I have some Nieces who are big Harry Potter fans looking for some good fantasy books. They are 12 and 16 respectively. Any recommendations?
Robin McKinley does some good girly fantasy.
EDIT: ...which sounds odd when I put it that way. ;)
I found the "His Dark Material" trilogy (of which "The Golden Compass" was book 1) to be fantastic.
Additionally, the "Inkworld" trilogy ("Inkheart", "Inkspell", "Inkdeath") was great.
Both are aimed at young adults.
Haven't read any of the Percy Jackson stuff, but the movie wasn't half bad, so I may check those out one day.
Robin McKinley does some good girly fantasy.
EDIT: ...which sounds odd when I put it that way. ;)
Girly Fantasy FTW. I am sure they'll appreciate unicorns, especially the 12 year old!
Percy Jackson stuff is a good bet. Don't forget the Chronicles of Prydain series.
Wow, yeah, I can't believe I didn't suggest the same thing. "The Book of Three" was my introduction to the fantasy genre nearly 30 years ago!
It's a shame, too - the original first printing hardcovers that I first read were owned by my former elementary school library, and I was about 30 minutes late in purchasing them in the sale held when they closed the school about 10 years ago. :(
John Bellairs is good, too: less dragony fantasy and more creepy supernatural mystery. Has the Harry Potter trope of a boy getting drawn into a supernatural world he had no clue existed. The House with the Clock in Its Walls was his first book; I don't know if he's still in print.
According to Wikipedia, he wrote an early fantasy novel, The Face in the Frost, before getting started on the mysteries he settled into; I've never read it.
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I read the Dragonlance Chronicles around that age and loved them - of course I had already read the Lord of the Rings by that age (and the Chronicles of Narnia when I was in 1st grade), so maybe I'm not a good measure for what the typical teen might like.
That said, Chronicles of Narnia are great for teens. They're just getting to the age where they might actually get some of the allegorical parts (I sure didn't).
I'm going to second (third?) the Percy Jackson series for teen readers, and just about anyone else too to be honest. There's lots of good stuff in there. Rick Riordan's started two other series' set in that world, one a continuation of the Greek gods theme and the other focusing on Egyptian myth.
Most anything by Mercedes Lackey is good. I'd start with the The Mage Wars trilogy with "The Black Gryphon" being first for that series or Dragon Jousters with "Joust" as the first book in that series.
Diana Wynne Jones is good too. She's written "Howl's Moving Castle" (the book that the Studio Ghibli film was very loosely based off of) "Dark Lord of Dirkholm" which isn't nearly as scary as it sounds like it should be.
When I was a child, the "Oz" series by L. Frank Baum got me hooked on fantasy novels, and continued to fascinate me even in my thirties. The "Narnia" series by C.S. Lewis did the same for many other children.
And I'm sure that the reason no one suggested Tolkein's "The Hobbit" and "Lord of the Rings" in this thread is that they're such obvious choices, they should go without saying. (Even Count Buggula mentioned Lord of the Rings only in passing.)
Thanks guys, i am creating a list and then taking them to Borders. I have added everything you mentioned and added the following based on my earliest readings (evolved into current readings of Martin, Erikson, Abecrombe, Rothfuss in the fantasy genre)
Dragonlance Chronicles & the twins triology (margeret weiss and tracy hickman) (starts with Dragons of Autumn twilight, I think both me and my mom started with these books into our sojourn into fantasy)
Robin Hobbs older books (Farseer Trilogy, Liveship Trilogy and the Tawny Man trilogy)
The Icewind Dale & Dark Elf Trilogy by RA Salvatore
The original Shannara trilogy (starts with Sword of Shannara…)
The riftwar saga by Ramond E Feist ( magician being the first book)
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I have some Nieces who are big Harry Potter fans looking for some good fantasy books. They are 12 and 16 respectively. Any recommendations?
I'll second the Philip Pullman recommendation.
My wife is a big fan of Tamora Pierce's Song of the Lioness books, which should be age-appropriate for your nieces and have a strong female protagonist.
I don't know if it's too late for suggestions, but here's my two cents based on what I was reading at that age:
Ursula Le Guin- The Earthsea Books, starting with A Wizard of Earthsea- Another Magic School, but in my opinion, Le Guin kicks Rowling's ass in terms of impact per page.
Lord Dunsany- Time & The Gods, The King of Elfland's Daughter or The Charwoman's Shadow: A bit older in style, but I remember being mesmerized by them at age 14, and they lead naturally to the Dreamlands stuff by Lovecraft (which was a homage to Dunsany's stuff).
