Bitchery member, Elizabeth, has a special request and time is of the essence! She has a lovely idea to pass out bookmarks with reading recommendations, so let’s help her out:
I’ve gotten a lot of recommendations for great books from the Bitchery at large, so I now come seeking your help. I attend an annual Harry Potter convention called CONjuration every year (if you’re in the Atlanta area, it’s a seriously fun convention for all ages, but skewed a little more toward teens and younger children.)
This year I am going as Madam Pince (complete with Monster Book of Monsters) and will be handing out bookmarks with my Harry Potter Chibi patterns on the front and my shop info on the back. I also want to add a “You May Also Like” book recommendation on the back to encourage further fantasy reading (or reading in general). I know there are all the usual suspects (like Artemis Fowl and the Hunger Games and the Mortal Instruments, etc) but these kids are voracious readers and have probably already run through all of those. I’d like to get some recommendations for newer book that they may not have heard of yet, that are light fantasy suitable for YA and all-ages readers (like the recently mentioned Heartstone by Elle Katherine White, which I got at RT and squeed all over.)
I know this is the best place to get recommendations from like-minded readers, so if you ladies can recommend some suitable titles, I would be profoundly grateful!
Sarah: The Robin McKinley books are a great place to start with a reader who is curious about full-on immersive worldbuilding, too.
Amanda: For fantasy, The Blue Sword ( A | BN | K | G | AB | Au ) and for something more romantic, Rose Daughter ( A | BN | K | AB ).
Sarah: The Enchanted Chocolate Pot series is so charming it’s ridiculous.
Redheadedgirl: Books by Tamora Pierce and Diane Duane!
Amanda: Howl’s Moving Castle by Dianna Wynne Jones ( A | BN | K | G | AB ). She was a great storyteller.
Carrie: I’m afraid these are all older rather than newer!
For younger grades, the How to Train Your Dragon series ( A | BN | K | G | AB ).
Song of the Lioness series by Tamora Pierce.
Young Wizards series by Diane Duane ( A | BN | K | G | AB ).
Enchanted Forest Chronicles by Patricia C. Wrede ( A )
Amanda: Hex Hall by Rachel Hawkins ( A | K | G | AB | Scribd )! It has that magical school element too. And I think Carrie reviewed a book called Seriously Wicked ( A | BN | K | G | AB ) or at least something similar.
What suggestions do you have for Elizabeth? She made need some longer bookmarks!
I love LOVE Rick Riordan’s Percy Jackson series and the sequel, Heroes of Olympus (which adds a whole bunch of new characters, 90% of them being PoCs which is awesome, and one character of the original series being revealed as LGBT and ass-kicking in many ways).
The third series set in Camp Halfblood features the God Apollo being transformed into a young human boy and it sounds cool, but I haven’t read it yet. It’s already on my shelf though.
I love the books because they’re fun and witty. And I love them as someone who had zilch interest in Greek mythology before these books.
You can never go wrong with Patricia C. Wrede or Robin McKinley! Love love love!
Wrede’s Frontier Magic trilogy begins with Thirteenth Child and is like Little House on the Prairie with magic (and somewhat less racism). Delightful.
Alethea Kontis does a wonderful fantasy mashup of fairytales with her Woodcutter Sisters series, beginning with Enchanted.
Not Quite What You Asked For, But For Voracious Readers You Could Try:
Gail Carriger’s Finishing School series is steampunk rather than fantasy, but boarding school, vampires, werewolves, manners, assassination techniques…what’s not to love? Delightful, entertaining, quirky, humorous.
Ann Aguirre’s Razorland series is post-apocapyptic and not for the faint of heart (they sure disturbed my sleep!) but they contain a wonderful, imperfect, strong-in-her-convictions heroine making her way in world full on danger and restrictions and battle. Powerful. The newest book, Vanguard, has a different main character and is standalone.
David Weber and Jane Lindskold’s Stephanie Harrington books (starting with A Beautiful Friendship) are science fiction, but they’re on-planet, forestry-exploring science fiction. Exciting, thought-provoking, relationship-building, exploring-and-researching fun. Wonderful world-building.
