I was told, “you’ve got to read this book, it’s Nancy Drew meets Harry Potter and more!” That was enough to hook me, and I picked up the audio book edition of Flora Segunda: Being the Magical Mishaps of a Girl of Spirit, Her Glass-Gazing Sidekick, Two Ominous Butlers (One Blue), a House with Eleven Thousand Rooms, and a Red Dog by Ysabeau S. Wilce. Isn’t that the best title? It also accurately describes what the book is all about. On the other hand, there is so much more to this book. If you liked Harry Potter, read Flora Segunda. I bet you love it! Read it!

Librarians usually like to read books about librarians, and how could we possibly resist this title: Alcatraz Versus the Evil Librarians by Brandon Sanderson?! Come on! In the book, the main character Alcatraz Smedley learns that librarians manage knowledge in such a way that most people never suspect the existence of far more land on Earth than the usual seven continents. He has to do battle in a library against the evil librarians. Fun stuff.

Have you tried The Spiderwick Chronicles or A Series of Unfortunate Events? Both have a similar feel to Harry Potter. Perhaps you’d like one. Also, you could try a series of books by Phillip Reeve that starts with Larklight, or The Revenge of the White Spiders! or, To Saturn’s Rings and Back! : A Rousing Tale of Dauntless Pluck in the Farthest Reaches of Space. I find that title even more amusing than Alcatraz Vs. the Evil Librarians.

Here are a few other young adult or kids’ authors and series you might want to check out if you’re looking to expand your horizons beyond Harry Potter.

Patricia Wrede

Phillip Pullman’s His Dark Materials series

Artemis Fowl series by Eoin Colfer

Theodosia and the Serpent of Chaos by R.L. La Fevers

Tags: books, Harry Potter

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