Keira Gillett Author

Fierce Middle Grade Fantasy Reads

66 Books to Read if You Love Harry Potter

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So I’m a die hard Harry Potter fan and you must be too if you’re here. Although, there is a slight chance you haven’t read the books. If that’s you, I’m telling you, you need to read the Harry Potter Series. All 7 books! Like right now. This is their order:

These are the companion books to Harry Potter:

And you can Get the Complete Harry Potter 8-Film Collection

If you’re a Harry Potter fan…

You should check out these trilogies and series. There are 60 books in all! The recommendations are in no particular order.

Percy Jackson Series by Rick Riordan:

A boy with ADHD and dyslexia finds out his handicaps are in fact signs of his powers. He learns that he’s a demigod, son of the Greek god Poseidon, one of the main three gods. Trouble is looming and he’s the only one who can save the world. The first and second book have been made into a major motion picture. The series in order is:

  1. Percy Jackson and the Lightning Thief
  2. Percy Jackson and the Sea of Monsters
  3. Percy Jackson and the Titan’s Curse
  4. Percy Jackson and the Battle of the Labyrinth
  5. Percy Jackson and the Last Olympian
  6. Companion novels: The Demigod Files.

There’s also a sequel series based on Percy Jackson called The Heroes of Olympus, which introduces their Roman demigod counterparts:

  1. The Lost Hero
  2. The Son of Neptune
  3. The Mark of Athena
  4. The House of Hades
  5. The Blood of Olympus

Artemis Fowl Series by Eoin Colfer:

A boy genius is a criminal mastermind and the greatest recent enemy of fairies worldwide. He plans to rebuild his family’s finances by stealing it from “imaginary” beings. The books in order are:

  1. Artemis Fowl
  2. The Arctic Incident
  3. The Eternity Code
  4. The Opal Deception
  5. The Lost Colony
  6. The Time Paradox
  7. The Atlantis Complex
  8. The Last Guardian
  9. The Artemis Fowl Files is the companion novel to the series.

Twilight Saga by Stephenie Meyer:

Another series that took off like Harry Potter is Twilight. A girl discovers a boy in her class is a vampire and it’s love at first smell… er sight. The series listed in order is:

  1. Twilight
  2. New Moon
  3. Eclipse
  4. Breaking Dawn
  5. The companion novel for this series is The Short Second Life of Bree Tanner.

Septimus Heap Series by Angie Sage:

A boy soldier finds out he has magical abilities and is considered by one and all to be one of most magical beings around, because he is the 7th son of a 7th son. He’s going to be powerful, very powerful, but until then, he’s got to be trained. The books in order are:

  1. Magyk
  2. Flyte
  3. Physik
  4. Queste
  5. Syren
  6. Darke
  7. Fyre
  8. The series’ companion novel is The Magykal Papers.

Hunger Games Trilogy by Suzanne Collins:

Another series that shot to fame like Harry Potter is Hunger Games. A girl volunteers herself as a sacrificial tribute to the Capitol to be placed in the arena in order to save her sister and ends up inciting a rebellion. The books are being made into movies. The Hunger Games, the movie is already released. The trilogy in order is as follows:

  1. The Hunger Games
  2. Catching Fire
  3. Mockingjay

His Dark Materials Trilogy by Philip Pullman:

This trilogy is published for young adults, but like Harry Potter is meant to reach a wider audience. The Golden Compass, the first in the trilogy, has been made into a major motion picture. The trilogy in order is:

  1. The Golden Compass
  2. The Subtle Knife
  3. The Amber Spyglass

The Chronicles of Narnia by C. S. Lewis:

This series is comprised of seven books. It has been adapted several times over. The latest adaptions have been 3 full length featured motion pictures by Disney on books 2, 4, and 5. The books in reading order are different than their published order. The chronological reading order is as follows:

  1. The Magician’s Nephew
  2. The Lion, the Witch and the Wardrobe
  3. The Horse and His Boy
  4. Prince Caspian: The Return to Narnia
  5. The Voyage of the Dawn Treader
  6. The Silver Chair
  7. The Last Battle

The Spiderwick Chronicles by Tony Diterlizzi and Holly Black:

This series is wonderful for the younger reader. It is not really aimed toward adults as the books are super short and read like fragments of a larger story. The five books comprising the series have been turned into one major film. In order, they are:

  1. The Field Guide
  2. The Seeing Stone
  3. Lucinda’s Secret
  4. The Ironwood Tree
  5. The Wrath of Mulgarath

You can then go and read Beyond the Spiderwick Chronicles:

  1. The Nixies Song
  2. A Giant Problem
  3. The Wyrm King

The Inheritance Cycle by Christopher Paolini:

A young boy finds a dragon egg and hatches it, starting him on an adventure of a lifetime as he is the last of the Dragon Riders. The first book in the series, Eragon, has been turned into a motion picture film.

