AboutMadeline Expertise I can answer questions regarding "tween", teen, and young adult literature and make recommendations about books you may like based on genres and authors you've read and liked in the past. I'm most familiar with fantasy (and science fiction, to a certain extent), but I've read plenty of other genres as well, and I will make an effort to find the answer to your question even if I don't know it off the top of my head. However, I do not answer homework questions (so please don't bother asking them), and I'm not very good at finding obscure books---the best I can suggest is a Google search! Thanks!
Experience I am an avid reader, and I am trusted by all my friends for my taste in books. I have read books in all of the following genres (though I do not claim to be an expert in all of them): fantasy (I term any book with a fantastical element to it to be "fantasy"), sci-fi, historical fiction, classics, realistic fiction, mysteries, and whodunits.
Expert: Madeline Date: 11/16/2007 Subject: Book Recommendations
Question QUESTION: Hi, I was just browsing the web and came across this site. I'm just wondering if you have any good book recommendations on fantasy/sci-fi/romance/adventure genres all rolled into one...?? Books i've read and love that kind of fit into that genre are all of Trudi Canavans books, Meg Cabots series "The Mediator" and Stephanie Meyers "Twilight" sereis which i've just started. If you have any idea of books like them I would be very grateful!
P.S. I've also started reading Phillip Pullmans book "The Northen Lights" Thank you
ANSWER: Hi Leah!
So sorry for the delay in getting back to you---I was on vacation until yesterday, and I forgot to change my Allexpert's status! But now I'm back and I can finally get around to answering your question...:-)
Fortunately, I have a lot of books I can recommend that fit your genre parameters, seeing as they're rather broad! :D First of all, glad to hear you're reading "His Dark Materials"---they are truly fabulous books, and I cannot recommend them enough!
I'm not familiar with the work of Trudi Canavan, so I did some research to try to get an idea of the sort of book she writes. Based on this, might I recommend a book called "Wizard's First Rule", by Terry Goodkind? It belongs to a sub-genre of fantasy called "high fantasy", and it is a genre that I generally do not like. This book is probably the one exception. Explaining the plot at this point would be extremely difficult and long-winded, but suffice it to say that I liked this book. It's rather original as far as high fantasy goes (probably one of the reasons I did enjoy it), and although dauntingly thick, it's not at all tedious to read. Check it out and see if you like it!
I'm going to list off some other books that you may enjoy, drawn from the various genres you mentioned you like... See if any of these titles pique your interest!
"The Moorchild" by Eloise McGraw is a favorite book of mine. It delves into the mysteries of the "Folk" of the British Isles, those elusive creatures with their uncanny ways and what happens when one child is caught between worlds. It is an excellent story, and I highly recommend it...
Have you ever read any of Nancy Farmer's books? Since you used the British title for Philip Pullman's book (i.e. "Northern Lights"), I'm going to hazard a guess that you're a Brit (feel free to correct me if I'm wrong). Ms. Farmer is very popular in the States for her humorous, thoroughly-researched fantasy and science-fiction written for kids and teens. "The Ear, the Eye and the Arm" is a unique and clever story set in Zimbabwe in the year 2194. If Norse mythology or Vikings are of any interest to you, try "The Sea of Trolls". Very funny and interesting. :) If you'd like something a bit more serious, though, I might suggest another book of hers called "The House of the Scorpion". It's aimed at a slightly more mature audience (i.e. ages 13-17), but if you've read and enjoyed Philip Pullman, I wouldn't worry. It is also set in the future in a fictional country called Opium, which is carved out of the southern United States and Northern Mexico. It deals with several controversial issues (but is fascinating), and like "The Ear, the Eye and the Arm", it is meticulously researched and a very good read. I *highly* recommend it. :-)
"The Giver", by Lois Lowry, is definitely another book I would recommend. It's a Newbery Medal award winning book about...well, it's actually a bit difficult to explain exactly what it's about. It takes place in a utopia, where life is perfect...almost. As the main character, Jonas, discovers with the help of a mysterious man called the Giver, his world was not always as it seems. A truly fascinating book---try it and see if you like it!
If you like all the "experimental theology" of Philip Pullman's books, then you may enjoy "A Wrinkle in Time", by Madeleine L'Engle. Physics and magic merge to create fascinating and frightening worlds inhabited by flying centaurs, fortune tellers, pulsating...well, I wouldn't want to give anything away. :-) It's also a Newbery Award-winning book, and for a good reason...
May I just say that if you have not read "Holes", by Louis Sachar, it is most definitely worth your time! It is certainly one of the most unusual books to win a Newbery Medal, but it deserves it. "Holes" tells the story of Stanley Yelnats (a boy whose last name is his first name spelled backwards) and his punishment for a crime he did not commit. The juvenile court sentences him to go to Camp Green Lake (a ward for juvenile delinquents). There is no lake at Camp Green Lake. And there is no green either. But there are hundreds of thousands of holes, which are dug by the inmates every single day---five feet wide and five feet deep. And nobody knows why. Again, if you have not read this book, do it! :-)
Have you read Garth Nix's "Sabriel" series? This strikes me as something you would like if you like Stephanie Meyers. The story follows the Abhorsons, a line of necromancers (magicians who deal with the dead) and their constant struggle to keep the dead...well, dead. Adventure, fantasy, and just a pinch of romance...definitely worth reading!
