20 Best Fantasy Books For Middle Schoolers (2023 Updated)

All choices were made by child for his birthday

The choice of reading a new author can be influenced by something as simple as eavesdropping. I was in my favorite brick-and-mortar dealer’s when I overheard some of the staff speculating that “(this book) will be the next Harry Potter.

” I think the folk I happened to hear over-stated the possibilities of this Young Adult novel, however, I am glad, that I heard their speculation. Had I not been so nosy, I would have missed out on reading a good story in the Mountain Folklore tradition.

The year is 1899. Serafina secretly lives, with her father, in the basement of Biltmore Estate, just outside of Asheville, N. C. As her father helped build this magnificent home, they moved in before did the Vanderbilt’s’ and it is the only home Twelve-year-old Serafina has known.

When she was ten, she asked her pa, “Do I have a job like everyone else?” He informed her that hers was extremely important and no one did it better than she, thus she learned that she was C. R. C (Chief Rat Catcher) of Biltmore House (p.

6-7). It takes the remainder of the book to understand just how good she is at this task. The pages between our learning of Sera’s gifts and obtaining the information of how it came to be is filled with an old-fashioned, well-spun, Folk Tale full of haints, missing children, willfully blind adults, courageous children and the promise of more such tales to follow.

It is a good thing that books showing the possibilities of what can occur when people, particularly those seen as weak or incapable, stand-up to danger using the strengths they possess. Serafina knows she is different from the other children upon which she spies – she has no surname, has only four toes on each foot, she can travel silently, sees well in the dark and likes to be in close, well hid places and she has to hide from everyo.

I have been reading this to my seven year old daughter every night after having it signed by the author. He told her she might need to be brave during the first few chapters, so she was prepared for the dark tone.

We are both enjoying it and are about twenty pages from the end. We both like the young heroine and particularly appreciate her smarts in sleuthing. Today, my daughter was trying to figure something out and when finished, she said she was finding evidence to solve a mystery like Serafina.

While Serafina and the Black Cloak is written for 8 to 12 year-old, as an adult, I enjoyed it thoroughly! A good mystery, an intriguing heroine, some supernatural/paranormal elements, and excellent historical insights into the Biltmore House and life in 1899.

It dealt with some mature themes. belonging. fitting in. family. loss. responsibility. But the ultimate theme was the triumph of good over evil. I am sending my copy to my 11-year-old great niece.

I am Azrin, a girl who likes Astronomy, stars, the moon, and outer space. The book is very interesting yet a bit boring, though I still love it! I haven’t finished reading yet but the book is either way very amazing.

It has all of my interests and is very entertaining. I’m only 9 but can still read non-picture books. I would recommend this book to anyone who likes stars, space, and frightening adventure.

As an avid audiobook listener, I was thrilled to have a book different than my norm. The narrator does a good job with voices and tone, however the story drags in points, then gets interesting, and then seems like it’s getting dragged out and could have ended in several different places.

Perhaps if you read the words, and don’t listen via audiobook your experience would be different. It’s not a bad book, just not one I would gift or excitedly tell people about.

Wow! Slowly builds up, layers and characters and mysteries and sorrow and the terror of what might happen. About power, love, identity, children, growing up, growing old, and friends, and curiosity and magic.

How can you love all the characters in a book? Even the bad ones? Even a crow? Magic! And the Bog, the Bog, the Bog. Glerk.

Howl’s Moving Castle is an enchanting story, rather like fairy tale. Howl’s Moving Castle is about, Sophie a plucky young women, who is discontented with her boring life, working in a hat shop, until, she is cursed by the Witch of the Waste.

Sophie goes on a journey to break the spell, she is under. On Sophie’s journey she meets Howl. Howl’s the powerful wizard that can break Sophie’s curse. But its hard to break a curse that was put on you by the ancient powerful Witch of the Waste and to top it off you can’t tell anyone about, because the curse prevents you.

Howl’s an sly, selfish, cowardly, and as vane as a peacock and you can’t pin him down to anything. But with a plucky women like Sophie Howl had no chance, he had help her. In the end Sophie does not need to be saved by Howl because she saves him.

This story of full of fairly tale like elements and interesting things like: magic, fire demons, moving castles, magic portals, missing princes, princess, curses, magical falling stars, magical disguises, heart less wizards, hopping scarecrows, seven league boots, and cloaks of invisibility.

It is a excellent read and I would recommend this book to people who love fairy tale or fantasy stories.

The first time I ever heard of this book was in 2006 when we lived in St. Louis MO a friend of our younger son with whom he played homeschool baseball gave a report in in a local homeschool newsletter.

