Always: Endearing and Enduring Reads! Harry Potter Read-Alikes

Rewind eighteen years: My grandmother gave me Harry Potter and the Sorcerer's Stone in Autumn 1998, and it stayed on my shelf for perhaps weeks. One night I was bored and picked up the book…and didn't put it down for a week! Forever fascinated by fairy tales and introduced to Aesop's Fables and Hercules and Xena tv shows at a young age, JK Rowling captivated my imagination. I couldn't get enough! Three years later, the first Harry Potter movie came to theaters on November 17, 2001. For a friend's 13th birthday, we saw the movie and had a sleepover. We stayed awake for many hours discussing similarities and differences between the movie and the book, and how the next film would be. Eventually we fell asleep dreaming of being accepted to Hogwarts School of Witchcraft and Wizardry.

 

JK Rowling, Harry Potter, Recommendation, Book

 

Throughout my high school years, I worked as a part-time lifeguard during the summer at the community pool. When no one was in the pool area, I went to class with quirky Professor Trelawney, played Quidditch with my house team, and ate in the Great Hall with my friends. Some of the regular pool guests, essentially my neighbors, were fans as well and we discussed theories and scenes in depth. This was a normal routine. Every summer I had a new Harry Potter book to read...and re-read! In 2007, I returned home after my first year of university to lifeguard again. The release of the 7th and final book, The Deathly Hallows, got me through that summer. In 2008, I re-read all of the books. When I returned home to lifeguard in 2009, I needed reading material but was reluctant to leave Hogwarts behind. I began searching for books and authors with similar qualities. I found some that captivated me just as much as Harry Potter!

For years, Harry Potter has entertained diverse groups of readers; a generation grew up with Harry and the Wizarding World. Quidditch teams and fan clubs popped up at schools and websites dedicated to "fan fic" still abound. We poured so much affection into these seven books! There are even Harry Potter theme parks! Maybe we have enough room to love some other books and characters as well.

For me, and for many others, Harry Potter is a boy who grew up while we were growing up. The only difference was that he got to attend a magical school and have amazing adventures. For others, it is a cherished story of courage and adolescence. For everyone, there is at least one reason that we fell in love with the story. Was it the orphaned boy who gained true friends? Was it the boy destined for greatness? Or was it…magic? Don't we all hope that we are somehow special? That we have magic? 

According to Dumbledore, love is the strongest magic there is. And it is not in short supply for Potterheads, or Harry Potter fans. Now that all the books are written; indeed they have been done for quite some time now, what is there to read? I am sure that many of you have re-read the series…probably multiple times, perhaps even without count (don't worry, so did I!). If you are eager to love another character, look no further!

fablehaven, brandon mull
Fablehaven

Fablehaven series by Brandon Mull (Children's Fiction)

5 book cycle
First book: Fablehaven

A 14-year-old girl named Kendra and her younger brother, Seth discover that fairies exist. Along with them, a plethora of other magical creatures-not all of them good…

 

 

 

 

 

Beyonders, Brandon Mull
Beyonders

Beyonders trilogy by Brandon Mull (Children's Fiction)

3 books
First book: A World Without Heroes

Thirteen-year-old Jason is modest, shy, plays baseball, and likes a girl from school. One problem: he gets pulled into another world and must work to destroy an evil emperor with help from his plucky new friends in order to restore balance and have a chance of returning home. 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
Sword of Truth, Wizard's First Rule, Terry Goodkind
Wizard's First Rule

The Sword of Truth series by Terry Goodkind (Adult Fantasy Fiction)

17 book series
First book: Wizard's First Rule

Each one of these books accounts the trials and tribulations of good versus evil in the lands of D'hara and the Midlands and the protagonist's reluctant but responsible use of power in order to right the wrongs in the world. Love against all odds, magic and power intertwine to bring this amazing series to life.
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
A Crucible of Souls, Mitchell Hogan, Sorcery Ascendant Sequence
A Crucible of Souls

Sorcery Ascendant Sequence by Mitchell Hogan (Adult Fantasy Fiction)

3 books published
First book: A Crucible of Souls

Young Caldan is orphaned at an early age and is raised by monks on an island where he attends classes in sorcery and hand-to-hand combat. After he commits an unforgivable act, he is expelled to the mainland and ekes a living through his skills of Dominion, a chess-like game, and sorcery while trying to find out more about his past. Should the past stay buried?

