Fantasy Buddy Reads discussion

I recently met an 11 year old girl who's very into fantasy. Of course i couldn't wait to give her suggestions. She's already read Percy Jackson and Harry Potter and the common stuff. I recommended Alcatraz Versus the Evil Librarians, Redwall, Dragonflight / Dragonquest. Is she too young for The Final Empire? Maybe Alanna: The First Adventure? What else do you think I can recommend? I'm not great with judging how mature 11 year olds are so don't want to suggest something too adult for her.

The Rithmatist by Sanderson would be good. Maybe Brandon Mull's books. My 13 year old nephew likes him. Hmmm. Will have to think about this.

C.P. wrote: "The Rithmatist by Sanderson would be good. Maybe Brandon Mull's books. My 13 year old nephew likes him. Hmmm. Will have to think about this."

Thank you! How could I forget about The Rithmatist?! I want to suggest all of the Brandon Sanderson things, but some are def too mature for her.

I recently read a book called The Girl of Ink and Stars, I would definitely recommend it! It's middle grade but didn't feel too immature if you know what I mean! :)

Brandon Mull and Rick Reordan, as well as Eoin Colfer - Artemis Fowl series - they are adorable!!!

She could try The Sea of Trolls by Nancy Farmer. The Never-ending Story by Michael Ende. And Narnia, namely The Lion, the Witch and the Wardrobe as well as The Voyage of the Dawn Treader . The others I thought were pretty dark, but ahe could try them as well

I would say still too young for the Final Empire, but Narnia is always a great option.

The Artemis Fowl books are another great option for that age group.

I also would HIGHLY recommend The Tale of Desperaux. That was my personal favorite =]

There's another book called The Green Ember that I would highly recommend =].

A wrinkle in time

Pullman's dark material trilogy starting with The Amber Spyglass

Lockwood and company starting with The Screaming Staircase

Siobhan wrote: "I recently read a book called The Girl of Ink and Stars, I would definitely recommend it! It's middle grade but didn't feel too immature if you know what I mean! :)"

A girl of ink and star yes but more The Girl Who Circumnavigated Fairyland in a Ship of Her Own Making. Anything by Frances Hardinge (Fly by Night I love most dearly). Sabriel and The Chronicles of Narnia (I assume she knows LOTR). Green Rider is always an option I should think. Also Howl's Moving Castle.

The Novice Summoner trilogy

Anything Brandon Mull, my personal favs aside from Harry Potter. Specifically Fablehaven although I've had some feedback from customers that kids that already struggle with reading can get intimidated by the language in it. She sounds like a good reader though so you should be okay.

Also try:
The Ruins of Gorlan
Magyk
Leven Thumps and the Gateway to Foo
Slathbog's Gold
The Field Guide
The Amulet of Samarkand
The Luck Uglies
The Unwanteds

:)

Diana Stormblessed wrote: "I recently met an 11 year old girl who's very into fantasy. Of course i couldn't wait to give her suggestions. She's already read Percy Jackson and Harry Potter and the common stuff. I recommended ..."

Also, I like all of the ones you mentioned. :) I agree that Mistborn might be too old, but totally love Redwall (as you know). I liked the Wild Magic
series by Pierce too.

Why not the Sword of Shannara, or the Elfstones of Shannara?

Can't believe I didn't mention Eoin Colfer! The Artemis Fowl books are my favorites. And pretty much everything Nikki said I would second.

Also The Icemark Chronicles starting with The Cry of the Icemark. I really enjoyed those.

Fairyland series by Cat Valente.
Dragonslayer series by Fforde.

(Sorry on iPad couldn’t figure out how to add the links)

Definitely check out the middle-grades section of the book awards from here for 2017 and prior.

For fantasy/sci-fi purposes though (Julia's Favs), trying to see if there's anything not already mentioned (she's read everything riordan and mull under the sun already):

Tui Sutherland - Dragonet series.
Lloyd Alexander - Prydain Chronicles
Margaret Haddix
Mrs. Frisby and the Rats of Nimh
Cornelia Funke
City of Ember series
Susan Cooper
David Eddings - Belgariad for sure.
Ender's Game?

I remember reading the Hitchiker's Guide Series when I was in sixth grade (11 to 12) and loving it too).

Thanks guys! I'm so excited to have someone else I can convert to my fantasy cult.

I'd recommend the Skulduggery Pleasant series. (So many other series I thought of have already been suggested.)

I was going to try and make some suggestions, but anything I'd say has already been mentioned! So I hope that you find something that she enjoys! Outside of fantasy though, maybe try the Bobsey Twins or The Hardy Boys. They were my favorite at that age!

I came here to see what options are out there, because I know so little about middle-grade books (at 11 I was deep into my Stephen King). I haven't heard of most of these!

So many good ones you guys! I would second a bunch of these. Sabriel, Howl's Moving Castle, Narnia, The Golden Compass, A Wrinkle in Time are among my favorites.

I haven't read it yet, but my little cousins and their friends of that age love The Green Ember. So I'll second Liam's suggestion on their behalf.

Instead of Dragonflight, personally I would suggest starting with the more YA Dragonsong of the Harper Hall trilogy. Robin McKinley's The Blue Sword would be perfect at 11. Also The Last Unicorn, Tom's Midnight Garden, or The Hounds of the Mórrígan.

Lot of my recs have already been covered but adding Percy Jackson. Also Pratchetts Nation, Wee Free Men, and Truckers.

Thanks guys. I sent her a list. I kept it shortish to not overwhelm, but I'll keep sending her new lists every few weeks with all your recommendations :-)