The Lunar Chronicles

Tacoma, WA, author, Marissa Meyer, takes characters from those stale old stories we heard as kids and blasts them into the future with finesse.  This complex series starts with Cinder, based on the character Cinderella we already know so much about, and turns her life as a cyborg who meets the prince into a whopper of a story about intergalactic intrigue.  

Her second book pulls in Scarlet, the traditional Little Red Riding Hood, and pairs her with an unexpected partner.  The story intersects with Cinder's as Scarlet's missing grandmother seems to be connected to Scarlet.

Next up is Cress, whose main character is based on Rapunzel.  Cinder and Scarlet connect with her as the evil Queen Levana attempts to use her against the small rebel band.

Due out late in 2015 is Winter, which will add Snow White to the cast of characters and complete the series.  

Meyer has also penned some shorter stories that add to the series, including The Queen's Army (The Lunar Chronicles, #1.5, Carswell's Guide to Being Lucky (The Lunar Chronicles, #3.1, and Fairest, (The Lunar Chronicles, #3.5)

While the series has several strong female protagonists, I would not label this as Chick Lit because of the storyline.  This is a not-to-be-missed series for middle and high school readers.

      

The Hungry Cities Chronicles

If you have a "What if the world got blown up and people had to start fresh..." kind of mentality, you might enjoy The Hungry Cities Chronicles (called The Mortal Engines Quartet in the UK) written by Philip Reeve.

The series is set in what is called the Traction Era, a time after our civilization has nuked the earth into a wasteland during the Sixty Minute War and most people live on huge mobile cities that "eat" smaller cities for their resources. If you do not live on a traction city, you are part of a group of independent locales that have their own agendas.

The stories follow two characters and their adventures as they move from the children to adults. Technological development plays a main role in the books.

A prequel, called Fever Crumb, explains the beginning of Municipal Darwinism and the birth of Grike.

The Keys to the Kingdom

Arthur Penhaligon just wants to fit in at his new school; having an asthma attack the very first day really got in the way of that!

Instead of dying, which should have happened, he encounters the first of seven Trustees of the Will- Mister Monday - and receives the first of seven keys, a magical atlas to the place known as the Secondary Realms, and the title of Rightful Heir of the House.

Cool! A twelve year-old homeowner! Well, sort of.

All Arthur has to do to get is house is to collect all the keys, gather all the pieces of the Will, avoid the Nothing that turns into the devastating killers, Nithlings, as well as other nasty creatures of all design, rescue his friend Suzy Turquoise Blue, Leaf, and the rest of the Piper's Children, and cure the plague that has entered Arthur's world from the Secondary Realms. Then he'll be ready to move in!

Keys to the Kingdom is recommended for grades 5 and up. It is also recommended that you read the books with no interruption to help keep track of who's who, what's what, and where's where - a serious proposition in this series!

Maximum Ride 4-6 (The Protectors)

In the back half of this series (see Maximum Ride 1-3 for the first half), the story lines turn environmental and a love interest develops between Max and Fang. The flock separates, new leadership develops, some characters die and some marry. And no, you won't learn which ones they are here - you'll simply have to read the books!

A seventh book, called Angel, is scheduled for release in 2011.

You should also be aware that many of these series have been turned into manga, in case you're looking for something a little different.

For grades 6 and up.

The Mortal Instruments

Clary is an ordinary fifteen-year-old girl until she witnesses the murder of a demon disguised as a handsome teenager. Suddenly able to see these Night Children and learning her mother was a demon slayer - a Shadowhunter - throws her into the dark, alternative side of Manhattan and the battle against the demon Night Children. With newly-discovered abilities, she joins with The Clave to fight against the evil Shadowhunter, Valentine, and his pursuit to rule the world.

Buffy the Vampire Slayer Clary is not; but she's not far from her!

This series has a love triangle, a couple of seriously dysfunctional families, and a plethora of entities such as werewolves, vampires, fairies, angels, and assorted monsters. There's something for everyone here!

For grades 8 and up.

   

Fablehaven

Fablehaven is not your everyday nature reserve. Housed within its borders are mythical and magical creatures of all types: good and evil, large and small, dark and light. Managed by Kendra and Seth Sorenson's grandfather, whom the kids barely know, Fablehaven occupants are protected from extinction as long they follow the rules set up for them, which if often easier said than done.

Grandpa slowly introduces the children to the real nature of Fablehaven because he hopes they will take over its care, but when Seth, that annoying little brother most of us have experienced, steps over the line, he opens the door to trouble, leaving everyone in peril.

It means something when you see this sign posted at Fablehaven: "Trespassers will be turned to stone."

For grades 4 and up.

