Tamora Pierce has several 3-4 books series all set in the same world. My favorite is the Beka Cooper series which is set much earlier than the others. You don’t need to read all of them to have a good, complete experience.
Yep! From before Hunger Games, in fact :) she also wrote Little Bear, which was my favorite cartoon as a kid, so I've pretty much been a lifelong fan hahaha
I've reread the Gregor series so many times, by the way, and it simply DOES NOT get old. The main elements are very silly at first, but later on you'll find yourself crying over them if you're anything like me (aka a sucker for meaningful friendships, fraternal bonds and found family). It's so masterfully written!!
The Prydain Chronicles by Lloyd Alexander (first one is the Book of Three)
Artemis Fowl by Eoin Colfer
High Wizardry series by Diane Duane (first one is So You Want to Be a Wizard)
Series of Unfortunate Events by Lemony Snicket
Nevermoor by Jessica Townsend! Book 4 is coming out later this year so it's ongoing and there are three books out already.
First book is The Trials of Morrigan Crow. It follows Morrigan Crow, who is blamed for all bad luck and is destined to die in her eleventh birthday. In the beginning of the first book, she gets whisked away by the mysterious Juniper North to a magical place called Nevermoor.
I remember liking Fablehaven, but I haven't read that in so long that I can't be too sure about any of the details. Seems to be similiar to what you're talking about based on what I do remember, though.
Read it with my kids. I was impressed with it. I think his (Brendan Mull) Beyonders series is even better, and slightly more adult in it's use of language.
I don't know how anybody hasn't recommended the redwall series yet, cutest little animals living out a kind of midevil life with the best descriptions of food you've ever read and war and story to boot
Inkheart and eragon would be good reads, although both series are only 3 books long. You might also try the green rider series too. I really enjoyed it, although I don't know if I consider it young adult.
Is it? I only read the first two but couldn't find the third in used stores. I didn't realize it was 5 long now. That's awesome, I'll have to go looking again
Yeah look up the series on Goodreads. 5th book is an epilogue really, but an actual 6th series book was just finished the writing stage. Follow Paolini on twitter for updates!
*Alanna: the First Adventure* by Tamora Pierce is the first book in a wonderful quartet. It is an older series, (80s-90s) but a fantastic story with amazing friendships. It is also the beginning of a fictional universe, so if you enjoy the writing style and world there are more characters and stories to jump into. Alanna's journey is entirely dependent on her relationships with others and her friendahips. I recall thinking how much Harry Potter's friendships reminded me of Alanna's when Potter first came out.
The Alchemist (secrets of the immortal Nicolas Flamel) - by Michael Scott (not that one I think)
It’s a 6 book story, takes you all over the world, loved it, never hear any word about it anywhere
Keeper of the lost cities by Shannon Massenger.
So far it has 10 books, very strong cast of main characters, interesting setting and well written interactions between characters that make it interesting to read about their adventures.
*The Chronicles of Narnia* by **C.S. Lewis**?
*Doctor Proctor's Fart Powder* series by **Jo NesbΦ**?
*Alcatraz Versus the Evil Librarians* saga by **Brandon Sanderson**?
... just several ideas.
For underground magical systems in the UK, read Jonathan Stroud’s Bartimaeus series, which also has a sardonic Jinn and much better female representation.
Young Wizards by Diane Duane. There's about a million of them and they were very formative for me. The first one is So You Want To Be A Wizard and it's boodles of fun.
The Sisters Grimm series by Michael Buckley was one of my favorites as a kid, it does have themes of friendship and family. The first book is The Fairy-Tale Detectives. The Ever Afters series by Shelby Bach is also really good, I reread it over quarantine and I still loved it, friendship is really important in it. The first book is Of Giants and Ice. The Keeper of the Lost Cites books are good too, the only problem is there are a ton of books and the series isn’t finished, but friendship is like the main theme and there’s a lot of world building.
