Magnus Chase and the Sword of Summer is a humorous and adventurous fantasy novel by Rick Riordan. This book is about a homeless 16-year-old boy named Magnus Chase. He travels the nine worlds as an einherjar. He and his friends find a way to keep the Norse God’s enemy tied up on a magical island. I love the way Rick Riordan humorizes even the most tragic events. I recommend this book to anyone wanting something good to read or anyone wanting a good laugh.
The Bridge Home by Padma Venkatraman is a devastatingly realistic look into the life of a homeless child. It tells a realistic story of abuse and homelessness, and yet also is a story of hope. The book is set in India, and follows the two main characters, young girls named Viji and Rukku as they run away from their abusive household and live alone on the streets. They meet other characters and try to survive the harsh life.
Elantris, written by popular fantasy author Brandon Sanderson, tends to fall under the radar when talking about his best books considering it is a small standalone story while he has written massive series and 1000 page books. Despite this, and despite being his first book, it not only manages to hold up well, but it is an incredible book in its own right. Often, books in the fantasy genre feel boring and similar, and they often follow the same formula with the same menagerie.
The Legend of Zelda: Breath of the Wild is the most recent new Zelda game. It feels very unique as opposed to older Zelda games, which, while good in their own right, often followed a dull and very similar pattern. Breath of the Wild, or BOTW, changes this up, giving players the freedom to explore the world and complete tasks in any order that they see fit, or even skip tasks completely.
Where the Mountain Meets the Moon, written by Grace Lin, is a fantasy novel inspired by Chinese mythology and folklore. The book follows Minli, a young girl who lives in the Village of Fruitless Mountain, working hard and farming despite the terrible land of the Fruitless Mountain. Her father tells her stories and she wishes to have an adventure of her own. One day, she uses her money to buy a goldfish, and it turns out that the goldfish can talk.
Ender’s Game follows a brilliant 6-year-old kid named Andrew “Ender” Wiggin. Set in the future, humans are fighting a war with an alien race called “buggers”. The humans win the war, but are fearful of another attack, and so they train gifted children in a satellite called the “Battle School” to become future commanders against the buggers. Ender is born as a third child in a world where only two children are allowed due to the giftedness of his siblings, Peter a sociopath and Valentine, a caring sister.
Rebecca Hanover’s sci-fi thriller, The Similars, is the first book in a duology of the same name. In this novel, six clones, the Similars, were made of six socially elite students. The Similars arrive at the exclusive Darkwood Academy, and Emma, a student at Darkwood, doesn’t know who to trust as her friends keep disappearing. To save everyone at Darkwood, especially the Similars, Emma and her friends must push back against the hidden motives that plague the school. This book was fantastic!
Twelve-year-old Torak’s life is suddenly turned upside down when a bear attack suddenly leaves Torak without his father. Now, Torak is faced with completing the oath that he promised his father he would complete: To find a mountain that nobody has ever found, to solve a riddle that nobody has ever solved, and to kill the bear that killed his father. Luckily, Torak has a guide, in the form of a wolf cub. Together, Torak and Wolf travel together, avoiding enemies, collecting pieces of the riddle, and finding a way to make it to the mountain.
Fantastic Beasts & Where to Find Them by Newt Scamander is an example of a textbook someone would find at Hogwarts. It gives a history of magical creatures in the Harry Potter universe, as well as notes from Harry and his friends. Along with the history, it also gives specific information about the creatures within the magical world. Along with the information, it tells the reader how dangerous the creature is. Not to mention, information about Newt Scamander himself.
The sixth and final book in the Vampire Academy series by Richelle Mead, Last Sacrifice, was a great finale. Queen Tatianna is murdered, and Rose is framed by an unknown source; Rose, Lissa, and friends must figure out who framed Rose and find Lissa’s hidden half-sibling to make things right. This installment was much better than Spirit Bound; it took on more of an exciting and mysterious thriller quality than its predecessors, and Rose seemed more like her old self.
