15 Best Fantasy Books You Need To Read If You Like Harry Potter

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The “Harry Potter” books are fascinating to children as a result of they’re a couple of magical college the place youngsters battle darkish forces whereas nonetheless having fun with the surprise of magic. Adults additionally take pleasure in this escapism and revisit these books, not only for the escape, however due to the hope and humanity inside as characters face bigger than life trials. 

Harry Potter needs to search out his place on this planet, however the negativity from his family, the Dursley’s, would not assist. Though he is relieved when the existence of a Wizarding World is revealed to him, he additionally has to deal with being a residing legend, as a result of he inadvertently defeated the evil Lord Voldemort as a child. Nonetheless, Harry learns that his selections are his true id, and that is what units him aside from somebody like Voldemort. In contrast to his foe, Harry is surrounded by hope and love, and he makes use of that to remind folks that there’s at all times gentle to combat the darkness.

After all, “Harry Potter” is simply one of many magical tales that train us how our internal energy can form our world. That is why we’re breaking down 15 of the very best books like “Harry Potter” that may forged a spell in your creativeness after your mischief has been managed within the Wizarding World.  

We get a snapshot of who Nicolas Flamel is in “Harry Potter and the Sorcerer’s Stone,” but it surely’s solely meant to arrange the significance of the Sorcerer’s Stone, also known as the Philosopher’s Stone. Whereas Michael Scott’s collection “The Secrets of the Immortal Nicholas Flamel” shouldn’t be straight related to “Harry Potter,” it does assist followers think about what the titular thinker’s life might have been like earlier than his life-giving stone turned Voldemort’s obsession.

Within the first e-book, “The Alchemyst,” Nicholas is found by Sophie and Josh Newman, twins who suppose he is a median bookstore proprietor till an evil magician reveals his id. This second within the first e-book results in the seize of Nicholas’ spouse and the theft of a e-book containing the Sorcerer’s Stone’s recipe. The twins knew Nicholas method earlier than the magical chaos, and that enables them to take him critically somewhat than deal with him like an eccentric dreamer who hides in his examine, which is what the “Harry Potter” collection insinuates in his transient function within the franchise. Michael Scott places Nicholas in an lively place, permitting us to study new issues about him whereas revealing what it takes for him to mix into the fashionable world.

Earlier than there have been films and a popular TV series, “Percy Jackson and the Olympians” was a e-book collection excelling in its illustration of discovered household and parental sacrifices. These are core parts within the “Harry Potter” collection, as Harry, Ron, and Hermione follow Harry by way of all his trials and tribulations, together with the tragedy of losing his parents and the stress of being often known as The Boy Who Lived. However the sacrifice by Harry’s mother and father, particularly his mom Lily, turns into his motivation to guard others, even when it means giving his personal life.

Like Harry, Percy instantly finds himself thrust right into a magical fantasy world the place he should learn to slot in amongst a world of epic gods and their offspring. However Percy’s mom, Sally, has a extra lively function, particularly in “The Lightning Thief,” which features a minotaur capturing her as Percy and Grover run to Camp Half-Blood. He additionally learns of all that his mom has accomplished to guard him, together with marrying a horrible man just because his stench wards off legendary risks. This data provides an additional dimension to Sally by proving her resourcefulness and artistic pondering. It is a perspective we by no means get with Lily, which is a disgrace, as a result of it might have revealed her personal resourcefulness whereas delving into her battle with Voldemort.

Whereas J. Ok. Rowling spends lots of of pages fleshing out her magical world, Roald Dahl is a grasp at providing large magic in bite-sized books, and that features “Matilda,” which builds a full world centered on a magical woman and her egocentric household in roughly 300 pages.

Just like the Dursley’s, the Wormwood’s do the whole lot they’ll to cease Matilda’s powers. Whereas the Dursley’s run to a distant island to flee Hogwarts letters, the Wormwood’s ship Matilda to a college the place she’ll be saved in verify by a brutish headmistress, Miss Agatha Trunchbull. However amidst the chaos, Matilda finds a good friend in Miss Jennifer Honey, a instructor who has been bullied by Trunchbull for years. Matilda and Miss Honey begin a friendship that’s much like Harry and Dumbledore’s, due to its parental nature, which incorporates moments the place each pairs danger their very own security in alternate for his or her cherished one’s freedom.

