You may remember this genre of books from when you were young, but now adults can enjoy “choose your own adventure” books as well. Give one of these titles, available from the JMRL catalog, a try and see how your story turns out:
My Lady’s Choosing by Kitty Curran & Larissa Zageris – You are the plucky but penniless heroine in the center of 18th-century society in this romance novel that lets you pick your path, follow your heart, and find happily ever after.
To Be or Not To Be by Ryan North – Allows readers to play as Hamlet, Ophelia, or King Hamlet, Sr. and select a story arc that closely follows Shakespeare’s original work or that explores alternative plots.
Neil Patrick Harris: Choose Your Own Autobiography by Neil Patrick Harris – The star of “How I Met Your Mother” shares his experiences as a child star, Broadway performer, and father in a humorous account creatively designed in the style of the popular interactive adventure series.
Midnight Arcade: Crypt Quest / Space Battles by Gabe Soria – A role-playing adventure story set in a 1980s haunted video arcade invites readers to select one of two games to play before embarking on a sequence of choices and outcomes that lead to multiple possible endings.
Life’s Lottery by Kim Newman – A role-playing novel that reveals how small decisions can have monumental consequences. You may live a long happy life, or be immensely rich, or powerful, or win the lottery, or you could become a murderer, die young, make every mistake possible, or make no impression on life at all.
Romeo And/Or Juliet by Ryan North – A choose-your-own-path adaptation of Shakespeare’s classic imagines riotous “what if” scenarios, inviting readers to explore alternate stories of the star-crossed lovers as they fall for other partners, pursue unconventional interests or team up to take over Verona in robot suits.
Jane, Unlimited by Kristin Cashore – This book is a little different from the others in this list, allowing the reader to make a choice that affects the entire genre of the novel; it could be a heist mystery, a spy thriller, a gothic horror, a space opera, or a fantasy story. Recently-orphaned Jane accepts an invitation from an old acquaintance to an island mansion where she will face five choices that could ultimately determine the course of her newly untethered life.