A few years later after we had moved from St. Louis to Salem IL we picked Howl’s Moving Castle made from the book in 2004 by Hayao Miyazaki for a family video. The film generally follows the book but as Jackson noted there are some major differences.

I read several reviews by people who actually liked the movie better than the book. The main complaints about the novel are that it is has poor character development flimsy story lines implausible plot devices and too many words yet not enough real description.

Personally I found the book well-written and generaly easy to read with a fair amount of excitement but I did note a few concerns. First the plot has an almost ‘absurdist’ quality to it. That doesn’t necessarily make it bad but some people may not care for that sort of story.

There are some common euphemisms such as ‘drat’ and ‘confound it ‘ a few curse-like terms (‘damnation’ and ‘Hell’s teeth’) and one instance of the word ‘Lord’ used as an exclamation. Howl has as reputation as a womanizer courting girls until they fall in love with him then dropping them for someone else but nothing sexual is actually implied.

References to drinking beer brandy and wine occur and Howl comes home drunk once towards the end. If you prefer not to have your children reading books which contain magic or witchcraft you would obviously want to avoid this one.

I do make a distinction between books which I believe promote an interest in the occult such as Harry Potter and those where the magic or witchcraft is simply part of the fictional setting of a story.

Howl’s Moving Castle comes about as close to the former as possible and only the ‘absurdist’ nature of the plot might keep it from falling into that category. Author Diana Wynne Jones was born in London England on August 16 1934 the daughter of Marjorie (n.

This book is marvellous! Beautiful story and amazing characters. It is a funny and profound love story. It is magic! If you like fantasy and magical stuff it is a must! If you loved the Ghibli animated adaptation you will also love this!.

SEVENTH DIMENSION: THE DOOR is a young adult fantasy like no other. It starts off ordinary enough as we follow the troubled young Shale Snyder through a few difficulties at school and at home but takes an amazing turn into Biblical times.

Amazing because there’s a twist. A few others have gotten there the same way. And while there are plenty of adventures and mysteries to solve this story is filled with many wonderful explanations of life and history that are enlightening to readers of all ages.

I particularly enjoyed the way Ms. Roberts did such a marvelous job of revealing the story through the eyes of Shale and how she captured the sense of discovery of one’s true spiritual journey. In fact I could almost believe that there was a possibility that the experience could even happen in real life.

At any rate I found the book not only an entertaining read but one of such unique spiritual insights that I will eagerly look forward to reading book two. Because THE SEVENTH DIMENSION is a place of hidden treasures for all ages.

whether it is real or not.

I have always enjoyed children’s books with references to the Bible and I have found that 7th Dimension is that and much more. It is a beautiful story of hope and forgiveness (self) for a young girl Shale who struggles through the usual teen angst of feeling unloved and condemned (by herself mostly.

) The story weaves her magical experience of traveling to the time of Jesus and witnessing some of the miracles that Jesus performed right till his resurrection. It introduces readers who have never been exposed to the New Testament to some of the historical events that accompanied Jesus’ ministry here on earth and we see how this would have positively impacted a child burdened by guilt and not knowing what to do with this.

Ms. Roberts has done a delightful job of making the talking animals and life in the Ancient 1st century seem real and I have to admit I was sad to say goodbye to Shale’s pets just as she was. If you or your children have enjoyed stories like Uncle Remus and Brer Rabbit stories as well as tales by Thornton Burgess you will thoroughly enjoy the 7th Dimension.

I can wholeheartedly recommend this for readers 11 and up and look forward to reading more about adventures in the 7th Dimension and wouldn’t be surprised if this is how God reaches out to some of the lost!.

I recently lost my copy of this book and was looking for this particular edition since my collection is all a matching set. This was one of the few listings I could find for this edition that wasnt extremely overpriced, and it was in great condition too! Arrived exactly when it was expected to as well.

Thank you!!!!.

Fabulous series opener for 4th-8th graders who love action, adventure and animals. Follow clans of wild cats as they work together to stake homes for themselves and fight to protect them from predators from many species.

My 5th-7th graders keep all of Hunter’s books checked out.

This book was a well put together story,but it makes you want to buy the other books. I had a difficult time putting the book down. I would definately recommend the series – but read them in order. **Note from Mom – I can’t believe how well written the series of books are.

I have read numberous books and these are definately worth the time! Kudos to Erin Hunter and the clan! I would recommend these books to any child or adult! I am on my seventh one, and looking forward to reading much more!.