Sharon Lee and Steve Miller’s Theo Waitley books (starting with Fledgling) are also science fiction, but with space travel. Academia, intrigue, cultural differences, research, mystery, the aforementioned space travel, martial arts, bowli ball…I always want to take up handcrafting and martial arts after reading the first two Theo Waitley books. (Is that were my recent enthusiasm for knitting came from???)
Brandon Sanderson’s Steelheart series: Superheroes gone bad. Really bad. The violence is no worse than Hunger Games.
Morgantown Vampires by Rachel Caine. Vampires run a college town. There’s some sex, but they don’t get into that much detail. It also doesn’t happen for awhile, since our heroine is 16 at the beginning of the series.
Vampire Academy by Richelle Mead: Vampires ARE the college town :). Again, non-detailed sex, at least in the first 3 books.
I was disappointed by The Thirteenth Child and didn’t continue the series, partly because Wrede’s solution to the “less racism” problem was to imagine a North America that literally had NO indigenous human inhabitants and was therefore open for settlement without moral complications (like Iceland). That made me a little uncomfortable. I love her enchanted forest and regency series, but frontier magic was disappointing, and I’ve found her Lyra books uneven. (She’s never lived in a city and in The Raven Ring it shows.)
I could never get into the Harry Potter series, because the early books seemed pleasant but derivative to me, but I did read a lot of fantasy as a kid. What about the Elizabeth Scarborough books? I’m fond of Song of Sorcery and The Unicorn Creed (though I think the second two books in the “Seashell archives” are weaker). I also like all of her series “Picking the Ballads Bones” which has a fun saving the world feel. All of those are a great introduction to folk music.
Anything by Terry Pratchett, obviously, though his “official” YA books, “Only You Can Save Mankind” and its sequels “Johnny and the Bomb” and “Johnny and the Dead” are wonderful and underrated. (And feature a girl who is very good at video games, which given that his daughter Rhianna writes game scripts for a living may be a fond portrait of an actual kid.)
Also highly recommend LLoyd Alexander for younger readers. The Prydain Chronicles (starting with The Book of Three) are (without spoilers) an epic five book response which builds up to a quiet but devastating critique of the end of the Lord of the Rings. (But I read them before Tolkien and they’re charming and funny and don’t rely on outside knowledge.) The Vesper Holly series is shorter and lighter hearted steampunk, and he has a number of standalone fantasies set in lightly disguised real world places that are NOT European. These can get formulaic, but they have the advantage of interesting settings as opposed to generic European quasi-medieval or generic European or American present day.
For a devastating and NOT light hearted but compelling yYA historical fantasy dealing with both slavery and the less pretty side of feudalism from the peasant’s point of view, I highly recommend Walter Dean Myers’ little known novel The Legend of Tarik, set in sub-Saharan Africa and Spain, with an African protagonist. (And yes, the main character’s name is probably a nod to the Tarik who gave his name to Gibraltar, Jebd-al-Tariq.)
I’m fond of some of the spin offs of Andre Norton’s Witch World books, almost more than the originals.
I’ll try to think of more soon.
Admittedly this is not my genre, but I immediately thought of William Goldman’s The Princess Bride and Neil Gaiman’s Stardust for teens. Both are decidedly darker and more satirical than the movies they inspired, but provide a richer view of two beloved films (not unlike HP I would think).
I also read Mary Stewart’s Merlin trilogy as a teen and loved it.
I love, love, love all of the young adult Rick Riordan series. I’m in the middle of the Third book about Magnus Chase, Annabeth’s Norse-pantheon cousin. That series has a gender-fluid person in it, as well as a muslim POC. Also seconding the Gail Carriger recommendation. I also liked Meg Cabot’s The Mediator series, although that is not super new either. Another very potter-esque series is Victor Klauss’ Royal Institute of Magic. I have only read the first one, and while it took me a little bit to get into, it ended up being pretty good.
From the top of my head, a series that has not yet been mentioned i above comments is
John Flanagan – Ranger’s Apprentice series,
And although I haven’t read anything yet from the author, one name that kept popping upon recommended list was Joseph Delaney
A.G. Howard’s Splintered series is a YA re-telling of Alice in Wonderland. It leans more towards Tim Burton’s version than Lewis Carroll’s.
