Here are 70 books that The Last Windwitch fans have personally recommended if you like
The Last Windwitch.
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Throughout my childhood, my mother repeated the mantra, “Love your own, leave others alone.” Her purpose was to prevent me and my siblings from begging to keep every animal we saw. Arguably, the phrase had some impact because we obviously didn’t bring home every animal. (But we also adopted a opossum from the backyard and named him Mr. Jenkins, so you be the judge.) For as long as I can remember, I have loved finding fantasy adventure books that feature the animals I love so much as trusted companions. I hope you enjoy the books on this list as much as I do!
Another middle grade fantasy, Eva Evergreen: Semi-Magical Witch, follows a young girl trying to prove herself even with a lack of magical ability.
Though away from her parents, Eva’s not alone. Her trusty companion throughout her journey to help the residents of Auteri and earn her title never leaves her side. And, what’s more, is her animal companion is one I hadn’t seen before reading this book—it's a flamefox.
The flamefox, better known as Ember, loves food but loves her person, Eva, more—something that will resonate with people who love pets (and people who just love, well, love)!
Eva Evergreen is determined to earn the rank of Adept Witch before she turns thirteen years old. If she doesn't, she'll lose her magic forever. For most young witches and wizards, it's a simple enough test:
ONE: Help your town, do good all around. TWO: Live there for one moon, don't leave too soon. THREE: Fly home by broomstick, the easiest of tricks.
The only problem? Eva only has a pinch of magic. She summons heads of cabbage instead of flowers and gets a sunburn instead of calling down rain. And…
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 don’t know about you, but sometimes I feel like a bunch of different personalities all wrapped up in a trenchcoat. Which one is the dominant me? Maybe funny and cheerful, maybe quiet and reclusive, maybe ambitious or adventurous – or maybe I’m all of these things? I think I’m drawn to witches because they're so surprising: a witch might be helpful, or she might try to eat you. It’s that unpredictability and mystery which intimidates people, so a witch is considered scary – until she’s not – and when I open a book about a witch, I never know what to expect!
This is a hilarious romp following daughters of rival witch families Katy and Delpha as they come to terms with their magic, their families, and each other. As a Kentuckian, I loved seeing Appalachia depicted in such loving, real detail. And yes, there are some outrageous zombie grannies too. This story was such a breath of fresh mountain air.
The magical story of a hex that goes haywire, and the power of friendship to set things right!
In the town of Howler's Hollow, conjuring magic is strictly off-limits. Only nothing makes Delpha McGill's skin crawl more than rules. So when she finds her family's secret book of hexes, she's itching to use it to banish her mama's money troubles. She just has to keep it quieter than a church mouse -- not exactly Delpha's specialty.
Trouble is, Katybird Hearn is hankering to get her hands on the spell book, too. The daughter of a rival witching family, Katy has…
I don’t know about you, but sometimes I feel like a bunch of different personalities all wrapped up in a trenchcoat. Which one is the dominant me? Maybe funny and cheerful, maybe quiet and reclusive, maybe ambitious or adventurous – or maybe I’m all of these things? I think I’m drawn to witches because they're so surprising: a witch might be helpful, or she might try to eat you. It’s that unpredictability and mystery which intimidates people, so a witch is considered scary – until she’s not – and when I open a book about a witch, I never know what to expect!
I was easily spooked as a kid, often crying when things got too scary. This book features all the ingredients of a scary book – ghosts, witches, graveyards – but you always feel safe, comfortable knowing things will turn out alright and our young hero Lucely will successfully save her home. It's funny and fast-paced and adventurous. Plus it has a chonky cat named Chunk, which I can't resist.
Coco meets Stranger Things with a hint of Ghostbusters in this action-packed supernatural fantasy adventure!
For Lucely Luna, ghosts are more than just the family business.
Shortly before Halloween, Lucely and her best friend, Syd, cast a spell that accidentally awakens malicious spirits, wreaking havoc throughout St. Augustine. Together, they must join forces with Syd's witch grandmother, Babette, and her tubby tabby, Chunk, to fight the haunting head-on and reverse the curse to save the town and Lucely's firefly spirits before it's too late.
With the family dynamics of Coco and action-packed adventure of Ghostbusters,…
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…
As the father of two boys, I know how hard it can be to get kids engaged in reading. My boys were excited about mysteries and sports, which is why I created The Ballpark Mysteriesseries, in which cousins Kate and Mike solve mysteries at different MLB stadiums. By including facts and history in the books I can also engage readers who like real-life stories. For me, the best mystery and adventure chapter books for kids will meet readers where they are and take them on an exciting (and perhaps even scary or thrilling) journey while keeping them safe in their chairs and coming back for more.
