Which Sanderson Book Next?

[Philomath she/her]

Okay all. I need a little help deciding which Sanderson book to give my 10.5 year old next. He’s read all Skyward, Tress, and Yumi. He is a little bit sensitive so I worry about having him jump into the harder hitting cosmere books next (Mistborn Era 1 or Warbreaker and definitely not Stormlight yet). And I can’t personally in good conscience have him read Mistborn Era 2 before Era 1 even though I think he would be fine reading those. So do we think Elantris, Emperor’s Soul, Sunlit Man, or Reckoners series would be the next best one? Or do I stop overthinking it and dive into Era 1 with him?

[Little_Dagger she/her]

How about Rithmatist? It may be a better fit for his age. The Alcatraz series is fun too.

Edited January 15, 2024 by Little._.Dagger

[Quantus he/him]

Reckoners is really good but might be on the darker side of YA for a 10yo. It opens with some paternal death (not sure where it falls on the Disney Scale?) and then timeskips past the complete collapse of western civilization, so it had a dark feel to me just because it's mostly set in city-states ruled by supervillain despots but with places I recognized (rather than just being some fantasy setting or whatever).  

 

Anyone have an opinion on Frugal Wizard?  I havent read it yet so I dont know where it falls on the maturity spectrum.  

[Ravenclawjedi42]

I’d also recommend Rithmatist, it’s one of my favorite books by him. I would wait maybe another year or so before he reads Mistborn.

[alder24]

2 hours ago, Philomath said:

Okay all. I need a little help deciding which Sanderson book to give my 10.5 year old next. He’s read all Skyward, Tress, and Yumi. He is a little bit sensitive so I worry about having him jump into the harder hitting cosmere books next (Mistborn Era 1 or Warbreaker and definitely not Stormlight yet). And I can’t personally in good conscience have him read Mistborn Era 2 before Era 1 even though I think he would be fine reading those. So do we think Elantris, Emperor’s Soul, Sunlit Man, or Reckoners series would be the next best one? Or do I stop overthinking it and dive into Era 1 with him?

What about Alcatraz Versus the Evil Librarians? It's a series aiming for this age range and it's very fun to read. 

Elantris and the Emperor's Soul feel ok, Rithmatist is a great fit. Reckoners starts a bit dark and is set in the post apocalyptic world, but I don't think it's hard hitting. It's quite fun, especially if your kid likes superheroes/supervillains. I think it's fine. 

 

31 minutes ago, Quantus said:

It opens with some paternal death (not sure where it falls on the Disney Scale?)

That's a Disney classic then  

58 minutes ago, Quantus said:

Anyone have an opinion on Frugal Wizard?  I havent read it yet so I dont know where it falls on the maturity spectrum.  

In my opinion it's more or less in the same tone as Tress and Yumi. Closer to Nikaro than Yumi/Tress. TSM is higher on that scale. 

[Quantus he/him]

3 minutes ago, alder24 said:

That's a Disney classic then  

 

It's what they do.  In my mind the scale is roughly "Died Before the Opening" to "Mufasa", with Bambi's Mom being a rough middle point. 

[Green Hoodie Mistborn he/him]

I'd give them the Alcatraz books, they're awesome for kids. My 9 almost 10 yo is reading through them right now

Frugal wizard is a bit weird as it deals with some pretty adult stuff towards the end of it but might be ok depending on the kid

[Philomath she/her]

Thanks everyone! We decided to go with Alcatraz. I think he would enjoy Rithmatist too, but I hesitate since it really was written to have a sequel that doesn’t exist. Still a good story that we might come back to after Alcatraz and maybe Reckoners.