Our Favorite Book/Celebrity Costume Pairings

Halloween will be here before you know it, and with that comes the wild and outlandish costumes – and no one has as much money to throw at making amazing costumes than famous people. As celebrities start to reveal what they are going to wear this year, take a trip down memory lane with these costumes from the past – and books that match their character vibes.

By Elizabeth Hosty

Drew Barrymore as Glinda / The Firmament of Flame by Drew Williams

Just like how Glinda helped a young Dorothy navigate the wondrous world of Oz, so too do the Justified and Jane Kamali help seventeen year old telekinetic protégé Esa, and other gifted children, to help prevent the return of the pulse in The Firmament of Flame by Drew Williams. In this third installment in the Universe After series, Esa, Jane, and their allies in the Justified might have to go to the ends of the known universe to prevent Cyn – a being of pure energy – who is hellbent on hunting down the gifted.

Halsey as Corpse Bride / Vengewar by Kevin J. Anderson
In the Corpse Bride, Emily is put to rest by an ambitious man during the height of the Victorian era in the British Kingdom. In another kingdom, the queen lies in a coma as a power-hungry priest seizes power. Vengewar by Kevin J. Anderson is the second in the Wake the Dragon series, a powerful ancient race that wants to remake the world hasreawakened, and two warring nations must put aside their differences to defend against a mutual enemy.

The Weeknd as Nutty Professor / Elder Race by Adrian Tchaikovsky

In order to stop the demon wreaking havoc, a daughter of the queen asks the Elder sorcerer that lives in the local tower for help – but no one has met him before. Elder Nyr isn’t a sorcerer, but a scientist who cannot help, but through his knowledge of science, he knows the threat is not a demon. This is similar to the Nutty Professor in how the weight loss formula invokes a skinnier version of himself that disrupts his life and ruins relationships for him, but he is unable to help stop his alter ego after he takes control.

Heidi Clum as Herself + Clones / Interlibrary Loan by Gene Wolf

E.A. Smith in Interlibrary Loan by Gene Wolf is a clone – just as Heidi Klum dressed 5 other women to become clones of her! – and who is not human, but a piece of property with an uploaded memory of a mystery writer. Along with two other clones of cookbook and romance writers, E.A. Smith meets a little girl desperate to save her mother, a father who may or may not be dead… and the real E.A. Smith.

Lizzo as The Fly On Pence’s Head / Across the Green Grass Fields by Seanan McGuire

In Across the Green Grass Fields by Seanan McGuire, centaurs, kelpies, and other magical equines run wild – and the only humans there are expected to step up and become heroes. But Regan learns that not all forms of heroism are equal, and not all quests are as they seem. This really embodies Lizzo’s energy last year as the fly on Pence’s head, since in the race to find a hero to become our president, sometimes the hero is a singer impersonating a fly that landed on the Vice President’s head.