Middle school fantasy novels

[Anonymous]

My nephew broke his leg skiing and will be laid up for quite awhile. He's looking for new fantasy series (having read the obvious -- Harry Potter, Young Wizards, Percy Jackson). I recommended Terry Pratchett. What does your middle schooler like?

[Anonymous]

Don't have a middle-schooler, but have middle-school tastes - Have you tried the Phillip Pullman Trilogy starting with Golden Compass? Also, the Abhorsen trilogy by Garth Nix. Terry Pratchett might be too sophisticated politically - the satire might go over a middle-schooler's head, but if he gets it - cool - Pratchett is one of the best satirists of our day. If he likes Terry Pratchett, Piers Anthony's Xanth series is a bit like that, as is Robert Aspirin's Myth series - but both have double entendres and that type of humor sprinkled liberally throughout, so if you don't like that, then be warned. I really liked the first Eragon by Chris Paolini, although I do believe it went downhill after the first one. You could start him on the Hobbit and Lord of the Rings, if he's an advanced reader, but don't be surprised if he can't get into it (I never did, shocking all my friends). Also, I loved the original Shannara series when I was his age - I think it starts with Sword of Shannara by Terry Brooks - and that doesn't have innuendo that the broad comic fantasy of Pratchett, Asprin, and Anthony have. Also, for pure schlocky fantasy that's still fun to read at that age, I would recommend the Dragonlance series - both my husband and I read those as kids. Also, Madeline L'Engle's Wrinkle in Time trilogy

[Anonymous]

Good reccs by the PP (note that Philip Pullman starts to beef with the Catholic Church a little in his later books, if that's something that would bother you. His Sally Lockhart books are also good but are set in 19th c England).

Garth Nix also has a slightly series that skews a little younger than Abhorsen and starts, I think, with Mr. Monday.

Children of the Lamp is another possibility(P.B. Kerr is the author I think, Akhenaten Adventures is the first).

Pretty much anything by Lloyd Alexander, but particularly the series that starts with Taran Wanderer.

I know a lot of people love the Redwall series by Brian Jacques. Haven't read it (except the first is in graphic novel form) and I am not sure exactly of its target age range, but usually anything good has a wide range.

The Ranger's Appprentice Series by John Flanagan is another series that he might go through quickly, but is worth reading.

[Anonymous]

I teach middle school English and my kids love the following books for Fantasy. All age app for 7th and 8th graders.

Hunger Games
Catching Fire
Toby Alone
Boom
Percy Jackson books
The Uglies
The Pretties
Barcode Tattoo
The Magicians Guild

Other ones my boys in class are reading right now

Drums, Girls and Dangerous Pie
The Watson's go to Birmingham
The Boy who Dared
Books by Gary Paulson
Holes

[Anonymous]

When I was that age, maybe a bit younger, I read the Swiftly Tilting Planet, A Wrinkle in Time and A Wind in the Door by Madeline L'Engle

[Anonymous]

Wow, thanks -- very helpful lists! On the whole, I don't do fantasy, so I'm out of my element on this question.

Hey 9:53, did you know there's Pratchett for kids? My daughter was one of the Wee Free Men for Halloween in 4th grade, I think it was. She also like the Only You Can Save Mankind/Johnny Maxwell series.

Do boys read Wrinkle in Time these days? They didn't when I was growing up. I've seen one counterexample among my DD's friends, but couldn't tell if he was the exception or the new rule.

[Anonymous]

I totally forgot about Pratchett's kid series because I didn't start reading him until college - Good Omens is still one of my all-time favorite novels - so I put him in the same category as Douglas Adams et al. Neil Gaiman also does some kid books as well - I just read The Graveyard Book - good book with a young male protagonist.

[Anonymous]

Good point re Gaiman. And the nephew in question is a Doug Adams fan, so that's a good sign.

[Anonymous]

Lots of good recs and I'm amazed I'm not the first one to rec Neil Gaiman. Good Omens is probably my favorite book, and Interworld would be an excellent pick too.

I'll also second the Dragonlance rec. If you get them start with the Chronicles and Legends trilogies by Weis and Hickman. He also might enjoy Weasel's Luck, about a boy who becomes a knight in spite of himself, and its sequel Galen Beknighted.

[Anonymous]

Lord of the Rings Trilogy

[Anonymous]

LeGuin's Earthsea trilogy. First one is Wizard of Earthsea.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Do boys read Wrinkle in Time these days? They didn't when I was growing up. I've seen one counterexample among my DD's friends, but couldn't tell if he was the exception or the new rule.

My son just read the series that has a Wrinkle in Time. It did not seem too girlish to him (He never said anything about that)

[Anonymous]

I would add:

The Dark Is Rising series by Susan Cooper (boy-centric, lots of action, some fighting)
The Dragonriders of Pern series by Anne McCaffrey (more science fiction than fantasy)
Redwall series by Brian Jacques (if he likes animals)
Narnia series by C.S. Lewis (can be heavy-handed with Christian themes and not terribly PC, but I was oblivious to all that until I re-read the books at 14)
The Gammage Cup
Otto of the Silver Hand (sort of historical fiction - set in medieval times - not really fantasy in the Harry Potter sense)
The Count of Monte Cristo by Alexandre Dumas (great action but not fantasy)

I don't put much stock in age restrictions unless there's graphic sex scenes, which a younger child will either not understand or find disgusting anyway. A good book is a good book. I read tons of stuff that was not technically age appropriate (Lord of the Rings at 8, Dumas at 10, etc). I may not have understood everything but I certainly got the gist, and used my imagination to fill in the rest. You (and he) may be surprised what he likes. Particularly if he is looking for something less "obvious."

[Anonymous]

The Narnia Series by CS Lewis

The Heir Series by Cinda Williams Chima (Warrior Heir is first)

[Anonymous]

My daughter is loving Good Omens (and learning more new words than she ever has from a single novel before, LOL!) Baffles me how a 12 year old atheist can make any sense of it, but apparently she knows more about the Bible than I'd realized.