Neil Gaiman has some great YA titles. Some of my favorites are Coraline, The Graveyard Book, Fortunately, The Milk, and The Sleeper and the Spindle.
Marissa Meyer’s Lunar Chronicles series are futuristic sci-fi novels based around classic fairytales. The first book is about a cyborg mechanic named Cinder.
Leigh Bardugo’s Six of Crows series is about six outcasts who team up for a heist. A exciting mixture of action and magic.
Ransom Riggs Miss Peregrine’s trilogy is like X-Men First Class meets Tim Burton, full of spooky, quirky characters and gothic imagery. A fun series, especially for right around Halloween.
LOVE Robin McKinley.
Also I like the Series of Unfortunate Events by Lemony Snicket, which i read after Harry Potter and it was a good segue of children forced into independence by incompetent adults.
Gregor the Overlander books by Suzanne Collins, definitely!!! So few people I talk to have read these.
Mentions of the Aussie stuff I’ve seen around recently. Figure there’s a chance they’ll be more fresh in the US:
Andy Griffiths, 13 (+) storey Treehouse series
Emily Rodda, Deltora Quest, spinoffs. (Only familiar with much older Rowan of Rin series, myself. Excellent.)
Isobelle Carmody has some works out… and mercifully finally finished her masterpiece Obernewtyn series.
PS. You know, an ANTIDOTE to Harry Potter would be nice, given the backstories. I was SO glad I read Arthurian adaptations first, with characters who came out WELL even with some variation on a ‘this kid is a Terrible Idea’ backstory. Merlin. Galahad the BEST Knight Ever especially: not a whiff of guilt by association/misbegotten born bad, which Harry Potter savoured strongly of, by my lights.
Eva Ibbotson came up with the hidden platform idea first, but was gracious about it.
Highly recommend Jonathan Maberry’s Rot and Ruin series. Main character is 15. Don’t let the blurb fool you. These are so much more than just zombie books.
Second all the Robin McKinley recommendations.
Robin McKinley love! Yes! Also, Terry Pratchett’s Tiffany Aching series (starting with The Wee Free Men) is great; Tiffany is a 10-year-old who loves words. I presume that oldies-but-goodies are fine here, so:
Susan Cooper’s The Dark is Rising series
Lloyd Alexander’s Prydain Chronicles
T.A. Barron’s Merlin series
Evangeline Walton’s Mabinogion Tetralogy
Rosemary Sutcliff’s YA Arthurian retelling (The Sword and the Circle, The Light Beyond the Forest, The Road to Camlann.)
I adored Rosemary Sutcliff as an adolescent; she writes more historical fiction than fantasy, but it ticks the “landscapes of Britain” box. I haven’t read Maggie Stiefvater’s The Raven Boys (and series) but I have several college students who are raving about them.
My daughter loves fantasy stuff.
I second Rick Riordan. All of his series.
Danielle Paige’s STEALING SNOW and her Dorothy series.
Kelley Armstrong’s Darkest Powers series had a good following.
Rachel Vincent’s Soul Screamers series, too.
I want my daughter to read Jen Swann Downey’s The Ninja Librarians series. It sounds so completely fabulous!
Ridley Pearson’s Kingdom Keepers series were devoured by my girl and her friend.
YA with a heavy romance percentage:
– Alpha Girl by Aileen Erin
– Relentless by Karen Lynch
– Equal parts by Emma Winters (I love the cover!)
I was seriously into fantasy as a teen, so I’ll just list some of the books I read. I know, mostly they aren’t especially geared to YA, but I loved them nonetheless, so maybe older teens/16-?
And I’m afraid that nearly all of them are older…
– Daughter of the forest by Juliet Marillier (her Shadowfell series is rated as YA, but I like her Sevenwaters series better)
– the Timeless Fairytales and the Snowqueen series by K.M.Shea
– Night Angel by Brent Weeks
– Crown Duel and A Stranger to Command by Sherwood Smith
– Memory, Sorrow and Thorn by Tad Williams
– The War of Flowers by Tad Williams
– every Valdemar book by Mercedes Lackey I could get my hands on
– Wars of Light and Shadow by Janny Wurts
Brandon Sanderson, Alcatraz vs. the Evil Librarians
Oooh I second Fledgling and Saltation by Sharon Lee and Steve Miller! I read them and am now started on reading all the rest of their books, but these two follow a 14 year old girl learning about herself. My son loved Deltora Quest and spin offs.
