01
If you want the original story
David Copperfield
Charles Dickens
Why Matchbook recommends it: The Victorian classic Kingsolver reimagines — a boy's journey through poverty, cruelty and the kindness of strangers.
What to read next
Books Like Demon Copperhead
Demon Copperhead reimagines David Copperfield in the mountains of Southern Appalachia, following a boy born to a teenage mother in a trailer through foster care, child labour, football and the opioid crisis. Readers searching for books like Demon Copperhead want coming-of-age stories told in a distinctive voice, fierce empathy for poverty and addiction, a strong sense of place and a narrator who survives against the odds.
Our picks
02
If you loved a child and a parent's addiction
Shuggie Bain
Douglas Stuart
Why Matchbook recommends it: A boy in 1980s Glasgow tries to save his alcoholic mother — heartbreaking and tender.
03
If you loved surviving a chaotic childhood
The Glass Castle
Jeannette Walls
Why Matchbook recommends it: A memoir of growing up in poverty with brilliant but unstable parents, partly in West Virginia.
04
If you want the real opioid story
Dopesick
Beth Macy
Why Matchbook recommends it: Nonfiction about how the opioid epidemic swept through Appalachia — the reality behind Demon's world.
05
If you want more Barbara Kingsolver
The Poisonwood Bible
Barbara Kingsolver
Why Matchbook recommends it: A missionary family in the Congo, told by four daughters — Kingsolver's other great story of family and survival.
06
If you loved rural poverty and resilience
Winter's Bone
Daniel Woodrell
Why Matchbook recommends it: A teenage girl in the Ozarks searches for her missing father to save her family's home.
07
If you loved gritty Appalachian storytelling
The Devil All the Time
Donald Ray Pollock
Why Matchbook recommends it: Interconnected lives in post-war Ohio and West Virginia — dark, violent and unforgettable.
What did you love about Demon Copperhead?
The romance? The characters? The setting? The twists? Tell Matchbook what worked for you — and what didn't — and we'll find your next read.