5 Books Packed With '90s Nostalgic Vibes

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The modern world has a lot going for it. We're part of a fraction of a percent of humans who have ever lived in a time when it was possible to access almost any information all but instantly just by reaching into our pockets. That being said, living in exciting times has its price. All that screen time is not good for our brains, not to mention the seemingly unprecedented political and economic turmoil. For a generation that's old enough to be plugged in but not young enough to live in blissful ignorance, the siren song that calls us back to the era of our childhoods is strong. That's right: We're talking about the '90s.

Of course, the '90s weren't without their own issues — and that's reflected in the media set during the decade, too. Still, everything seemed simpler in the time of cable television, DIY activism, and slip skirts. If the temptation to return is strong, one way to revisit those rosier days is through the book store. To get your started, we've gathered a bouquet of titles whose '90s vibes are as immaculate as Pamela Anderson's iconic messy bun.

"American Fantasy" may not be set in the '90s, but nostalgia for the days of frosted-tipped and carefully constructed boy bands is the entire plot. It follows Annie, a middle-aged woman who finds herself quite unwillingly onboard a cruise for fans of '90s boy band Boy Talk, which includes her younger sister. The cruise is Annie's worst nightmare at first, but soon, she connects with a part of herself she thought she'd lost, especially after connecting with someone else — Keith, one of the members of Boy Talk.

She's not the only passenger drowning in and being revived by yearning for the past, however. The narrative also turns its eye on Sarah, a production member who reluctantly took the job to escape relationship trouble, as well as the other members of Boy Talk, who cope with fading fame in a kaleidoscope of, um, interesting ways. You'll want to read "American Fantasy" before the film adaptation produced by Elisabeth Moss comes out, and check out "This Time Tomorrow," an honorable mention from the same author about a woman who finds herself transported in time to her 16th birthday in 1996. Emma Straub is kind of the '90s nostalgia queen.

The '90s weren't all complicated choreography and butterfly clips. They were also a time of panic, from overblown fears about superpredators and graphic song lyrics to the frenzy that found the West Memphis Three wrongfully convicted of supposedly Satanic murders, that seem quaint today but ruined lives back then. "Now is Not the Time to Panic," by runaway bestseller "Nothing to See Here" author Kevin Wilson, captures that spirit of fear with the story of a boy, a girl, and an art project.

The girl is Frankie, a 16 year old living in Coalfield, Tennessee in 1996, who befriends a boy, Zeke, who has just moved into the neighborhood. Their art project is a poster featuring an enigmatic line of poetry written by Frankie and mysterious symbols designed by Zeke, that earns way more attention than the teens expected. When public curiosity turns into rumors that turn into life-altering consequences, Frankie and Zeke leave their anonymous creation behind ... that is, until a reporter comes sniffing around. What's the unintended progenitor of a moral panic to do?

The problem with most books published in the '90s is that they don't know that they're "set" during the decade. Their authors didn't know what parts of the culture would survive in the history books, and that lack of emphasis may not quench your '90s thirst. That's not true for the novel that gave us the name for the generation that came of age at the end of the 20th century, however. Douglas Coupland may or may not have known that he was creating a culture as well as telling tales for one with his 1991 fiction debut, but he definitely succeeded.

The tales in question in "Generation X" are told by a trio of friends living in southern California, who became prototypes for the decade's fictional heroes: overeducated, underemployed, disillusioned, and irony-poisoned to the core. They struggle to find meaning in a consumerist society where the traditional spoils of "success" and true human connection seem increasingly out of their reach, taking solace in the simple pleasures afforded by their dead-end but undemanding "McJobs" and desperately avoiding vulnerability. Wait. Are we sure this book wasn't published this year?

Between Bram Stoker's "Dracula" and "Buffy the Vampire Slayer," vampires were as '90s as choker necklaces (even if Sarah Michelle Gellar herself won't co-sign the return of that particular accessory trend). Between "Steel Magnolias" and "Fried Green Tomatoes," interest in the lives of women in the South was also piqued in the early '90s. Horror virtuoso Grady Hendrix married both of these trends seamlessly in "The Southern Book Club's Guide to Slaying Vampires."

The aforementioned book club belongs to Patricia Campbell, a bored Charleston housewife whose bland existence is initially brightened by the arrival of James Harris, a mysterious foreigner who claims to have family ties in the neighborhood — but no identifying paper trail — and a curious interest in the book club. When the area's Black children begin to go missing and nobody seems to care — another unfortunate '90s reality in the vein of the L.A. riots and Central Park Five — it's up to the club to find out who James really is and stop him before it's too late. The oppressive atmosphere and gothic vibes make this one a great Summerween read.

For many '90s kids, their best memories are marked not by riding bikes all over town or drinking from the hose, but by a controller in their hand. The characters of "Tomorrow, and Tomorrow, and Tomorrow" are no different – beginning the story as Nintendo kids, before meeting again as STEM students whose passion for gaming remains high even among their techie peers. It's a story that could only take place in the '90s indie gaming scene.

But for those kids, Sam and Sadie, it's not all gold coins and victory muzak. As they skyrocket to gaming superstar status, relationship troubles, business disagreements, and mutual jealousy threaten to tear them apart. At the same time, Zevin's commentary on the politics of gaming intensifies until it culminates in a shocking moment of violence that readers won't soon forget. "Tomorrow, and Tomorrow, and Tomorrow" ends in this century, but it's the perfect book for '90s nostalgia.

We searched Goodreads and Reddit for recommendations of books set in the '90s, as well as books with distinctly '90s nostalgia vibes, paying special attention to repeat recommendations. Specifically, we looked for elements of '90s pop culture like boy bands, vampires, and early video games, as well as historical events like the Satanic panic, hate crime, and the slacker revolution, so that the stories felt grounded in the decade rather than merely existing in it. We then ordered the selected titles from lowest to highest average Goodreads review score, ensuring no titles scored below an average of three out of five stars.