Books like Magic Flutes — picked by fans

I’m an award-winning and USA Today Best-Selling author whose work includes everything from short stories in school journals to horror and epic fantasy. But I’ve long been obsessed with books that work as well for adults as they do for children. The prose must be beautiful and designed to read aloud; the plot must be on point, and the characters must be compelling. And all of this with a PG rating. A tricky ask, even when the authors haven’t added Easter egg extras for adults. It’s because of this that I believe these are some of the best fantasy books ever written. So, enjoy! 

I’ve always delighted in stories where characters find they are not quite who they thought. I love double identities, triple identities, dual roles, and mysterious extra names…so long as they are written so I can believe in them. My own family tree is full of people using names or personas that weren’t quite what one might expect, and I follow the tradition in that although there is just one of me, physically speaking, I wear a great many hats. I have also loved hidden identity TV and film, such as Nowhere Man, and the first iteration of Total Recall. Many of my own books deal with identity, and it was difficult to pick just one!

I’m a British author for children and young adults and have lost count of the number of books I’ve published. I’ve won awards, and my books have been translated into many languages. I’m also an avid reader: have been for almost all of my life. I know a good series when it hooks me in!

I was an avid reader as a child. Then I became a teenager and started hating it! Why? Because the teachers at school started pushing classical literature on me. I didn’t read for years until a friend introduced me to fantasy. I fell in love and haven’t looked back. I love commercial fantasy fiction that has lots of action, where the writer focuses less on elegant prose and more on plot and characters. I aim to write the kind of books that readers get addicted to, where they can disappear into another world and forget they are reading – the kind of books I love to read!

I learned to read music at about the same time I learned to read words. I grew up taking piano lessons, studying almost entirely classical pieces that came weighted with history: everything I ever played had been played better by someone else. I still enjoyed my attempts, but realized that the relationship I had with those notes was not the one I wanted to have with words, which I felt drawn to assemble into my own arrangements, my own stories. So, as a weirdo who’s been thinking about interpretation and creation since childhood, I love books that delve into the challenges and emotional complexities of making music.

I’ve been playing the violin since I was 3, so as of 2022, it’s been 15 years. I believe that music unifies, and is a catalyst for social change, social justice, and equity. I’ve written two children’s books about different powers of music: Bailey Brings Her Friends Together with Music and The Aria in Me. With both of these books, I donate 100% of my proceeds to Kidznotes, a local North Carolinian organization, which provides underserved youth ensemble-based music instruction for personal, social, academic, and musical development and growth. I chose this list to inspire and captivate young readers and hopefully help them fall in love with music. :)

I’ve held a burgeoning interest in the stars since I was a young girl. Daydreams of adventure and exploration guided me to the genre. Once I found it, I consumed everything I could find, both on-screen and in the pages of books. There’s something to be said about the vulnerability of being in the vastness of space, oftentimes with strangers who grow to be family. I guess, in a way, it reminds me of that moment when we set out into the world, away from our families, to learn and explore more about our surroundings and the characters we meet along the way (only on a much grander scale). 

I’ve held a burgeoning interest in the stars since I was a young girl. Daydreams of adventure and exploration guided me to the genre. Once I found it, I consumed everything I could find, both on-screen and in the pages of books. There’s something to be said about the vulnerability of being in the vastness of space, oftentimes with strangers who grow to be family. I guess, in a way, it reminds me of that moment when we set out into the world, away from our families, to learn and explore more about our surroundings and the characters we meet along the way (only on a much grander scale). 

I grew up in a family of church singers. As a young man, I studied poetry and piano, literature and guitar, listening to Hank Williams and reading William Faulkner while dreaming of becoming a Nashville songwriter. Eventually, I performed as a singer-songwriter myself on three continents, so it’s entirely honest to say that music, language, and stories have always been the fabric of my life. These novels represent everything I love about music and how it connects us—to people, to worlds beyond—and I hope you find them just as meaningful (and occasionally heartwrenching) as I have.

Having been a professional singer for about five decades and having grown up with, and studied the early recordings of operatic singers for just as long, I feel that I am in an unusual position when it comes to analyzing their art. The ability to describe a singer’s voice on paper is a unique challenge but one that I enjoy solving–especially since each voice is a law unto itself. When done correctly, analysis like this should make the reader want to go and find the recording so that they can listen for themselves. This is especially true for my expanded Kindle version of Early 20th Century Opera Singers.