Neil Gaiman's Stardust is directly influenced by Dunsany.
Neil Gaiman- American Gods: I've not come across a teenager that didn't love anything by Gaiman.
Stephen King- The Eye of the Dragon: King's foray into fantasy, and one he wrote for his kids.
I second Dark Materials, Prydain and with the latter in mind, I might suggest Michael Scott's Irish Folk and Fairy Tales.
Adding a bit to some solid recommendations (+1 to Dragonlance Chronicles especially):
David Eddings - Sparhawk/Belgarion series
Brandon Sanderson - Mistborn series. The main protagonist is a teenage girl.
Jack Vance - Lyonesse
was my favourite at that age
Terry Pratchett
Niel Gaiman has lots of good work: Graveyard Book was a Neuberry award winner last year and is amasing. Coraline is excelent, especially for the younger one. Interworld is also fun and appropriate. Neverwhere is good for the older one. American Gods and Anansi Boys may be a little old, depending on maturity, but at 16 she can pretty much read anything.
They are definetely old enough to start getting into classics. 2000 Leagues, The Time Machine.
His Majesties Dragon (and related series) is a lot of fun. It takes a look at the Nepolionic era if there were tamed dragons for an air force.
The City of Ember is an interesting post-appocalyptic children's book and series.
If they into the modern paranormal stuff (seriously, my local Barnes and Noble has a shelf for New Teen Paranormal Romance), Holy Black has some good ones that are much less on the romance side. They start with Tithe.
Artemis Fowl is also an excelent series, and they are plentiful.
The Looking Glass Wars by Frank Beddor is a good twist on Wonderland.
I read the Dragonlance Chronicles around that age and loved themMe too. I gave the books to my son when he was around 13 -14 and he loved them as well.
I would absolutely put original the Dragonlance trilogy on your short list.
Already there! points above. :)Funny, my experience is pretty similar to yours. I'd say it was one of the main reasons i started playing D&D (yes, most of my early characters were tortured mages in some form or other...then came the dual weapon weilding elves...yeesh).
Catherynne Valente
Garth Nix's Abhorsen series would be a good bet (white-hat necromancers), as would his Keys to the Kingdom series.
Maybe Jane Yolen's books—though more for the 16-yr-old, probably, since many of them are fairly dark.
Patricia McKillip's Riddle-Master trilogy is a fun read, especially if they like the Prydain books.
Meredith Ann Pierce's Darkangel trilogy is a blend of fantasy and science fiction, but the tone is more that of fantasy.
Susan Cooper's "Dark is Rising" sequence (but not the movie!). Zilpha Keatley Snyder's "Green Sky" trilogy ("Below the Root" and sequels, if you can get your hands on them. Unfortunately the nature of the publishing industry is such that many worthy titles go out of print every year.).
Neil Gaiman- American Gods: I've not come across a teenager that didn't love anything by Gaiman.
American Gods is good but it has some seriously screwed up stuff in it. Good Omens or The Graveyard Book would probably be better places to start, especially for the 12 year old.
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John Bellairs....
According to Wikipedia, he wrote an early fantasy novel, The Face in the Frost, before getting started on the mysteries he settled into; I've never read it.
The Face in the Frost is excellent. It's also a pretty good read for a teenager, although some of the references may go over their heads. In an odd bit of synchronicity, one of the other books mentioned above ties into The Face in the Frost:
...with the latter in mind, I might suggest Michael Scott's Irish Folk and Fairy Tales.
One of the main characters in The Face in the Frost is the wizard Prospero ("and not the one you're thinking of, either."). His master--the person who taught him magic--is named Michael Scott.
Forgot to post this earlier, but Beyonders: A World Without Heroes by Brandon Mull is an excellent novel that came out a few months ago, and it's the first of a new series. The description from the website:
"Jason Walker has often wished his life could be less predictable—until a routine day at the zoo ends with Jason suddenly transporting from the hippo tank into a strange, imperiled world. Lyrian holds dangers and challenges unlike anyplace Jason has ever known. The people all live in fear of their malicious wizard emperor, Maldor. The brave resistors who once opposed the emperor have been bought off or broken, leaving a realm where fear and suspicion prevail.
In his search for a way home, Jason meets Rachel, who was also mysteriously drawn to Lyrian from our world. With the help of a few scattered rebels, Jason and Rachel become entangled in a quest to piece together the word of power that can destroy the emperor and learn that their best hope to find a way home will be to save this world without heroes."
He also wrote the Fablehaven series, which I haven't read but looks interesting.
The House of Night Series by the Cast mother and daughter team is really outstanding.
