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Pushing Daisies may have experienced its premature demise in 2009, but its candy-colored world, where strange things are possible, lives on in our hearts. Filled with wacky characters, gruesome deaths, and impeccable costumes, Pushing Daisies was unlike any other crime-related television show.
The quick process: Ned, the cake maker, has the ability to bring dead people (and plants and animals) back to life, but only dies for a minute or someone else. When his childhood sweetheart Chuck dies, he brings her back to life (and lets her live). After learning about Ned’s abilities, private detective Emerson Cod offers Ned a deal to work on murder cases together by splitting reward money, with Ned acting as a clairvoyant. Chuck accompanies them in their investigations and acts as the hand they have to hold. Oh yeah, and Ned and Chuck can’t touch or Chuck will die forever.
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Pushing Daisies is the kind of show that makes you want two things: cake and a really good book. Chuck is an avid reader and fills her aunts house with books and books and books. There’s an episode with a bookstore that only sells pop-up books and that inspires Emerson to write his own. The fairytale tone of the show is nostalgic and sassy, with Jim Dale as the omniscient narrator. Although Pushing Daisies was never made into a book series, these nine books invite you to step into a world where magic is possible, even if a killer is at large or a potential romantic subplot is taking place.
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Vanessa Yus Magical Paris Tea Shop by Roselle Lim
Vanessa can’t help it; If she sees the future in the dregs of a teacup, she has to blurt it out. Her “gift” ruined her life, but Vanessa’s aunt Evelyn thinks she can help. Vanessa is kidnapped to Paris, where she spends her days pouring tea, trying to avoid disaster. Can Vanessa ever learn to control her divination skills?
Cake and Prejudice by Ellery Adams
The world of Pushing Daisies seems to exist in a cozy mystery. Everyone has a charming job like traveling magician and lives in a windmill or a papered apartment, but gruesome murders happen to the right and left. Pies and Prejudice is the first book in the Charmed Pie Shoppe Mysteries, in which Ella bakes cakes that satisfy more than just those with a sweet tooth. When Ella’s fingerprints are found at the crime scene, Ella has to clear her name and keep her shop open. In addition to the cake shop and the quirky small-town feel that Pushing Daisies has, Pies and Prejudice also has a loyal dog companion and two loving, if somewhat strange, aunts.
Garden Magic by Sarah Addison Allen
The Waverly family is known for their thriving garden full of secrets. While Claire shares the magic of the garden through food, her cousin Evanelle is better at finding the exact herbal or herbal remedy for any disease. When Sydney Waverly suddenly returns home after years of absence, the sisters have to reconcile with their family inheritance and find themselves again.
A taste of sage from Yaffa S. Santos
Lumi is a hardworking cook with a secret talent. When she is forced to close her own restaurant and take a job as a sous-chef under Julien, a talented but gruff cook, Lumi promises never to share her secret with him. How long can Lumi keep her promise after discovering Julien?
A dirty job from Christopher Moore
Meek Charlie is quite content with his life until strangers fall like flies around him and suddenly Charlie’s life is turned upside down. As a “death dealer” or grim reaper, Charlie has to collect the souls and protect the land of the living from dark forces.
There’s nothing to see here from Kevin Wilson
When Lillian’s estranged school friend writes to her and asks her to take in a pair of twins with a temperament problem, Lillian reluctantly agrees. Over the course of a summer, Lillian learns to love the destructive, traumatized and explosive twins. Heartwarming and strange, nothing to see here fits perfectly into the world of Pushing Daisies.
The particular sadness of Aimee Bender’s lemon cake
Shortly before her ninth birthday, Rose bites into a piece of homemade cake and discovers it tastes like her mother’s sadness baked in the layers of lemon and chocolate. As Rose tries to understand her gift, she learns more about her family and their connection to one another.
Abby Cooper, Clairvoyant Eye by Victoria Laurie
Abby Cooper has spent her life running away from her psychic abilities, but now she uses them as a PI, a psychic intuition. When one of her previous clients is murdered, Abby is overwhelmed. How could she have missed that? To clear her name, Abby sets out to use her skills to solve the case herself.
Before the coffee gets cold by Toshikazu Kawaguchi
Tucked away in a side street in Tokyo is an old café that takes customers back in time. Four visitors come by for a cup of coffee and can go back, but the café has strict rules. This charming short novel asks questions about time and how we spend it.
When you’ve read these books, you will find more fun in everyday life with 7 quirky books like good omens and 23 fun and adorable light fantasy novels. Save yourself a piece for later, because pushing daisies are always good for a repetition.