  1. Eragon
  2. Eldest
  3. Brisingr
  4. Inheritance
  5. To learn more about the series, check out the companion novel: Eragon’s Guide to Alagaesia.

The Zaria Fierce Series by Keira Gillett:

Disclaimer: This series is written by yours truly.

When her friend Christoffer is kidnapped by a river-troll Zaria Fierce must team up with his three best friends and complete a quest to rescue him. The journey takes them all over Norway and along the way they meet ellefolken, trolls, wyverns, and elves. It’s hard to sort out friends from foes. Will Zaria and her friends rescue Christoffer before times runs out?

  1. Zaria Fierce and the Secret of Gloomwood Forest
  2. Zaria Fierce and the Enchanted Drakeland Sword
  3. Zaria Fierce and the Dragon Keeper’s Golden Shoes 
  4. Aleks Mickelsen and the Twice-Lost Fairy Well
  5. Aleks Mickelsen and the Call of the White Raven
  6. Aleks Mickelsen and the Eighth Fox Throne War
  7. Christoffer Johansen and the Return to Jötunheim (Coming 2020)

So there you have it! What books do you recommend?

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Reader Interactions

Comments

  3. Hi Susan Q – Welcome! I take it you’ve read a lot on this list. What are some of your favorites?

    Captain Yarr – All great additions. I should have thought about some of those. 🙂 The Kane Chronicles look interesting. I got the first chapter from Amazon for free on my Kindle and it was pretty good.

  5. I agree on some of those. The inheritance series(he is starting a 4th book) I have read however I feel He lost inspiration after book 1 and I am just not sure about. Another couple of really good series is Xanth by Piers Anthony (I have the first 29 on audio book and 12 into it they are still good and have new plot twists) and although this one is not a Harry Potter love necessarily there is a new book out called Quarter Share by Nathan Lowell. It is the first book in a series and the only one yet in print. If you enjoy audio books check out Podiobooks.com where you can download audio books by up and coming authors. Nathan Lowell has Quarter share and the next 4 books in the series ( Half Share, Full Share, Double Share and Captian’s Share) and will soon be putting on the last of the series Owner’s Share. Wonderful Series I fully Recommend.

  6. Should probably also add The Alchemist by Micheal Ian Scott it’s a Nicolas Flamel series and is a very good read he is on Book 5 now I believe.

  9. Read all of these except for the hunger games…it’s on my to do list…i have a couple of suggestions b/c it seems like we have the same taste in books…
    1) All of brandon sanderson’s books…they are AMAZING! on par with harry potter, and i LOVE harry potter
    2) the Heir Chronicles series and the Seven Realms series by Cinda Williams Chima
    3) Graceling and Fire are good too as “CaptainYarr” mentioned above
    4) Secret of Dragonhome by John Peel
    5) The Bartimaeus Trilogy by Jonathan Stroud
    6) The Uglies series by Scott Westerfield
    7) Any of Dan Brown’s books
    8) the Night Angel series by Brent weeks

    • I couldn’t get into the Bartimaeus Trilogy, I took issues with the protagonist midway through the first book, probably due to the fact that I was listening to an audio narration instead of reading it where I could have skimmed over some of the more annoying whining parts. The Heir Chronicles and Seven Realms series look pretty awesome. I’ll put those on hold at my library. Thanks!

  10. Holy cow! Don’t forget the “Wizard of Earthsea” cycle! Ursula K. LeGuin’s writing makes most of the current fantasy pale in comparison! Hands down, she is my favorite author of all time. She also writes sci-fy as well as poetry, prose, children’s books, etc…

  11. I have read the HP books, and the Jackson books. But The Inheritance Trilogy by Christopher Paolini, they weren’t that good and Twilight sucked. Why a sparkly Vampire? So twilight fans, you are in love with a overly abusive man that made sure that she had no other men friends.