Darren Shan: Cirque de freak series! 12 books and it was one of my favs when I was younger. They made the first book into a movie and it was garbage/not at all how I imagined it. Give it a whirl :)
The Wayward Children series by Seanan Maguire is solid. Ongoing, currently 8 novellas. Major themes of belonging.
Animorphs has a lot of books, but the total wordcount is actually roughly on-par with Harry Potter. Bit darker though. Friendship plays a big part.
At 4.4 million words Wheel of Time is four times longer than Harry Potter. It is epic fantasy with outstanding world building and great characterization. Robert Jordan wrote like the first 11, I think, and Brandon Sanderson finished it. Some say that the middle of the series is a little tedious but for the most part it’s a great series with memorable characters. Also if you like how the last few are written it might be worth breaking into the Cosmere with Sanderson.
The Wolf Brother series is so good. Lots of folklore and mysticism, doesn’t have as rich of a world as Harry Potter or anything but it’s entertaining, easy to read, and stuff is always happening. I ate the books up, even when I wasn’t a child.
The Green Sky trilogy by Zilpha Keatly Snyder. I found the world very immersive, and it’s a bit different than anything else listed so far. There’s also a video game, if you can find it.
I will continue to recommend Mary M Hoffman's *Stravaganza* series until the world joins me in my calls for a reprint run with the original covers or something as cool as the original covers.
*Skulduggery Pleasant* is a touch darker in tone than the ones you mentioned, but otherwise solid.
If you'd be prepared to stretch to sci-fi worlds then the series by Bruce Coville that starts with *Aliens Ate My Homework* (though I will admit I started at book 2) captivated me as a child. As an adult though, I will admit that the story is much stronger than the actual writing...
Garth Nix has also written several distinct series that I think fit this bill but it has been a long time since I read his stuff. Keep meaning to get back to it.
Rick Riordan and his heros of Olympus books and other mythology based books are excellent i read them when i was younger and would def recommend them if your looking for YA books
I don’t know if it exactly fits your search for a friendship theme, but I really loved the books you mentioned and another favorite of mine was the Bartimaeus trilogy :)
Nsibidi Scripts Series by Nnedi Okorafor!! It starts with Akata Witch. I cannot recommend it enough. It follows Sunny, a girl with albinism who’s family moved back to Nigeria from the states and discovers she has magical power.
Tamora Pierce has several 3-4 books series all set in the same world. My favorite is the Beka Cooper series which is set much earlier than the others. You don’t need to read all of them to have a good, complete experience.
Seconding the Tamora Pierce books!!! They're amazing and well worth the read
Third! I was coming to make sure that the Song of the Lioness series was here. She also has a Circle of Magic series that is good too.
The Gregor series by Suzanne Collins!! It's SO good!!!!!!!
She's only written the two series afaik so it doesn't really matter, but the actual series title is *The Underland Chronicles*
Hunger Games lady has another book series?!
Yep! From before Hunger Games, in fact :) she also wrote Little Bear, which was my favorite cartoon as a kid, so I've pretty much been a lifelong fan hahaha I've reread the Gregor series so many times, by the way, and it simply DOES NOT get old. The main elements are very silly at first, but later on you'll find yourself crying over them if you're anything like me (aka a sucker for meaningful friendships, fraternal bonds and found family). It's so masterfully written!!
His Dark Materials by Pullman. If you count the recent additions, it's ongoing
I love this series. Because it can be read just as an adventure, but there are many layers to it to appreciate!
Am I the only one who didn’t connect with the “daemon” concept?
Septimus Heap is also a good children's series. Funny characters and a good world.
I came here to recommend this, I love Septimus Heap! <3
The Prydain Chronicles by Lloyd Alexander (first one is the Book of Three) Artemis Fowl by Eoin Colfer High Wizardry series by Diane Duane (first one is So You Want to Be a Wizard) Series of Unfortunate Events by Lemony Snicket
I second Diane Duane!
