What good books have a similar feel to Harry Potter?
I have several students who have loved reading Harry Potter in 5th and 6th grades. They are now moving into my classroom for 7th and 8th grades and I want to have books that they will continue to enjoy and engage with. Can anyone recommend books or series with similar themes/worlds/feelings to the Harry Potter series for 12-14-year-olds?
Answers ( 2 )
Consider, please, the Tiffany Aching series by Sir Terry Pratchett.
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Tiffany_Aching
https://www.goodreads.com/series/96852-discworld---tiffany-aching
Wonderful books with whimsical and wry wit- I think your students will love them.
I am a huge Harry Potter fan and love to recommend the highly underrated Falcon Quinn series.
The premise is this: a tweenage boy learns he's special, is swept to a magical school where he learns to harness his abilities, struggles to fit in, battles crazy monsters, and learns he is the chosen one. It's a popular storyline, but this one has some major differences.
The differences between HP and FQ:
- instead of learning to become a wizard, Falcon learns he is a monster (but what type, exactly, nobody knows) Heads up: it can get a little scary. The monsters aren't always cute and cuddly.
- instead of a school where he learns to develop his skill, the school is meant to suppress his true identity before his true monstrous self gets out of hand
- instead of fitting in seamlessly and becoming a well-respected member of the magical community, Falcon is ostracized and shamed for not falling in line (he bands together with a few other misfits and often wonders if this is the right choice)
- instead of battling Voldemort, Falcon fights the entire school/community
- instead of knowing exactly what's good and what's evil, Falcon is saddled with two conflicting identities, neither truly good nor evil
- instead of being written by a transphobic Brit, Falcon Quinn is written by American transwoman and transgender activist, Jennifer Finley Boylan. As you read Falcon Quinn, you will see the whole thing is basically an allegory for her experience. The driving plot of the series is the quest for understanding, accepting, and ultimately loving yourself despite outside forces demanding you assimilate. It's rather touching.
I stumbled across this series in a Little Free Library one day, read it as a 30-something adult, and fell in love with it. No, Falcon will never replace Harry in my heart, but I strongly recommend this too-short series to all YA readers -- especially those who feel uncomfortable in their own skin.
Hope you enjoy it!