Waiting for book seven? Here are some tips from local
booksellers for what to read in the meantime
Having plowed through “Harry Potter and the Half-Blood Prince,” there won’t be much left to do for fans of the J.K. Rowling series after the latest big screen adaptation – “Harry Potter and the Goblet of Fire” – arrives in theaters Nov. 18.
But while fans wait for the final chapter in the book series, one that inspired readers both young and old to enter a world of magic and mystery, there are a few alternative selections to fill up the time, according to book store employees in the South Valley. Here are a few:
‘Leven Thumps and the
Gateway to Foo’
by Obert Skye
Best for ages 10 and up
Recommended by Cinda Meister, co-owner of Booksmart in Morgan Hill with husband Brad Jones
Skye’s debut novel has received mixed reviews from critics, but won acclaim from readers, especially kids, according to the user reviews posted on Amazon.com. The book traces the journey of Oklahoma teen Leven Thumps, an orphan who holds two secrets.
First, Lev has visions. He can see, and even change, the future. Second, he’s the only person on Earth who can protect the gateway to Foo, the magical source of human dreams, hopes and imagination.
Sabine, Foo’s evil new ruler, wants to take over Earth, but does not realize that doing so will destroy both planets. Instead, it’s up to Lev, Foo’s displaced King Geth and a cast of friends met along the way, to save the world.
‘Eragon’ and ‘The Eldest’
by Christopher Paolini
Best for kids 12 and up
Recommended by Dawn Walters, children’s bookseller at Barnes & Noble in Gilroy
This fledgling series, whose first book was penned by Paolini when he was just 15, transports readers to the world of Eragon, a young farm boy. While exploring the forest lands near his home, he happens upon a mystic blue stone – a dragon egg – that fate has brought his way to hatch. Eragon learns he’s not just any boy. He’s the last of the Dragon Riders, and a decisive player in an epic battle soon to unfold in the world of elves, dwarves, dragons and men.
“The author takes the near-archetypes of fantasy fiction and makes them fresh and enjoyable, chiefly through a crisp narrative and a likable hero,” according to Publisher’s Weekly.
“Eldest,” the sequel, follows Eragon and his dragon Saphira to the elven forest city of Ellesmera, where the pair go to be tutored in magic and the ways of the Riders. But while Eragon and Saphira increase in skill, his cousin Roran must lead a desperate escape from the former farm boy’s home town of Carvahall as both characters move toward an epic battle with the evil Galbatorix.
The Artemis Fowl Series (Books 1-4)
by Eoin Colfer
Best for kids 10 and up
Recommended by Corey Thomas, manager of Book Warehouse in Gilroy
The worlds of fairies and humans collide thanks to fantasy and technology in this installment series by Colfer. Starring in the storyline that links each book is 14-year-old criminal mastermind Artemis Fowl, who begins book four of the series blank, his mind wiped clean of the world of fairies and all goodness. Unfortunately, that’s not the case for Opal Koboi, a pixie and archenemy of the fairies, who escapes close surveillance to wreak havoc in the breathlessly paced series known to cause guffaws with doses of flatulence jokes between adventures. Now Captain Holly Short of the LEPrecon (Lower Elements Police) must gain Fowl’s support to save the worlds of both humans and fairies.
‘Capt. Hook: The Adventures of a Notorious Youth’
by J.V. Hart and Brett Helquist
Best for ages 12 and up
Recommended by Cinda Meister
Hart, who authored the screenplay for 1991’s film “Hook,” traces the storybook villain’s troubled past as a teenager at England’s well-known Eton school. James, the future Hook, never knows his mother and meets his father only a few times before he is shuffled off to the prestigious boarding school. To escape his own rage, he pours his loneliness into his schoolwork, winning a scholarship and plotting wild vengeance against classmates who wrong him. When he finally escapes to the high seas, setting out in search of a magical island, he instead finds himself aboard a slave ship, exposed to bloody and horrifying brutality. It is here that the impressionable young James learns his family’s secrets, and the murderous ways that will make him the villain he is destined to become.
Other books recommended by book store employees included Lemony Snicket’s A Series of Unfortunate Events, the 12th installment of which, “Art too Awful to Show,” is due out Oct. 18 and The Septimus Heap Trilogy, whose second installment, “Flyte,” is set for release April 1.
