Here are 61 books that The Burning Bridge fans have personally recommended if you like
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Ever since I was a child, I’ve enjoyed the idea of knights and dragons, kings and queens, marvelous creatures and magicks. After reading blossomed within me, I read book after book and found that the fantasy world was more than just a fancy—it was home. For over 30 years, I’ve enjoyed the good with the bad and everything in between. My imagination flourishes every time I open the pages and a new journey begins. For this reason, I delved into the realm of writing in hopes that I, too, might share an adventure that readers will find themselves lost in.
The Ruins of Gorlan for me was a reminder that you never let anyone tell you, “you can’t”.
Will was a misfit, an orphan. He was too small for battle school and becoming a knight, not adept at being a diplomat, a scholar, nor even a cook. He had no idea what would become of him. It was a fear that permeates down deep. I remember how I felt when I couldn’t go into the army, was unable to go to Devry, and I didn’t want the ordinary.
For Will, it all changes and his fantastic journey begins as he’s chosen to be the ranger’s apprentice. And I cheered inside. I knew it. He didn’t give up. We didn’t give up. And found what our skills were best suited for.
The Ruins of Gorlan is the first thrilling book in John Flanagan's Ranger's Apprentice series - over eight million sold worldwide.
They have always scared him in the past - the Rangers, with their dark cloaks and shadowy ways. The villagers believe the Rangers practise magic that makes them invisible to ordinary people. And now 15-year-old Will, always small for his age, has been chosen as a Ranger's apprentice.
What he doesn't yet realize is that the Rangers are the protectors of the kingdom. Highly trained in the skills of battle and surveillance, they fight the battles before the battles…
Twelve-year-old identical twins Ellie and Kat accidentally trigger their physicist mom’s unfinished time machine, launching themselves into a high-stakes adventure in 1970 Chicago. If they learn how to join forces and keep time travel out of the wrong hands, they might be able find a way home. Ellie’s gymnastics and…
I grew up in a hard-core reader family. Everyone always had a book in their hands, so it came naturally to me to absorb everything in the house library before the urge to write caught up with me. My first typewriter was my mother’s from college, my twelve-year-old self delighted by the opportunity to express herself at last in ways that made sense to me (especially since I was the weirdo introvert who talked to the voices in her head). Since my parents exposed me to a multitude of genres, it’s no surprise I write everything from sci-fi to post-apocalyptic, fantasy and horror, cozy mysteries, and young adult paranormal.
Take a sweeping YA adventure and magic and horses and a delicious book boyfriend all dropped on an outspoken, stubborn young woman thrown into a life she’s uniquely suited to and you have this delightful read from Robin McKinley. With a powerful heroine doing her best to understand her place, suspended between two distinct ways of life, The Blue Sword makes me want to run away from feeling out of place, awkward and never good enough and be just like Harry Crewe.
Read this modern classic of young adult fantasy from award-winning, New York Times bestselling author Robin McKinley
Harry Crewe is an orphan girl who comes to live in Damar, the desert country shared by the Homelanders and the secretive, magical Free Hillfolk. When Corlath, the Hillfolk King, sees her for the first time, he is shaken—for he can tell that she is something more than she appears to be. He will soon realize what Harry has never guessed: She is to become Harimad-sol, King’s Rider, and carry the Blue Sword, Gonturan, which no woman has wielded since the legendary Lady…
Not only am I an author of fantastical, romantic, and magical novels, but I am also an incredibly passionate reader. Ever since I got my first library card I have devoured everything I could get my hands on, but I have always been drawn to novels featuring far-off lands and scheming royals, where magic was a commodity and romance appeared in the most unexpected of places. Not only have these books inspired my own writing, but they have allowed me to travel to a thousand different lands and experience a thousand different lifetimes. Reading is the true magic, and I’m thrilled to share my favorite novels featuring intrigue, romance, fantasy, and glamour.
I have to recommend this book first because it is one that has stayed with me through the years and inspired my own writing. It features one of my favorite reluctant heroines, Meliara Astiar, as she battles against a tyrant king in the land of Remalna. As the countess of a backwater province, Mel has little understanding of the complicated politics of the capital. When she declares a rebellion against the tyrant king, she soon finds herself embroiled in a fast-moving game of intrigue, magic, violence, betrayal, and romance. Ultimately, Mel will have to decide whether she’s willing to live beneath an evil king—or die trying to dethrone him.
Sherwood Smith's most popular young adult fantasy begins with Meliara and her brother vowing to free Remalna from an evil king. War is tougher than it seemed. When Meliara is caught by the enemy commander, the elegant Marquis of Shevraeth, it's escape or die.
Afterward, Meliara faces a tougher challenge: the battlefield is no longer mud and steel, but palaces, the weapons manners and fans. Toughest of all is courtship, when the one who catches her heart is her personal enemy—the new king.
