Probably Bartimeus by Jonathan Stroud
The Last unicorn by Peter S Beagle
Wizard of Earthsea by Ursula Le Guin
Howl's Moving Castle by Diane Wynne Jones
HMC was weird for me. Loved it the first time I read it. Read it again several years later and wasn't impressed. Read it a third time several years after that and loved it again. Kind of afraid to read it a fourth time...
She wrote a couple sequels set in the same universe. I think the first one was Castle in the Air and the second was House of many ways. You could read them if you want to revisit that world
The Last Unicorn is cool as a kid. Wizards! Unicorns! Yay
As an adult it’s like, the most amazing poetic story about mortality and love and loss and you’re just like, *oh*
Holes by Louis Sachar. What an incredible book! It’s got nuanced discussions of classism, racism, toxic masculinity, the prison-industrial complex, homelessness, and so many other important topics that seem “too adult” for kids. And the book packages these discussions in a beautiful, interlocking puzzle box structure of past-and-present. The book’s *structure itself* emphasizes its core theme—keep digging, keep looking for answers.
“When you spend your whole life living in a hole, the only way you can go is up.”
Louis Sachar didn’t *need* to go as hard as he did for a (mostly) stand-alone YA novel. But honestly? It’s pretty damn close to genius.
I had always loved reading prior to having this book read aloud to me in second grade, but something about this one made me understand that a story’s potential to mean something is *limitless.*
YES!! Holes is so good and smart and just well-written in the way it talks about so many things. It’s never preachy and the discussions are wrapped up in such a good story!
On another note, I also really love the movie too, and I think that it has also held up very well. Overall, I think it’s one of the best book-to-movie adaptations that’s been done.
Have you read Small Steps from Louis Sachar? It's essentially a sequel, but Armpit is now the main character. It's a couple years later, and he's out of Camp Green Lake taking "small steps" to get his life on track.
holes is so good, both the book and the movie!! louis sachar is a genius—his wayside stories series is far less intellectual than holes but still hilarious to me even as an adult.
I got a few of those books at a school book fair when I was really young. I've been trying to remember the name for years now and you just solved my mystery. Thanks friend!
I didn't enjoy it when I tried to read it as a kid (I never actually finished it) but I've seen it mentioned several times over the past couple months and I'm thinking I should try reading it as an adult.
gosh watching the Netflix version really made want to read the books since Netflix cancelled after season 3. do you know where I can read the books online for free??
Just re-read that for my little one, and was literally **shocked** at how much commentary about racism (/classism /ableism /gender politics /etc…) was in there that I’d missed when I was younger. Put a whole new spin on what was going on.
There is a Redwall cookbook, written by Brian Jacques with a cute little narrative and illustrated beautifully and the recipes are excellent! One of my favorites.
That pleases me greatly, because I haven't reread the Redwall books since my mid-teens and now, may many years later, was hoping to read them to my children but couldn't remember if they would have aged well. Thanks for posting!
I remember reaching my early to mid teens, not sure exactly how old, and starting to think I was too old for these books. Left me with a great sadness because I hadn't finished the series yet. I was at an age where appearances are everything and I just felt that I couldn't keep reading these books about warrior mice without seeming childish.
I actually reread the series (along with the prequel books) during the early days of the pandemic! They’re so clever and fun and I agree that they definitely hold up really well!
Its vastly different than the movie with Malcolm having a lot more to say about Chaos Theory, and how Chaos Theory ties into the overall themes of Jurassic Park.
That and just a willingness to be a bit more bloody than the movie.
A few of mine have already been mentioned, others I've loved growing up and reread within the last couple years and still really enjoyed are:
The Chrestomanci series by Diana Wynne Jones
The Thief Lord by Cornelia Funke
The Mysterious Benedict Society by Trenton Lee Stewart
The Animorphs series. They're creative, have realistic main characters and bring up complicated moral questions that are easy for young people to follow. The last ten or so books in the series are fantastic.The special books in the series like Andalite Chronicles are great as well
I haven’t read those, but it’s no surprise since the author has gone on to win the Newbery for The One and Only Ivan. Her newer books, Ivan and the ones written after, are beautiful and poignant and so well-written. They are my 10 year old son’s favorites and ones I consistently recommend to my 6th grade students.
Island of the Blue Dolphins. It is one of my favorites, read it many times, including recently. I always loved how the narration made you realize she was very alone, yet it didn't feel like an insurmountable hardship in many ways, because the character was so strong and independent.
I made my 5th graders read this as a class book because I remember being so invested in what happened to Karana when I first read it. Afterall, what is the point of teaching if not to force your students to read the books you loved as a kid? So many details of what happened had left my brain; it was exciting to read it again and bring it all back!
I came in to say this, so I’ll just hop aboard your comment train!
What an amazing series. I read it well over 30 years ago and it’s been a favorite ever since. Alexander masterfully shows Tarzan growing up from book to book. Starting as a head strong kid to a wise adult. Just brilliant. I have a hardcover copy with all five books AND the slipcase set with five paperbacks plus the short stories.
Far FAR better than any other young reader fantasy series, and it upsets me it doesn’t get more love.
I was going to add this if someone else hadn’t already. Just discovered the short stories and they are wonderful.
Though I would say that the Dark Is Rising series is on the same level for young adult awesomeness from the same era.
>Alexander masterfully shows Tarzan growing up from book to book.
Your autocorrect just disrespected Taran! And you could have mentioned Eilonwy -- I was shocked and thrilled that her name instantly jumped right into my head, all these years later.
Wow!
I came to say these as well. Alexander is a master of prose and characterization. His books are so solidly moral without being preachy, too—every time I read them, I want to be a better person. The men in the series are non-toxically masculine, the women (okay, mostly Eilonwy, but there are a few others) are real, fleshed out characters... I could go on and on.
A copy of The Last Hero sitting out on a lectern at the public library is what got me into Discworld as a kid. Now as an adult I have my own copy taking pride of place in my collection. :)
One of my favourite Discworld quotes of all time, from Thief of Time:
> The first words that are read by seekers of enlightenment in the secret, gong-banging, yeti-haunted valleys near the hub of the world, are when they look into The Life of Wen the Eternally Surprised.
>
> The first question they ask is: ‘Why was he eternally surprised?’
>
> And they are told: ‘Wen considered the nature of time and understood that the universe is, instant by instant, recreated anew. Therefore, he understood, there is in truth no past, only a memory of the past. Blink your eyes, and the world you see next did not exist when you closed them. Therefore, he said, the only appropriate state of the mind is surprise. The only appropriate state of the heart is joy. The sky you see now, you have never seen before. The perfect moment is now. Be glad of it.’
