Innisfree Posted November 24, 2018 Share Posted November 24, 2018 (edited) Any ideas for a good long series which would appeal to a young teen who's worn out her Harry Potter books? She has also enjoyed the Warriors books for years, but has outgrown them. Action appeals to her more than wordiness, but she likes long, bulky books which run at least 300 pages, and series which occupy whole shelves. She wants to be able to live in her books for months at a time. In previous ventures, I have offered up the Fablehaven series, the Wildwood Chronicles, Eragon, and probably more without sparking much interest. She did like Rick Riordan, but is getting past those also. Sadly I was never able to persuade her to really try the Susan Cooper or Lloyd Alexander books because she thought they looked too short. I think she'd love Anne McCaffrey, but the first three which are geared for younger readers are so short she'd blow right through them, and the rest are a bit too mature. So, that *sort* of thing would be good. Animals are always a good subject, but fantasy is also. I don't think she'd embrace Tolkein, though I may try anyway. I don't think she's ready for Asimov. I'm realizing I don't know a whole world of recent books-- there must be things out there which she'd love. Any thoughts? Edited November 24, 2018 by Innisfree Corrected title Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Pippen Posted November 24, 2018 Share Posted November 24, 2018 I'd try Tolkien, only starting with Fellowship. Neither of these have the length of HP, but The Sea of Trolls, The Wizard of Earthsea and Ender's Game all come to mind. 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Chris in VA Posted November 24, 2018 Share Posted November 24, 2018 Has she read the Inkheart series? 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
maize Posted November 24, 2018 Share Posted November 24, 2018 Ranger's Apprentice? 2 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
alisoncooks Posted November 24, 2018 Share Posted November 24, 2018 If you can get your hands on the whole series, then I'd say Isobel Carmody's Obernewtyn Chronicles. (My library had the first 6? but the final books didn't release in the US, afaik, except maybe kindle.) But it depends on how young a teen we're talking...I'd say it's more appropriate for 13+. 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Bluegoat Posted November 24, 2018 Share Posted November 24, 2018 Maybe if you tell her to think of the Cooper books as just one book? I would suggest LOTR as someone else already did, or LeGuin, but another thought is the Pentdragon cycle by Lawhead? It's been awhile since I've read it but I think it would work for that age group. 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Farrar Posted November 24, 2018 Share Posted November 24, 2018 How about Gregor the Overlander? Leviathan? Sabriel? Seconding Ranger's Apprentice. If she's a teen, she's probably ready to start in on YA fantasy and dystopian series. Legend by Marie Lu is good, for example. If she likes Leviathan, Westerfeld's Uglies series is good. These are pretty clean as well. Or Leigh Bardugo's two different series, or Sabaa Tahir's Ember in the Ashes books... these are more straight fantasy plots. There's also Sarah Maas's epic series... it's... I dunno, it's a bit more grown up, but not so much more. It's still YA. There's a bit more sex mentioned in them and a lot more epic romance type plots. I wasn't able to make it through most of them. Also, all the Tamora Pierce books. There is sex in some of them, but very non-explicit. The thing I like about Pierce's young women is that if you read all the books, they all make different choices about sex and romance, each one choosing the right thing for them. Also, Kristen Cashore's Graceling books... though those might be a bit too literary. There's also a bit more sex mentioned in them. There's a lot of fantasy I like better than the aforementioned, but she wants a big, long, plot driven, popular series, then that's a few options. 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Innisfree Posted November 24, 2018 Author Share Posted November 24, 2018 (edited) Thanks for all these great ideas! We did try Inkheart with no success, and Gregor the Overlander offended her deeply because of the negative depictions of rats (which she had as pets). But Ranger's Apprentice sounds like something she'd like. I'm going to have to look up the others you've all mentioned. I enjoyed LeGuin but it's been years. Edited November 24, 2018 by Innisfree 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Kareni Posted November 24, 2018 Share Posted November 24, 2018 2 hours ago, Farrar said: ...all the Tamora Pierce books... This was going to be my suggestion also. Regards, Kareni 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
ScoutTN Posted November 24, 2018 Share Posted November 24, 2018 Keeper of the Lost Cities series is nowhere as good as HP or LOTR, but the storyline is decent and there are 7, fat books. I'd keep trying with Susan Cooper -so much depth in the Arthur legends. LOTR is the best, of course, but the reader has to be ready for it. 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Teaching3bears Posted November 24, 2018 Share Posted November 24, 2018 The Alchemyst: The Secrets of the Immortal Nicholas Flamel by Michael Scott. There are 6-7 books in this series. Alotof fantasy and a lot of action. Philip Pullman His Dark Materials 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
readinmom Posted November 24, 2018 Share Posted November 24, 2018 The Selection Series by Kierra Cass. It's a 5 book series, dystopian feel. Dd told my mom about it, and she read the entire series, also. 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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