Fantasy and other genre books that top the world
Explore the world's best fantasy books and genre-defining stories, from Ella Enchanted to the Earthsea Quartet—a curated list of top-rated adventures for teens and young adults.
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Ella Enchanted
by Gail Carson Levine
In this novel based on the story of Cinderella, Ella struggles against the childhood curse that forces her to obey any order given to her. At birth, Ella of Frell was given the gift of obedience by a fairy. Ella soon realizes that this gift is little better than a curse, for how can she truly be herself if at any time anyone can order her to hop on one foot, or cut off her hand, or betray her kingdom--and she'll have to obey? Ella's quest to break the curse and discover who she really is, is both funny and poignant.
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Fever 1793
by Laurie Halse Anderson
An epidemic of fever sweeps through the streets of 1793 Philadelphia in this novel from Laurie Halse Anderson where "the plot rages like the epidemic itself" (The New York Times Book Review). During the summer of 1793, Mattie Cook lives above the family coffee shop with her widowed mother and grandfather. Mattie spends her days avoiding chores and making plans to turn the family business into the finest Philadelphia has ever seen. But then the fever breaks out. Disease sweeps the streets, destroying everything in its path and turning Mattie's world upside down. At her feverish mother's insistence, Mattie flees the city with her grandfather. But she soon discovers that the sickness is everywhere, and Mattie must learn quickly how to survive in a city turned frantic with disease.
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Pirates!
by Celia Rees
This powerful and thrilling novel presents the story of the inspiring journey of two 18th-century women who break the bonds of gender, race, and position to find their own way to glory.
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Across the Wide and Lonesome Prairie
by Kristiana Gregory
In her diary, thirteen-year-old Hattie chronicles her family's arduous 1847 journey from Missouri to Oregon on the Oregon Trail.
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Standing in the Light
by Mary Pope Osborne
A strong-willed Quaker girl's diary reflects her experiences growing up in the Delaware River Valley of Pennsylvania and her capture by Lenape Indians in 1763.
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Dear America: West to a Land of Plenty: The Diary of Teresa Angelino Viscardi
No summary available.
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Voyage on the Great Titanic: The Diary of Margaret Ann Brady, R.M.S. Titanic, 1912 (Dear America)
No summary available.
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When Will this Cruel War be Over?
by Barry Denenberg
The diary of a fictional fourteen-year-old girl living in Virginia, in which she describes the hardships endured by her family and friends during one year of the Civil War.
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A Time For Courage: The Suffragette Diary of Kathleen Bowen (Dear America)
No summary available.
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Dreams in the Golden Country
by Kathryn Lasky
Zipporah Feldman, a 12-year-old Jewish immigrant from Russia, uses diary entries to chronicle her family's activities as they acclimate to life on New York City's Lower East Side.
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A Coal Miner's Bride
by Susan Campbell Bartoletti
Sent from Poland to Pennsylvania to be married to a coal miner, thirteen-year-old Anetka lives a totally new life in a harsh environment she doesn't understand, in this latest addition to the Dear America series.
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Zel
by Donna Jo Napoli
High in the mountains, Zel lives with her mother, who insists they have all they need -- for they have each other. Zel's life is peaceful and protected -- until a chance encounter changes everything. When she meets a beautiful young prince at the market one day, she is profoundly moved by new emotions. But Zel's mother sees the future unfolding -- and she will do the unspeakable to prevent Zel from leaving her..."Will leave readers spellbound."-- Publishers Weekly, starred review
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Spinners
by Donna Jo Napoli
A reinvention of the Rumplestiltskin story -- one spinner uses a stolen wheel, crippling his leg as he makes straw into a glittering dress for his beloved, whom he loses. A second spinner named Saskia becomes a master spinner -- until she too is forced to spin straw into gold. When they meet, a new tale must be spun.