“Harry Potter” is timeless and immersive as a result of it would not really feel inherently tied to any particular time period. Nonetheless, “The Chronicles of Narnia” goals to totally have interaction its readers by tethering Narnia to historic occasions. That is very true with “The Lion, The Witch, and the Wardrobe,” which makes use of the Blitz in London to ship the Pevensie youngsters to the countryside, the place they discover a magical wardrobe that sends them to a fantastical world the place they’re destined to turn into heroes. 

The historic parts really floor the collection in actuality, permitting it to create a comparability between the true world and Narnia as the youngsters witness energy struggles in each worlds. The villainous White Witch is at odds with Aslan, the lion who’s Narnia’s beloved protector, and their dynamic is much like Dumbledore and Voldemort’s, because the White Witch publicly exudes her energy with deception and violence. The strain between Dumbledore and Voldemort is way quieter as a result of Harry is Voldemort’s arch nemesis. Nonetheless, this pressure rises to the floor in a method that makes the Pevensie youngsters Narnia’s final hope.

“Miss Peregrine’s Home for Peculiar Children” feels prefer it’s from Luna Lovegood’s creativeness, as youngsters navigate supernatural powers whereas dealing with dying and a steady time loop that features a bombing throughout World Struggle II. Luna is fascinated by the thriller and actuality of dying as she grieves her mom. Nonetheless, she has an equal fascination with life, which is proven by way of her curious nature and motivation to study as she trains to be a member of Dumbledore’s Military. Her ardour for all times and dying is shared with Enoch O’Connor, who recurrently revives corpses, together with one of many peculiar youngsters who died after leaving the time loop.

Within the e-book and film versions of the story, Miss Peregrine is a mixture of Hagrid, Dumbledore, and Professor McGonagall, providing steering, knowledge, and difficult love combined with animal transformation, making her somebody that villains concern and kids cling to. She additionally guides a teen named Jack as he turns into their protector. Like Dumbledore, Miss Peregrine is aware of that her powers are nice but restricted, which is why they each depend on the items of the subsequent technology.

Hogwarts is a protected fortress the place youngsters can harness their magical powers, and the identical may very well be mentioned about Marsyas Island in “The House in the Cerulean.” Nonetheless, case employee Linus Baker shouldn’t be positive about that when he’s despatched to the island to analyze an orphanage that’s allegedly harboring harmful magical youngsters. The youngsters he meets are nothing like what he examine in his report, and their caretaker, Arthur Parnassus, makes use of his horrible childhood as gasoline to create a house the place magical youngsters can thrive.

This story is much like Dumbledore’s, as he makes Hogwarts a protected haven for youths, however we do not spend loads of time studying how academics thrive below Hogwarts’ safety. We get a small glimpse of this after we revisit Hagrid’s potential expulsion below a distinct headmaster and after we witness Professor Trelawney’s firing by Professor Umbridge. Nonetheless, these transient moments are by no means expanded upon by one-on-one conversations with Dumbledore, which might have led to a deeper sense of unity. 

However in “The Home within the Cerulean,” Linus and Arthur present us how their strengths and weaknesses create a long-lasting relationship that additionally helps them perceive the wants of those youngsters. After all, not each day is ideal, but it surely’s their motivation to attempt that makes them a household. 

“The School for Good and Evil” collection performs with the thought of heroes and villains as greatest friends Sophie and Agatha are dropped into the unsuitable magical colleges, with the nice Sophie heading to the College for Evil and darkish Agatha heading to the College for Good. This swap examines how labels affect our identities, and it leads us to surprise what might have been if the Sorting Hat despatched Harry to Slytherin and Draco Malfoy to Gryffindor. 

The Sorting Hat nearly places Harry in Slytherin, however he begs for an alternate. He does get a glimpse at what his life would’ve regarded like in Slytherin when he makes use of Polyjuice potion to show himself into Vincent Crabbe in “Harry Potter and the Chamber of Secrets and techniques.” It is an eye-opening expertise as he witnesses Draco’s hateful methods, regretting the truth that he has to agree along with his concepts. Like Sophie and Agatha, Harry and Draco notice that their homes have turn into part of their personalities as they presumably make selections based mostly on what their homes count on from them. 

