Slytherin House Book Recs

I have had the basics of this post drafted for longer than I care to admit but it’s something I have wanted to do for so long! Sometimes when I’m reading a book, I get vibes of a certain Hogwarts House from it. It could be the atmosphere, the characters, the themes – honestly anything! I’ve see quite a lot of these posts/videos in the past and they always interest me as I love seeing what houses people put books in and for what reasons. Today I’m focusing on Slytherin – read on to check the books I think have Slytherin vibes!

Caraval by Stephanie Garber
I toyed between Ravenclaw and Slytherin for this book however I think the way the world is, particularly the game of Caraval, gives off more of a Slytherin feel. You don’t know who to trust or where to turn. The mysterious game has red herrings and requires intellect and strong intuition to get far and stay safe. The characters also have qualities of this house, including being cunning and shrewd. There is truly no point being a part of Legend’s game if you are not ambitious and looking to win.

The Night Circus by Erin Morgenstern
Similar to Caraval, this book has very mysterious vibes. The secrets of the titular Night Circus are very much under wraps, the people who travel with it and work there keeping the mystery going. The writing is atmospheric and creates a dreamlike feeling when you read it. We have a forbidden romance between two magicians who are put against each other to duel. Their ambition is strong but so are their feelings – I often think of Slytherin’s as being very passionate about what they do and thinking about things deeply before acting and the characters in this definitely have these traits.

Wuthering Heights by Emily Brontë
This may be due to the fact that this book is the favourite of my best friend Bethan who is a Slytherin but I don’t think that’s fully the case! Though the characters sometimes act impulsively which goes against the reasoning side of Slytherins, they also have some of the more ‘negative’ traits. Cathy can be sly and they don’t seem to care to have anything to do with most others. They look after their own and don’t look for connections with any others. Both Cathy and Heathcliff are rather cunning and the ghostly atmosphere of the book also lends itself to Slytherin house.

The Host by Stephenie Meyer
Another forbidden romance? Is there a theme here that I didn’t mean to create? This one has a less obvious atmosphere but I find that the way the characters deal with situations to be how Slytherins may. The community of people who are hiding so they do not become vessels for the hosts are very wary of others and aggressively protective of those in their fold. They do not trust others and expect extreme loyalty from each other. Though loyalty is a Hufflepuff trait, I also think Slytherins hold trust in high esteem and as soon as you break that, there is pretty much no going back, no second chances.

Bright Young Things by Scarlett Thomas
It’s been a long time since I’ve read this book but when I was thinking about this post, this immediately came to mind. The mystery of the island the ambitious six young adults are sent to is difficult to unpick initially. They are left to fend for themselves and begin to break down the barriers they have set up to avoid letting others know too much about them. The atmosphere becomes tense and creepy quite quickly – though much of it is just the group talking and revealing things about themselves, I actually think this adds to the tension. We don’t know what will happen and they seem ill prepared for the mysteries ahead of them.

Let me know if you agree/disagree with my choices and also what books you think would match well with Slytherin house!