  12. A great list of books to read. I have read some of them and will definately try to read more of them. Another group of books to read are the Clan books by Michelle Paver. These are excellent books with a combination of stone age history and magic and mystery.

    • Ooo nice! I just got from the library The Alchemist by Micheal Ian Scott, which Coty Scott mentioned above. I can’t wait to sit down and read it. I’ll be sure to add the Clan books to my ever growing TBR pile 🙂

  13. Another great series that should be on this list is the Mortal Instruments series by Cassandra Clare. The first book in the prequel series is pretty awesome as well 😉

      • Loved, Loved, Loved the Mortal Instrument Series! The Clockwork series that goes with it was also a great read! I also loved Harry Potter and think they would go together. They are both great epic’s!

  14. Another great series is The Secrets of Nicholas Flamel by Michael Scott! I LOVE Harry Potter and I LOVE this series! Great article by the way! I can’t wait to get reading!

  15. Another great series to add to this list would be The Mortal Instruments series. It is action, adventure, supernatural, friendship themed with a slight love triangle thrown in for good measure. It is more of a Young Adult book, but if Twilight is on your list, this one should be fine.

  16. You should list the lord of the rings trilogy. They are a little more aimed at adults but I loved and started reading them when I was 11.

  17. Thanks for the list – definately gonna explore.. I’m just surprised not to see there such a brilliant author as Cassandra Clare – not just her fanfic was awsome (Draco Trilogy), but serie Mortal Instruments also tickles all boxes (can get from Amazon).

  18. yeah i dont think i like any of these books except for the lightning thief series and the harry potter series and btw im a kid

  19. Less supernatural, though it more than makes up for it with adventure is L.A Meyer’s Bloody Jacky series.

    If you like a strong heroine, adventures on the high sea, battles with pirates, slavers, highway robbers, petty thieves, prison breaks, diving for gold and being on the lam from the law it’s impossible not to love these books.

    1. Bloody Jack
    2. The Curse of the Blue Tattoo
    3. Under the Jolly Roger
    4. In the Belly of the Bloodhound
    5. Mississippi Jack:
    6. My Bonnie Light Horseman
    7. Rapture in the Deep
    8. In the Wake of the Lorelei Lee
    9. The Mark of the Golden Dragon

    and coming out this year 10. Viva Jacquelina!

  20. Have you read Wizard’s Hall by Jane Yolen? A very different sort of boy wizard.

  21. Hey – usually i don’t read comments down the bottom but i read them and your suggestions are great – i have 2 great series to read – maybe 3:
    1.) The medusa project, By Sophie Mckenzie
    They are great for those interested in magical.psycic powers but it doesn’t let you explore your imagination enough – the storylines are repetitive and sometimes overly trivial – and also – for those who enjoy J.K. Rowling’s english language skills and sophisticated vocabulary, the Medusa Project is not really as ‘posh’ – but nonetheless they are a really fun and quick read

    2.) You guys could also read the Maximum Ride Series as they are quite good – a million times better than twilight and nothing like it (i don’t even know why i made the comparison!)

    Lastly the Greatest books that rival the hunger games is another book written by the same author, Suzanne Collins – the series is called

    3.) The Overlander Series: Gregor
    They are PHENOMINAL AND SPECTACULAR – there are not even enough words for JK Rowling to describe it
    Just read it! They’re amazing

    Hope you like my suggestions
    Here’s a fourth that i just thought of:
    4.) The Jack Flint Series
    Haven’ finished it yet but it’s good so far!

  22. Why is Twilight even on here? Twilight fans and Harry Potter fans tend to hate each other and most of them think the other book is incredibly stupid. (Example: I despise Twilight.) It’s not even the same genre, and has practically no similarities! Harry Potter is well-written fantasy with relatable characters where the good guy wins and the world is a better place after it was written. Twilight is a poorly-written romance (with some supernatural to get fantasy fans to think it’s okay) where the characters are unrealistic, the stalker that controls the girl’s every move gets eternity with her, and that makes girls think that guys treating them like Edward treats Bella is romantic instead of horrible. (Try to guess which side of the Twilight-Harry Potter Argument I’m on.)