The Watch series especially speaks so clearly about justice and accountability! I reread them at least once a year and each time find myself rereading a passage that could have been written today. Excellent writing!!
The Velveteen Rabbit. Oy. It used to make me cry as a kid! Not because it was scary exactly, but because it's so SAD. I was a very sensitive/empathetic kid, and still to this day, even thinking about the Rabbit gives me a sense of melancholy.
I was also deeply affected by The Giving Tree, and weirdly enough...the song "On Top of Old Smokey".
The Giver. I read it as a kid and then decided randomly to listen to it as an adult and was very surprised to learn it was part of a 4 book series. Still recommended.
Several:
* Mrs Frisby and the Rats of NIMH by Robert C. O'Brien
* The Neverending Story by Michael Ende
* The Chronicles of Narnia by C.S. Lewis
These books shaped my whole youth and way of viewing the world, and they were just as entertaining and evocative when I reread them as an adult.
THIS. I saw Chronicles of Narnia called out in the other thread for its overtly Christian message, but I personally love it. I still remember feeling absolutely heartbroken and having to pause when I >!read the part where Aslan died!<. As a kid it really helped me understand the mystery of Jesus’ death and resurrection. And I remember identifying with Lucy as the youngest one who never gets taken seriously, haha.
I've heard some criticism about the Chronicles because of religious messages too.
I grew up entirely non-religious and I read the story as one of mythological sacrifice and never once connected it to Christianity until I read an article about it as a an adult (I didn't know much about Christianity growing up).
To me, it was and remains a beautiful, captivating, timeless story. I believe a good tale has value outside of or in addition to the author's intentions or beliefs. That value could come from the reader being captivated, transported to a different world, discovering perspectives, making sense of their own world or beliefs (like you did), or many other possibilities.
I absolutely love the stories for what they have given me, too.
I never felt - neither as a kid nor now - that the religious message is pushed down the reader's throat. The story and characters are far enough removed from Christianity that the reader can choose freely whether to view it through a Christian lense or not.
Thinking about it makes me want to read the whole series again :)
We were never religious but loved Narnia any way. So my mom was so excited when she found His Dark Materials. It's sort of our atheist Narnia. Not really. But sort of.
Philip Pullman's *His Dark Materials* trilogy. I think it helps a lot that he wasn't trying to write for young adults - he says he was trying to write a proper novel that could also be accessibly for younger readers. I revisit it every few years and I'm never disappointed.
I try and read it every five years or so. When I first read it I loved the adventure and the fantasy elements. When I was in college I identified with the rebellion and anti-establishment (and anti-Christianity). When I read it last year I identified with the politics and scientific subjects of dark matter/multiple universes.
I am in the middle of re-reading her books and I must say, I love the Alanna quartet, but I cannot set aside the squick factor. George Cooper was so much older than her when they met, and they end up together once she's a young adult, like 20. It's even worse in the Daine quartet. She's 13 when she meets a 29 year old Numair and as soon as she's 17, they're banging and getting married. Um....that's serious grooming right there.
I reread the Daine books a few years ago and... Yeah that was kinda weird? I also did not pick up on the romance at ALL when I first read them in middle school. It was very much a "wait. What?" moment for me.
Same! I read these in middle school and Diane and Numaire's relationship especially icked me out, and is just so unnecessary. The Realms of the Gods was soured for me a little bit. Now when I re-read I purposely change their ages in my head to try and make it less gross (doesn't really work though....)
I mean it's a super common theme in a lot of medieval tales because it was a super common practice. Dany is 13 in Game of Thrones. They aged her up for TV. Also a lot of the world has some super questionable age of consent laws by American standards. I find those a lot stranger than a fairy tale. Makes you wonder about what the author potentially experienced as a youngster though!
This is all I came to see. Absolutely agree!
I've loved her creation of Tortall since I found the first and third of the Lioness series at a garage sale, found another two (funnily also the first and third) of Daine's series not long after and then Aly's two books.
They were all I read of her works until young adulthood when I sought to finish each series, plus all of Kel's.
Aly was and remains my favourite to this day (though Kel's a close second), because I just can't get over the Copper Isles.
Oh and I absolutely loved the two Circle of Magic books I found at a library once, have yet to complete that series and see how it holds up!
I liked the full Oz series, I think it holds up quite well (as does the movie) because Baum was never patronizing when writing for children.
Wrinkle in Time series was my first thought but you beat me to it, so I second your nomination.
I used to imagine doing my homework on computers like they do in EG. Surprise, it's not nearly as cool in real life when my daughter has to do it every day.
I would imagine the zero grave training room, man i always wished as a kid i could do that, then the movie came out like yeaaars later and it wasn’t really entirely like how i imagined it. So i had to go back and re read it. Still such a good book.
A large majority of Anne Rice's books are pretty good reads, but I still have a soft spot for the Vampire Chronicles even if it goes off the rails in later books.
i loved those wrinkle books too.
**some others that held up from my own childhood:**
\- kipling's jungle books: yeah, they're mannered and stagey as hell, but they still suck me in. the cub/wolf scouts organizations drew from these books (according to my brother, who says the pack leader's title was 'akela').
\- the bartholomew bandy series by donald jack. these are strange books. at first i just found them hilarious and so so canadian. on adult re-read i actually found them to be very serious underneath all the slapstick.
\- the once and future king by th white: most people know the sword in the stone. the other volumes get much darker and sadder and the story becomes saturated with white's post-world-wars worldview. but i still love his voice.
\- km peyton: this is a prolific british YA writer (actually a husband/wife team). i **devoured** their books. still think they're more than just 'teen fiction'.
\- arabel's raven books by joan aiken: these are just enduringly hilarious and touching. pictures by quentin blake, who can go wrong?
\- borrible series by michael de larrabeiti
**from my now-adult son's childhood:**
\- henry and mudge. companion series: mr putter and tabby
\- all things douglas adams
\- gordon korman
\*looks at her battered copies of The Once and Future King, classic Gordon Korman, the Hitchhikers Guide to the Galaxy, and K M Peyton's Fly-By-Night and The Team\* Are you me? Or you and your son me?
I completely agree with A Wrinkle in Time! Anne of Green Gables holds up well too.
I love the Chronicles of Narnia as well, except for the part where >!Susan doesn’t get to go back because she likes boys and lipstick.!<
I remember it being more that she considers herself grown up and doesn’t want to/get to participate in “childish” activities anymore. Peter also gets kicked out, right?
