i meant like a character from our normal world that are suddenly put into abnormal escapist circumstances
examples: the midnight library, where nora gets pulled into a library where she can go to any life she wants after trying to end her life; tchick, a romance where 2 teenagers escape their town with a stolen car aiming to reach for an imaginary city
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EDIT: i would also like to add that i would like the book to be a bit melancholic, as if the character escaped to a land or an adventure that could never be reproduced or replaced
by Sailor_Elisa
2 Comments
Jitterbug Perfume
You may want to check out the portal fantasy and isekai genres.
As for recs:
• Every Heart a Doorway (Wayward Children series) by Seanan McGuire. I must admit, I was not a fan of the way it was done, but perhaps I am in the minority there. Not sure how based in our real world it is beyond the fact that the kids originate from our world.
• Everworld series by K.A. Applegate – the kids flick back and forth between worlds, but it isn’t melancholy or dreamlike. It’s relatively realistic.
• Small Shen by Kylie Chan – this doesn’t fit your melancholic mood, but it has a ‘travel to another realm’ element.
• Gwendolyn Gray books
• Rhea and the Blood of the Nectar – full disclaimer, only read half of this, but it is a portal fantasy.
• Wildwood Dancing – probably closest to what you asked for.
• Sentinels of Eden by Carolyn – again, not nostalgic, but does sort of fit the escapism part? A lot of it is set in the real world.