Happy Birthday, Harry!

In lieu of Harry Potter's birthday today, I've decided to compile a list of some of my personal favorite stories featuring magic, some nonsensical, some more serious, some just fun, to overflow your days with delight. Of course they can't compete with Harry Potter, but they are still fantastic and worth a read! So go grab a mug of Butterbeer and pull out your to-read list. 


1. The Two Sisters of Bamarre by Gail Carson Levine 
I adore this book! It's the tale of two girls, one of whom must fight her fears, specters, and dragons to save her sister's life. Magical gadgets and creatures dot this story, but the real magic is the sisters' love for each other.  

2. Dragon Slippers by Jessica Day George 
This is a lighthearted, whimsical story of a girl who's captured by a dragon. She eventually becomes friends with another dragon as she's on her way to the city to find a job as a seamstress. There's not much magic in this book but the dragons and the slippers, but it's a lively read! The adventure continues in Dragon Flight and Dragon Spear, both equally entertaining and rife with action. 

3. Stardust by Neil Gaiman 
I read this book this year for the first time, and loved it. I enjoyed it more than Neverwhere by him, which was a lot stranger and creepier. The magic in Stardust rotates around the world of fairy and the boy who travels through it looking for the fallen star to give to his girlfriend. This world is definitely worth getting lost in. 


4. Sorcery and Cecilia by Patricia Wrede and Caroline Stevermer
This is not my favorite magical book or series (yes, it's one of those), due to an under-developed plot or something else; I'm not quite sure. However, it is a magical tale that takes place in Victorian England, so I give it points for that unique twist. It's also an epistolary novel, written as letters between two friends. So, if you're longing to read something in a different format, this novel's for your eyes. 


5. All the Crooked Saints by Maggie Stiefvater 
This novel will have a place on my bookshelf as long as I have one (so, forever). It's full of magical realism, a magic that takes the contemporary world and turns it upside down so you, the reader can find your own miracle. See my full review here. 

6. The Frog Princess by E.D. Baker 
This is another jocund tale that I loved (and probably would still love if I re-read it) when I was a child. Instead of turning a frog back into a prince when she kisses it, the main character changes into a frog herself! This is a great twist on the fairy tale and riveting as the frustrated frogs venture to find the witch who cast this curse in order to break it. There are also many books in the same series, all easy reads. 

7. A Wizard of Earthsea by Ursula Le Guin 
If you need a taste of more serious magic, you might find it in Wizard of Earthsea. It follows a young wizard who is being chased by something sinister and evil. This book chased me too, to lunchtime, to my bed, as the events became more thrilling and dangerous. 


8. The Eye of the World (Wheel of Time series) by Robert Jordan 
I'm not sure yet if this series is one of my favorite magical books. I haven't finished it yet, and I've been listening to it for two years. In my defense, I only listen to it when I wash the dishes, and the series is looong: fourteen novels, dicken-sized (each one). So beware before diving into this monstrosity. Despite some irritating characters and mountains of detail, the series is well-written with a very believable magic system and well-built world. 

9. Mistborn by Brandon Sanderson 
Sanderson is the king of magical systems; each one in his novels are well-defined with specific rules and consequences. The one in the Mistborn series focuses on people with the ability to perform magical feats based off of burning different metals. It's a unique concept, and well-done. 

10. Eragon by Christopher Paolini 
More dragons! I appreciate and applaud Paolini for his dragons more than probably any other author who has written about them. His are the most detailed, the most wise and powerful. Their relationship with each other and humans is fascinating and complex. If you love the fire-breathing species, you can't read any other book about them until you read this one!