Lazarus52980 Posted October 26, 2015 Posted October 26, 2015 My 10 year old has really enjoyed reading the Alcatraz series and is now looking for other similar books. Does anyone here have any recommendations on books or authors that are of a similar level and style? (No one is the equal of Mr. Sanderson, but perhaps someone close?) 2
Left he/him Posted October 26, 2015 Posted October 26, 2015 The Name of This Book is a Secret by Pseudonymous Bosch series is pretty good.
Lazarus52980 Posted October 26, 2015 Author Posted October 26, 2015 That series seemed solid and I purchased the whole 5 book set. Any other recommendations?
king of nowhere Posted October 26, 2015 Posted October 26, 2015 terry pratchett is a good choice, and it has some stylistical similarities to alcatraz - namely, the deaddpan snarker writing style
Lazarus52980 Posted October 29, 2015 Author Posted October 29, 2015 Isn't Pratchett a "higher" reading level than the Alcatraz series?
Mestiv he/him Posted October 29, 2015 Posted October 29, 2015 As far as I remember Pratchett uses more difficult words. I'm not a native speaker, so I sometimes had trouble understanding what is going on. I didn't have such problem with Alcatraz. However, I tried Pratchett (in English) when I was 15, and Alcatraz when I was 25... So yeah, my English probably got much better in those 10 years
Left he/him Posted October 29, 2015 Posted October 29, 2015 If you wanted to let him try Pratchett, I would read through it first, just to see if content levels are appropriate in your opinion. I don't know that the words would be too hard, but the humor probably would be. 1
Lazarus52980 Posted January 18, 2016 Author Posted January 18, 2016 Ok, we're done with "The name of this book is a secret" series, and the "Janitors" series by Tyler Whitesides (That one was enjoyed a lot). Other than Pratchet, anyone else have books that are similar in style and/or content to Alcatraz? 1
Ookla the Absent Posted January 27, 2016 Posted January 27, 2016 I liked the Janitors series a lot. The secret series was good, but I didn't have that great of an attention span back when I read it, so I only got through a couple of books. You'll have to tell me how it turns out, I guess. Yeah, the problem with Pratchett is the humor gets rather... older than I would recommend for any 10 year old. I just read another of his books, The Carpet People, and that was pretty good. I'd reccomend that to a child. Umm... other books... Has he read Percy Jackson and the Olympians series? That one's really good, but don't let him get into any of Riordan's other series. They're truly a waste of time. But that one was phenomenal. A Wrinkle in Time? It's a classically weird book, no idea how old the intended audience is though. I read it when I was like eight... but it's probably for a bit older... Honestly, I've always been a really good reader, so I don't know what's too much for a ten year old. If I think of a series, though, I'll post it here.
Sunbird she/her Posted January 30, 2016 Posted January 30, 2016 I second the Percy Jackson recommendation, but I disagree with the negative assessment of Rick Riordan's other books. I have enjoyed them all very much, particularly Magnus Chase. Another middle-grade series that I've enjoyed is the Origami Yoda books by Tom Angleberger. They're quirky and silly kind of like Alcatraz, but deal with middle schoolers in the real world. (And, obviously, there is much Star Wars involved.) If your son liked the Janitors series, I would also recommend the Cragbridge Hall trilogy by Chad Morris. There's a good deal of silliness in these books as well, and the author kept surprising me with awesome plot twists.
ecohansen Posted January 30, 2016 Posted January 30, 2016 M.T. Anderrson's series starting with Whales on Stilts has a similar frenetic awesomeness.
CarolaDavar she/her Posted February 1, 2016 Posted February 1, 2016 Janitors, Anything by Brandon MULL... I don't know about anything else 1
Sunbird she/her Posted February 6, 2016 Posted February 6, 2016 Janitors, Anything by Brandon MULL... I don't know about anything else Yes! Brandon Mull! His writing is less crazy than that of Alcatraz, but he is also really creative with his magic. Both the Fablehaven and Beyonders series were fantastic, and I've been enjoying his Five Kingdoms books as well. Actually, if you want something by Brandon Mull that's crazy, try The Candy Shop War and its sequel, The Arcade Catastrophe. Magic candy makes for a lot of funny situations.
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