This beloved romantic fantasy has been in continuous print for over twenty years. The definitive edition is…
Twelve-year-old identical twins Ellie and Kat accidentally trigger their physicist mom’s unfinished time machine, launching themselves into a high-stakes adventure in 1970 Chicago. If they learn how to join forces and keep time travel out of the wrong hands, they might be able find a way home. Ellie’s gymnastics and…
I grew up in the 1980s when there wasn’t consideration for representation or diversity in literature or media. If I wanted to read about a Girl of Color, inevitably, she was a slave. If I wanted to watch a TV show featuring women (of any color), they were inevitably rescued in the climactic moment by a man. As such, I grew into a reader who loves kickbutt girls of all stripes. Give me a chance to cheer on a female who’s looking for her happy ending and not about to let the world dictate how she finds that happiness (and with whom), and boy, you got me!
Silencing Rebecca hooks the reader from the first page with the disturbing question, what happened to Rebecca? From the first line, “silence has swallowed her whole,” through jumps into the past and present, Rebecca journeys on a twisting, winding path of self-discovery, identity, and heartbreak. At once devastating and heartfelt, with prose that’s plainly spoken yet evocative, silencing Rebecca is a novel that stays with readers, long after the last word has been read.
In this genre-bending debut YA novel combining elements of horror, magic realism, and realistic fiction, Rebecca Waldmann’s sheltered life as an Orthodox Jewish teen in Toronto is shattered when her father moves them to Edmonton, where she is plunged into the worldly life of a public high school. Ordinary teenage angst is complicated by Rebecca’s lack of experience with a culture of wearing cool clothes, swearing, talking back to teachers, and other aspects of secular teen life. Things take a darker turn when Rebecca encounters antisemitism and discovers a secret about the long-ago death of her mother that her father…
I'm an American writer who grew obsessed with all things King Arthur at age 10. Trying to be the best 7th-grade Arthurian scholar in the world set me on a path of life-long learning and research. My historical fantasy novels for children have been flatteringly called "maybe the only [fiction] depiction of the complexities of feudal obligations & responsibilities I've ever seen" by a real medievalist. While that wasn't what I was going for, it speaks to the thing I seek out when I read: total immersion in another world. If you don't feel like you scrubbed pots in the Middle Ages, why would you read about a medieval scullery maid?
When I first encountered this book in the late 1980s, it was titled Jackaroo--named for the Robin Hood-like folk hero in the non-magical secondary world called the Kingdom. However, the star of the story is Gwyn, so the renaming makes sense. The book is riveting in its action moments, but somehow I'm even more drawn to the scenes of daily toil. I have absolutely no idea how Voigt can make scrubbing the floor seem so important! (This is the real floor-scrubbing book of this list.) The Tale of Gwyn evokes a medieval European past that feels more real than the best-researched historical novel. Hopefully the series rebrand draws the wide readership it deserves--it is both exciting and thoughtful, bleak and hopeful, and I return to it again and again.
In a fantastical kingdom ravaged by famine and poverty, the prospect of hope lies with a mythical masked hero in this, the first book in the Tales of the Kingdom series from Newbery Medalist Cynthia Voigt.
In a distant time, a kingdom is starving. With winter upon them, there is little hope, except for the legend of Jackaroo: a masked outlaw who comes at night to aid the destitute and helpless. But Gwyn, the innkeeper’s daughter, is too practical for false hopes. She believes Jackaroo is nothing more than a fairy tale told to keep children hopeful till the next…
I had a lot of troubles as a kid, and my favorite escape was getting lost in fairy tales and mythology. For me, those stories were a window into ancient worlds full of strange rules and powers, where magic was real and nothing was outside the bounds of possibility. As an author, I get to build my own stories and worlds inspired by the tales I loved so much as a kid, and I’ve loved reading about new heroes and heroines whose tales are rooted in the powerful traditions of peoples from all over the globe. I’m happy to be sharing some of my recent favorite mythology-inspired books!
Sometimes the best book for readers who love mythology-inspired stories is a book of mythology! There are lots of these compendiums out there, but it can be hard to find collections that don’t feel distant or dull. This one is recent (if not “new”), and is really well done. Illustrated like a graphic novel, Gods and Heroes highlights funny and quirky aspects of engaging characters, while also sharing in-depth stories that will entrance middle grade readers.
I loved the humor and connection Briggs brought to characters from twenty-three different cultures. These are personalities that are entertaining and powerful enough to have their stories handed down through thousands of years of human history, and who will continue to inspire stories in the years to come.
It's the perfect way to introduce kids to legendary lands, powerful gods, brave heroes, wild creatures, and more! Skillfully told and illustrated by Korwin Briggs, it's the who's who and what's what of ancient culture, organised alphabetically.
I am an American citizen who taught Classical Studies at the University of Toronto, Canada. I have taught Homer (in translation and in Greek), ancient myth, and “reception” of ancient myth. All the books that I discuss below I have taught many times in a first-year seminar about creative “reception” of the Odyssey. Other topics include comparable stories (like The Tempest by Shakespeare) and other great works of reception (like Derek Walcott’s stage version of the Odyssey and his epic poem "Omeros"). Every time I’ve taught the class, I’ve learned the most from free-wheeling discussions with students.