So whole heartedly second Tamora Pierce and Diane Duane, I love the Young Wizard series! Also Golden Compass series.
Not so new but it looks like some have been republished.
There’s Lynne Ewing, her Daughters of the Moon series is really good.
Amelia Atwater Rhodes, absolutely lover her stuff, most is vampires, but the latest bunch has been fantasy. She got her first book published at 13.
One of my absolute favorites and I still have all the books, is Cate Tiernan’s Sweep series, teenager finds out she’s a witch in high school.
I have a couple of much older recommendations.
Eva Ibbotson – a couple of her books contain striking similarities to Harry Potter: Witch Witch? has an abused orphan boy who later exhibits awesome magical abilities and The Secret of Platform 13 contains a mysterious platform at Kings Cross that leads to a hidden world. Both predate Harry Potter and some accusations were slung around by others, but Ibbotson chose to take the high road. They’re quite dated and very English in their humour, but they could lead to a discussion about tropes and inspiration in writing.
Leon Garfield and Edward Blishen – The God Beneath the Sea is my favourite book of all time. I could go on for pages about how this is the best book in the history of the universe and I will fight anyone who says otherwise, but it left 10 year old me breathless and shivering for hours at the power of the written word. It is a retelling of Greek myths from creation to the birth of Odysseus in gorgeous, dense, lush prose. It has unvarnished depictions of rape, violence and mass murder – i.e. what a lot of myths really are. Their other book, The Golden Shadow, tells the tale of Heracles, partly through the eyes of a blind storyteller, and deals with themes of jealousy, pride, madness and the tragedy of a hero growing old. Philip Pullman cites them as an inspiration for his work. Not for young or sensitive readers, I agree, but worth it for someone who wants a challenge and some food for thought about the true nature of myths and legends.
I’ve read and enjoyed, “Akata Witch” by Nnedi Okorafor and its sequal “Akata Warrior”. Set in Nigeria, its about a teenager, born in the US who moves with her family to their family home in Nigeria and discovers that she has access to magic. Well written, good themes about fitting in, finding your people, accepting yourself, etc.
I second Amanda’s recommendation of Rachel Hawkins’ HEX HALL series. I don’t normally read YA, though I’ve dipped my toes in occasionally. When I ended up with a recommendation from my librarian (and we all know librarians are psychic when it comes to these things!) so I grabbed the first book, the aptly named HEX HALL. I enjoyed it so much, I immediately went on a binge read.
For something darker, Lilith Saintcrow, writing as Lili St. Crow, wrote a trilogy, Tales of Beauty and Madness, loosely based on fairy tales: NAMELESS (Snow White), WAYFARER (Cinderella), and KIN (Red Riding Hood).
I’m showing my age and it’s possible no kids today want to read older books, but I did read alot written before my own youth, so maybe…
The 14 Oz books by Baum are great fun for elementary age
I love Stephanie Burgis Kat, incorrigible (recent, too,)
Agree on Carriger Finishing School
Completely Agree on Lloyd Alexander ( Disney made a cartoon based on this) and Susan Cooper (why did that movie have to suck?)
Dawn Cook’s Truth books are really good and feature a strong female protagonist and a love triangle that resolves based on the guy who actually treats her the best! (Can you believe it?)
Also good for younger, Matilda by Roald Dahl
Edward Eager’s Half Magic series is true classic fantasy for kids from 1950s
David Eddings’ Belgariad is very good , too. Some people may find it trite, but I find it comfortable like a trite squashy chair! Sex is mostly allusion.
Jessica Day George writes a lot of fantastic fantasy
Agree on Althea Kontis, as well
Totally love Shannon Hale, especially Princess Academy
Agree with Diana Wynne Jones, too. Witch Week has a strong sense of HP inspiration. ( Rowling obviously read a lot of young reader British Fantasy)
Must mention Uprooted by Naomi Novik. Great female lead
John Bellairs books are good and original covers were illustrated by Edward Gorey.
I completely agree with Tamora Pierce. New one is coming, too!