Dragons in the Bagunleashes imaginative fantasy creatures—yes, dragons—in the middle of present-day, gentrifying Brooklyn. The heart (and there’s a strong heart here) of the story is Jax, a Black protagonist. The book combines a real sense of place with magic, family mysteries, and an adventure challenge of managing a bag of dragons. I loved the way that the author, Zetta Elliott, created believable and lovable characters, such as Ambrose, an apparent homeless man, that drive the story forward in unforgettable ways. A solid read even for people like me who don’t normally pick up fantasy stories.
The dragon's out of the bag in this diverse, young urban fantasy from an award-winning author!
When Jaxon is sent to spend the day with a mean old lady his mother calls Ma, he finds out she's not his grandmother--but she is a witch! She needs his help delivering baby dragons to a magical world where they'll be safe. There are two rules when it comes to the dragons: don't let them out of the bag, and don't feed them anything sweet. Before he knows it, Jax and his friends Vikram and Kavita have broken both rules! Will Jax get…
Each summer when I was small, I visited my gram. During the day we would go off on one adventure or another—and at night, she enticed me to sleep with the promise of a story. Most often, she read Grimm’s fairytales to me. Full of darkness and also hope (!), they were, and still are, some of my very favorites. And they inspire what I most enjoy writing and reading.
This eerie tale centers on the most lovable of characters, Eden Leopold, who I would follow anywhere—even into a land of eternal night. Spooky and strange, this story brims with magic and will also be sure to tug at your heartstrings (as it did mine) with its lovely portrayal of family.
Hailed by Newbery winner Kelly Barnhill as "stunning, moving, and marvelously strange," this tale of a young girl who stumbles into a magical realm ruled by a wicked witch is a haunting and ultimately uplifting middle grade novel about grief, family, and decades-old magic.
Still grieving the loss of her mother, Eden visits Safina Island, her ancestral home, as a healing balm. But when she discovers an old sketchbook that belonged to her mother, she's haunted by the images she sees drawn there. A creepy mansion covered with roots and leaves. A monstrous dog with dagger-sharp teeth. And a tall…
I have loved all things magical my entire life. I grew up leaving out food for the fairies and searching for gnomes in the woods, so it only follows that when I learned to read, I gravitated toward stories of fantasy and myth. I often felt that the worlds I read about matched my personality more accurately than the real world, and I longed to be one of the magically gifted heroines I encountered. I’m excited to share some of my very favorites with you, and hope they bring you as much joy as they did me!
I think I’ve loved academic settings for fantasy ever since I read Harry Potter, and The Black Witch has one of the best I’ve come across since. Laurie Forrest completely captivated me with her world, her characters, a great underground rebellion, a romance to root for, and a heroine blind to her own immense power. Definitely a must-read on my list!
Debut young adult fantasy author Laurie Forest brings a vividly imagined new fantasy realm to life in The Black Witch Chronicles, in which a fiercely determined heroine must embrace a power she never knew she had in order to protect everyone she loves from the darkness sweeping across their world.
A new Black Witch will rise...her powers vast beyond imagining.
Elloren Gardner is the granddaughter and absolute spitting image of the late Black Witch, the most powerful mage her people, the Gardnerians, have ever known. Yet while everyone she meets expects her to live up to Carnissa Gardner's formidable legacy,…
I write adult and young adult fantasy. I’ve always been fascinated with the concept of magic. While growing up in China, I often found myself immersed in fantasy literature based on Asian history, mythology, and legends. I enjoyed getting lost in the rich imaginary worlds where the characters came to life. These tales fed my imagination and inspired me to create my own magical adventures. Writing has allowed me to expand on the ancient legends and mythology that I’ve always loved. Moreover, I’ve enjoyed creating lifelike characters, especially strong women who inspire young girls.
I adore an anti-heroine story, and Dao delivers in this Asian-inspired reimagining of the Evil Queen about one peasant girl’s quest to become Empress by unleashing the darkness inside her.
The worldbuilding is lush, full of vivid details. The characters have amazing depth, never becoming one-dimensional stereotypes.
The protagonist is wonderfully complex. You sympathize with her at one point and then, in the next, she does something totally hateful. Her dark jealousies and obsession with her own beauty would make you despise her, but you’d also feel her frustration for having her ambition smothered as a woman in a patriarchal world.
The Wrath and the Dawn meets Snow White and the Huntsman in this dark and mystical East Asian fantasy reimagining of The Evil Queen legend about one peasant girl's quest to become Empress.