You know, it seems like most teenage girls I know have heard of and/or read Tamora Pierce's books. If you are one of them, then disregard the following. If not, you should check these out! There are a lot of them, actually, and they center around two main worlds. The first is that of her "Circle of Magic" series. This particular series isn't my personal favorite, but I know many people who do like it. :-) The books that I prefer are the series set in the realm of Tortall. The first three quartets of books go in the following order:
Song of the Lioness (first book: "Alanna: The First Adventure")
The Immortals (first book: "Wild Magic")
Protector of the Small (first book: "First Test")
I suppose I should mention that one of the most extraordinary things about Tamora Pierce's characters is the fact that they are so completely human, and the fact that the world they inhabit is every bit as nitty-gritty and solid as our own. My personal favorite of these three is the "Protector of the Small" quartet, which I feel brings out these qualities even more than the other two. But I recommend them all for their fantasy, adventure, humor, drama, and romance.
"Abarat" by Clive Barker is definitely one of the most..er..."unique" books I have ever read in my life. Full of fantastical paintings done by the author himself (be sure to get an illustrated hardcover version and not a paperback), the story weaves around a fantastical archipelago of islands, each attached to a particular hour of the day. Fantastical adventure, with a flavoring of comedy and romance---I really liked this book! It is such a different, quirky concept, but it works very well...:-)
Have you read "Ella Enchanted"? It's very popular and well-known, but even if you've already seen the movie version with Anne Hathaway, read the book, since they're significantly different. :-) Fantasy, romance, and adventure are definitely all present here! I thoroughly enjoyed this one! However, it seems likely to me that you would have already read it...
If you consider yourself to be a fairly mature reader, then you might also consider Frank Herbert's "Dune" series. These are fabulous, complex, intricate, and expertly-woven stories full of action and intrigue. They're an adventure/science-fiction mix, and like "A Wrinkle in Time", they remain astonishingly popular long after their initial publication. I highly recommend them. I should warn you, though---don't be discouraged or put-off if you read the first couple of chapters and are totally confused; because Frank Herbert set these books in a meticulously detailed universe of his own creation, many of the names, places, and ideas are confusing to the first-time reader. However, discovering the meaning of these terms eventually becomes part of the experience of reading the book, rather like a mystery novel. I found it to be a very enjoyable challenge, and perhaps you will too..
Anne McCaffrey is an very prolific author who has written many, many books! However, she is most famous for her series called "The Dragonriders of Pern". The first book in the series, "Dragonflight", is a good place to start, but chronologically, the first book is called "Dragonsdawn". Interestingly enough, if you begin with "Dragonflight", you will read these books thinking that they are fantasy. Begin with "Dragonsdawn" instead, and you will discover that they are actually science fiction. Fascinating books! I highly recommend them. :-) Additionally, might I recommend another book called "Acorna, the Unicorn Girl" that Anne McCaffrey co-wrote with Margaret Ball? Believe it or not, it's not fantasy---like so many of her books, Ms. McCaffrey likes to interweave fantastical ideas into science fiction, which makes for very interesting books!
I hope I've given you some potential reading fodder here! If you'd like to refine your search, or feel like my suggestions are just way off-track, feel free to write back and I'll recommend some more. Hopefully though, you'll find something here that you'll like...:D
Please don't hesitate to write back if you have any questions! Oh, and if you don't mind, let me know which books you end up reading and/or liking. I'm always curious to know what people choose based on my recommendations!
Best wishes, as always,
-Madeline
---------- FOLLOW-UP ----------
QUESTION: Hey, thanks so much for your reply!!! I thought i'd let you know Im not English im Irish through and through.
I was just wondering, I appreciated all your reccommendations don't get me wrong and I'll deffinately have a look around. But i was wondering if could give more kind of "serious" books with quite a bit of romance and adventure. Im sorry that doesn't define it much more! Sorry, feal really bad asking you again, since you wrote so much!!!! Thank you again and I'll deffo keep you posted on what I read!! Thanks, Leah
Answer Hmmm...more serious, eh? :-)
Well, I suppose there are a couple of books on that list that I would recommend as fitting that description. Namely, that would be "Wizard's First Rule" and "Sabriel" (by Terry Brooks and Garth Nix, respectively).
Another series that you might consider looking at is the "Guardians of Time" series, by Marianne Curley. The first book in the series is called "The Named". The story follows two teenagers, Ethan and Isabel, and the secret group they belong to whose job it is to make sure that the forces of evil don't alter important events in history and subsequently change time itself. The other two books in the trilogy are "The Dark" and "The Key". The story is told in an interesting series of alternating viewpoints, which the author uses as a clever storytelling device. Check it out and see if you're interested!
You may also consider the book "Uglies", by Scott Westerfield. Here's a quote from an editorial review of the book, just to give you a basic idea of the premise:
"Playing on every teen's passionate desire to look as good as everybody else, Scott Westerfeld (Midnighters) projects a future world in which a compulsory operation at sixteen wipes out physical differences and makes everyone pretty by conforming to an ideal standard of beauty. The 'New Pretties' are then free to play and party, while the younger 'Uglies' look on enviously and spend the time before their own transformations in plotting mischievous tricks against their elders. Tally Youngblood is one of the most daring of the Uglies, and her imaginative tricks have gotten her in trouble with the menacing department of Special Circumstances."
"Uglies" is followed by the sequels "Pretties" and "Specials". Take a look at these books if you're looking for something surprising and a bit different...:-)
Definitely also look at Libba Bray's book "A Great and Terrible Beauty". The story takes place in Victorian England, where sixteen-year old Gemma is just beginning to discover the power of the strange visions she has. Her new friends at the boarding school are soon drawn into this otherworldly experience, but in the tradition of Gothic literature, something more sinister is afoot... Most definitely recommended! This book is also part of a trilogy, followed by "Rebel Angels" and "The Sweet Far Thing" (which will be published in December).
Do any of those work? Let me know if you still need help finding something, and maybe we can refine this search a bit more...:-) Don't hesitate to write back, and as I said before, let me know what you end up reading!
