Sometimes one book isn’t enough to give characters their full story, but sometimes three is too many. Thus, we have duologies. I personally like duologies and trilogies the best when it comes to series (with some exceptions) because a long series can get annoying. I can’t say I’ve read many duologies, as they seem to be more rare, or maybe I’m just not into the books that have duologies. I don’t know.

In any case, I have read some great duologies in my time. Some more recently than others, which are the ones I’m more likely to remember for this small list.

Five Duologies to Read

Sleeping Freshmen Never Lie & Sophomores and Other Oxymorons by David Lubar

These books follow Scott Hudson in his first two years of high school. A good read for any teenager or adult who wants to step back in time to that crazy first year of high school. The sequel was released ten years after Sleeping Freshman, but honestly, you can’t even tell by the writing. Granted, it’s the same author, but still. It’s good to know his style didn’t change between books. It kind of makes me think that Lubar hadn’t planned on writing a sequel until years later.

Between the Lines & Off the Page by Jodi Picoult and Samantha Van Leer

This is a cute duology written by a mother/daughter team and fulfills every bookworm’s fantasy of having a character you’re in love with come to life, both on the page and off. The first book is absolutely fantastic and the follow up is pretty good as well. Delilah and Oliver are such a cute couple and you will root for them in both novels. I’m due to reread these soon because it’s been about 5 years since I read them.

If I Stay & Where She Went by Gayle Forman

If I Stay is just such an incredible read, and I’m not surprised that Forman wrote a sequel to it to show what happened to Mia and Adam a few years after the accident. What I liked about Where She Went was that it was in Adam’s point of view, rather than Mia’s, which made Mia’s journey after her accident more of a mystery that gets revealed in the sequel when she and Adam reconnect.

The Silence of Six & Against All Silence by E.C. Myers

This is a science-fiction duology that will take you on quite a ride. It’s not super science-fictiony – the main plot just focuses on a pair of coders who try to take down corrupted government figures who are trying to silence those who speak out against them. In Against All Silence, Max and Penny’s find themselves overseas to bring down a shady figure who wants to control how the world shares their information online. These two books will keep you hooked as Max and Penny go on their cyber-driven adventures, using technology to fight technology.

The Program & The Treatment by Suzanne Young

My most recent duology read. Much like the SOS books, these are gripping and keep you turning the pages to find out what happens next. This series is more dystopian than sci-fi, focusing on a modern society where the United States government is trying to end the “epidemic” of suicides among teens by implementing The Program. The problem is, when these teens come out of the program, they’re missing vital memories. Book two continues on with the two characters, Sloane and James, after they leave the program, but go on the run to avoid recapture and hopefully, to bring down The Program once and for all.

These are duologies I’ve read and would definitely recommend. Out of them all, I’d say the SOS and Between the Lines duologies are my top two of these five. In fact, I’m planning to reread those fairly soon. Sometimes you just have to reread some favorites in between all these new books that are coming out.

What’s cool about most of these duologies (all but The Program) is that the first books could have been standalones, but the authors decided to continue their characters’ stories. As much as I loved the return of these different characters, I’m glad the authors didn’t keep going. There was no need. Two was enough for these series.

What are some of your favorite duologies?