(Part 2) Best teen adventure books according to redditors
We found 563 Reddit comments discussing the best teen adventure books. We ranked the 219 resulting products by number of redditors who mentioned them. Here are the products ranked 21-40. You can also go back to the previous section.
Clariel: The Lost Abhorsen came out today and it's waiting at home for me when I get out of work, and I'm so excited. The Abhorsen Trilogy was hugely defining and important to teenage me, and even now over a decade later, I'm still in love with it. If you even remotely like YA or fantasy, I cannot recommend the series enough.
I highly suggest the book Airborn by Kenneth Opal. It is one of my all time favorite books, and it made me desperately want to fly on a dirigible. Here is an excerpt from it.
Airborn by Kenneth Oppel
Terry Pratchett's "Tiffany" stories in Discworld. Not just female. Young too.
My list of authors with first books:
Elizabeth Haydon: Rhapsody; Child of Blood
Elizabeth Kerner; Song in the Silence
Elizabeth Moon: The Deed of Paksenarrion
Kristian Britain: Green Rider
Sara Douglass The Wayfarer Redemption
Robin Mckinley: The Blue Sword
Robin Hobb: Assassin's Apprentice
Mercedes Lackey: Arrows of the Queen
Anne McCaffrey: The Dragonriders of Pern
Meredith Ann Pierce: Birth of the Firebringer
Katharine Kerr: Daggerspell
the Abarat books by Clive Barker, make sure you get the illustrated editions!
The Thirteen and a Half Lives of Captain Bluebear by Walter Moers
Crusade in Jeans by Thea Beckman One of my all time favourites, the old translated editions weren't as good but a new version will be published in november.
The Dragonriders of Pern by Anne McCaffrey
Ok here because The Night Circus is one of my favorite books of ALL TIME (my car is named Poppet) and I adore Six of Crows. I would suggest Uprooted by Naomi Novik, and then if you like that she has a BUNCH of other stuff, all lengthy and beautiful.
I also would like to humbly suggest my own book, if that's okay. Usually I wouldn't, but you seem to have similar literary taste, and my books do tend to be longer than most first-time YA authors. Windswept is Book I of my series (Book II is well underway right now) and I can promise you I'll finish it in a timely manner :) SO if you're interested, look up Windswept by Kaitlin Bellamy.
OH there's also The Psalms of Isaak series by Ken Scholes. Slower read but DEFINITELY worth it!
Pullman has already published two novellas that tie in to the series:
The first follows Lyra on a mini-adventure about 3 years after the trilogy ends. The second is a prequel story about Lee Scoresby (the Texan Aeronaut). Neither hold a candle to the original series, but they're so worth it for the beautiful hardcover publication and small window back into the world that Pullman created.
That part always stuck with me too.
The Farthest-Away Mountain by Lynne Reid Banks.
https://www.amazon.com/Howls-Moving-Castle-World-Howl/dp/006441034X
Great books. British writer, writing about vancian/lotr style spell casting, in steampunkish post Victorian England.
Fuck man, it sounds way worse after I described it that way.
The Dragonlance series and the Deathgate Cycle have already been recommended. Absolutely what you say you are looking for.
The War of the Blades books have elves - more in the second book than in the first - but no dwarves that I can recall. They also have fair numbers of fantasy creatures, both novel and more traditional. Dragons, of course, have a huge role.
The Inheritance Cycle might be something you'd like. Eragon is a pretty straight-forward clone of The Belgariad's plotline, but with the addition of dragons, elves, and dwarves.
ETA: Terry Pratchett's Lords and Ladies and his Tiffany Aching books have an interesting take on elves.
Hmmm... paranormal/supernatural tween reads with strong girl characters (not that Twilight had a strong female lead in it, but you may as well steer her in a better direction).
You really can't go wrong with the Hunger Games. Or you could get her the Japanese novel Battle Royale. It's also a dystopian novel about teenagers forced to battle each other to the death.
Miss Peregrine's Home for Peculiar Children is worth checking out. It starts to lose some oomph towards the end, but is still a solid read with actual substance to the storyline. I'd get the hardback - the photography in it is just genius. Male lead, but there's a pretty cool chick who throws fireballs.
I enjoyed Anna Dressed in Blood. It's a bit like Supernatural, only with one male ghost hunter as the protaganist. He falls in love with a ghost, but she's a homicidal maniac.