For being Brandon Sanderson’s first novel, he knocked it out the park! Stunning opening and dramatic conclusion, however it did drag a bit in the middle. As a compete work however, it’s a must read!

This is book 10 of the Wings of Fire series. Perfect for a 9-10 year old kids. My eldest loves the stories and requested book 10 as Christmas present. Nice and fast delivery. Reasonable priced

My daughter loves this series and wanted all of the books in hardback. She is still searching, but is happy to have the few books that she does have.

Wings of Fire is a fantastic series for readers around 9 – plus, although the books do contain fighting scenes. But any good book needs to have a little action and battle scenes, right?! 🙂 But what really makes this series so addictive is that it tells the story from a dragon’s point of view.

There’s no “Yay, I just killed a dragon because I’m a super important human and I can do anything!” In this series, humans are described as ‘scavengers,’ virtually harmless creatures that have very little brains.

I’d rate it six stars if I could. Summary: the best series I’ve ever read. I’m reading The Dragonet Prophecy for the third time now.

This book is great amazing story good characters. I wanted to keep reading when the book finished I just wanted the book to keep going it was that good. I think everybody should read it the book is great you should get this book.

I know I keep saying how good it is it just is that good.

I love this book! It’s such a good book in the WoF series and by far my favourite. Borrowed the book from my friend and when I finshed I watned to buy it like that! I’d recommend this book to everyone that loves amazing series with twists and turns.

Definetly 5 stars for Turtle’s book!.

my favourite book this year wow so muh happens and so many questions are answered about the dragon prophecy! cricket is the best character and wowww that ending! darkstalker scares me but nightwing is sick.

I read this series of books with my 8 year old son every night. We both couldnt put the book down and we didn’t want the book to end. We can’t wait for Tui Sutherland next installment. Blurring the lines between good and evil.

Showing the different perspectives of each character. Violent but not gruesome. Caring but not soppy. Perfect for boys and girls who dream of making a difference in their world. Shows the importance of friends, you can’t choose your family and to never give up hope.

I liked the character Appleglow. She was my favorite. I kept wondering where I had read this book before, and then it dawned on me that I had read the same story in the Elfstones book and in the High Druid of Shanadowa series.

This would have been a better book series if the new Elfstones had been used after they had been found and that they would not have good right back where they came from. Also if the author hadn’t destroyed my favorite character: Grianne.

That really got me upset! For me, the Shanadowa series ends for good after the High Druid books. Nothing after that was fun reading for me. Pax et bonum!.

This is the 2nd book in a three book series continuing the story of “The Dark Legacy of Shannara”. Terry Brooks the author has a way of drawing his readers into the fantasy of the book. There are 40 plus books written by Terry Brooks in the Shannara series that take you back to Faerie time to modern day without losing your interest of good vs evil.

Terry ties in the new heroes and heroines with those of their past ancestors and relatives.

Absolutely brilliant book from a well established writer, well worth the time to read

Got this for my 6 year old (very advanced reader) and he blazed through it. He can’t wait for the next graphic novel version to be released! So fun for getting kids to fall in love with reading. especailly if they are as dragon-obsessed as mine is!.

A poplar book amongst my students. Boys and girls ask for these books all the time. Competitive prices online!

My kids LOVE these graphic novels! My 6 and 8 year olds struggled with reading the actual novels but the comic style of these graphic novels keeps them engaged for hours!

Hats off to Mr. Salvatore on taking a step away from Drizzt. I really enjoyed the way in which he fleshed out some of his characters in a bold new adventure. Nice to see other life within the Realms and the Wizards has given R.

A. some breathing room to explore new stories. As he said in his interview with Wizards, it is a dungeon crawl and a very good one. This book will keep you reading all night! The vivid imagery helps you really SEE the story, and HEAR it.

The characters are interesting and grow tremendously throughout the book.

I love R.A. Salvatore writing.

Good condition glad to almost completing my collection again

I loved this book! It was good value and the content was compelling. I highly recommend this book to young readers. I only rated it four stars because it could have come faster. I waited pretty long for this book.

Other than that, this product was great!.

My 10 year daughter loves this series. Everybody she talks to, she recommends them. I’m looking forward to reading them to her 6 year old sister. Happy reading!

Christmas gift for my granddaughter who is addicted to this series

My daughters , both love reading Wings of fire. They know every character , every Kingdom and they discus it with their friends. This book was a present for one of their friends. We have them all and we already preordered Graphic novel 4 , and Book 14.

They can’t wait to get these new books!!! I don’t write reviews but these books are really special!.