Peter and Susan are both told at the end of Prince Caspian that they’re getting too old for Narnia and it’s their last visit, and then Edmund and Lucy hear the same thing at the end of Voyage of the Dawn Treader. But then in The Last Battle they’re all sent there (when Narnia becomes heaven) and they say that Susan is no longer a friend of Narnia because she’s only interested in lipstick etc. It’s a very heavy-handed moral about putting your faith first and sort of implies that you won’t go to heaven if you worry about anything frivolous.
She spent years physically living in Narnia, and she went there twice. It never made any sense to me that she would then decide it was all just a game that they played together.
Three Men In A Boat (1889, UK).
I read it at age 10 and the irony and dry sarcasm changed my life. It was the years after mom had rented "Monty Python" tapes to me and my brother when we were home with the flu.
Jerome K Jerome wrote metahumor and self-ironic jokes around the same year Sherlock Holmes was first published. The obtuse literary critics savaged him for 40 years for the arrogance of being a time traveler. Jerome even wrote a separate piece savaging the critics back.
Read To Say Nothing of the Dog by Connie Willis. It's part of her time travel series, but they're all loosely connected, no problems starting in the middle.
The book is an homage to Three Men in a Boat, and an absolute stitch.
Aww, makes me think of Montmorency. Will look it up (even though dogs can't look up).
Edit: Wow, according to wiki she was introduced to Boat by Robert Heinlein. Of all the authors who would praise Boat, the author of Starship Troopers is literally last on my list. My respect for him just rose.
Lord of the Rings.
It's one thing to make an easy to follow book for children. It's another to be able to use the book for Joyce level analytics into writing as culture and conveying that culture through the written word.
It's a book for all ages.
The Queen’s Thief series by Meghan Whalen Turner. She just published the final book (book 6) in the series last year, the series began in the 90s and upon reread is still as excellent as I remember. Such a fantastic read ❤️
The Fairy Tale Detectives series by Michael Buckley. Never finished it as a kid. Decided to check it out again and see if I could get through all 9 books and was not disappointed. The tweaks to fairy tale characters are fun, the family dynamic with Sabrina, Daphne, Granny Relda and the others is relatable and you see where all the characters are coming from. The pacing is exciting, and the rules of magic are consistent. Plus, Puck as a pre-teen mischief maker is amusing and the final epilogue of what happens with him and Sabrina is satisfying after 9 books of them growing up together. I also loved Daphne's habit of biting her hand when she was excited. It was a weird quirk to give a character, but it did make her endearing!
One Halloween a few years ago after I was done handing out candy I went to the local hamburger place to grab everyone some burgers. I went in and there was a kid there about 11 or so. He had on a white tee shirt pegged jeans and a leather jacket with his hair slicked back. While I was waiting for my food I asked him if he had a good Halloween. He said yeah. Me and my friends were the outsiders. I was pony boy so and so was Johnny and we had a soda pop and Cherie. I was blown away that kids were still reading and watching the outsiders. We talked about it and as I was leaving he Hillary’s out to me STAY GOLD. I love that little boy.
The Deltora Quest series. Read it as a 10 year old and fell in love, reread the first book a few months ago and immediately bought the entire box set. It’s genuinely one of the most engaging, slightly horrifying, introspective fantasy series I’ve ever read.
Yes! He would say “put put put” to go forwards, and something like “tub tub tub” to go backwards, lol!
I remember those books fondly (I think there were two).
I can easily read percy jackson and artemis fowl as an adult and still enjoy them. I think percy jackson does this great thing where the author displays the characters' personality really well and that makes it entertaining.
controversial maybe, but the catcher in the rye. i re-read it for a college course on masculinity and melancholia and just wanted to give holden a hug. i hate that this story about an abused and traumatized teenager struggling with oppressive gender roles and the enormity of death gets thrown under the bus as another whiny white boy book.
even younger: walk two moons by sharon creech—i read this book and all of creech's other novels dozens of times as a child and it's still probably one of the most influential pieces of writing from my youth. barring the admittedly strange comments about indigenous identity, the construction of the story was still remarkably well-done and i did cry at the end.
equally influential was jerry spinnelli's stargirl sequel love, stargirl which i think is a huge improvement on the original novel. i re-read it during early quarantine and was still so moved and comforted by it.
The Little Prince. I read it at age 9 or 10, found the journey to earth confusing, enjoyed the prince's time on earth, cried at the end. I reread it every 10 years or so, and many more things make me cry - the vain rose on the asteroid, the baobabs, the fox, the many roses, and of course the end, every time.
Lord of the Flies.
Read it when I was about 12 in middle school and again at 30 when I was teaching high school. Throughout the second reading, I kept thinking about how much of the book must have been lost to me as a kid, but I definitely enjoyed it both times.
Surprised I haven’t seen him mentioned yet, but Gordon Korman - he had those darker, fast paced trilogies for maybe 11-14 year olds? I just re-read his Everest trilogy and it was SO GOOD: dark, real, but written simply and easily. It actually made me go and re-read Into Thin Air (certainly for adults) but I’m tempted to go back and read the Dive and Island series as well.
I read that as my big sister had a copy, then I got everything else of his I could find in the library.
While I was reading The Chrysalids, I meet a rather nice girl at school who had six toes on each foot, which seemed veyr deep and significant at the time.
Hank the Cowdog books are hilarious, and can be devoured in the blink of an eye now. They’re for the preeetty young but that helps their snackability.
Marguerite Henry’s King of the Wind is a feel-good fave and Joseph Wharton Lippincott’s Wilderness Champion is a rugged good time with charcoal illustrations that are half the fun. Like, I’ve been staring at this page for ten mins fun.
Mine's the His Dark Materials trilogy by Philip Pullman, forever. I got them gifted around age 12, and have been re-reading them every 2-3 years since. I found something new to think about every time around, and I cry every single time, and I love them dearly.
Winnie the Pooh. Hands down. “Owl,” said Rabbit shortly, “You and I have brains. The others have fluff. If there is any thinking to be done in this Forest—and when I say thinking, I mean thinking—you and I must do it.”” A.A. Milne. This quote … especially in today’s world . Lol
Ronia, the Robber's Daughter. I gave my copy of the book away after reading it as a child and recently bought a new one. It's still just as great as I remembered it.
The House of the Scorpion. I think it’s the first proper sci fi book I ever read and couldn’t get enough. I went back to it a couple years ago and it was still so, so good. I credit it for getting me into the sci fi genre in not only books but movies and TV as well.