Sharon Shinn’ s Summers at Castle Auburn is an all time favorite
Older readers might like Stiefvater’s Raven Cycle. Has some issues, but I enjoyed it anyway.
Obviously I am just wandering around my library. I think I way over loaded this comment! It’s great that you are celebrating a series you love and fostering interest for new readers!
Akata Witch by Nnedi Okorafor. This one actually gets referred to as “the Nigerian Harry Potter”. The sequel, Akata Warrior, just came out, and I am eagle-eyeing my library for it.
I’d suggest that the Temeraire series by Naomi Novik would work well for this age group too. Hello, smartass battle dragon that likes to be read to.
I can’t speak for the current crop, but this would have been about the age that I found my way to Anne McCaffrey’s Pern. If you don’t want to negotiate some of the sexual aspects of the Dragonriders, maybe stick with the Harper Hall series to start with. I’m still mad about never having had a pet fire lizard. Dolphins of Pern would probably work for this age group, too.
My daughter is mad for the DC Superhero Girls series by Lisa Yee. She’s reading Katana right now.
Oh, oh, oh! Phoebe and Her Unicorn by Dana Simpson. They play off the unicorn lore so well, and are so funny and sweet. And the candy dragon! (heart eyes AF).
I mean, it’s old-school, but definitely The Chronicles of Prydain by Lloyd Alexander.
Leigh Bardugo just released The Language of Thorns, which are fairy tales set in her Grishaverse. I wouldn’t necessarily recommend the Grisha books for MG (especially not Six of Crows, loved it, but the male lead ripped out someone’s eyeball and pitched into the ocean toward the beginning of the book, sooo…), maybe 8th and up, but since these are fairy tales, they might be a good compromise.
I just read Warcross by Marie Lu, which I think could work well for this age group, and the gamer and game world aspects could be really appealing for them, too.
I think there’s a strong case for The Bear and the Nightingale by Katherine Arden, too. It, again, has its roots in Russian folklore, and the writing is just incredible beautiful and engaging.
The Great Library series by Rachel Caine. I read Ash and Quill last month, and got mad when I had to put it down to do other things.
Definitely the Illuminae series by Jay Kristoff and Amie Kaufman. They’re more sci-fi, but they are so much damn fun, and such a great twist on epistolary novels.
For older teens, I highly recommend The Secrets of the Immortal Nicholas Flamel by Michael Scott (starting with The Alchemyst). Voracious readers will use the series as a jumping off point to explore the historic characters, mythology, and legends interlaced throughout the books. Twins Sophie and Josh are the only ones who can save the world while interacting with such varied concepts as Joan of Arc, Shakespeare, Billy the Kid, Machiavelli, Excalibur, the catacombs of Paris, Alcatraz, Prometheus, and Virginia Dare (just to name a few rabbit holes I disappeared down while reading the series). Nothing is as it seems until it is and shades of gray are surprisingly prevalent in both heroes and villains.
This is an old book so probably not helpful in this specific case but for anyone who’s looking in this genre, A Plague of Sorcerers by Mary Frances Zambreno will always hold a special place in my heart. It’s about a boy wizard who is struggling to figure out how to use his powers and there’s also a magical plague wreaking havoc on the city. It’s got mystery and magic and a minor romantic subplot (more of a first crush really.) I love it so much.
Recommenders of Sherwood Smith (and I endorse that rec heartily) should be aware that there’s a substantial body of work available through BookView Cafe, that goes well beyond the books for which she is best known. Some of it is very early kids’/YA material from corners of the Inda world, but there is a whole lot of other work as well.
Likewise, readers of Diane Duane may be familiar with the Young Wizards books, but there are also titles that you’ll find now only at her online bookstore, notably IMO Stealing the Elf-King’s Roses — not written as YA, but there’s almost no Duane that I wouldn’t hand to a teen reader. And that does include a non-trivial cluster of work actually set in the “Young Wizards” continuity.
Oh, and one newer work that deserves mention here: David D. Levine’s Arabella of Mars, which is in that hard-to-classify zone between SF and fantasy where the science is highly unlikely (alt-Regency-ish era airships that fly between planets through “aether”) but carefully worked out regardless. Essentially, it’s classic swashbuckling with a dashing young heroine done in a fine style that calls up both Robert Louis Stevenson and Edgar Rice Burroughs echoes (in a good way).