Whereas Harry is handled as an outsider within the typical world, Riley Oh of the “Gifted Clans” series is a human who looks like an outsider within the magical world. In contrast to the Dursley’s, Riley’s adoptive mother and father, James and Eunha, ensure that she feels their love regardless of their variations. She is an integral a part of the household’s Korean drugs clinic, working the entrance counter whereas her mother and father and sister, Hattie, carry out therapeutic magic.

The collection begins with “The Final Fallen Star,” and it is instructed from Riley’s perspective, serving to us perceive why she feels lonely, regardless of her household’s love. That loneliness is first shared when she has a run-in with a magical buyer who’s shocked that Riley is James and Eunha’s daughter, stating that he heard that Hattie was an solely baby. That outdoors perspective coupled with Riley’s ideas presents a deep emotional connection that’s by no means really explored within the “Harry Potter” collection, resulting from the truth that the story shouldn’t be instructed from Harry’s perspective, which means that we by no means really perceive Harry’s point-of-view whereas processing a world that does not settle for him.

Philip Pullman’s series about youngsters venturing into parallel universes with animal companions tethered to their lifelines walks the road of fantasy and science-fiction. That is one thing “Harry Potter” cannot discover, as a result of it focuses on demystifying magical tropes by way of thriller and horror somewhat than specializing in government-led experiments, which permits “His Darkish Supplies” to chart new paths in fantasy. “His Dark Materials” nonetheless has notes of thriller, as youngsters disappear with out rationalization, which leads Lyra on a mission to avoid wasting them.

Like “Harry Potter,” “His Darkish Supplies” presents a political narrative with the Magisterium, a authorities physique that is conducting these experiments. In “Harry Potter,” the Ministry of Magic denies that Voldemort is again, even rejecting Harry’s encounters whereas Demise Eaters manipulate the Ministry. Whereas the Magisterium does deceive the general public, its members know precisely what’s going on their group, selecting a group-think mannequin somewhat than internal deception to assist them succeed. 

Harry would not just like the particular therapy that folks give him because the Boy Who Lived, however Morrigan Crow of the “Nevermoor” series hopes to win that favor whereas escaping a lethal curse. The primary e-book, “Nevermoor: The Trials of Morrigan Crow,” introduces us to this younger girl who is ready to be killed on her eleventh birthday resulting from a curse that causes her to carry out tragedies, like killing a beloved cat. In contrast to Harry, she has a help system on this unaccepting world. Her father, Corvus (who is an effective model of Jason Isaac’s villainous Lucius Malfoy) makes use of his standing as a revered politician to assist his daughter, very similar to how Lucius makes use of his notoriety to assist Draco.

Corvus’ affect solely goes to this point, and Morrigan is saved by a mysterious man who takes her to security throughout the metropolis of Nevermoor, very similar to how Hagrid takes Harry to Hogwarts. Morrigan should earn her place in Nevermoor by competing for a spot within the prestigious Wundrous Society. This competitors is much like the Triwizard Event in “Harry Potter and the Goblet of Fireplace,” as potential members are confronted with challenges that may show their greatness whereas presumably serving to Morrigan escape dying. 

Amid the joy of “Harry Potter” within the early 2000s, Christopher Paolini launched us to a younger man whose boring life is turned the other way up by dragons in “The Inheritance Cycle” series. “Eragon” is the primary installment, and it introduces us to the title character, a younger man content material with tending to his household’s farm. Nonetheless, the invention of a dragon egg leads him towards his future as a dragon rider, which additionally places him ready to destroy the evil King Galbatorix, whose liable for his uncle’s dying.

Whereas Harry and Eragon need to avenge their households, each younger males are additionally once-in-a-lifetime figures of their respective worlds. Harry is the boy who escaped Voldemort’s lethal spell and Eragon is the primary dragon rider in 100 years. Their presence is each welcomed but unsettling because the folks round them surprise what hazard will come subsequent resulting from their presence.