The Rise of Renegade X - a boy raised by his evil supervillain mom discovers that he's the product of her one-night-stand with a superhero. That was pretty enjoyable...
Poison Study is a great book about a girl who's been sentenced to death and is offered a reprieve if she becomes the king's food taster. Her handler ends up subjecting her to a litany of poisons so that she can build up immunity. Didn't read the sequels, but the first book was pretty good.
Graceling is set in a world where certain people are born with random talents - the ability to hold their breath underwater for long periods of time, musical or dancing abilities, cooking the best food imaginable, etc. The main character is born with the talent to kill & becomes her uncle's assassin.
Stardust - Neil Gaiman... really nuff said, eh?
Howl's Moving Castle - A girl is turned into an old woman by an angry witch & takes refuge in the mysteriously moving castle of an "evil" wizard.
Okay. I'll stop now. :)
I know almost nothing about this, but I have some broad book recommendations in the vein of "read some non-fiction!"
Main thing to keep in mind as you read is that Arab ≠ Muslim ≠ Persian or any combination thereof. Differences between Sunni, Shia, Sufi, etc. Also, urban ≠ rural. And boring, everyday life doesn't readily lend itself to a narrative form.
Related Books:
Some other recommendations: if you're on or close to a university campus, there's probably a Muslim/Arab/Persian student association that would love to answer your specific questions or give you advice. There are also subreddits like /r/dubai, but they're mostly expats. Just poke around and you'll find more though.
Fictional, often-fantastical book recommendations about the Middle East would be Shadow Spinner, The Book of a Thousand Days, or Habibi.
Honestly, the thing that stuck with me the most as a chemist was that one of the other grad students was from Golan Heights and prior to moving here had to work through his entire master's thesis without an NMR (the most common chemistry instrument that is used to "prove" pretty much everything) because a blockade stopped his university from receiving liquid nitrogen (which is used to keep the magnets in NMRs and medical devices like MRIs running). He found almost any touching or joking by a girl very uncomfortable, but was always polite. Other Muslim chemist friends just seemed French. Because they were.
Strange I should see this today!
Yesterday I went back to my parents and was looking through the shelves when I saw my big red hardcover Abhorsen book. I liked the weekday series but the Abhorsen trilogy I just loved. There was just something about it.
I just googled and apparently there's a new one that's just been released! http://www.amazon.co.uk/Clariel-Lost-Abhorsen-Garth-Nix/dp/006156155X
Others on sale as well:
https://www.amazon.com/Mattimeo-Tale-Redwall-Brian-Jacques-ebook/dp/B01BK0WSDU
https://www.amazon.com/Mossflower-Tale-Redwall-Brian-Jacques-ebook/dp/B01BK0WSPS
No, I actually just learned about that and Once Upon a Time in the North: His Dark Materials today, I will probably order those at the same time and marathon the whole thing. Looking forward to it.
Books were my best friends, growing up, and I developed a deep, abiding appreciation for what being a reader can do for a person. I read to both of my kids, even in utero, and they both became very avid readers. My daughter has developed a talent for writing, and a desire to be a doctor. She knows I am unlikely to be able to pay her tuition, so she's worked really hard. She's a straight-A student, and the only freshman at her school taking the advanced math and science classes.
She'll be taking AP Chemistry and Calculus, as a sophomore, next year, and she really wants to get a head start. She wants Wonderful Life With the Elements, which is on her wishlist, here. She doesn't really care if it's new or used, but it would need to be a hard copy, rather than an e-book.
My son still hasn't figured out what he wants to be, yet, but he's only almost-eleven. Right now, I think he's vacillating between engineering and video game design. :o)
He's seen me laughing at the Terry Pratchett Discworld series, and is dying to read Wee Free Men, also in hard-copy. His list is here.
I am very sorry for your loss! All of my lists have priorities on them. Sort my priorities! It took my bank ages to send my debit card so I know that feeling.
Things that I need:
A new bra.
The rest of the Mortal Instruments series, City of Glass, City of Fallen Angels, and City of Lost Souls. I have all three of them on my wishlist. My best friend has already finished all that are released right now and I've still just finished the second.
Filters for my vacuum cleaner.
Right after I read Hunger Games I read Graceling by Kristin Cashore. The main character is another strong female. I'm not really good at explaining books so here is a link to Amazon to help you out.
http://www.amazon.com/Graceling-Kristin-Cashore/dp/015206396X
Maybe the Matt Cruse series by Kenneth Oppel? It's about airships but there's lots of adventure going on (in the air and on land). The first one is Airborn. It is a young adult series, if that matters to you.