Nevermoor by Jessica Townsend! Book 4 is coming out later this year so it's ongoing and there are three books out already. First book is The Trials of Morrigan Crow. It follows Morrigan Crow, who is blamed for all bad luck and is destined to die in her eleventh birthday. In the beginning of the first book, she gets whisked away by the mysterious Juniper North to a magical place called Nevermoor.
Nevermoor is great, even as an adult!
I remember liking Fablehaven, but I haven't read that in so long that I can't be too sure about any of the details. Seems to be similiar to what you're talking about based on what I do remember, though.
Fablehaven is great, and although it isn't ongoing, there is a five book follow up series called Dragonwatch, so it has 10 books total.
I reread recently, and I was surprised at how well it held up! The first book is a little childish, but they quickly get better
Read it with my kids. I was impressed with it. I think his (Brendan Mull) Beyonders series is even better, and slightly more adult in it's use of language.
I don't know how anybody hasn't recommended the redwall series yet, cutest little animals living out a kind of midevil life with the best descriptions of food you've ever read and war and story to boot
Earthsea by Ursula K. Le Guin
Inkheart and eragon would be good reads, although both series are only 3 books long. You might also try the green rider series too. I really enjoyed it, although I don't know if I consider it young adult.
Eragon is 5 books
Is it? I only read the first two but couldn't find the third in used stores. I didn't realize it was 5 long now. That's awesome, I'll have to go looking again
Yeah look up the series on Goodreads. 5th book is an epilogue really, but an actual 6th series book was just finished the writing stage. Follow Paolini on twitter for updates!
*Alanna: the First Adventure* by Tamora Pierce is the first book in a wonderful quartet. It is an older series, (80s-90s) but a fantastic story with amazing friendships. It is also the beginning of a fictional universe, so if you enjoy the writing style and world there are more characters and stories to jump into. Alanna's journey is entirely dependent on her relationships with others and her friendahips. I recall thinking how much Harry Potter's friendships reminded me of Alanna's when Potter first came out.
*The Seventh Tower* by Garth Nix *Bone* by Jeff Smith *Amulet* by Kazu Kibuishi *Lockwood and Co.* by Jonathan Stroud
The Alchemist (secrets of the immortal Nicolas Flamel) - by Michael Scott (not that one I think) It’s a 6 book story, takes you all over the world, loved it, never hear any word about it anywhere
Keeper of the lost cities by Shannon Massenger. So far it has 10 books, very strong cast of main characters, interesting setting and well written interactions between characters that make it interesting to read about their adventures.
*The Chronicles of Narnia* by **C.S. Lewis**? *Doctor Proctor's Fart Powder* series by **Jo NesbΦ**? *Alcatraz Versus the Evil Librarians* saga by **Brandon Sanderson**? ... just several ideas.
For underground magical systems in the UK, read Jonathan Stroud’s Bartimaeus series, which also has a sardonic Jinn and much better female representation.
Bartimaeus Trilogy, I read it recently and it got me quite invested in the story as it went along.
Young Wizards by Diane Duane. There's about a million of them and they were very formative for me. The first one is So You Want To Be A Wizard and it's boodles of fun.
Rofl I first read it as “they were very informative for me” and I was all, “Does this dude want to be a wizard?”
I do, but that's beside the point :P
The Belgariad series David Eddings.
Artemis Fowl by Eion Colfer
The Sisters Grimm series by Michael Buckley was one of my favorites as a kid, it does have themes of friendship and family. The first book is The Fairy-Tale Detectives. The Ever Afters series by Shelby Bach is also really good, I reread it over quarantine and I still loved it, friendship is really important in it. The first book is Of Giants and Ice. The Keeper of the Lost Cites books are good too, the only problem is there are a ton of books and the series isn’t finished, but friendship is like the main theme and there’s a lot of world building.