 



 

Five Kingdoms, Sky Raiders, Brandon Mull
Sky Raiders

The Five Kingdoms series by Brandon Mull (Children's Fiction)

5 book cycle (last book not out yet)
First book: Sky Raiders

Cole Randolph's friends are kidnapped and he tries to save them by following them into... another world where magic is possible! The world is comprised of five kingdoms ruled by an cruel dictator. Will Cole be the key to returning peace to the lands? Can he rescue his friends in the process? Will he ever see his family again?
 
*If you read Beyonders trilogy first, there are some guest appearances by some of the characters!

 
 
 
The Warded Man, The Painted Man, Peter V Brett, The Demon Cycle
The Warded Man

The Demon Cycle by Peter V Brett (Adult Fantasy Fiction)

5 Novels (5th expected in 2017), and 3 novellas
First book: The Warded Man (aka The Painted Man)

This is a unique coming of age novel. Several characters are introduced as children from different towns and countries and grow with each stage of the story.Eventually meeting. In a harsh world where demons rise from the ground each night and prey on humans, this select group of people fights back!
 
 
 
 
 
The Black Prism, Lightbringer, Brent Weeks
The Black Prism

Lightbringer series by Brent Weeks (Adult Fantasy Fiction)

5 book cycle
First book: The Black Prism

Deception, espionage, political scrambling, families of power, rogue magicians. In a world where light is holy and with it people can create physical objects, Kip, a poor boy in a small city runs for his life from an attack and discovers he can bend light! Shortly thereafter he finds himself in the capital training as a royal guard. Is he destined for greatness or an early grave?

 


 
 
Lord Loss, The Demonata, Darren Shan
Lord Loss

Demonata series by Darren Shan (YA Fiction)

10 book series
First Book:  Lord Loss

What if, in a parallel world, is a demon universe? And what if that world used to be open to this one, letting magic flood in? Over time we lost connection to that world and, therefore, lost our magic. Well, guess what?! Demons are back! Our heroes must band together to defend our world using magic. You will meet demons that love to play chess, werewolves, and telepathic magicians. 
 
 
 
 
 
The Immortals, Olympus Bound, Jordanna Max Brodsky
The Immortals

Olympus Bound series by Jordanna Max Brodsky (Adult Fantasy Fiction)

Author still writing books

First book: The Immortals

Greek Gods are still alive but since no one worships them anymore, they lost their power; they are shadows of what they once were. A semi-retired goddess and a Columbia University professor must team up to stop a revived ancient Greek cult from killing innocents!

 

 
 

 

The Emerald Atlas, The Books of Beginning, John Stephens
The Emerald Atlas

The Books of Beginning trilogy by John Stephens (Children's Fiction)

3 book trilogy
First book: The Emerald Atlas

Their parents left them in an orphanage with the promise that they would return. Years later, the two sisters and brother are taken in by Dr. Pym, an elderly eccentric man who lives in a big old house. Will they ever find their parents? Who is Dr Pym? Is magic real?


 

 

 

The Red Pyramid, The Kane Chronicles, Rick Riordan
The Red Pyramid

The Kane Chronicles trilogy by Rick Riordan (Children's Fiction) 

3 book trilogy
First book: The Red Pyramid (also available as a graphic novel)

Several years ago, the Kane siblings were separated after their mother died. She living with the grandparents in England, He travelling with his father, the archealogist, to digs across Egypt. Each year they meet up for one day…this year something goes horribly wrong  and they are abducted into a world of magic, and myth…by their uncle?

 

Comments

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Harry Potter and the Reluctant Reader

How timely to see the list of what to read after HP since I'm reading the series for the first time. I'm now into Book 3, The Goblet of Fire, and find it a great read. J. K. Rowling just gets better and better as the books progress. My husband and daughter read the series as they appeared and here I was poo poo-ing them as read my adult essays and fiction. And now I can't put the HP books down! Thanks for your list.

Well written

Good job well written and structured. --Your brother