 | The Snow Spider (Magician Trilogy) by Jenny Nimmo
Buy new: $9.99 / Used from: $0.46 The Snow Spider has similarities to The Owl Service in terms of its reworking of Welsh folklore, but it is considerably less dark. It is entirely different in style from Nimmo's Charlie Bone series; its characterizations are much more in the realm of fables rather than contemporary fiction, which often lends little to a sense of mystery due to straightforward narration.
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 | Emlyn's Moon (Nimmo, Jenny. Magician Trilogy) by Jenny Nimmo
Buy new: $9.99 / Used from: $1.73 The magic in this one is even less central than in The Snow Spider. This one focuses more on character development, bringing in characteres from the previous book and expanding on them and their relationships to their own families, to Gwyn and to the Welsh community in which they live.
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 | Chestnut Soldier (The Magician Trilogy) by Jenny Nimmo
Buy new: $9.99 / Used from: $2.75 Each of these books is so different from the others. This one unites Gwyn and Nia (from Emlyn's moon) as central characters in a mystery from the recent and ancient past. These books are really fabulous. I listened to the entire trilogy on audio read by John Keating, a really wonderful reader.
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 | Sabriel (The Abhorsen Trilogy) by Garth Nix
Buy new: $7.99 / Used from: $0.01 The Abhorsen Trilogy cover art is by the same artists who illustrated Monica Furlong's Juniper, Wisechild and Coleman. If you loved those books as much as I did, that alone might be enough to make you read these books. But the novels themselves are incredible. Extremely dark, but Nix has created a world that is so well-developed that all its morbid elements seem like a given.
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 | Lirael: Daughter of the Clayr by Garth Nix
Buy new: $7.99 / Used from: $0.01 The characters in this book are complex enough to be lovable at times and infuriating at others, but the plot is wonderful, and this book combines the fast-paced adventure of Sabriel with an arresting interiority of character. If you are a librarian, you will doubtless have an especially weak spot for Lirael.
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 | The Singer of All Songs: The Chanters of Tremaris Trilogy, Book 1 (Chanters of Tremaris Trilogy) by Kate Constable
Buy used from: $2.98 |
 | The Waterless Sea: Chanters Of Tremaris, Book Two (Chanters of Tremaris Trilogy) by Kate Constable
Buy new: $5.99 / Used from: $2.95 |
 | The Tenth Power (Book 3 in the Chanters of Tremaris Trilogy) by Kate Constable
Buy new: $5.99 / Used from: $2.97 |
 | The Will Of The Empress by Tamora Pierce
Buy used from: $3.46 I don't know how it took me so long to get to Tamora Pierce. I've read 5 of hers in the last few months, and this one is my favorite. You need not read the individual books about each character before reading this. In fact, it might serve as a good introduction.
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 | Melting Stones (Circle Reforged) by Tamora Pierce
Buy new: $12.23 / Used from: $12.67 Really weird! But a lot of fun. I guess it is extremely notable that this book was first released as an audiobook, which means it was written geared toward many voices.
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 | Trickster's Choice (Daughter of the Lioness, Book 1) by Tamora Pierce
Buy new: $8.95 / Used from: $0.33 A really smart and intriguing character thrown into a very complex plot. Pierce's worlds really do have their own politics, culture, etc.
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 | Trickster's Queen (Aliane) by Tamora Pierce
Buy new: $8.95 / Used from: $1.65 Fun so far!
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 | Wild Magic (The Immortals) by Tamora Pierce
Buy new: $9.59 / Used from: $2.00 On the weirder side, like Melting Stones. Still a fun read, especially the latter half.
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 | The Dream-Maker's Magic by Sharon Shinn
Buy new: $11.55 / Used from: $2.76 I like this as much as I liked The Safe-Keeper's Secret. There is a quality of Shinn's world in this series that feels like it is frozen in a very real historical time that for me is somewhat like Orson Scott Card's Alan Maker series.
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