"The Girl Who Loved Tom Gordon" by Stephen King is also really good. It's also one of his shorter works.
EDIT: I should note that the House of Night is for more mature teens. It drops the F bomb several times and there are some very suggestive scenes, especially in the latter books.
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Aha! I knew I got the Children's Librarian degree for a reason!
Besides the great suggestions already posted:
Charles de Lint. For the 16 year old.
Jack Vance's Lyonesse mentioned above has some adult sections, btw. It's more the 16 age range.
I also second Abhorsen by Nix. It's better than his later work. It works for either girl. It's also got a heroine as the lead.
Le Guin's Wizard series gets more mature (not adult in content but in approach and mood) as it goes along -- in the two sequels.
Tamora Pierce's books get more mature over time as the protagonists age.
A Swiftly Tilting Planet and its sequels by L'Engle are good for any age.
I'll add more if I think of them.
A Swiftly Tilting Planet and its sequels by L'Engle are good for any age.
How could I forget those?!
You've got to start with A Wrinkle In Time.
L'Engle has a ton of other related works (character interactment, etc.). Not all are fantasy leaning. Some go a little more towards science fiction, and others are just kinda young-adult drama type stuff, but they're all phenomenal books.
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Meredith Ann Pierce's Darkangel trilogy is a blend of fantasy and science fiction, but the tone is more that of fantasy.
I read that series in middle school and got it from the library to read again recently. It held up pretty well against what I remembered. My wife loved the books and wants to buy them now.
Lots of good suggestions above. I'll also add any Forgotten Realms books by Elaine Cunningham. She's a great writer, especially her characters are very rounded, and pretty much all of them have female protagonists.
Especially if they try the Dragonlance books and like those.
A Swiftly Tilting Planet and its sequels by L'Engle are good for any age.How could I forget those?!
You've got to start with A Wrinkle In Time.
L'Engle has a ton of other related works (character interactment, etc.). Not all are fantasy leaning. Some go a little more towards science fiction, and others are just kinda young-adult drama type stuff, but they're all phenomenal books.
Derr. :P A Wrinkle in Time is the first one. Thanks for the correction!
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Anything that's not vampire romance.
Teen litterature is a new concept. Teenagers can read adult books. After Harry Potter, send them to something more serious. I often wonder if it's not just a way to hang them back by developping a market that consider them unready to get to serious stuff... A teacher made me read Dante'S inferno when I was 15, and I'm glad for that.
Don't underestimate them, seriously. If they love to read, i't time for them to get to the next level. They will surprise you.
Just my opinion.
Teen litterature is a new concept. Teenagers can read adult books. After Harry Potter, send them to something more serious. I often wonder if it's not just a way to hang them back by developping a market that consider them unready to get to serious stuff... A teacher made me read Dante'S inferno when I was 15, and I'm glad for that.
I couldn't even make it part way through the Inferno.
I still say Pratchett & Gaiman's Good Omens is excellent.
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Teen litterature is a new concept. Teenagers can read adult books. After Harry Potter, send them to something more serious. I often wonder if it's not just a way to hang them back by developping a market that consider them unready to get to serious stuff... A teacher made me read Dante'S inferno when I was 15, and I'm glad for that.
Don't underestimate them, seriously. If they love to read, i't time for them to get to the next level. They will surprise you.
Just my opinion.
The teen years are where a fair number of students quit reading for fun. Teens have different interests and inclinations than adults, and most teen literature reflects these concerns, such as emotional maturity and confusion, the beginnings of sexuality, and being something between a kid and an adult, as well as high school drama.
Teens should read adult fiction, but works that deliberately include them and dwell on these subjects tend to capture their interest better, particularly at the early end of things (12-16). There are a fair number of books written as children's literature and adult fiction that are retrospectively considered teen lit.Not every teenager wants this -- but teen fiction has proven a useful tool to keep a lot of kids reading. Reading habits from the teen age tend to stick with people. As a librarian/teacher these works have helped me teach reading skills and creative/critical writing, sometimes better than the classics.
Teen litterature is a new concept. Teenagers can read adult books. After Harry Potter, send them to something more serious. I often wonder if it's not just a way to hang them back by developping a market that consider them unready to get to serious stuff... A teacher made me read Dante'S inferno when I was 15, and I'm glad for that.I couldn't even make it part way through the Inferno.
I still say Pratchett & Gaiman's Good Omens is excellent.
