By Timothy Gray Jr.
It’s June, the middle of graduation season. 2026 Graduates don caps and gowns, take graduation photos, and celebrate their academic successes at commencement. With graduation comes a sense of freedom, releasing the stresses of essays and presentations. It’s finally time to be a person again. What better way to celebrate than cozying up with a good book?
Indigo River is proud to present ten fiction books, ranging from fantasy to mystery thrillers, that are perfect for the Class of 2026 to read in between the job search.
Fantasy Books to Help 2026 Graduates Avoid Life Choices
We understand you have priorities: celebratory vacation, looking for work, moving. Escape the anxiety of post-graduation life choices and let a fantasy consume you.
Lion of Fire by Brittany Ranew
Riley Jordan isn’t ready to graduate from college and become an adult. He’d rather play around with his magic powers. Still, responsibility comes calling when he tumbles into the girls’ bathroom and meets Emma. He’s struck by a vision involving her and the fate of humans. Now, lives rest on his decisions. His success or failure determines their fates.
In Lion of Fire, a New Adult Romantasy, Brittany Ranew captures the feeling of graduation anxiety and responsibility. Journey through this magical epic with Riley to learn how to overcome it.
Gift of the Shaper by D.L. Jennings
Gift of the Shaper depicts the epic of a young blacksmith’s apprentice who finds himself caught between the forces of good and evil as they fight over the key to unlock Overworld, the prison for The Breaker of Dawn. Caught between the powers of Athrani, humans gifted with the power to manipulate matter, and the Khyth who wish to release the ancient god, the young blacksmith must carve his own path to prevent ruin from falling on the world.
D.L. Jennings’s weaves a tale of a person finding their way through an uncertain world. Sound familiar? A 2026 graduate faces different pressures in their life post-graduation: family, finances, politics, etc. Shape your future like the young blacksmith.
The Tide and The Stars by Dylan Roche
Dylan Roche offers a peek at what it’s like to go out into the world and face hardship through the eyes of a boy who thought he’d live and die a servant to an evil witch in The Tide and The Stars, a young adult fantasy.
Marin has always been a servant, but that part of his life ends when he runs away with another servant named Aster. They strike out into the world on their own, discovering its dangers. While they might not have to deal with debt or paying rent on time, like a graduate maintaining their independence, they do have to complete a quest to save Princess Elspeth and the entire kingdom of Blunia. All the while, the evil witch Ilith is on their tail.
Deerstalker by Nicole M. Zaunbrecher
Immerse yourself in the folklore-rich, supernatural horror of Deerstalker, an LGBTQIA+ romantic fantasy novel involving a cursed village in seventeenth-century Germany, a lonely boy, and a traveler that never should have stayed.
Returning home after graduating, you might feel like you shouldn’t stay, but your home probably isn’t as bad as this small Bavarian village being stalked by an otherworldly nightmare. The traveler coming to visit threatens the balance that the village has maintained with its curse and could tear the community apart. Would you stay?
Tense Mysteries Thrillers for the 2026 Graduation Season
Graduation season is an exciting time, with many celebrating accomplishments that were years in the making. Add some tension to the excitement with these four mystery thriller books:
Blunt Force by JB Roth
Join Private Investigator Cooper Malone as he delves into a supposed murder at sea on the cruise ship Mardis Gras Rio. His best friend is convinced the company is covering something up, so Malone sets out to figure out what and why. The police snooping around and the company refusing to cooperate won’t stop him.
JB Roth’s Blunt Force presents a private investigator who is truly a force to be reckoned. Every graduate can learn something from Cooper Malone’s determination.
Subtle Frequency by Kathy Whyte
Ever felt like you were forced to be someone you’re not or live a life that you felt didn’t align with you? Probably not like Clark Steele, an organ recipient who keeps receiving bizarre visions and behaving like someone else. The heart that Clark received draws him into an investigation that his donor, a detective named Drake Harrison, started.
Follow Clark in solving a kidnapping case with tampered evidence in the sci-fi, detective mystery, Subtle Frequency. Side note: graduates don’t work somewhere that doesn’t align with them.
Operation Trojan War by Justin I. Paquette
Greek mythology collides with modern warfare in Operation Trojan War by Justin I. Paquette, a fantastical mystery thriller involving the Olympians and the government. Homer, a criminal investigator, works with Muse, his source and intelligence analyst, to uncover the truth.
Intertwined with the ancient issues and influences of the gods are covert operations, military cooperation, and crumbling alliances. It’s Homer’s job to figure out the story connecting them all. Structured like a classified debriefing transcript, the book puts a spin on all the stories you may have been forced to read in school.
Guile by Craig Snyder
This political thriller from former political strategist Craig Snyder exposes the dark underbelly of American politics, a world that 2026 graduates most likely have already stepped into in some form.
Guile depicts two presidential candidates on the eve of Election Day: Van Hess, a firebrand populist known for breaking the rules, and Democratic Alec Maynard, a flawed Admiral who offers the nation some normalcy. Behind the scenes, David Gruber and Jane Berglund, a political reporter, try to thwart Hess’s dirty and dangerous victory.
Perspective-Changing Literary Fiction for 2026 Graduates
You might be tired of reading literary works for classes, but trust us, these two fiction books will show the many possibilities life has to offer. It’s not the end of the world if you don’t land that job soon enough, if distance separates you from a friend, or if you can’t stay in the city you want to.
Three Days Grace by Jeremy Bradley-Silverio Donato
Before their trip to South Africa, Lynne and her wife, Susan, meet up with three guests at a Paris hotel: Nick, Lynne’s distant son; Laslo, Susna’s effusive friend; and Marc, a former professor living on borrowed glamour. Old wounds and new ones crop up as the five of them are forced to face truths they have been avoiding in this LGBTQ+ lit-fic.
Three Days Grace by Jeremy Bradley-Silverio Donato speaks to the importance of cutting through the silence and speaking up with people you care about to avoid any kind of resentment in life. It’s something 2026 graduates transitioning from one part of life to another can relate to.
Jesus and the Art of Scuba Diving by Jamie Robbins
Last, but certainly not least, Jesus and the Art of Scuba Diving by Jamie Robbins tells the story of people trying to look ahead despite what they’ve experienced in the past.
John Morgan teaches families to scuba dive off the Kona coast of Hawaii. Aboard the dive boat, Hihio, their deepest, darkest secrets emerge during conversation on the deck. Very quickly, John learns he’s on a transformative journey as well. Jesus and religion tie into the story, but it is not a religious story. Like the families, graduates, let John help guide you toward a reimagined future.
Congratulations! You’ve graduated. You’ve reached the end. Whether it’s a dense fantasy book, a nail-biting thriller, or a perspective-changing literary fiction book, cozy up to literature this graduation season. There’s a story out there for everyone.
