TOP 10 FANTASY/ADVENTURE BOOKS FOR CHILDREN
1. The Keys to the Kingdom, Garth Nix
2. Chronicles of Narnia, C.S. Lewis
3. Harry Potter series, J.K. Rowling
4. The Princess Bride, William Goldman
5. James and the Giant Peach, Roald Dahl
6. Dark Materials Trilogy, Phillip Pullman
(The Golden Compass, The Subtle Knife, The Amber Spyglass)
7. City of Embers, Jeanne DuPrau
8. Un Lun Dun, China Mieville
9. Percy Jackson Series, Rick Riordan
10. Phantom Tollbooth, Norton Juster
Honorable Mentions
The Graveyard Book, Neil Gaiman
Magyk, Angie Sage
Howl's Moving Castle, Diana Wynne Jones
Inkheart, Cornelia Funke
TOP 10 FANTASY/ADVENTURE BOOKS FOR YOUNG ADULTS
1. The Lord of the Rings, J.R.R. Tolkien
2. Daughter of the Clayr Series, Garth Nix
(Sabriel, Lirael, Abhorsen) A stand out trilogy that doesn't follow the norm but will leave a nice aftertaste.
3. The Hitchhiker's Guide to the Galaxy, Douglas Adams
4. The Bartimaeus Trilogy, Jonathan Stroud
(Amulet of Samarkand, Golem's Eye, Ptolemy's Gate) Many categorize this as a children's book but I found that when recommended, the language flew over the heads of many kids under eleven.
5. The Earthsea Quartet, Ursula Le Guin
6. The Chrysalids, John Wyndham
7. Fahrenheit 451, Ray Bradbury
8. Watership Down, Richard Adams
9. Jonathan Strange and Mr. Norrell, Susanna Clarke
10. Neverwhere, Neil Gaiman
It's all about mass appeal...
Twilight Series, Stephenie Meyer
Heard of it? I think I wanted to poke out my eyes a few times when I had to skim over the sickeningly saccharine dialogue, however I can understand the mass appeal to the female population.
The Mortal Instruments, Cassandra Clare
A more action packed book series than Twilight, it also retains a great deal of the romantic tension (or should I say frustration?) of youth.