Best Served Cold by Joe Abercrombie is my favorite. Very dark and gritty, there is no question how badass Monza is, she could take out any male lead with her shear determination
The Blue Sword by Robin McKinley is much lighter but I fell in love with it a young age and it’s still a great read
Red Sister by Mark Lawrence is my most recent favorite. Nona is a fantastic character, her flaws make her real and you root for her so much. I’m so pissed I have to wait a year for the final book when it’s already been finished but no doubt I will be reading it the moment it comes out in April of 2019
Also thanks for asking this question, love finding new books with strong female leads
Would also second The Curious Incident of the Dog in the Night-Time.
Some other titles I haven't personally read but have heard recommended include Tangerine (blindness), How Evan Broke His Head and Other Secrets (epilepsy), Prizefighter en Mi Casa (epilepsy & paralysis), Breath (cystic fibrosis), The Door in the Wall (polio & paralysis).
Here are all the local Amazon links I could find:
amazon.co.uk
amazon.ca
amazon.com.au
amazon.in
amazon.com.mx
amazon.de
amazon.it
amazon.es
amazon.com.br
amazon.nl
amazon.co.jp
amazon.fr
Beep bloop. I'm a bot to convert Amazon ebook links to local Amazon sites.
I currently look here: amazon.com, amazon.co.uk, amazon.ca, amazon.com.au, amazon.in, amazon.com.mx, amazon.de, amazon.it, amazon.es, amazon.com.br, amazon.nl, amazon.co.jp, amazon.fr, if you would like your local version of Amazon adding please contact my creator.
City of the Beasts
Miyuki Miyabe. That is all.
Totto-chan is a delightful, light-hearted read despite the backdrop of WWII. The publishing of the Kino no Tabi series is a bit up in the air, but I thoroughly enjoyed the first one. I highly recommend The Woman in the Dunes; it is a beautiful work. I loved the first volume of Ballad of a Shinigami. Goth is a personal favorite, but it's horror and can get a tad gory. I would encourage you to give it a try though, it has altered my point of view quite a bit.
While I have not read any, I have heard good things about Brave Story, Kazuo Ishiguro (The Remains of the Day, Never Let Me Go) and Kenzaburo Oe (The Changling). I have heard Botchan is popular in Japan.
As a tip, search for Japanese light novels. They are "light" in the sense that they are the literature equivalent of manga, often with many volumes. They were really popular a few years back, but I am not sure if they are still being published. Check out Amazon for some old Tokyopop, Seven Seas, and Yen Press books. Also, Spice and Wolf.
I don't want to be an adult anymore D:
Howl's Moving Castle (the book!) is only $4 used!
I hope your week gets better! hugs
Make Good Art :D
Congrats on selling your painting! I'd love this used book if I win :) Thanks for the contest!
The Girl Who Circumnavigated Fairyland in a Ship of Her Own Making is a great volume 1 of a series. Also wins for greatest title of the ever.
http://www.amazon.com/Girl-Circumnavigated-Fairyland-Ship-Making/dp/0312649614
Is it Brave Story?
http://www.amazon.com/gp/aw/d/1421527731/ref=mp_s_a_1_1?qid=1462865167&sr=8-1&pi=SY200_QL40&keywords=brave+story
The first three books in the Redwall series, which several have recommended to you, are for sale for $1.99 for Amazon Kindle on 7/17/17.
Redwall
Mattimeo
Mossflower
http://amzn.com/B005O315ZW
Yay contest!
City of Beasts?
https://www.amazon.com/City-Beasts-Isabel-Allende/dp/0060535032
The Isabel Allende young adult series are really good and are fantasy. The first one is City of the Beast. I read these when I was about 9 and they were excellent.
There's another one coming out this year, Clariel. From what I've heard, remember Chlorr the Mask, the necromancer in parts of the Abhorsen series? Before she was Chlorr she was Clariel...
The Phantom Tollbooth
The Pendragon Series Was one of my favorites when I was a kid, one of the series I grew up with. It's about a kid who finds out he can travel to other worlds, and goes on a quest to save them. It might be a little heavy for him, but it's the only suggestion I've got lol.