“The Magicians” collection presents a extra mature model of Hogwarts that capitalizes on how fairy tales affect our lives. Quentin Coldwater is a highschool senior who’s whisked away to a college of magic. He is dreamed about this since he began studying tales a couple of magical place known as Fillory, which is definitely actual. Nonetheless, fairy tales should not as blissful as they seem, and Quentin finds himself uncovering unthinkable horrors, together with a villain often known as the Beast.

This collection may very well be in comparison with the later installments of the “Harry Potter” collection, which provide darker themes and a romantic focus that earlier books haven’t got. Whereas Harry offers with typical teenage hurdles, he’s additionally confronted with a revived Voldemort in “Goblet of Fireplace,” permitting the story to veer into scarier territory, very similar to how the Beasts’ presence will increase the peril for Quentin. In the meantime, Harry can be navigating romance as he grows up, and the romantic focus is a key portion of “The Magicians” books and TV show, the place it is made to be extra of a faculty expertise, permitting us to discover the complexity of affection and the way these emotions are simply manipulated by villains.

“Harry Potter” is an underdog story, which is why it may be in comparison with the collection “The House at the End of Magic.” 9 is a pickpocket whose expertise are extremely revered in a thieving group. Nonetheless, she would not need to be cherished only for her talents. She needs to be accepted as the person who she is, which is why she needs a method out. Her want to escape is granted when a handbag decoration that she stole turns into a house with a novel forged of characters who’re trapped by a curse.

9’s life relates intently to Severus Snape’s, as a result of he’s additionally accepted by a bunch which will solely need him for his talents. He has at all times been handled because the odd man out at Hogwarts, and his connection to the Demise Eater’s would not assist. Nonetheless, he sticks with them with a view to defend Harry, who’s the son of the girl he cherished probably the most. Lily Potter by no means handled Severus like an outsider. She noticed the nice in him, even supposing everybody wrote him off as unusual. 9 is aware of that she could be a hero as nicely, and her new house might give her the possibility to show that she is the nice particular person she needs to be. 

The “Harry Potter” collection would not spend a lot time specializing in how Muggles really feel about magic, regardless of their shocked response to a flying automotive in “Harry Potter and the Chamber of Secrets and techniques.” “The Spiderwick Chronicles” provides us the human perspective to magic that some could also be craving after ending “Harry Potter.” 

The collection follows the Grace siblings who discover a discipline information that proves that fairies and hobgoblins reside close to their new house in a parallel world that may be seen by way of the Seeing Stone, which is a transportable trying glass. They’re shocked by the invention, however they quickly notice that they’ve the benefit in opposition to these evil forces as they use their imaginations and the instruments of their fashionable world to assist save different people. 

When magic is observed by Muggles in “Harry Potter,” the Ministry of Magic normally has to step in to switch recollections, believing that Muggles cannot deal with such sights. Nonetheless, “The Spiderwick Chronicles” proves that common people, particularly youngsters, may very well be our greatest asset within the combat in opposition to magical beings due to their distinctive problem-solving expertise which might be targeted on saving the world somewhat than going after their very own motives, which is one thing that plagues the Ministry of Magic. 

Hogwarts transitions the reader from the Muggle world to a spot the place magic instills hope and surprise. The college is a protected haven, till it comes below fireplace by darkish characters making an attempt to carry again the evil Lord Voldemort. However in “The Scholomance” collection, the magical college is continually altering as a result of it is a take a look at of survival. The story is instructed from the attitude of El, a pupil who has the brains of Hermione and makes use of her information and skepticism to keep away from dying. She’s suspicious of any sudden actions, together with staircases that instantly shift. Like Hogwarts, shifting staircases are a standard prevalence, however El is aware of that the varsity would not essentially have her greatest pursuits at coronary heart.

The identical cannot be mentioned for Hogwarts, which is a secure presence for its college students and hopes to harbor them safely and additional their magical schooling. That consolation lulls Harry, Ron, and Hermione right into a false sense of safety, till they notice that Hogwarts might not be as protected as they as soon as thought. Making the hazard extra obvious in “The Scholomance” collection might result in a predictable story, however Naomi Novik creates an urgency that will increase the thriller and enhances the story.