I thought it was great to have Circe herself narrate her love affair with Odysseus.
The first half of the novel interestingly shares her tribulations growing up as a child in a family of gods. I found that this establishes a theme of immortality vs. mortality that the book explores in profound ways. Especially fascinating was Circe’s personal story of her love affair with Odysseus.
I was surprised and delighted that Miller included the resulting child, Telegonus, who is not in Homer but is in ancient myth. Even more surprising to me was Circe falling in love with Telemachus, Odysseus’ son by Penelope (also not in Homer!). This relationship allows the novel to end on a positive note as Circe learns to live like a mortal in her new life with Telemachus.
In the house of Helios, god of the sun and mightiest of the Titans, a daughter is born. Circe is a strange child - not powerful and terrible, like her father, nor gorgeous and mercenary like her mother. Scorned and rejected, Circe grows up in the shadows, at home in neither the world of gods or mortals. But Circe has a dark power of her own: witchcraft. When her gift threatens…
I came to my passion for history later in life—when I realized I could trade in the endless date memorization I remembered from history class for an exploration of fierce lady pirates like Shek Yeung and unwilling empresses like Sisi of Austria. Historical stories that felt like thrillers, adventures, or mystery novels. Comedies. Tragedies. And most of all: books that didn’t require a history PhD to get swept up in the story. These are the books that made me fall in love with history, and they’re the kind of books I now write. I’m the author of three historical novels, all written first and foremost to sweep you away into a damn good story.
No list would be complete without the writer who changed my life. It was Jason’s blog (now turned into this book) that opened a whole new world of feminist history to me.
The book is a collection of true stories of women from history who were probably a little too wild, too sketchy, or too murderous to make the Disney Princess cut. Each story is illustrated gorgeously and researched meticulously. It’s perfect for adults and also a great gift for any teenagers who you’d like to get more into history (because what teen doesn’t love the story of teen hell-raisers from the past?).
Blending the iconoclastic feminism of The Notorious RBG and the confident irreverence of Go the F**ck to Sleep, a brazen and empowering illustrated collection that celebrates inspirational badass women throughout history, based on the popular Tumblr blog. Well-behaved women seldom make history. Good thing these women are far from well behaved ...Illustrated in a contemporary animation style, Rejected Princesses turns the ubiquitous "pretty pink princess" stereotype portrayed in movies, and on endless toys, books, and tutus on its head, paying homage instead to an awesome collection of strong, fierce, and yes, sometimes weird, women: warrior queens, soldiers, villains, spies, revolutionaries,…
Since writing a middle-grade novel about a lab rat living on the International Space Station, I was curious to see how other authors tackled the challenge of creating stories about talking rats and mice. After all, these rodents are not generally popular in real life. What exciting approaches did others use to get past this dilemma? I wanted to see how they balanced the ideal—being true to the nature of a species—while constructing original characters in challenging situations. Analyzing how other writers succeed is always useful.
Ratscaliburreveals what happens when a ragician turns grade seven student—Joey—into a rat. Joey becomes Ratscalibur when he pulls a spork from a dehydrated scone. The other rats are convinced he can help save their kingdom but Joey is not so confident. Still, if he wants the chance to become a boy again, he must help the rodents fight their devious enemies. Rich in humor, this book’s charm also comes from illuminating a character who is quite certain he’s not meant to be a hero. This novel is full of original twists that will keep readers turning pages.
History is my passion. I’m a graduate of medieval history from the Hebrew University, Jerusalem, and post-graduate of London University. Former high school history teacher, and previously held the post of assistant researcher at the Museum of the Diaspora, Tel Aviv. I was commissioned by the Council of Zambian Jewry to research and write the history of Northern Rhodesian/Zambian Jewry. I have lectured frequently on my subjects and have contributed diverse historical articles in newspapers and journals. I have published six books, fiction, and non-fiction.
As a historian I have often felt the need to get to grips with the basis of western mythical-historical writing, meaning—Homer. After reading Mythos, I couldn’t resist reading Fry’s second book of his Greek mythology trilogy, and I was rewarded! Despite the often-confusing flood of Greek names of gods, Titans, divine mortals, etc. you can’t help enjoying this exciting read of Paris’ abduction of Helen of Sparta. As usual, Fry’s erudition is combined with side-splitting humor and wit. He has the brilliance to bring alive the ancient classical Homer’s Iliad to a modern-day audience.
AN EPIC BATTLE THAT LASTED TEN YEARS. A LEGENDARY STORY THAT HAS SURVIVED THOUSANDS.
'An inimitable retelling of the siege of Troy . . . Fry's narrative, artfully humorous and rich in detail, breathes life and contemporary relevance into these ancient tales' OBSERVER
'Stephen Fry has done it again. Well written and super storytelling' 5***** READER REVIEW ________
'Troy. The most marvellous kingdom in all the world. The Jewel of the Aegean. Glittering Ilion, the city that rose and fell not once but twice . . .'
When Helen, the beautiful Greek queen, is kidnapped by the Trojan prince Paris,…