"A richly developed fantasy world . . . Julie C. Dao is a talent to watch."-Marie Lu, #1 New York Times bestselling author of The Young Elites
Eighteen-year-old Xifeng is beautiful. The stars say she is destined for greatness, that she is meant to be Empress of Feng Lu. But only if she embraces the darkness within her.
Each summer when I was small, I visited my gram. During the day we would go off on one adventure or another—and at night, she enticed me to sleep with the promise of a story. Most often, she read Grimm’s fairytales to me. Full of darkness and also hope (!), they were, and still are, some of my very favorites. And they inspire what I most enjoy writing and reading.
Adventure and magic (so much magic!!) go hand in hand in this quirky story about a self-named thief, Quicksilver, whose quests lead her toward the truth of the Star Lands’ witches and the powerful Wolf King. Faithfully, her dog travels at her side, which is one reason I love this story so much. Animal companions make adventuring all the more fun!
"A heart-pounding adventure."-Publishers Weekly (starred review)
Orphan. Thief. Witch.
A classic fantasy-adventure reminiscent of Howl's Moving Castle from New York Times-bestselling author Claire Legrand.
Twelve-year-old Quicksilver lives as a thief in the sleepy town of Willow-on-the-River. Her only companions are her faithful dog and partner in crime, Fox-and Sly Boots, the shy boy who lets her live in his attic when it's too cold to sleep on the rooftops. It's a lonesome life, but Quicksilver is used to being alone. When you are alone, no one can hurt you. No one can abandon you.
I’m qualified to talk about Hermione Granger because she’s a bold rip-off of my own experience at boarding school. My family didn’t have a lot of money. However, I was always the smartest, most original, hardest-working kid at school. Then I got a fat scholarship to an exclusive and fabulously wealthy boarding school 3,000 miles from home. I arrived as a poor, immigrant, POC, gay, transfer student into the eleventh grade. I was the muggle-born kid plopped into a world of privilege and power with something to prove, just like Hermione. But because the author did such a good job of capturing my life, I won’t sue.
Like Hermione, Courtney comes from a non-magical background and discovers her own magical heritage. Her stubborn curiosity propels her into a fantastical world operating under our own. She also has a sense of justice and would deffo have allied with Hermione in S.P.E.W. Unlike Hermione, Courtney isn’t studious or diligent. She’s a bit of a slacker and a grump. What I love about this series is the prickly heroine and the treatment of the fantastical world. Like the Wizarding World, the fantastical worldbuilding in this series is built on familiar Western fantasy creatures and tropes. What’s special about it is the stylish Goth-chic interpretation through the author/artist’s artwork and the examination of the ethical conundrums latent in fantasy since fantasy is often about power.
Get the first volume of this critically acclaimed series for only $10 as part of Oni's Square One program!
Courtney Crumrin grumbles about everything, but now she's really got something to grumble over. Having run out of credit cards, her parents are moving to the wealthy suburb of Hillsborough, to live rent-free with their creepy old uncle Aloysius. Courtney is now an outcast among her rich, snobby classmates. And if that weren't bad enough, the musty, decrepit old mansion that she now calls home is occupied by stranger creatures than just her parents or Uncle Aloysius.
I was a Navy Brat for most of my childhood, moving from place to place every couple of years. It was hard, but my mom somehow always created a community around us of people that I could almost call my aunts and uncles. As an adult, I’ve also found people that I love like family, and created my own little group with my own people. It’s something that I write about in every single book I pen and I’m sure it will continue because I love when people find their people. It’s my favorite.
While this book is a middle-grade fantasy, I love it so much.
Two enemy clans working together to save their world from a threat bigger than either of them is great, but when you also make it so that each representative is an outcast, well, it’s that much better. Not only do these kids work together, facing fear and prejudices head-on, but they become their own family, and it’s oh-so magical.
I again recommend the audiobook, as it’s narrated by the great David Tennant (Barty Crouch Jr., Tenth Doctor on Doctor Who, and Crowley on Good Omens), so it is fantastic.
The No.1 bestselling series from current Waterstones Children's Laureate and author of How To Train Your Dragon, Cressida Cowell. Enter a land of wizards, warriors, mythical creatures and powerful Magic in an exciting fantasy adventure.
Witches are creating havoc in the Wildwoods and danger lurks behind every tree trunk.
Wish is in possession of a powerful, Magic Spelling Book; Xar has a dangerous Witchstain on his hand. Together they can save the Wildwoods from the curse of the Witches but they are separated by the highest wall imaginable, and time is running out ...
