What to read while waiting for Harry Potter 5

What to read while waiting for Harry Potter 5
by squiglet, 14 year old Pottermaniac

1. Artemis Fowl
by Eoin Colfer (Hardcover - May 2001)
squiglet's comments:
an unusual story; surprising, intense, and fun

2. Witch Week
by Diana Wynne Jones (Paperback - September 1997)
squiglet's comments:
like "Artemis Fowl" it has an unlikely hero, one of my favorites

3. Charmed Life
by Diana Wynne Jones, Wynne Diana Jones
(Paperback - May 1998)
squiglet's comments:
another good book by Jones, (Jones' style is very similar to that of Rowling)

4. The Lives of Christopher Chant (The Chrestomanci Novels , No 3)
by Diana Wynne Jones (Paperback - October 1998)
squiglet's comments:
my favorite book by Jones, (this book is a prequel to "Charmed Life")

5. The Magicians of Caprona : A Chrestomanci Novel
by Diana Wynne Jones (Paperback - June 1999)

squiglet's comments:
runner up to "The Lives of Christopher Chant," funny & exciting story about a magical family fued
6. So You Want to Be a Wizard (Young Wizards Series)
by Diane Duane (Paperback - June 2001)
squiglet's comments:
like in "Harry Potter" a victim of bullies gains magical powers

7. Deep Wizardry (Wizardry Series)
by Diane Duane
squiglet's comments: Nita & Kit of "So You Want to Be a Wizard" spend a
vacation at the beach saving the Universe as whales

8. High Wizardry (Young Wizards Series)
by Diane Duane (Library Binding - June 2001)
squiglet's comments:
Nita's bratty sister becomes a digital wizard, fantasy &
science fiction mix as Nita's little sister creates an entirely new race

9. A Wizard Abroad (Young Wizards Series)
by Diane Duane (Paperback - June 2001)
squiglet's comments:
Nita travels to Ireland and winds up working alongside foreign wizards to save the "Emerald Isle"

10. Ella Enchanted (Trophy Newbery)
by Gail Carson Levine (Illustrator) (Paperback - September 1998)
squiglet's comments:
a funny retelling of "Cinderella" where Cinderella or Ella
takes control of her own destiny, both girls and boys love it

Colfer's (Benny and Omar) crime caper fantasy, the first in a series, starts off with a slam-bang premise: anti-hero Artemis Fowl is a boy-genius last in line of a legendary crime family teetering on the brink of destruction. With the assistance of his bodyguard, Butler, he masterminds his plan to regain the Fowls' former glory: capture a fairy and hold her ransom for the legendary fairy gold. However, his feisty mark, Holly, turns out to be a member of the "LEPrecon, an elite branch of the Lower Elements Police," so a wisecracking team of satyrs, trolls, dwarfs and fellow fairies set out to rescue her. Despite numerous clever gadgets and an innovative take on traditional fairy lore, the author falls short of the bar. The rapid-fire dialogue may work as a screenplay with the aid of visual effects (a film is due out from Talk/Miramax in 2002) but, on the page, it often falls flat. The narrative hops from character to character, so readers intrigued by Artemis's wily, autocratic personality have to kill a good deal of time with the relatively bland Holly and her cohorts, and the villain/hero anticlimactically achieves his final escape by popping some sleeping pills (it renders him invulnerable to the fairy time-stop). Technology buffs may appreciate the imaginative fairy-world inventions and action-lovers will get some kicks, but the series is no classic in the making. Ages 12-up.

Someone in 6B is a witch. And, in the alternate reality described in Diana Wynne Jones's Witch Week, that's not at all a good thing to be. Jones plunks her readers directly into the life of Larwood House, a school in a present-day England that's a lot like the world we know, except for one major difference: witches are everywhere, and they are ruthlessly hunted by inquisitors. With witty, erudite writing, Jones tells of the adventures of the class of 6B as they set about to discover who among them is a witch. Clearly it's not the popular Simon or the perfect Theresa. Could it be fat Nan or sluggish Charles? Mysterious Nirupam or shifty-eyed Brian? By the climax of the book (which, by the way, involves saving the world), being a witch has become a badge of honor rather than a mark of shame.