From the view of my little — must have been good — she finished it in one night and reread it the following night!!!!! She loved that we had read the books themselves and with the graphic novel she said “It really brought them to life”!.

My daughter really really loves these books she is currently on book 8 of the regular Wings of Fire series but she has all the graphic novels and I really really enjoyed them I would recommend them to anybody that has children that really enjoys dragons and now she’s going to after she’s finished with that Siri she’s going to go to the Warrior Cats series so definitely a good book for children.

The sort of book you want to immediately reread after finishing it. This collection of earlier works unpublished at the time of Tolkien’s death, does a great deal to shed light on the more popular and well known The Lord of the Rings (and The Hobbit to a lesser extent).

It makes the reader more aware of the background and provides a richer reading of the works. As a tip, when reading try as much as you can to read straight through a passage without stopping to check names, translations of words, lineages, or maps as these are frequently explained within the section (often the following line or two) if you have the patience.

Also, while the first two works (Ainulindal and Valaquenta) are written in a fairly “high” prose style, much of the Silmarillion proper (especially around Chapter 16 on) modulates to a “lower,” more plot-driven style that, while still challenging, is much easier for the reader.

It’s a rewarding read if you can get through it.

I WANT TO SAY THAT BOOKS A MILLION IS THE MOST BEAUTIFUL, ORGANIZED BOOK STORE I HAVE HAD THE PLEASURE OF PURCHASING MY BELOVED BOOKS. WHAT’S REALLY GREAT ABOUT THIS BOOK STORE IS THAT THE BOOKS PLUS MANY OTHER ITEMS SUCH AS BEAUTIFUL CRYSTAL SETS, CANDLES, OILS AND INCENCE ALONG WITH MANY OTHER DELIGHTFUL ITEMS THAT YOUR DEDICATED READER WILL FIND USEFUL ALONG WITH THE BOOKS SUCH AS TAROT BOOKS, AND DELIGHTFUL BOOKS ON SCENTED OILS AND HERBS.

I GIVE BOOKS A MILLION FIVE STARS!!.

A fascinating look into the First-Age underpinnings of the Lord of the Rings trilogy. The volume begins with the Ainulindal, the creation myth behind Tolkien’s Middle Earth, and contains tales recounting the coming of the Elves, the elder children of Ilvatar, and Men, and their war to recover the Silmarilli, gems precious beyond measure, from Morgoth, the first Dark Lord.

The Akallabth, the tale of the downfall of Nmenor, and a section on the Rings of Power and the Third Age round out the volume, which also contains maps, geneaologies, an index and an appendix covering elements in Elvish names.

This volume is perhaps best read after the Lord of the Rings (and prior to a re-reading thereof).

I read this for hours on end and was so excited to feel so absorbed in a book again. The world setting of the story was refreshing with very unique dragon lore. The story was thrilling and well-paced.

From reading the blurb you can tell that there is an underlying romance, and I often worry about that somewhat ruining stories, but this one really didn’t; it added to it. I read for about 4 hours straight one night because I just needed to know what happened next.

I ordered the next book almost straight after finishing this and I am eagerly waiting for it to arrive in the mail.

One of the most interesting pieces of fantasy I’ve read in ages. it’s brilliant! The dragons are different, which was lots of fun to read about! Some characters were quite amusing (Fruit Bat and Dame Okra!), and the main characters were well written too.

The developing romance is great! It had its ups and downs, like normal. My only problem is how deeply the author got into their religion. Yeah, I get it, they’re all religious and have many saints and such, but it was very difficult to understand it at times and had many many saints named, mind you! But I thoroughly enjoyed it in the end.

This is one of my favorite books that I’ve read recently! The world Hartman created is so believable and it’s easy to be drawn into her immersive storytelling!

At this point I am already invested in the characters and in the story itself. There are a lot of interesting twists in the story and things never go the way you think they will. It keeps it interesting.

This book is a little darker than the first with black magic being introduced into the story. I don’t like that part, but it only occurs a few times in the book. This book also has a lot more violence because the Kings are now going to war.

Some deaths really took me by surprise, but it’s something I am getting used to with this book series. This book has chapters from new character’s perspectives, which I wasn’t expecting, but it is important in the story development.

I am ready to start book 3 and find out what happens next!.

I started reading the series a number of years ago but could only afford the paperbacks. Now I am retired and am looking for the first editions/hardbound books and I am rereading the series as I can replace the paperbacks.

I just love the Pern series of books by Anne McCaffrey and Todd McCaffrey. They always make the stories so real and you feel as if you are there with the characters

The Pern series is my favourite of all books. This book is fantastic.