The Abhorsen Trilogy (The Old Kingdom)

Ready for a challenge? How about crossing the boundary between your country, Ancelstierre, a place similar to England in the 1900's, and the magical and deadly Old Kingdom and living to tell the tale? Oh, yeah, they've got your undead, your living dead, your Necromancers, and, of course, no one across the border in Ancelstierre is any the wiser.

Sabriel and Mogget, a cat with a mystery, cross into the Old Kingdom to try to find her father, the Abhorsen, the sorcerer with the difficult job of keeping the undead dead and confined instead of running amok for the necromancers and doing evil.

The remainder of the series traces the Abhorsen line and their work to keep things contained in the Old Kingdom so no magic bleeds out into Ancelstierre.

Across the Wall is a collection of short stories about the Old Kingdom.

For grade 7 and up.

The Immortals

Forget Dr. Doolittle; Daine Sarrasri is the one you want around if you need to find out why your dog keeps eating your underpants or if you want to find out why that woodpecker continues to peck away at the chimney flue even though there are clearly no bugs to be found in its aluminum sheath.

Even though she's just a teenager, Daine travels through many kingdoms with her tutor, her pony, and the dragon she is raising, as she works to save man and animal alike. As she gains more knowledge of her abilities, Daine is called upon to perform tasks in riskier and riskier situations involving evil Stormwings.

This series follows another series you might enjoy called "Song of the Lioness."

For grades 6 and up.

The Modern Faerie Tales

Forget what you think you know about faeries, also known as pixies, because once you meet Kaye, you'll realize you didn't get the whole story on faeries when you were younger!

First, you should know that Kaye is a roadie for her mom's marginal rock band and has a lot of bad habits, like swearing, drinking, promiscuity, and skipping school. Second, she doesn't really know she's a fairy but has been a little freaked out about her ears for awhile now. Third, turns out those imaginary flying friends she had when she was younger were real and are back.

Once Kaye understands more of who she is by hanging out with other faeries in both worlds, she finds herself being used in a battle between two groups of faeries - the Seelies and Unseelies.

Happily ever after happens in almost every fairy tale we know. Will it for Kaye? Read the series to find out!

For grades 9 and up.

Maximum Ride 1-3 (The Fugitives)

Ouch!

Six kids, known as The Flock, have been genetically altered in a science lab to have wings. They escape from the "School" where they were engineered and try to find a place where they can be left alone to live as normal a life as possible for a group of kids who can fly.

Throughout the series, the kids search the nation for their parents, look over their wings for Erasers, the half wolf-half men beings that are trying to eliminate all of them, try to get in and out of the school to help the youngest of The Flock escape, and are betrayed time and again. These kids understand the meaning of do-it-yourself!

The dangers and battles the kids go through to escape from the scientists and earn true freedom wear them down, but they pick themselves up each time.

Maximum Ride has a series with the series. Check out Maximum Ride 4-6 (The Protectors) for the next installment!

For grades 6 and up.

Books of Ember

Ember, an underground city designed to sustain life for 200 years, is about to "expire," a situation unclear to its inhabitants until the infrastructure starts to break down, and even then its only a few, like Lina and Doon, who see what is happening.

12-year-old Lina’s messenger job sends her throughout the city. Her friend, Doon, works in the pipe works below the city. Between the two of them, they realize their city is in danger of failing: not enough food growing or in storage to feed everyone and the generator that provides all of their power has been patched together too many times.

Can Lina and Doon convince the elders there is a problem? Can they help save the people of Ember escape to an unknown land? Will life outside Ember work for those who've only known the artificial life of the "land down under?"

Huh. Turns out that power and other supplies aren't infinite. Is there a lesson here for us, too?

This series contains a prequel that sets up the scene for other books. But don't read anything out of order; you don't want to get lost in the dark!

For grades 6 and up.

The Inheritance Cycle

Once upon a time...

Stop laughing. This is serious. Seriously serious!

Ah-hem...

Once upon a time, there was a boy named Eragon, who lived with his aunt, uncle, and cousin. Eragon found and secretly raised a dragon, Saphira, which apparently was a pretty big no-no, as the last known Dragon Rider, Galbatorix, sends creatures called Ra'zac to kill the dragon and, in the process, murder a lot of people, including his uncle.

As Eragon seeks revenge for the death of his uncle and vows to bring down Galbatorix, he battles against creatures of all ilk - shades, Urgals, and Ra'zac - with the help of dwarves, elves, werecats, and the humans he meets along the way. It also helps that Saphira is a gifted dragon and that Eragon possesses a sword of great strength.

The secondary plot of this series is how Eragon's cousin, Roran, leads the people of Carbahall to seafety and aids in the battle against Galbatorix.

An as-yet untitled fourth book in the series is planned, but no date has been set for its release.

For grades 7 and up.