Jones skillfully and seamlessly switches from one point of view to another, creating a comic companion piece to Lord of the Flies as she shows with perfect understanding the way children torment each other--and save each other. She neatly interweaves the dramatic plot with knowing descriptions of school life, as when lumpen Nan warily observes the popular girls: "At lessons, she discovered that Theresa and her friends had started a new craze. That was a bad sign. They were always more than usually pleased with themselves at the start of a craze... The craze was white knitting, white and clean and fluffy, which you kept wrapped in a towel so that it would stay clean. The classroom filled with mutters of, 'Two purl, one plain, twist two....'" Witch Week is a hugely entertaining book that doesn't condescendingly beat children over the head with its humane message of acceptance. --Claire Dedere

Cat doesn't mind living in the shadow of his sister, Gwendolen, the most promising young witch ever seen on Coven Street. But trouble starts brewing the moment the two orphans are summoned to live in Chrestomanci Castle. Frustrated that the witches of the castle refuse to acknowledge her talents, Gwendolen conjures up a scheme that could throw whole worlds out of whack.

His father and uncles are enchanters, his mother a powerful sorceress, yet nothing seems magical about Christopher Chant except his dreams. Night after night, he climbs through the formless Place Between and visits marvelous lands he calls the Almost Anywheres. Then Christopher discovers that he can bring real, solid things back from his dreams. Others begin to recognize the extent of his powers, and they issue an order that turns Christopher's life upside down: Go to Chrestomanci Castle to train to be the controller of all the world's magic.

Tonino is the only person in the famous Montana household who wasn't born with an instinct for creating spells, but he has other gifts. His ability to communicate with cats just might help defend the city of Caprona against a mysterious enchanter -- but only if Tonino can learn to cooperate with a girl from the hated Petrocchi family of spell-makers.

Tormented by a gang of bullies because she will not fight back, thirteen-year-old Nita finds the help she needs in a library book on wizardry, a volume that leads her into a mysterious alternate dimension.

Coming to the aid of a wounded whale, Kit and Nita are plunged into deep wizardry. The whale is a wizard, and she enlists Kit and Nita in battle against the sinister Lone Power. Becoming whales themselves, Nita and Kit join in an ancient ritual performed by whales, dolphins, and a single fear, some shark. But which poses more of a danger: the Lone Power, or ed'Rashtekaresket, the enormous shark as old as the sea? 384 pages

High Wizardry takes the reader and Dairine Callahan on an intergalactic journey. Using her computerized wizard's manual, Dairine travels across galaxies to a planet made of silicon. It is literally a giant computer. Meanwhile, Nita Callahan and Kit Rodriguez, along with Macchu Picchu, Senior wizards Tom and Carl's pet bird, trace her path. This trip ends with the quartet and some new friends of Dairine's meeting the Lone One Himself. The confrontation with the Lone Power is extremely exciting, leaving the reader unsure as to who would win. Overall, this novel is suspenseful, exciting, and humorous at some parts. The futuristic involvement only contributes to the elements of this novel.

To give Nita a vacation from magic, Nita's parents pack her off for a month-long stay with her eccentric aunt in Ireland. But Ireland is even more steeped in magical doings than the United States, and Nita soon finds herself and a host of Irish wizards battling creatures from a nightmare Ireland—a realm where humankind is the stuff of tales and storybooks, and where the legends and monsters of the country's mythology are a deadly reality.

At birth, Ella is inadvertently cursed by an imprudent fairy named Lucinda, who bestows on her the "gift" of obedience. Anything anyone tells her to do, Ella must obey. Another girl might have been cowed by this affliction, but not feisty Ella: "Instead of making me docile, Lucinda's curse made a rebel of me. Or perhaps I was that way naturally." When her beloved mother dies, leaving her in the care of a mostly absent and avaricious father, and later, a loathsome stepmother and two treacherous stepsisters, Ella's life and well-being seem in grave peril. But her intelligence and saucy nature keep her in good stead as she sets out on a quest for freedom and self-discovery, trying to track down Lucinda to undo the curse, fending off ogres, befriending elves, and falling in love with a prince along the way. Yes, there is a pumpkin coach, a glass slipper, and a happily ever after, but this is the most remarkable, delightful, and profound version of Cinderella you've ever read.

Gail Carson Levine's examination of traditional female roles in fairy tales takes some satisfying twists and deviations from the original. Ella is bound by obedience against her will, and takes matters in her own hands with ambition and verve. Her relationship with the prince is balanced and based on humor and mutual respect; in fact, it is she who ultimately rescues him. Ella Enchanted has won many well-deserved awards, including a Newbery Honor. (Ages 9 to 14) --Emilie Coulter

Does Harry Potter enkindle an interest in the occult? You make the call. This list was posted by a fourteen-year-old on Amazon.com who describes himself as a Pottermaniac. Sadly, he's right.

Nothing to see here. Move along.

I haven't read Harry Potter but will just to see what the fuss is all about.