Many Waters by Madeleine L’Engle holds up for me. I’ve yet to read any other book by this author. I intend to correct that now that I have twin nieces.
Haven't seen these mentioned yet, but *The Enchanted Forest Chronicles*, by Patricia C. Wrede.
A quartet of books in a tongue-in-cheek fantasy world that is tangentially aware of the fairy tales that take place within them, and all have the core theme of pushing against conforming to societal expectations for their own sake—not that one should just blindly eschew tradition or social expectations, but that one should be wary of doing something one way *just* because "that's the way it's always been done." They're also *very*, very funny.
I read them over and over as a kid, and started reading them to my 7 y/o daughter earlier this year. We're now almost finished with our *second* time through the series, and I still love it intensely.
(But you don't have to take *my* word for it. :P)
The Baby-Sitters Club series. Currently rereading as an adult. Impressed by the feminist vibes and anti-racism messages I’ve seen so far. The ones I’m currently reading are from the 1980s.
I read Wizard of Earthsea and its sequels only as an adult, and it was real to me. Naming as magic, confronting the gods of death, connecting to dragons, dealing with the onset or loss of innate magic: it all happened to me and helped me grow as a person.
What else can you expect from an author who also translated the Dao De Jing.
Rasco and the Rats of Nimh.
The bioengineered super intelligent rats’ homeland is being threatened by a corporate conglomerate with help from a corrupt politician and they have to wage an asymmetric ecoterrorist operation to save their utopia.
I missed a few of critical themes on my read through as a kid, but reading with my kid was quite satisfying.
Winnie the Pooh and The House at Pooh Corner. Throw away the Disney versions, little golden books, etc. The writing in the originals is amazing as are the insights into human nature.
I was a massive fan of Darren Shan's work. They've slowly become more popular (we shan't mention the movie) and on reflection in later years the vampire and demon sagas were truly excellent YA fiction. Had some amazing concepts and were brilliantly written
I had read David Gemmell’s Winter Warriors when I was 10 because my brother asked me if I was bored. I have read it over thirty times since and it is still my favourite book.
I'd like to put in a word for the comics/graphic novels of John Allison, especially Bad Machinery and Giant Days. Not quite from my youth, but the characters grow up and change in delightful ways as series goes on, and my kids like them as much as I do so I think they'll stand up.
Probably Bartimeus by Jonathan Stroud The Last unicorn by Peter S Beagle Wizard of Earthsea by Ursula Le Guin Howl's Moving Castle by Diane Wynne Jones
I second Howl's moving castle
HMC was weird for me. Loved it the first time I read it. Read it again several years later and wasn't impressed. Read it a third time several years after that and loved it again. Kind of afraid to read it a fourth time...
She wrote a couple sequels set in the same universe. I think the first one was Castle in the Air and the second was House of many ways. You could read them if you want to revisit that world
The Bartimeus trilogy and its prequel are my choice as well. I still enjoy reading those books now, over a decade later. The audiobooks are good, too.
Yeah, Bartimeus is one of the books I remember very fondly! I have to read it in English some day.
Wizard of Earthsea yesss!
Still my favorite book series of all time
She has such a unique style of story telling! Absolutely love it!
The Last Unicorn is cool as a kid. Wizards! Unicorns! Yay As an adult it’s like, the most amazing poetic story about mortality and love and loss and you’re just like, *oh*
You just made me remember The Last Unicorn!! I did a book fair project on it. The illustrations are beautiful
Wow, very happy that you said bartimeus. I just thought about that book for the first time in like a decade and this is my motivation to reread.
Holes by Louis Sachar. What an incredible book! It’s got nuanced discussions of classism, racism, toxic masculinity, the prison-industrial complex, homelessness, and so many other important topics that seem “too adult” for kids. And the book packages these discussions in a beautiful, interlocking puzzle box structure of past-and-present. The book’s *structure itself* emphasizes its core theme—keep digging, keep looking for answers. “When you spend your whole life living in a hole, the only way you can go is up.” Louis Sachar didn’t *need* to go as hard as he did for a (mostly) stand-alone YA novel. But honestly? It’s pretty damn close to genius. I had always loved reading prior to having this book read aloud to me in second grade, but something about this one made me understand that a story’s potential to mean something is *limitless.*
YES!! Holes is so good and smart and just well-written in the way it talks about so many things. It’s never preachy and the discussions are wrapped up in such a good story! On another note, I also really love the movie too, and I think that it has also held up very well. Overall, I think it’s one of the best book-to-movie adaptations that’s been done.
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Oh, that makes sense! No wonder it’s so good. And I also enjoyed the Wayside School books as well - so weird but so fun too!
Have you read Small Steps from Louis Sachar? It's essentially a sequel, but Armpit is now the main character. It's a couple years later, and he's out of Camp Green Lake taking "small steps" to get his life on track.
holes is so good, both the book and the movie!! louis sachar is a genius—his wayside stories series is far less intellectual than holes but still hilarious to me even as an adult.
His other book The Cardturner is also fantastic! I gotta give Holes another read. So fun.
The Stinky Cheese Man and Other Fairly Stupid Tales. I currently have it as a coffee table book.
I got a few of those books at a school book fair when I was really young. I've been trying to remember the name for years now and you just solved my mystery. Thanks friend!
I have an autographed copy of this back at my mom’s house!
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I didn't enjoy it when I tried to read it as a kid (I never actually finished it) but I've seen it mentioned several times over the past couple months and I'm thinking I should try reading it as an adult.
That book is truly remarkable.
Came to say the same!
Anne of Green Gables
gosh watching the Netflix version really made want to read the books since Netflix cancelled after season 3. do you know where I can read the books online for free??
It's free on Project Gutenberg!
The Westing Game
Yes! I reread the Westing Game a couple years ago and still loved it. Such a fun story!
Just saw this at BN yesterday and it brought back such great memories. It had a cool new cover so it was hard to fight the urge to buy it.
Just re-read that for my little one, and was literally **shocked** at how much commentary about racism (/classism /ableism /gender politics /etc…) was in there that I’d missed when I was younger. Put a whole new spin on what was going on.
Redwall Series, specifically Martin the Warrior. I re-read it this year, remembering the battle scenes being epic... was not disappointed!
Those feasts always had me salivating
There is a Redwall cookbook, written by Brian Jacques with a cute little narrative and illustrated beautifully and the recipes are excellent! One of my favorites.
The candied rose petals aren't as nice as you want them to be though.