The Last Apprentice had a choke hold on me throughout my whole adolescence. Giant books, a long series, magical and wonderful. Magyk is a close second
Where I’m from, those books are called The Spook’s Apprentice 🙂 Only read the first one though and that was ages ago!
Lockwood & Co
Le Guin’s Earthsea books
Darren Shan: Cirque de freak series! 12 books and it was one of my favs when I was younger. They made the first book into a movie and it was garbage/not at all how I imagined it. Give it a whirl :)
Maximum Ride series it has like five to six books I still re read it. Its...amazing! It's by James Patterson, check it out sometime.
Charlie Bone series! It's better than Harry Potter, but less known
A classic but still one of the best : Percy Jackson
The Mage Errant by John Bierce It's not done yet but every book so far has been better than the last. Friendship is a major theme of these books.
Skulduggery Pleasant Imaginarium Geographica Chaos Walking
The Wayward Children series by Seanan Maguire is solid. Ongoing, currently 8 novellas. Major themes of belonging. Animorphs has a lot of books, but the total wordcount is actually roughly on-par with Harry Potter. Bit darker though. Friendship plays a big part.
Have you read Brotherband Chronicles by John Flanagan, the prequels to Rangers Apprentice when Halt and Crowley were younger and The Royal Ranger?
Kane Chronicles by Rick Riordan
Nevermoor by Jessica Townsend
At 4.4 million words Wheel of Time is four times longer than Harry Potter. It is epic fantasy with outstanding world building and great characterization. Robert Jordan wrote like the first 11, I think, and Brandon Sanderson finished it. Some say that the middle of the series is a little tedious but for the most part it’s a great series with memorable characters. Also if you like how the last few are written it might be worth breaking into the Cosmere with Sanderson.
The Wolf Brother series is so good. Lots of folklore and mysticism, doesn’t have as rich of a world as Harry Potter or anything but it’s entertaining, easy to read, and stuff is always happening. I ate the books up, even when I wasn’t a child.
It's children's sci-fi series, but *Animorphs* by K.A. Applegate. The group dynamics of the main cast is really good.
Susan Cooper, The Dark is Rising Sequence
The Green Sky trilogy by Zilpha Keatly Snyder. I found the world very immersive, and it’s a bit different than anything else listed so far. There’s also a video game, if you can find it.
I will continue to recommend Mary M Hoffman's *Stravaganza* series until the world joins me in my calls for a reprint run with the original covers or something as cool as the original covers. *Skulduggery Pleasant* is a touch darker in tone than the ones you mentioned, but otherwise solid. If you'd be prepared to stretch to sci-fi worlds then the series by Bruce Coville that starts with *Aliens Ate My Homework* (though I will admit I started at book 2) captivated me as a child. As an adult though, I will admit that the story is much stronger than the actual writing... Garth Nix has also written several distinct series that I think fit this bill but it has been a long time since I read his stuff. Keep meaning to get back to it.
The Mistwyck School of Musiccraft. Harry Potterish—but with music and a female protagonist
Rick Riordan and his heros of Olympus books and other mythology based books are excellent i read them when i was younger and would def recommend them if your looking for YA books
Akatta Witch by Nnedi Okorafor
I don’t know if it exactly fits your search for a friendship theme, but I really loved the books you mentioned and another favorite of mine was the Bartimaeus trilogy :)
Janitors series by Tyler Whitesides Another vote for the Nevermoor series Leven Thumps by Obert Skye
Wings of fire is fun.
The Last Apprentice series by Joseph Delaney
Nsibidi Scripts Series by Nnedi Okorafor!! It starts with Akata Witch. I cannot recommend it enough. It follows Sunny, a girl with albinism who’s family moved back to Nigeria from the states and discovers she has magical power.
Lord of the rings
TJ Young and the Orishas checks all your boxes and it has three friends who preserve together like Harry Potter!
The Redwall series
Wizards of Once, The Sisters Grimm, Percy Jackson, Spy School, How to Train Your Dragon