The Seven Realms series by Cinda Williams Chima is excellent. There is diversity and magic, a charismatic former street thief turned wizard and a power struggle within the Queendom.
The Duology: Eon: Dragoneye Reborn and Eona: The Last Dragoneye by Alison Goodman. loosely based on a mix of Chinese and Japanese myths it features a 16 year old girl disguised as a 12 year old boy.
Daughter of Smoke and Bone series by Laini Taylor. Angels and magic and chimeras!
I agree that The Lunar Chronicles by Marissa Meyer and The Finishing School series by Gail Carriger are both good.
I think the above series may be considered for the 12-18 range though If I recall Eon and the Daughter of Smoke and Bone series are probably less appropriate for the younger end of the age range as they both have: a scene of attempted rape in the later books in the case of DOS&B and at least some threatening sexual behavior in Eon.
The Flora trilogy by Ysabeau Wilce: Flora Segunda, Flora’s Dare, and Flora’s Fury.
I would recommend The Book Jumper by Mechthild Glaser for a recent release that they might not have read yet!
The Darkest Powers/Darkness Rising (two separate trilogies that combine towards the end of the last book) by Kelley Armstrong are good, as are her other YA series.
Although the Alanna quartet aren’t new, Pierce kept writing in the world of Tortall (and in my opinion, better all the time). She has a new Tortall set starting, about George!
Ursula LeGuin’s wizard books, starting with A Wizard of Earthsea, are gorgeous, and the fourth & fifth came much more recently and focus on female charaters, which I loved.
Talking to Dragons begins a wonderful series. I think that’s Wrede too.
JAT
Oh my yes, I loved Crown Duel by Sherwood Smith, one of the few YAs I kept that wasn’t part of a series. It’s got everything.
Forgot but there’s also Tanith Lee, also loved her Claidi Journals series, that was another keeper I still have.
Also, while not YA, I started reading them as a teenager, Mercedes Lackey Valdemar series is a great starter Fantasy series. It’s not too difficult to follow, like many adult fantasy books I’ve tried to read, with too much world building at once. Highly recommend it.
It might not be quite what your looking for, but have you read the Jackaby series by William Ritter? It’s kind of like Sherlock mixed with Fantastic Beasts. It’s a bit of mystery and the supernatural.
Wow, thank you everyone! This is a HUGE help! I’m going to need a TON of bookmarks 😀 but this is good because I think (hope!) they will be popular enough that I will hand out a bunch over the weekend.
I very much appreciate all the suggestions! Smart Bitches are THE BEST! <3
I’ve been really enjoying the Lockwood & Co. series by Jonathan Stroud (“The Screaming Staircase” is book 1). Light fantasy/horror – it’s set in an alternate/near-future London where ghosts have started appearing at an alarming rate. Children are the only ones who can see them, so there are “agencies” staffed by kids who go out to hunt the ghosts. The writing feels very British to me in a way that is hard for me to quantify, but I like it and suspect it would appeal to other Harry Potter fans as well (the author is also British, natch). It may be a little scary for squeamish readers/very young kids, but for anybody that likes their fantasy a little on the shivery side, it’s a fantastic series.
Seraphina by Rachel Hartman is a fabulous more recent book featuring dragons in a 1600s-esque setting. It skews more YA and more politics than flash-boom-magic but I think a lot of readers who are ready for more complexity than HP would like it.
Has anyone mentioned Inkheart by Cornelia Funke? Her books are a little older but also great.
I second Lockwood and Co.
Akata Witch by Nnedi Okorafor-Mbuchu is basically Harry Potter set in Nigeria,is awesome, and deserves to be better known. I’ve heard some criticism that the book includes the magic-cures-disability trope regarding the main character’s albinism but still- how many books do most young readers run across that are set in Nigeria?
Adam Gidwitz’s Tale Dark and Grimm series is so good, and also so moving that it can make me cry because of the empowerment that it shares with kids via fractured fairy tales.
For older teens, Maggie Stiefvater’s books are fabulous, especially the Raven Boys cycle, but maybe too intense for younger readers.