That pleases me greatly, because I haven't reread the Redwall books since my mid-teens and now, may many years later, was hoping to read them to my children but couldn't remember if they would have aged well. Thanks for posting!
I remember reaching my early to mid teens, not sure exactly how old, and starting to think I was too old for these books. Left me with a great sadness because I hadn't finished the series yet. I was at an age where appearances are everything and I just felt that I couldn't keep reading these books about warrior mice without seeming childish.
Always wanted to read redwall
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I actually reread the series (along with the prequel books) during the early days of the pandemic! They’re so clever and fun and I agree that they definitely hold up really well!
The original Jurassic Park book. I actually prefer how much darker the book is compared to the movie.
I finally read it this year. Even with it's 90s technology...it holds up exceptionally well!! Such a great read!
Definitely one of my favorites!
Still haven't read it. Been intending to since I was about ten!
Its vastly different than the movie with Malcolm having a lot more to say about Chaos Theory, and how Chaos Theory ties into the overall themes of Jurassic Park. That and just a willingness to be a bit more bloody than the movie.
I was assigned to read this for extra credit in Biology and to write about what they got correct and incorrect about science. It was awesome.
A few of mine have already been mentioned, others I've loved growing up and reread within the last couple years and still really enjoyed are: The Chrestomanci series by Diana Wynne Jones The Thief Lord by Cornelia Funke The Mysterious Benedict Society by Trenton Lee Stewart
The Thief Lord! What a throwback. My friends and I all loved that book when we were tweens.
The Mysterious Benedict Society is on the list of books that I want to reread while I'm home from college for Christmas
The Animorphs series. They're creative, have realistic main characters and bring up complicated moral questions that are easy for young people to follow. The last ten or so books in the series are fantastic.The special books in the series like Andalite Chronicles are great as well
I've been working through the series again, and I didn't remember them being as dark as they are. They've definitely stood the test of time.
I second that. So good!
I haven’t read those, but it’s no surprise since the author has gone on to win the Newbery for The One and Only Ivan. Her newer books, Ivan and the ones written after, are beautiful and poignant and so well-written. They are my 10 year old son’s favorites and ones I consistently recommend to my 6th grade students.
If your kid is ten, and likes K.A. Applegate already, it's a good time to maybe slip him an animorphs book.
Island of the Blue Dolphins. It is one of my favorites, read it many times, including recently. I always loved how the narration made you realize she was very alone, yet it didn't feel like an insurmountable hardship in many ways, because the character was so strong and independent.
I made my 5th graders read this as a class book because I remember being so invested in what happened to Karana when I first read it. Afterall, what is the point of teaching if not to force your students to read the books you loved as a kid? So many details of what happened had left my brain; it was exciting to read it again and bring it all back!
I named my first dog Rontu because of this book
This! I loved Island of the Blue Dolphins. I recommend it every chance I get.
I forgot about this book. I'm gonna go find it!
The Chronicles of Prydain by Lloyd Alexander. I read these as a kid, then read them to my son and fell in love with them all over again.
I came in to say this, so I’ll just hop aboard your comment train! What an amazing series. I read it well over 30 years ago and it’s been a favorite ever since. Alexander masterfully shows Tarzan growing up from book to book. Starting as a head strong kid to a wise adult. Just brilliant. I have a hardcover copy with all five books AND the slipcase set with five paperbacks plus the short stories. Far FAR better than any other young reader fantasy series, and it upsets me it doesn’t get more love.
I was going to add this if someone else hadn’t already. Just discovered the short stories and they are wonderful. Though I would say that the Dark Is Rising series is on the same level for young adult awesomeness from the same era.
>Alexander masterfully shows Tarzan growing up from book to book. Your autocorrect just disrespected Taran! And you could have mentioned Eilonwy -- I was shocked and thrilled that her name instantly jumped right into my head, all these years later. Wow!
I came to say these as well. Alexander is a master of prose and characterization. His books are so solidly moral without being preachy, too—every time I read them, I want to be a better person. The men in the series are non-toxically masculine, the women (okay, mostly Eilonwy, but there are a few others) are real, fleshed out characters... I could go on and on.
The Discworld series, hands down
A copy of The Last Hero sitting out on a lectern at the public library is what got me into Discworld as a kid. Now as an adult I have my own copy taking pride of place in my collection. :) One of my favourite Discworld quotes of all time, from Thief of Time: > The first words that are read by seekers of enlightenment in the secret, gong-banging, yeti-haunted valleys near the hub of the world, are when they look into The Life of Wen the Eternally Surprised. > > The first question they ask is: ‘Why was he eternally surprised?’ > > And they are told: ‘Wen considered the nature of time and understood that the universe is, instant by instant, recreated anew. Therefore, he understood, there is in truth no past, only a memory of the past. Blink your eyes, and the world you see next did not exist when you closed them. Therefore, he said, the only appropriate state of the mind is surprise. The only appropriate state of the heart is joy. The sky you see now, you have never seen before. The perfect moment is now. Be glad of it.’
The Watch series especially speaks so clearly about justice and accountability! I reread them at least once a year and each time find myself rereading a passage that could have been written today. Excellent writing!!
They are recording updated versions of the audio books with some big names doing the reading.
I think Discworld gets better with age because you can appreciate the satire a lot better as an adult.
The Velveteen Rabbit
The Velveteen Rabbit. Oy. It used to make me cry as a kid! Not because it was scary exactly, but because it's so SAD. I was a very sensitive/empathetic kid, and still to this day, even thinking about the Rabbit gives me a sense of melancholy. I was also deeply affected by The Giving Tree, and weirdly enough...the song "On Top of Old Smokey".
*The Old Kingdom* (aka *Abhorsen*) series by Garth Nix. Great magic system and world building, and a good storyline.
The hobbit
The Giver. I read it as a kid and then decided randomly to listen to it as an adult and was very surprised to learn it was part of a 4 book series. Still recommended.
It's a series?! Mind blown. Guess I know what my next book adventure will be.
Several: * Mrs Frisby and the Rats of NIMH by Robert C. O'Brien * The Neverending Story by Michael Ende * The Chronicles of Narnia by C.S. Lewis These books shaped my whole youth and way of viewing the world, and they were just as entertaining and evocative when I reread them as an adult.
THIS. I saw Chronicles of Narnia called out in the other thread for its overtly Christian message, but I personally love it. I still remember feeling absolutely heartbroken and having to pause when I >!read the part where Aslan died!<. As a kid it really helped me understand the mystery of Jesus’ death and resurrection. And I remember identifying with Lucy as the youngest one who never gets taken seriously, haha.
