I can’t be the only person who’s said “There’s a glitch in the Matrix!” when one of my friends has mentioned having deja vu. Or maybe I am. ??♀️ Even so, The Matrix is truly an iconic sci-fi movie. So if you love The Matrix as much as I do, check out these book recs below.
10 Books to Read if You Love The Matrix!
1. Infinity Courts by Akemi Dawn Bowman
Fighting an artificial intelligence who’s intent on destroying humanity? Yea that sounds familiar. When Nami wakes up in the afterlife, she learns she’s in a place called Infinity, where human consciousness goes when physical bodies die. She quickly discovers that Ophelia, a virtual assistant widely used by humans on Earth, has taken over the afterlife and is now posing as a queen, forcing humans into servitude the way she’d been forced to serve in the real world. Even worse, Ophelia has plans to eradicate human existence once and for all. As Nami works to bring down Ophelia, she is forced to reckon with her past, her future, and what it is that truly makes us human.
2. Want by Cindy Pon
If you liked the cyberpunk genre of The Matrix, you’ll love Want and its sequel, Ruse. Set in a near-future Taipei plagued by pollution, a group of teens risk everything to save their city from a corrupt corporation.
3. Thunderhead by Neal Shusterman
Are you fascinated by AI? Well then you should definitely read the Arc of a Scythe trilogy. The second book in particular is partially written from the perspective of the artificial intelligence, the Thunderhead. While it may not be as evil as Agent Smith from The Matrix, the Thunderhead has some interesting thoughts on humanity.
4. A Complicated Love Story Set in Space by Shaun David Hutchinson
Shaun David Hutchinson is an expert at sci-fi writing, especially if you like your sci-fi books with a bit of romance. When Noa closes his eyes on Earth and wakes up on a spaceship called Qriosity just as it’s about to explode. He’s pretty sure things can’t get much weirder, but boy is he wrong. Trapped aboard Qriosity are also DJ and Jenny, neither of whom remember how they got onboard the ship. Together, the three face all the dangers of space, along with murder, aliens, a school dance, and one really, really bad day. But none of this can prepare Noa for the biggest challenge—falling in love.
5. This Mortal Coil by Emily Suvada
In this gripping debut novel, seventeen-year-old Cat must use her gene-hacking skills to decode her late father’s message concealing a vaccine to a horrifying plague. If you love this sci-fi thriller, check out the sequels, This Cruel Design and This Vicious Cure.
6. The Program by Suzanne Young
In a future where suicide is an international epidemic, a teen named Sloane and her boyfriend James attempt to hide any compromising emotions for fear of being sent to “The Program,” which would wipe away their emotions and memories. As they both await turning 18 and being free from the threat of The Program, can Sloane and James get by on just their love, or will the depression claim them as it has so many others?
7. Everlost by Neal Shusterman
When Nick and Allie don’t survive a car accident, they find themselves in a sort of limbo between life and death known as Everlost. It’s a shadow of the living world, filled with all the things and places that no longer exist. It’s a magical, yet dangerous, place where bands of lost kids run wild and anyone who stands in the same place too long sinks to the center of the Earth. The first book in the Skinjacker trilogy is such a gripping read you’ll want to buy the sequels, Everwild and Everfound right away.
8. Rabbit & Robot by Andrew Smith
If The Matrix ever made you stop and think “is this real or am I living in a simulation?” then Rabbit & Robot is definitely the book for you. To help him shake his Woz addiction, Billy and Rowan transport Cager Messer up to the Tennessee, a giant lunar-cruise ship orbiting the moon. Meanwhile, Earth, in the midst of thirty simultaneous wars, burns to ash beneath them. And as the robots on board become increasingly insane and cannibalistic, and the Earth becomes a toxic wasteland, the boys have to wonder if they’ll be stranded alone in space forever. This book will make you laugh, cry, and consider what it really means to be human.
9. Girls with Sharp Sticks by Suzanne Young
Much like how the Matrix is controlling humans in an artificial simulation, the Girls of Innovations Academy are being carefully controlled and the elite boarding school may not be quite as it appears to be. As Mena and her friends uncover the dark secrets of what’s actually happening – and who they really are – the students of Innovations Academy will learn to fight back.
10. Unwind by Neal Shusterman
In America after the Second Civil War, the Pro-Choice and Pro-Life armies came to an agreement: The Bill of Life states that human life may not be touched from the moment of conception until a child reaches the age of thirteen. Between the ages of thirteen and eighteen, however, a parent may choose to retroactively get rid of a child through a process called “unwinding.” Unwinding ensures that the child’s life doesn’t “technically” end by transplanting all the organs in the child’s body to various recipients. Now a common and accepted practice in society, troublesome or unwanted teens are able to easily be unwound.