Books are important symbols for the characters in Sweet Tooth and represent different ideas at different times. For the young Serena, books are an escape. The fictional worlds in the novels are exciting, absurd, and different from the dull, comfortable childhood she experiences. Books provide a way out of her small English city and emotionally distant parents. These stories provide insight into the kind of sweeping emotions that she wishes to experience for herself, representing a portal to many different worlds which she hopes to see one day. However, Serena’s escapism is limited. Though she wants to study literature and expand her knowledge, her mother convinces her to study mathematics. Serena is denied the chance to embrace everything the books represent, and her choice of degree shows how she is willing to curb her own ambitions at the behest of others. Serena loves books, but her relationship to them remains a limited form of escapism shaped by her parents.

Books are also important symbols of learning. For most of her life, Serena reads the books which interest her most. She has set ideas about how books should be written, and these opinions do not necessarily fall in line with the mainstream idea of what makes for good literature.