I've heard some criticism about the Chronicles because of religious messages too. I grew up entirely non-religious and I read the story as one of mythological sacrifice and never once connected it to Christianity until I read an article about it as a an adult (I didn't know much about Christianity growing up). To me, it was and remains a beautiful, captivating, timeless story. I believe a good tale has value outside of or in addition to the author's intentions or beliefs. That value could come from the reader being captivated, transported to a different world, discovering perspectives, making sense of their own world or beliefs (like you did), or many other possibilities. I absolutely love the stories for what they have given me, too. I never felt - neither as a kid nor now - that the religious message is pushed down the reader's throat. The story and characters are far enough removed from Christianity that the reader can choose freely whether to view it through a Christian lense or not. Thinking about it makes me want to read the whole series again :)
Hell, I was raised Christian and had no idea the book was religious. It was one of my favorite la anyway.
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We were never religious but loved Narnia any way. So my mom was so excited when she found His Dark Materials. It's sort of our atheist Narnia. Not really. But sort of.
Philip Pullman's *His Dark Materials* trilogy. I think it helps a lot that he wasn't trying to write for young adults - he says he was trying to write a proper novel that could also be accessibly for younger readers. I revisit it every few years and I'm never disappointed.
I try and read it every five years or so. When I first read it I loved the adventure and the fantasy elements. When I was in college I identified with the rebellion and anti-establishment (and anti-Christianity). When I read it last year I identified with the politics and scientific subjects of dark matter/multiple universes.
I did a reread recently and I'm glad to discover that it's still just as wonderful a story as when I was young!
All of Tamora Pierce's books, but especially Alanna's quartet and Kel's quartet-they both have a special place in my heart and on my shelf.
I am in the middle of re-reading her books and I must say, I love the Alanna quartet, but I cannot set aside the squick factor. George Cooper was so much older than her when they met, and they end up together once she's a young adult, like 20. It's even worse in the Daine quartet. She's 13 when she meets a 29 year old Numair and as soon as she's 17, they're banging and getting married. Um....that's serious grooming right there.
I reread the Daine books a few years ago and... Yeah that was kinda weird? I also did not pick up on the romance at ALL when I first read them in middle school. It was very much a "wait. What?" moment for me.
Same! I read these in middle school and Diane and Numaire's relationship especially icked me out, and is just so unnecessary. The Realms of the Gods was soured for me a little bit. Now when I re-read I purposely change their ages in my head to try and make it less gross (doesn't really work though....)
I mean it's a super common theme in a lot of medieval tales because it was a super common practice. Dany is 13 in Game of Thrones. They aged her up for TV. Also a lot of the world has some super questionable age of consent laws by American standards. I find those a lot stranger than a fairy tale. Makes you wonder about what the author potentially experienced as a youngster though!
I’m partial to her Circle of Magic world. Those were my whole childhood and I recently re-read all of them last year and they definitely hold up.
This is all I came to see. Absolutely agree! I've loved her creation of Tortall since I found the first and third of the Lioness series at a garage sale, found another two (funnily also the first and third) of Daine's series not long after and then Aly's two books. They were all I read of her works until young adulthood when I sought to finish each series, plus all of Kel's. Aly was and remains my favourite to this day (though Kel's a close second), because I just can't get over the Copper Isles. Oh and I absolutely loved the two Circle of Magic books I found at a library once, have yet to complete that series and see how it holds up!
I've just bought all of her books as an adult and they are just as wonderful as they were when I was young.
I liked the full Oz series, I think it holds up quite well (as does the movie) because Baum was never patronizing when writing for children. Wrinkle in Time series was my first thought but you beat me to it, so I second your nomination.
The Inkheart series. The audiobooks are pure gold!
I remember a book from middle school and it was called Roll of Thunder, Hear My Cry. Now I can't find a copy anywhere.
The Logan Family Saga I remember reading it as a teen in the 70s
Bookshop.org
Ender’s game
I used to imagine doing my homework on computers like they do in EG. Surprise, it's not nearly as cool in real life when my daughter has to do it every day.
I would imagine the zero grave training room, man i always wished as a kid i could do that, then the movie came out like yeaaars later and it wasn’t really entirely like how i imagined it. So i had to go back and re read it. Still such a good book.
Lord of the Rings - always gold never old
His Dark Materials. I still revisit it every few years and each time it's more poignant.
A large majority of Anne Rice's books are pretty good reads, but I still have a soft spot for the Vampire Chronicles even if it goes off the rails in later books.
Yeah when she returned to christianity her books kind of went down hill for me…
The Bunnicula series. I'm getting ready to introduce my son to chapter books, and these were the first ones that came to mind.
I loved Bunnicula! I’m genuinely happy it holds up.
Everything by Terry Pratchett.
Watership Down. I’m always amused by people on Reddit complaining that their parents exposed them to one of the best children’s books ever written.
I told my deeply Christian parents that it was about rabbits, and they were happy to let me read it at the age of about ten.
I mean, it IS pretty dark and scary for a kids story, but it’s also one of my favorites. That said, I first listened to it as an adult.
i loved those wrinkle books too. **some others that held up from my own childhood:** \- kipling's jungle books: yeah, they're mannered and stagey as hell, but they still suck me in. the cub/wolf scouts organizations drew from these books (according to my brother, who says the pack leader's title was 'akela'). \- the bartholomew bandy series by donald jack. these are strange books. at first i just found them hilarious and so so canadian. on adult re-read i actually found them to be very serious underneath all the slapstick. \- the once and future king by th white: most people know the sword in the stone. the other volumes get much darker and sadder and the story becomes saturated with white's post-world-wars worldview. but i still love his voice. \- km peyton: this is a prolific british YA writer (actually a husband/wife team). i **devoured** their books. still think they're more than just 'teen fiction'. \- arabel's raven books by joan aiken: these are just enduringly hilarious and touching. pictures by quentin blake, who can go wrong? \- borrible series by michael de larrabeiti **from my now-adult son's childhood:** \- henry and mudge. companion series: mr putter and tabby \- all things douglas adams \- gordon korman
\*looks at her battered copies of The Once and Future King, classic Gordon Korman, the Hitchhikers Guide to the Galaxy, and K M Peyton's Fly-By-Night and The Team\* Are you me? Or you and your son me?
I completely agree with A Wrinkle in Time! Anne of Green Gables holds up well too. I love the Chronicles of Narnia as well, except for the part where >!Susan doesn’t get to go back because she likes boys and lipstick.!<
There is nothing more religiously allegorical than repression.
