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If you like Ella Enchanted, you'll love...? (fill in the blank)


Wee Pip
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My dd loves the Gail Carson Levine books like Ella Enchanted, Fairest, and Two Princesses of Barmarre. She refused any of the present tense written books like Ever (ex: I go to the store. I am saying. rather than I went or I said). We've exhausted Percy Jackson and Harry Potter books too. She does not like archaic language (hated reading Narnia). Any suggestions?

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The Once Upon a Time collection is rated for 12 and up. They are by different authors, and you might want to pre-read some of them (Crimson Moon I would rate as a bit older) but they are all novelizations of fairy tales that are told a bit differently. I also LOVE Beauty by Robin McKinley, and it's rated at 8 and up.

 

Princess Academy is rated 9 and up.

Dealing with Dragons is rated 10 and up, but it's been years since I read it.

Zel (retelling of Rapunzel) is rated 8 and up but it deals with some more mature issues, so I would definitely pre-read)

Spinners (same author as Zel) is rated 12 and up but I would consider it less intense than Zel.

Tamora Peirce is very popular. Her books are rated 12 and up, but I would consider waiting a bit longer because there is (not very descriptive) violence and pre-marital sex (again, non descriptive.) It's not where the stories start, but I would start my kid on the Kel/Protector of the Small series first. Her Circle of magic books deal with younger characters, and while rated 12 and up, I think are better for younger people than the other series.

 

In case you can't tell, I'm a big fairy-tale re-telling fan. :D I read most of these books in high school, as I didn't have access to books like these before then.

Edited by theYoungerMrsWarde
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Has she read any of the stories from Robin McKinley? I am not sure if they are age appropriate (I was in high school before I "discovered" McKinley and I still like her work as an adult), but I quite like The Hero & The Crown and The Blue Sword.

 

Then there are her fairy tale retellings: Rose Daughter, Spindle's End, Beauty. I like all of those. I really like Spindle's End.

**And I don't recall the verb tense of these.**

 

She also has a book titled Deerskin, but it is for more mature audiences, as are some of her other novels (the vampire one).

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Try "The Mysterious Benedict Society" Its a triology...mystery, fantasy, great characters. My dd LOVED this series, and she also LOVED Ella Enchanted. Have your read the other books by Gail Carson Levine as well? There is a series of short novellas, "The Fairy's Mistake", "Cinderellis Glass Hill" "The Princess Test", and I think 3 other titles. My dd has read these through at least 4x.

 

Also, try "Scumble" and "Savvy" by Ingid Law.

 

Enjoy!

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Shannon Hale, definitely. Her books are YA, but they are all the ones I've read are fine for an 11 yo. And seconding the Patricia Werde Forest Chronicles or whatever they're called - that begin with Dealing with Dragons.

 

Tamora Pierce too... but I agree that some parents might want to wait on her books. I would personally be fine with giving them to an 11 yo, but others would disagree.

 

I adore all of Robin McKinley, but they are a bit denser than the Gail Carson Levine, so the writing style may or may not convey.

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My dd11 LOVED (and has read several times!!) the Emily Windsnap series by Liz Kessler http://www.amazon.com/The-Tail-Emily-Windsnap-Kessler/dp/0763660205/ref=sr_1_1?ie=UTF8&qid=1349123372&sr=8-1&keywords=emily+windsnap.

 

Another great series she couldn't put down and loves to read over and over is by Jessica Day George - Dragon Slippers http://www.amazon.com/Dragon-Slippers-Jessica-Day-George/dp/1599902753/ref=sr_1_3?s=books&ie=UTF8&qid=1349123426&sr=1-3&keywords=tuesdays+at+the+castle

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I think this book is a little bit younger, but it is one of my favorite stories. The Ordinary Princess by M. M. Kaye. It is the only book I stole from my fifth grade teacher...and one of the only ones I have kept since childhood.

 

I loved that one, too. I agree that it's probably geared toward a younger age group, but it's classic. It went out of print for a while, but I think it's available again.

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This is not exactly what you are asking for, but did you know that Gail Carson Levine has written a book about writing? It's called Writing Magic and in it she shares writing tips and projects to do. We're doing it for fun together and liking it.

 

Just sayin' :)

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My dd loves those books too. She also likes many that have already been named- The Mysterious Benedict Society books, the Emily Windsnap series, and Princess Academy.

 

Others she enjoys:

The Penderwick series

The Oz series

the Harry Potter series

 

I'll ask her when I see her, I know I'm forgetting good ones. She's 10, so close to your dd's age.

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My oldest is almost 11. She, too, liked Gail Carson Levine. She suggests the Eragon books. Others she thought of:

 

Sisters Grimm Series

The Grimm Legacy

Theodosia Series (This one is completely different than the others, but dd insists that it is "in the same vein" and that your dd would like them. They are pretty quick reads.

Dragon Slippers (series starts with this one)

 

I thought of:

Fabelhaven series

Patricia Wrede's Enchanted Forest series.

E.D. Baker's Frog Princess series

 

Can you tell we like series around here?

Good luck!

(P.S. In response to my post, many people pointed me to "Goodreads" to help me find more books that my dd would like. We just got our first batch of books to try out how well we like the books they recommend based on her first round of "likes." The jury is still out!)

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Some authors:

Diane Stanley (Bella at Midnight, etc.)

Shannon Hale (Princess Academy, etc.)

Jessica Day George (Tuesdays at the Castle, etc.)

Corneila Funke

Lois Lowry (The Birthday Ball, etc.)

Marie Rutkoski (The Cabinet of Wonders, etc.)

Edited by Kuovonne
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