The Dragon with a Chocolate Heart by Stephanie Burgis is a middle grade featuring (you guessed it) a dragon who finds out that her thing is chocolate.
The Girl Who Drank the Moon is straight up fantasy that won the Newbery last year- it is middle grade but might also make a fabulous family read aloud.
The Keeper of the Mist by Rachel Neumeier has the feel of an old school Robin McKinley, and might be good for YA readers who want a gentler read. (AKA, not too much gore but still high stakes, romance by no sex.)
The Real Boy by Anne Ursu is fantasy, but also the best depiction of autism in a book for middle grade I’ve seen (Disability in Kidlit agrees with me.)
For a Dianna Wynne-Jones readalike, try Jessica Day-George’s Wednesday in the Castle series.
And, I’m going to stop now, I swear- my last rec is Shannon Hale’s Princess Academy series. Oh, and Grace Lin’s Starry River of the Sky.
I agree with a lot of the recommendations here! YA isn’t my genre, so my suggestions are mainly based on what I read at that age (and which I think still hold up).
-His Dark Materials trilogy, starting with “The Golden Compass”.
-The Earthsea Cycle by Ursula K LeGuin starting with “A Wizard of Earthsea”. Diverse protagonists and a great world!
-“Stardust” by Neil Gaiman
-“The Magicians” by Lev Grossman. Highschool-aged magic school, male protagonist a bit angsty.
-The Lunar Chronicles by Marrissa Meyer, starting with “Cinder”. Steampunk retelling of princess fairy tales.
-Abhorsen series by Garth Nix starting with “Sabriel”.
-Temeraire series by Naomi Novic starting with “His Majesty’s Dragon”. Although this is long and written for adults, I think a teen who is into fantasy and history could easily get into the combination of dragons and the Napoleonic wars.
-Samaria series by Sharron Shinn starting with “Archangel”. Bioengineered humans (with wings) living on planet with minimal technology. Scifi but reads like fantasy. Each book follows a central romance (so maybe not for HP fans), but the world building is great!
-Enchanted Forest Chronicles by Patricia Wreede, starting with “Dealing With Dragons”. Wizard and magic and quests. Heroine is the only one who will talk to dragons. Suitable for younger audiences (I think I read in 6th grade).
A caution:
-I love Daughter of the Forest, but the heroine is raped (description isn’t graphic, but her emotional response is detailed) and it took me years to return to the series after reading the first book in college.
I didn’t see William Ritter’s Jackaby series. It is a great set of books. A late teens female heroine comes to the US and begins to work for a very eccentric detective who can see the supernatural. The last one just came out and I really loved all of them.
Sherry Thomas’s YA trilogy beginning with The Burning Sky is so, so good.
Margaret Mahy would probably be good for older middle readers.
Malina Marchetta’s Finnikan of the Rock trilogy is also very good, but it’s only maybe YA, and definitely not for middle school aged readers.
I second so many things above: Patricia Wrede, especially Sorcery and Cecelia, and I also had issues with the Frontier Magic series; Tamora Pierce; and Diana Wynne Jones x1000. Brandon Sanderson–my middle school aged cousins love him, and while his stuff is not considered YA there’s little to no sexual themes. Rae Carson’s books are pretty good, and Megan Whalen Turner is exceptional, though her books aren’t fantasy per se. Cinda Williams Chima.
If you’re looking for less-known books, Spellbound River Press has some great middle grade fantasy, and diverse characters: http://spellboundriver.com/
The Magic Mayhem Series by Deanna Roy, about kids with special powers, is probably the closest to Harry Potter. As a bonus, the kids also struggle with concerns such as learning disabilities, food allergies, and seizures.
The Genie’s Gift, by Chris Eboch, draws on the mythology of the Arabian nights for a girl-power adventure. Her Haunted series follows a brother and sister who travel with a ghost hunter TV show. The girl can see ghosts, and she wants to help them without letting the adults know of her ability.
The Galaxy Games Series by Greg Fishbone brings a diverse group of Earth teenagers into Olympics-style competition with aliens – and they sometimes have to save the world.
The Cousins in Action Series by Sam bond is technically not fantasy, but the five cousins go on some fantastical adventures as they travel to Peru, India, and England. Two of the cousins are girls adopted from China.