I read the Inferno and loved it, but could not make it part way through the Puragatory... ;-)
Gaimain is a fantastic read, I agree. But I don't know it as teen fiction. I've not read Good Omen, but What I've read of him (Neverwhere, American God, Anancy Boy, etc.) is very adult in theme and pacing. Gaiman is not really "teen lit" for me - no easy love story, a lot of violence, adult themes, etc. Maybe we just need a good definition of waht is teen lit...
Not every teenager wants this -- but teen fiction has proven a useful tool to keep a lot of kids reading. Reading habits from the teen age tend to stick with people. As a librarian/teacher these works have helped me teach reading skills and creative/critical writing, sometimes better than the classics.
I agree. Some of teen fiction are good, I was not saying all of those books marketed as such are bad. I was just wondering about this new market, as I feel ofthen this market is as much a bracket than it is a way to introduce to more adult reading (and Dante was only an example, Aasimov's Fondation, Tolkien's LoTR, Game of Throne or Herbert's Dune could be other specimens of what I mean by "adult" litterature).
I'm, as you are, a teacher (even if english is my second language, I teach in french) and I find, more and more, that teens are able to read more serious stuff, and are interrested in "adult" books if you take the time to introduce them properly (meaning, with a little bit of passion and love).
I often wonder if this new "teen" market is not a way to leveling down (is that the way to say it?) expectations of what a teenager is able to read and appreciate.
Teen litterature is a new concept.
Bwuh?
L'Engle started publishing her stuff in the '60's.
Alexander published the Prydain stuff in the '60's.
Lewis published the Narnia stuff in the '50's.
Heck, Hardy Boys was in the '20's, and Nancy Drew was in the '30's.
All of these are teen/young adult literature.
Teen litterature is a new concept.Bwuh?
L'Engle started publishing her stuff in the '60's.
Alexander published the Prydain stuff in the '60's.
Lewis published the Narnia stuff in the '50's.
Heck, Hardy Boys was in the '20's, and Nancy Drew was in the '30's.
All of these are teen/young adult literature.
Personally, I think of all of those as books for PRE-teens.
(And although I was never clear on the difference between literature and "trashy" novels, I'm pretty set in my opinion that Hardy Boys and Nancy Drew are not literature.)
Teen litterature is a new concept. Teenagers can read adult books. After Harry Potter, send them to something more serious. I often wonder if it's not just a way to hang them back by developping a market that consider them unready to get to serious stuff... A teacher made me read Dante'S inferno when I was 15, and I'm glad for that.I couldn't even make it part way through the Inferno.
I still say Pratchett & Gaiman's Good Omens is excellent.
I read the Inferno and loved it, but could not make it part way through the Puragatory... ;-)
Gaimain is a fantastic read, I agree. But I don't know it as teen fiction. I've not read Good Omen, but What I've read of him (Neverwhere, American God, Anancy Boy, etc.) is very adult in theme and pacing. Gaiman is not really "teen lit" for me - no easy love story, a lot of violence, adult themes, etc. Maybe we just need a good definition of waht is teen lit...
Neverwhere is not very adult themish (probably because it came from the series instead of the other way around). Gaiman either does very adult stuff or pre-teen stuff. Like American Gods vs The Graveyard Book or something. Good Omens has the usual violence you can expect from American/British literature but it's a collaboration of Terry Pratchet and a young Neil Gaiman. It's more of a satire of religion than a serious novel but it's really good.
I recommend Asimov's Robots over Foundation, but probably because it is more coherent and following single characters (which Foundation doesn't do until the last 3 books which is ironically where he ties it to Robots). The standalone novels in the loose Galactic Empire set are good too.
That reminds me. I recommend Karel Capek's (the guy who invented the word "robot" ironically) War with the Newts (I'm big on satires).
If your children are RPG fans, the first Dragonlance series by Weis and Hickman are excellent. They have the feel of a RPG in novel format.
Twas my first foray into fantasy.
Inferno is standard reading material in school at that age
And the Bible is considered pre-teen
Inferno is standard reading material in school at that age
And the Bible is considered pre-teen
All we ever got in schools was The Great Gatsby and Faulkner novels and Shakespeare and similar junk.
Magician by Raymond E Feist.
Stormwarden, Keeper of the Keys, Shadowfane by Janny Wurts, though these are a bit more mature.
Also seconded Earthsea and Dragonlance Chronicles.
Chronicles of Prydain are rather childish at times, I would agree that it's more like pre-teen literature. 9-12? Same thing with the Hobbit.
Andre Norton wrote both fantasy and science fiction that I devoured as a pre-teen and teen. The first I read was "The Zero Stone" and I couldn't get enough of her books after that.
I also recommend the Sword of Shannara series by Terry Brooks and the Redwall series by Brian Jacques.