Given the response to my recent post about books for tween boys (who don’t like fantasy), it seems that there are a lot of us out there searching for just the right next book for their kids.
In the lead-up to the first anniversary of the Your Kids’ Next Read Facebook group, I thought I’d share some more of the most common questions that tend to come up.
Including this one.
Harry Potter. Percy Jackson. Where would you go next? Wanting fast-paced fantasy and adventure. (To give a sense of style, The Hobbit was “a bit boring and too descriptive.”)
When Ruth Clare asked this question in the YKNR Facebook group recently, you could almost feel the breathless excitement of group members. As parents, librarians and booksellers alike can attest, this is one of the BiG questions!
Fortunately, the collective wisdom of the group was up to it, and Ruth compiled the following list based on the responses, again in no particular order. Most of these are series, which, of course, we love, and the reading age ranges from 8+ for some series (Ruby Redfort, The Familiars) to most definitely YA for others.
Clicking the title link on each book will take you to Booktopia where you’ll find more information about each title, and can purchase if you wish. Or you can search Amazon here.
Magisterium (series) by Holly Black and Cassandra Clare
Skulduggery Pleasant (series) by Derek Landy
Artemis Fowl (series) by Eoin Colfer
Ranger’s Apprentice (series) by John Flanagan
The Kensington Reptilarium (Caddy Kids series) by Nikki Gemmell
The Doldrums (series) by Nicholas Gannon
Heroes of Olympus (series) by Rick Riordan
The Trials of Apollo (series) by Rick Riordan
Magnus Chase (series) by Rick Riordan
The Mapmaker Chronicles (series) by A.L. Tait
The Eighth Day (series) by Dianne K. Salerni
The Book of Lies (trilogy) by James Moloney
The Three Doors (trilogy) by Emily Rodda
Shadow House (series) by Dan Poblocki
The Medoran Chronicles (series) by Lynette Noni
Lockwood & Co (series) by Jonathan Stroud
School for Good and Evil (series) by Soman Chainani
Zarkora (series) by Nicholas and Alison Lochel
Conspiracy 365 (series) by Gabrielle Lord
The Familiars (series) by Adam Jay Epstein and Andrew Jacobsen
The Astounding Broccoli Boy by Frank Cottrell Boyce
Millions by Frank Cottrell Boyce
Two Wolves by Tristan Banks
The Fall by Tristan Bancks
The Beast of Hushing Wood by Gabrielle Wang
When You Reach Me by Rebecca Stead
Curiosity House (series) by Lauren Oliver and H. C. Chester
Chasing the Valley (series) by Skye Melki-Wegner
Ink and Bone (Novels of The Great Library #1) (series) by Rachel Caine
Rebel of the Sands (trilogy) by Alwyn Hamilton
Ruby Redfort (series) by Lauren Child
The Warriors (series) by Erin Hunter
A Most Magical Girl by Karen Foxlee
The Land of Stories (series) by Chris Colfer
I also LOVE this post by tween book blogger Jazzy about dealing with a Harry Potter Hangover.
(Thanks to Ruth for compiling the list. To see Ruth’s own work as an author, visit her website here – I can’t wait to see the YA novel she’s working on!)