A World of Wonder, Enchantment, and Danger
Brandon Mull’s Fablehaven is an absorbing, well-plotted, and enchanting series that offers young readers real goods, but sometimes wanders too close to real darkness.
How to Read Harry Potter and the Cursed Child
If it is approached as a unique new adventure in the paradigm of the original series, it is likely to disappoint.
The Unwanteds
This fictional, conflicted world provides little merit for readers of any age. I recommend passing on The Unwanteds series in favor of others.
The Prisoner of Alcatraz
If parents are looking for a story that will present a heroic role model for their boys to imitate, this is not the series for them.
A Post-Apocalyptic World of Dogs
This is the moral message of the book … don’t just think of yourself, don’t just let everyone do everything for you, combine self-reliance with care for others.
Die Hard, with Fairies (and Some Sketchy Elements)
In marketing terms, the books are brilliant, but like Artemis’s supposed wit, the brilliance is mostly superficial.
A Modern Morality Tale
For younger readers, the experience of wonder and contemplation that the book provokes is enough to award it a place on any recommended reading list.
A Tolkien Gateway Drug
The book market is flooded with a genre called “fantasy” which ranges from innocent adventure stories to the downright bizarre. Aside from The Lord of the Rings, The Chronicles of Narnia, and a few other titles, wholesome fantasy pickings can be slim. One you should add to your list is The Chronicles of Prydain by Lloyd Alexander. Based on a combination of Welsh myth and Alexander’s imagination, this series of five books (including a Newberry Medal winner) and six short prequel tales is a great read for boys. The author…
Ranger’s Apprentice: The Ruins of Gorlan
In the years following the defeat and exile of the evil Morgarath, a young man discovers who he is, and the important role he will play in the world. The Ruins of Gorlan, Book I of John Flanagan’s popular Ranger’s Apprentice series, follows Will, an orphaned ward of the Castle Redmont, as he and several of his friends cross over from childhood to youth. In Araluen, youth is a time of apprenticeship for adulthood, and that means taking on challenging and meaningful duties. In the course of the story, Will not only learns who…