Kids should read more history and science not fantasy...not to even mention the occult.

Surprised to see so much Freeper favor for the book. But won't make a judgment till I read the book.

Goodness forbid the child actually read something that requires intellect. I'm sorry I have been giving Potter the benefit of the doubt considering I grew up on Tolkien, D&D, and the DragonLance novels, with a strong supportive reading lists of the Classics, but seeing what this reader recommends for alternative reading, I'm starting to question what the Potter craze is really about

Soft-core occultism and moral depravity have reached such a point of saturation in our society, I'm guessing nine out of ten parents would read this piece and just shrug their shoulders.

God help us.

You have no way of knowing whether this alleged 14 year old is 14, whether s/he is from a Christian or Jewish or Moslem or Pagan (Occultist) background and what the other influences in his/her life may be.

On the basis of the evidence presented alone, no conclusions about the effect of Harry Potter books can be reliably drawn.

For my money, the Harry Potter books are basically harmless, generally well-written and children find them fun. My children have no difficulty separating fantasy such as Harry Potter from reality. If they want to take a break from their normal reading, books like Moby Dick, Mark Twain's Roughing It, Anna Karenina, or 1984, to read a little Harry Potter, they're welcome to. They've hardly started asking me for grimoires, books on wicca or the works of real occultists like Aleister Crowley or Israel Regardie.

I notice all of these books are written "post-Potter" and they sound as horrible as the pre-Potter Goosebumps series.(Although Ella Enchanted sounds like it might be better than the rest.) If this young man wants to read fantasy stories he would be better off picking up some older writings like Lloyd Alexander's The Black Cauldron series or even Terry Brooks' The Sword of Shannara. This is assuming, of course that he has made his way through Lewis's The Chronicles of Narnia and Tolkien's The Hobbit and The Lord of the Rings.

Yes, without parental supervision and guidance an interest in benign works such as Harry Potter can lead to curiosity about things that are wholly unhealthy. The criticisms of the Potter books can have substance, but in 9 out of 10 arguments about the harm they cause, the people making that case use spurious facts and lies. This hurts whatever legitimate points they may have. If someone feels that the books are unhealthy for children to read, then they need to read them before making outrageous claims about them. Is that too much to ask?

On the basis of the evidence presented alone, no conclusions about the effect of Harry Potter books can be reliably drawn.

OK. Click on the link and you'll get squiggles list on Amazon.com. Then start clicking on the other kids' lists of their "favorite fantasy books" and stuff like that. You'll get the picture pretty quick.

Furthermore, the books listed all seem to be written by the sort of epigoni who always try to cash in on a popular craze or fashion in popular books -- think of the vast amount of pulp paper wasted on the wannabe Tolkiens in the '60's and the mountains of trees sacrified for Harold Robbins and Tom Clancy wannabes.

If you make this into something more than it is, you just may give the wannabe witches some credibility.

Is anyone familiar with the (many are award-winning) books of Louis Sachar, including "Holes", "There's A Boy In The Girl's Bathroom", "Sixth Grade Secrets", and the Wayside School series?

These books are great, and they're written for young readers.

NO!!! Wrong, all wrong. Whilst you're waiting with breath-baitedly clutching your little owls in your sweaty hands, you should read:

Fear and Loathing in Las Vegas, Hunter S. Thompson

Midnight in the Garden of Good and Evil, some dude (I forget)

anything by William S. Burroughs, but Naked Lunch is good

anything by James Tate, but Worshipful Company of Fletchers is exceptionally good

Nick Hornby's High Fidelity is excellent as well, at least the first half... It kinda drags in the last quarter though.

There you go. That's a better list.

At the risk of repeating myself:

As far as I am concerned, it is the flaky reasoning of the impish fool that bandies such adventures for the thrill of disobedience, citing the lack of apparent consequences for justification.

I prefer instead to focus upon finding that which has proven to be unambiguously decent, uplifting, and intellectually challenging, of which there is plenty. So why not pursue that instead?

One of my daughters read Ella Enchanted for a Young Critics club at the local library when it first came out, and she liked it, although she thought it was a little too "young" (this is the kid who reads Borges and Tolstoy for pleasure). I skimmed it and thought it was pretty good. Hardly an encouragement to the occult.

This is assuming, of course that he has made his way through Lewis's The Chronicles of Narnia and Tolkien's The Hobbit and The Lord of the Rings.

Why not go back to stories of King Arthur? Plenty of magic, wizardry (good and evil), a whole host of devoutly Christian heroes, plenty of adventure for all, and they've been popular for several hundred years.

My kids love them.

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