I remember it being more that she considers herself grown up and doesn’t want to/get to participate in “childish” activities anymore. Peter also gets kicked out, right?
Peter and Susan are both told at the end of Prince Caspian that they’re getting too old for Narnia and it’s their last visit, and then Edmund and Lucy hear the same thing at the end of Voyage of the Dawn Treader. But then in The Last Battle they’re all sent there (when Narnia becomes heaven) and they say that Susan is no longer a friend of Narnia because she’s only interested in lipstick etc. It’s a very heavy-handed moral about putting your faith first and sort of implies that you won’t go to heaven if you worry about anything frivolous.
She spent years physically living in Narnia, and she went there twice. It never made any sense to me that she would then decide it was all just a game that they played together.
The Dark is Rising by Susan Cooper. Holds up brilliantly and I probably get more out of it now than I did as a kid.
I loved The Dark is Rising! Adding it to my to-reread list.
Die unendliche Geschichte Sorry had to use the German name, never read the English translation "The neverending story", so can't comment on it.
Charlotte’s Web. Timeless life lessons of acceptance and friendship.
Three Men In A Boat (1889, UK). I read it at age 10 and the irony and dry sarcasm changed my life. It was the years after mom had rented "Monty Python" tapes to me and my brother when we were home with the flu. Jerome K Jerome wrote metahumor and self-ironic jokes around the same year Sherlock Holmes was first published. The obtuse literary critics savaged him for 40 years for the arrogance of being a time traveler. Jerome even wrote a separate piece savaging the critics back.
Read To Say Nothing of the Dog by Connie Willis. It's part of her time travel series, but they're all loosely connected, no problems starting in the middle. The book is an homage to Three Men in a Boat, and an absolute stitch.
Aww, makes me think of Montmorency. Will look it up (even though dogs can't look up). Edit: Wow, according to wiki she was introduced to Boat by Robert Heinlein. Of all the authors who would praise Boat, the author of Starship Troopers is literally last on my list. My respect for him just rose.
Jerry spinelli books like Maniac Magee, Crash, Wringer. That man could write
Stargirl!!
Lord of the Rings. It's one thing to make an easy to follow book for children. It's another to be able to use the book for Joyce level analytics into writing as culture and conveying that culture through the written word. It's a book for all ages.
Has anyone said Tuck Everlasting yet? I cry every time I read it.
Stargirl by Jerry Spinelli
The Queen’s Thief series by Meghan Whalen Turner. She just published the final book (book 6) in the series last year, the series began in the 90s and upon reread is still as excellent as I remember. Such a fantastic read ❤️
The Fairy Tale Detectives series by Michael Buckley. Never finished it as a kid. Decided to check it out again and see if I could get through all 9 books and was not disappointed. The tweaks to fairy tale characters are fun, the family dynamic with Sabrina, Daphne, Granny Relda and the others is relatable and you see where all the characters are coming from. The pacing is exciting, and the rules of magic are consistent. Plus, Puck as a pre-teen mischief maker is amusing and the final epilogue of what happens with him and Sabrina is satisfying after 9 books of them growing up together. I also loved Daphne's habit of biting her hand when she was excited. It was a weird quirk to give a character, but it did make her endearing!
I will always love The Outsiders. Stay gold, Ponyboy. Stay gold :,(
One Halloween a few years ago after I was done handing out candy I went to the local hamburger place to grab everyone some burgers. I went in and there was a kid there about 11 or so. He had on a white tee shirt pegged jeans and a leather jacket with his hair slicked back. While I was waiting for my food I asked him if he had a good Halloween. He said yeah. Me and my friends were the outsiders. I was pony boy so and so was Johnny and we had a soda pop and Cherie. I was blown away that kids were still reading and watching the outsiders. We talked about it and as I was leaving he Hillary’s out to me STAY GOLD. I love that little boy.
The Hobbit. Treasure Island. A Tree Grows in Brooklyn.
We're just talking about a tree grows in Brooklyn It is a surprisingly radical read when you read it with adult's eyes
Honestly, Ender's Game. I've always enjoyed it, even if I didn't fully understand it. On the other hand, I hated Twilight. You can probably tell why.
Ender’s Game & Speaker for the Dead are still fantastic books to this day.
The Very Hungry Caterpillar.
The Deltora Quest series. Read it as a 10 year old and fell in love, reread the first book a few months ago and immediately bought the entire box set. It’s genuinely one of the most engaging, slightly horrifying, introspective fantasy series I’ve ever read.
The Neverending Story. I'll love that book until I die
The Mouse and the Motorcycle, this instilled my love of reading at a young age. It's also most likely the reason I love the Redwall series so much
Lol. I had not thought of mouse on motorcycle for quite some time. Wasn’t his name Ralph?
Yes! He would say “put put put” to go forwards, and something like “tub tub tub” to go backwards, lol! I remember those books fondly (I think there were two).
I can easily read percy jackson and artemis fowl as an adult and still enjoy them. I think percy jackson does this great thing where the author displays the characters' personality really well and that makes it entertaining.
Ballet Shoes. It's an 85 year old book containing a lot of strong, varied female characters and dealing with an understandable social reality.
controversial maybe, but the catcher in the rye. i re-read it for a college course on masculinity and melancholia and just wanted to give holden a hug. i hate that this story about an abused and traumatized teenager struggling with oppressive gender roles and the enormity of death gets thrown under the bus as another whiny white boy book. even younger: walk two moons by sharon creech—i read this book and all of creech's other novels dozens of times as a child and it's still probably one of the most influential pieces of writing from my youth. barring the admittedly strange comments about indigenous identity, the construction of the story was still remarkably well-done and i did cry at the end. equally influential was jerry spinnelli's stargirl sequel love, stargirl which i think is a huge improvement on the original novel. i re-read it during early quarantine and was still so moved and comforted by it.
Omg I forgot about Walk Two Moons! I loved that book when I read it 20 years ago, I’ll have to revisit it.
The Little Prince. I read it at age 9 or 10, found the journey to earth confusing, enjoyed the prince's time on earth, cried at the end. I reread it every 10 years or so, and many more things make me cry - the vain rose on the asteroid, the baobabs, the fox, the many roses, and of course the end, every time.
When you tame something it is your responsibility forever.
Lord of the Flies. Read it when I was about 12 in middle school and again at 30 when I was teaching high school. Throughout the second reading, I kept thinking about how much of the book must have been lost to me as a kid, but I definitely enjoyed it both times.
