heather Cumiskey

I Love You Like That: A Novel

Born in the same state as Alex Flinn, Heather Cumiskey had a similar upbringing and childhood.

Cumiskey often explored the teen books of her local library to discover more about herself and typical teenage issues, such as coping with parents, boys, and girly things.

She studied dance and choreography at the State University of New York but worked mostly as a copywriter for advertisers and marketing agencies.

She writes young adult books which delve deep into teen problems. Her two most famous books are “I Love You Like That” and “I Like You Like This”.

Pros

  • Emotional love stories
  • Real teenage issues, from parent relationships to strong friendships
  • She has written only a few books

Cons

  • Too many romantic clichés

Themes: romance, teenage romance

K.A. Fox

Murphy's Law

K.A. Fox is a bestselling American author who gathered her inspiration from her childhood when she would travel around the world with her military family.

As a trained psychologist, she knows exactly what readers are looking for in a good book.

Her fantasy stories often have unusual heroes and unexpected endings. One of her more popular book series is “Murphy’s Law”.

Pros

  • Good storyline with a strong female lead character
  • Nice balance between action and romance
  • Unusual representation of the devil

Cons

  • Many spelling mistakes

Themes: devil, fantasy, dark magic, strong females

Michele Bacon

Antipodes

Michele Bacon’s book covers classic teenage topics, from friendship and family problems to love and romance.

Playing board games and traveling in her spare time, Bacon finds inspiration in human relationships and people’s stories.

Living in Seattle with her family, she carefully observes her surroundings and puts some of what she sees down in her books.

Her two most famous teen novels are “Antipodes” and “Life Before”.

Pros

  • Suitable for young and older adults
  • Well-developed stories of growth and growing up
  • Plots that make you want to read more

Cons

  • Bacon has written only very few books

Themes: culture, teenagers, young adult, fiction, journey, parents

G.K. DeRosa

Vampish

From witches and vampires to werewolves, author G.K. DeRosa loves and writes different romance and fantasy novels.

She is an avid reader herself, exploring the nuances of writing styles and how a plot develops.

DeRosa attended a Catholic school as a child where both reading and writing were part of her strict, daily routine.

Her teachers continually encouraged her writing journey all the way through her teenage years.

DeRosa lives in Florida with her family where she writes her fantasy books rife with vampires, gods, and other paranormal creatures.

Her most famous book series are “Vampish”, “Wolfish”, “Gods and Wolves” and “A Supernatural Academy”.

Pros

  • Well-developed characters that move from enemies to lovers
  • Some individual books of her series follow main characters in more depth
  • Engaging stories that make her books page-turners

Cons

  • Her writing style varies throughout her book series

Themes: vampires, gods, werewolves, supernatural, paranormal, magic, dark romance

Jada Fisher

The Dragon Guard

Jada Fisher is the pen name of not just one author but two: Shannon and Dave VanBergen.

The two authors write fantasy novels that are influenced by other talented authors.

Dave and Shannon VanBergen both also publish science fiction stories individually under their own names.

Many of their most popular books are about dragons, including the series “The Dragon Guard”, “The Brindle Dragon” and “The Dragon’s Squire”.

This being said, they have also written stories about magicians and wizards, such as their series “The Fall of the Sages”.

Pros

  • From classic loyalty and friendship to action
  • Balanced drama with plenty of emotions and romance (If you like the drama genre, you might also like Little Fires Everywhere and other books like it.)
  • Stories develop into interesting directions

Cons

  • Some of the characters are too clichéd

Themes: magic, dragons, dragon rider, loyalty, friendship

Final Thoughts

Alex Flinn and authors like her are often inspired by their own life experiences. They allow their memories and moments from real life to flow into their books.

There is a great variety of teen and young adult fiction authors out there who have written similar books to Alex Flinn (If you like the young adult fiction genre, you might also like books like The Alchemist and other books similar to it).

If you are interested in real teen fiction, then check out Catherine Gilbert Murdock’s “Dairy Queen”.

Alternatively, authors Jada Fisher and G.K. DeRosa also explore the fantasy world of teenagers with vampires, werewolves, and otherworldly gods.

All these books from authors like Alex Flinn also cover some typical young adult issues, such as forbidden love, tough friendships, and difficult parent relationships (see also “Authors Like Sherry Thomas“).

That’s why you should take a look at some of the other books similar to Alex Flinn on our list.

Frequently Asked Questions

Is Cloaked By Alex Flinn Part Of A Series?

No, Cloaked by Alex Flinn is not part of Flinn’s famous Kendra Chronicles. This four-part series consists of Flinn’s books Bewitching, Beastly, Mirrored, and Beheld.

How Many Pages Is Beastly By Alex Flinn?

Alexandra Flinn was born on 23 October 1966 in New York State but she moved to Miami, Florida when she was twelve.

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