What to Read Next – Harry Potter Edition

The film Harry Potter and the Half-Blood Prince hit theaters last week and it made me nostalgic for the days of reading the books for the first time. If you are like me and want to read another great series, here is a list of books that might help fill the void left by Harry Potter. Both children and adults can enjoy most of these books. Many have themes similar to Harry Potter, such as a child who doesn’t fit in finding out that he or she is somehow special or different from most kids.

Artemis Fowl by Eoin Colfer
Artemis Fowl, a twelve-year-old boy genius and criminal mastermind, has uncovered the secret world of fairies and plots to steal their gold. These are not traditional fairies, however, as they are heavily armed and equipped with advanced technology. The Artemis Fowl series is often compared to Harry Potter [...]

Read More »

THE GOLDEN COMPASS (His Dark Materials, Book 1) Review

THE GOLDEN COMPASS (His Dark Materials, Book 1) by Philip Pullman

The Golden Compass is the first book in an outstanding trilogy by Philip Pullman. For those of you that saw the movie don’t be fooled into thinking this is a children’s book. The books are actually much darker than the movie. The story takes place in a world much like our own but with just a few differences. For starters, each person’s soul is a living animal called a ‘daemon’ that never strays further than a few meters from their body. A person’s daemon can tell you a lot about their personality. For example, if your daemon is a snake, you’re probably not the type of person I’d want to do trust falls with.
The focus of the story is a young girl named Lyra Belacqua. Lyra doesn’t know her parents and has spent [...]

Read More »