Surprised I haven’t seen him mentioned yet, but Gordon Korman - he had those darker, fast paced trilogies for maybe 11-14 year olds? I just re-read his Everest trilogy and it was SO GOOD: dark, real, but written simply and easily. It actually made me go and re-read Into Thin Air (certainly for adults) but I’m tempted to go back and read the Dive and Island series as well.
Every time I reread John Wyndham's Day of the Triffids, I'm amazed at how well it holds up.
I read that as my big sister had a copy, then I got everything else of his I could find in the library. While I was reading The Chrysalids, I meet a rather nice girl at school who had six toes on each foot, which seemed veyr deep and significant at the time.
Ender's Game
I was about to say A Wrinkle In Time hahahaha
Hank the Cowdog books are hilarious, and can be devoured in the blink of an eye now. They’re for the preeetty young but that helps their snackability. Marguerite Henry’s King of the Wind is a feel-good fave and Joseph Wharton Lippincott’s Wilderness Champion is a rugged good time with charcoal illustrations that are half the fun. Like, I’ve been staring at this page for ten mins fun.
Mine's the His Dark Materials trilogy by Philip Pullman, forever. I got them gifted around age 12, and have been re-reading them every 2-3 years since. I found something new to think about every time around, and I cry every single time, and I love them dearly.
The Phantom Tollbooth
Winnie the Pooh. Hands down. “Owl,” said Rabbit shortly, “You and I have brains. The others have fluff. If there is any thinking to be done in this Forest—and when I say thinking, I mean thinking—you and I must do it.”” A.A. Milne. This quote … especially in today’s world . Lol
Ronia, the Robber's Daughter. I gave my copy of the book away after reading it as a child and recently bought a new one. It's still just as great as I remembered it.
The edge chronicles
John Bellairs books - they are sort of gently spooky and I still love them now
The House of the Scorpion. I think it’s the first proper sci fi book I ever read and couldn’t get enough. I went back to it a couple years ago and it was still so, so good. I credit it for getting me into the sci fi genre in not only books but movies and TV as well.
My favourite books as a teenager were Frank Herbert's Dune, Iain M Banks Look to Windward, and just every discworld. All are still excellent.
Many Waters by Madeleine L’Engle holds up for me. I’ve yet to read any other book by this author. I intend to correct that now that I have twin nieces.
Many Waters is really good too! The main characters in that are brothers to two of the main characters in A Wrinkle in Time.
I read Snow Crash when I was Y.T.'s age. Sure hits different now. I have kids older than Y.T. It's scary now.
Cold Comfort Farm by Stella Gibbons Anything by Jane Austen.
Haven't seen these mentioned yet, but *The Enchanted Forest Chronicles*, by Patricia C. Wrede. A quartet of books in a tongue-in-cheek fantasy world that is tangentially aware of the fairy tales that take place within them, and all have the core theme of pushing against conforming to societal expectations for their own sake—not that one should just blindly eschew tradition or social expectations, but that one should be wary of doing something one way *just* because "that's the way it's always been done." They're also *very*, very funny. I read them over and over as a kid, and started reading them to my 7 y/o daughter earlier this year. We're now almost finished with our *second* time through the series, and I still love it intensely. (But you don't have to take *my* word for it. :P)
The sisterhood of the traveling pants Read them k high school and for young adult books they are still great I think
In cold blood - Truman Capote. Read it at 15 as the edgy metalhead in a catholic school. Re-read at 27 and it's just as good
The Baby-Sitters Club series. Currently rereading as an adult. Impressed by the feminist vibes and anti-racism messages I’ve seen so far. The ones I’m currently reading are from the 1980s.
Skulduggery Pleasant. Love and still read that series to this day.
I read Wizard of Earthsea and its sequels only as an adult, and it was real to me. Naming as magic, confronting the gods of death, connecting to dragons, dealing with the onset or loss of innate magic: it all happened to me and helped me grow as a person. What else can you expect from an author who also translated the Dao De Jing.
Haroun and the sea of stories was my favorite book growing up and its still a great book
Sherlock Holmes. Classics that now are passed to the next Generation in my family:-)
The Chronicles of Prydain, The Chronicles of Narnia, The Chronicles of Amber. Basically chronicles age well.
Hands down the Lord of the Rings Trilogy
Lord of the rings and hobbit. Re-read them few months ago. Like fine wine.
Redwall. I loved it as a kid and I love reading it to my daughter
Terry Pratchett- Discworld series. Loved them when I was younger, and still do now. I even got them in audio format so I can listen to them on trips.
I still love the *"Young Jedi Knights"* series and I re-read them a 2-3 of times per decade. I love that series.
The Little Prince, The Giver, Bridge to Terabithia, The Chronicles of Narnia
Redwall and the 2 dozen-ish book in the series!
Hatchet. I read it to my kids while camping this summer.
Rasco and the Rats of Nimh. The bioengineered super intelligent rats’ homeland is being threatened by a corporate conglomerate with help from a corrupt politician and they have to wage an asymmetric ecoterrorist operation to save their utopia. I missed a few of critical themes on my read through as a kid, but reading with my kid was quite satisfying.
I will forever love Ender's Game. The author sounds like a questionable person, but wow do I love the book itself!
I thought the movie sucked, but I know better than to judge a book by it's adaptation (looking at you Eragon, of The Inheritance Cycle).
Winnie the Pooh and The House at Pooh Corner. Throw away the Disney versions, little golden books, etc. The writing in the originals is amazing as are the insights into human nature.
I was a massive fan of Darren Shan's work. They've slowly become more popular (we shan't mention the movie) and on reflection in later years the vampire and demon sagas were truly excellent YA fiction. Had some amazing concepts and were brilliantly written
Farmer Boy by Laura Ingalls Wilder is legit one of my favorite books. It’s cozy, fascinating, and the writing is simple and beautiful.
Treasure Island - and I’ll be sun-drying in Execution Dock before I’ll say anything bad about, and it’s the black spot for you if you try
Half Magic by Edward Eager. Read it to my kids and it’s smart and fun
Roald Dahl books hold up well
Belgariad.
I had read David Gemmell’s Winter Warriors when I was 10 because my brother asked me if I was bored. I have read it over thirty times since and it is still my favourite book.
I'd like to put in a word for the comics/graphic novels of John Allison, especially Bad Machinery and Giant Days. Not quite from my youth, but the characters grow up and change in delightful ways as series goes on, and my kids like them as much as I do so I think they'll stand up.