The Farthest Away Mountain
I love the Abarat series by Clive Barker: Abarat, Abarat: Days of Magic, Nights of War and Abarat: Absolute Midnight
They're YA (well as much as HDM is YA), teen protagonist exploring a different world. I'm not very good at blurb, but they are in the same vein as His Dark Materials, and are fantastic books as well.
That makes me think of the book Graceling.
Okay so, YA books are my jam, and I'll get to those in a second. But if you want a fun summer read you'll have trouble putting down, Mr. Penumbra's 24-Hour Bookstore is great. It's a really fun read, especially for people who like books. It's got mystery, humor, and you'll stay up way too late reading to figure out what's going to happen next. It's not the deepest or most challenging book in the world, but it's real fun and well paced.
For YA, anything by Laurie Halse-Anderson is amazing. I've read Speak more times than any other book. Her book Catalyst is also really awesome. And I just finished her book Twisted a few days ago, and it was a great, quick read. (I actually finished it in one lazy day!)
Jay Asher's Thirteen Reasons Why is heartbreaking. If you liked Fault in Our Stars, I'm sure you'll love this. It's a great concept (girl who kills herself gives a series of tapes to a boy to explain why she did it), and it's just superbly well written. Along the same lines, Markus Zusak's I am the Messenger is also a great high-concept, all-the-feels read.
If you like the more fantasy-esque YA books, the best series I've found is Clive Barker's Abarat series. If you end up getting these, make sure to get the hardcover versions. The writing is great itself, but what really makes the series is that each book has over 300 paintings and illustrations done by the author himself. It's a great epic, and the third book of five just came out last year. The series gets darker as it goes, which is great.
And, finally, not a YA novel, but Adam Rapp's The Metal Children is an awesome play about a guy who wrote a YA book that's the focus of a censorship argument in a small town. It's got some great points in it, and is a fast, fun read.
Hope this helps! Sorry if I used the word 'great' too much. :P
Oh! I love reading books!
Garth Nix also wrote the Keys to the Kingdom series.
DJ McHale wrote a "Pendragon" series that is non Arthurian: http://www.amazon.com/Merchant-Death-Pendragon-1/dp/0743437314/ref=pd_bxgy_b_text_c
Sorry, I should have been clearer. Tiffany Aching is the fictional protagonist in some of Pratchett's novels.
Here's the first in the series.
Maybe The Prophecy of the Stones by Flavia Bujor? It doesn't entirely line up but parts of it definitely do.
This book (The Girl Who Circumnavigated Fairyland in a Ship of Her Own Making by Catherynne M. Valente)was only recently published, so it wasn't a favorite childhood book, but I would have loved to have read about September and her adventures in Fairyland when I was younger. (For the record I still loved reading about her adventures in Fairyland, and sent the book to my young lady cousins in the hopes that they could connect to her as well.)
http://www.amazon.com/Girl-Circumnavigated-Fairyland-Ship-Making/dp/0312649614
Graceling has a really original concept and a fearless lady protagonist.
Link: https://smile.amazon.com/Blue-Sword-Robin-McKinley-ebook/dp/B01CY2XFDK
Have you read Once Upon a Time in the North?
I haven't read this in years, so am not sure if the plot matches, but it was the first book that came to mind: http://www.amazon.com/Farthest-Away-Mountain-Lynne-Reid-Banks/dp/product-description/0380713039
I think it was just around that time that I started in on the Pendragon series (link for book 1 of 10). And of course the Eragon series. I think fantasy captured my imagination best at that time, but obviously every one is different. If you have ideas about his/her interests, we may be able to track down some better options for you. Good luck!
This seems like a longshot since I don't know what the spine looks like and there only seem to be 3 gems, but could it be The Prophecy of the Stones?
It's by Catherynne M. Valente (in case anyone didn't follow the link, and assumes it's by China Miéville). It is excellent, but quite challenging to read. It's difficult to get through the tangled dreamscape stuff. I lost my way three-quarters of the way in, put the book down, and eventually abandoned it. I must give it another go soon, though.
Related: by popular demand Valente wrote the childrens' book mentioned in Palimpsest.
This is a book. I have so far loved the series and would like to continue. A room without books is like a body without a soul.
Thanks for the contest!
I like my job most of the time because I get to meet a lot of interesting characters in the middle of the night. Its a tough job sometimes, and has its shitty moments. But over all it rocks. Like when I get notes like this left for me when its been an especially long night.
Kindle book
Glitter all the things.
Thanks for the contest. :-)