      • I’m with Lira. Twilight is geared more toward girls/women than Harry Potter. I liked it. But as to why I stuck it on this list… because it was another major breakout book series that gained lots of press and the whole series had been turned into movies (or were about to be).

  23. Hey guys….check out the vampire academy series too…..i liked it better than twilight series

  24. I looked at the whole list, and the only thing I haven’t already read was ‘His Dark Materials’. I enjoy readding a lot. (I am not even a teenager) I would also suggest the ‘Maximum Ride’ series by James Patterson. It’s awesome. That and ‘The Tapestry’ series by Henry H. Neff.

  25. I would suggest The Dark is Rising series by Susan Cooper…about another boy who finds out on his 11th birthday that he has powers he was unaware of and that dark forces are after him.

  26. i like all these but i would like to tell you that you should add the inkheart series by cornellia funke

  28. If you want something that goes more into the adult realm.

    The Dresden files.

    They are far darker, but are a lot of fun..

  29. You are all missing the best and most literary of fantasy writers: Diana Wynn Jones. Her books make you reach out to meet her mindset and marvel at her creativity.
    I’m also surprised not to see any mention of Lloyd Alexander’s books.

  30. I’m just getting into The King Killer Chronicles by Patrick Rothfuss. The first one is The Name of the Wind and the second one is A Wise Man’s Fear. Word of warning though, the third book isn’t due out for a while because the author is very detailed in his writing and it takes him long time to write. However, the books are so well written that I don’t mind waiting.

  32. Read the majority of these, yes even twilight ;). In my school library atm found Magyk and it looks good 🙂 About to start reading. Any more suggestions from any one?

  33. I love SPI: The Case Of The Dark Shadow by T.J. Bonham. It’s like Harry Potter because anyone 10 and up would love it (adults too). They left the ending open for a sequel which I am sooo looking forward to!

  34. Repeat after me ‘ In Life’s name, and for Life’s sake…’

    How can there be a list discussing Series like HP that does NOT mention the ‘So You Want to be a Wizard…’ Series by Diane Duane.

    The original stories might be 30 plus years old but they’ve aged well – and the Author has done a recent Revamp and Re-release for the new Millenium. See http://www.dianeduane.com/ for more details.

    • Diane Duane is AMAZING! I first found her books in my public library summer going into 7th grade (which was like…01?) Her Young Wizardry series is really fantastic. I can’t wait to read the Millennium (I’m holding out for the print versions. Ebooks just aren’t my thing)

  35. You should also try Beyonders series by Brandon Mull. If you like fiction then you will definitely like this book

  36. There also is::::

    1. Maze Runner(movies is better :/ the next movie scorch trials will be out in September 2015)

    2. I am number 4 (again the movie is waaaayy better)

    3. Divergent (havent seen the movie yet though)

    4.Kane Chronicles (there is a crossover between percy jacksonand this though I recommend you dont read that till you read all the kane chronicles)

  37. There also is::::

    1. Maze Runner(movies is better :/ the next movie scorch trials will be out in September 2015)

    2. I am number 4 (again the movie is waaaayy better)

    3. Divergent (havent seen the movie yet though)

    4.Kane Chronicles (there is a crossover between percy jacksonand this though I recommend you dont read that till you read all the kane chronicles)

    Also there is a movie coming out (maybe next year) called skazer there is no record of it yet though cause its from poland and it is basically a youtube movie and its like/based of Harry Potter there is a fb page also 🙂

  39. Thanks for the recs! You’ve got to check out “The Tapestry” series by Henry Neff (5 books total). When I first began book #1 (“The Hound of Rowan”), I thought it seemed a little too archetypal – the HP situation where boy has special unique abilities and goes off to an intriguing underground school to develop them – but Neff does a seriously good job of expanding it all into a complex world. By the end of the series, I liked it even better than HP!

  40. Nice list… one can also go for the Fever Series by Karen Marie Moning, Lux series by Jennifer L. Armentrout, Eon-Eona by Alison Goodman, Sweet triology by Wendy Higgins

  43. Mistborn Series – By Sanderson and
    Codex Alera Series – By Butcher
    King Killer Chronicles by Patrick Rothfuss
    Theft of Swords by Sullivan

  44. I was waiting for someone to say Diana Wynn Jones! My all time favorite author, she creates a magician world you can get immersed in like Harry Potter.

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