What to Read Next Based on Your Favorite Books of Childhood
One of the joys of being a lifelong reader is going back to childhood favorites and remembering why you love them. But another perk is finding new books that pick up the thread of tales you loved when you were younger. If you’re just graduating from the kids’ section of the bookstore (or simply love YA, like me!), here are some novels that will feel like the upgraded versions of your favorite children’s lit reads.
If you like Louise Fitzhugh’s Harriet the Spy, then read The Murder of Bindy Mackenzie, by Jaclyn Moriarty
What’s better than a girl who goes around writing down deliciously blunt observations about her friends and classmates, documenting everything that happens to/around her and eventually stumbling into a mystery that puts her life on the line? My love for Harriet, whom I often emulated as a child by lurking around corners in my house and taking notes while my mom cooked, made loving Bindy a natural progression. A sequel of sorts to The Year of Secret Assignments, this story’s pieces—ostensibly a documentation of an over-achieving high school girl’s life—come together to reveal that practically perfect Bindy is, in fact, in grave danger of becoming victim to a murderer.
If you like Roald Dahl’s Matilda, then read Fangirl, by Rainbow Rowell
When telekinetic prodigy Matilda Wormwood triumphs over the evil Trunchbull and gets to stay with sweet Miss Honey at the end of her eponymously titled book, we all cheer. Who wouldn’t be happy to watch a fellow reader, unfairly punished for being different, come out on top? Now, what if Matilda never had magic powers to begin with, and instead of violently evil antagonists, she’s battling things like being separated from her twin sister for the first time (at that sister’s insistence), learning to forgive their mother for abandoning them, and finding her true voice? And, if you really feel like you’d miss the magic, what if there were a Harry Potter-esque story happening in the background? You get all of that and so much more in Rowell’s Fangirl. Cath is a prolific fan-fiction writer who loves to lose herself in her favorite books, and there’s not a doubt in my mind that she is the YA world’s answer to Roald Dahl’s classic heroine.
If you like Norton Juster’s The Phantom Tollbooth, then read Haroun and the Sea of Stories, by Salman Rushdie
There are so many things to love about The Phantom Tollbooth, but if I had to pick, the standouts are its humor and the fantastic journey main character Milo embarks on. Rushdie’s inventive books pick up this thread quite nicely: imagine reading a story about the Kingdom of Wisdom from Phantom Tollbooth and following one of its smart, adventurous characters instead of Milo. Much as Milo and his companions navigate turns of phrase made literal, Haroun and his compatriots encounter such adventures as the crossing of Dull Lake, where low spirits bring a Mist of Misery down, requiring positive thinking to vanquish it. It’s like these books are spiritual twins! Rushdie’s tales might just ride the cusp of YA, but I think they’ll dazzle readers of any age.
If you like Maurice Sendak’s Where the Wild Things Are, then read A Monster Calls, by Patrick Ness
Many people hold a soft spot for Where the Wild Things Are, and Patrick Ness’s book mirrors it in a lot of ways. Both are stories about a boy who meets a monster. Where they differ is the fact that Ness’s boy’s monster is a manifestation of the fear of his mother’s impending death due to illness. And instead of the story taking place fully in this monster’s world, it follows the main character as he tries to navigate his soon-to-be motherless life and fight off the intrusions of his monster. It’s a heart-wrenching story that will probably leave you in a pile of tears, and that’s exactly why you should read it.
If you like J.K. Rowling’s Harry Potter and C.S. Lewis’s Chronicles of Narnia, then read The Magicians trilogy, by Lev Grossman
This is probably straight-up cheating. Grossman’s books may be entirely outside the YA spectrum, sitting comfortably within the adult fantasy realm, but when they evoke “Harry Potter attends magic college then literally goes to Narnia” vibes, how could I leave them off the list? The Magicians trilogy calls upon so many elements of these two great children’s series while adding wildly imaginative touches of their own and elevating the tone and plots to more mature, expansive levels. Protagonist Quentin may not be the Chosen One, but he’s the perfect avatar for exploring what happens when you get everything you’ve ever wanted and realize it’s still not enough to fix you.