I’ve always loved portal fantasy. The idea that you could go on this great adventure and be transported into another world, really speaks to my inner child. That’s why I write portal fantasy. I wanted to create a series of worlds that could give readers a place to escape to. My therapist tells me to “speak” to the child version of myself. My books are my way of doing that. I get to give my child self a place to escape to, a grand adventure to go on, and a large cast of characters to call family. I hope the books on this list help you escape into a great adventure too!
I grew up in an extremely poor and abusive household. To escape what was going on around me, I read a lot as a kid. I remember the day that the first Harry Potter book came out. I was the same age as Harry back then and I wanted so desperately to leave my world behind, just like Harry. That series got me through the worst times in my life.
Galloping gargoyles ... 2022 is the silver anniversary of J.K. Rowling's magical classic Harry Potter and the Philosopher's Stone!
The boy wizard Harry Potter has been casting a spell over young readers and their families ever since 1997. Now the first book in this unmissable series celebrates 25 years in print! The paperback edition of the tale that introduced us to Harry, Ron and Hermione has been updated and dressed in silver to mark the occasion. It's time to take the magical journey of a lifetime ...
Harry Potter has never even heard of Hogwarts when the letters start dropping…
I love Alice’s Adventures in Wonderland. The odd characters that Alice comes in contact with and the strangeness of the world she transports to is something I have always found fascinating. The world is unique, which is something I strive for in my writing as well. I spend a lot of time world building for my books and this book is what really showed me the benefits of having a unique and interesting world.
Alice's Adventures in Wonderland (commonly shortened to Alice in Wonderland) is an 1865 novel by English author Lewis Carroll (the pseudonym of Charles Dodgson). It tells of a young girl named Alice, who falls through a rabbit hole into a subterranean fantasy world populated by peculiar, anthropomorphic creatures. It is considered to be one of the best examples of the literary nonsense genre. The tale plays with logic, giving the story lasting popularity with adults as well as with children.
One of the best-known and most popular works of English-language fiction, its narrative, structure, characters and imagery have been enormously…
This climate fiction novel follows four generations of women and their battles against a global giant that controls and manipulates Earth’s water. Told mostly through a diary and drawing on scientific observation and personal reflection, Lynna’s story unfolds incrementally, like climate change itself. Her gritty memoir describes a near-future Toronto…
I always thought the concept of Coraline was really cool. The idea that there is a world that is similar to ours but different. I sometimes felt like that as a kid, that if I could find my way back to the real world, things would get better. I also really like the dark side of Coraline, the idea of weaving in some horror aspects into a fantasy book really inspired me as an author.
"Sometimes funny, always creepy, genuinely moving, this marvellous spine-chiller will appeal to readers from nine to ninety." - "Books for Keeps". "I was looking forward to "Coraline", and I wasn't disappointed. In fact, I was enthralled. This is a marvellously strange and scary book." - Philip Pullman, "Guardian". "If any writer can get the guys to read about the girls, it should be Neil Gaiman. His new novel "Coraline" is a dreamlike adventure. For all its gripping nightmare imagery, this is actually a conventional fairy story with a moral." - "Daily Telegraph". Stephen King once called Neil Gaiman 'a treasure-house…
The Wizard of Oz is just a really great classic. I didn’t actually read the book until I was in high school, but I watched the movie every year on Halloween growing up. I learned a lot about character development through this book and how interesting and innovative characters can really pull a story together.
Robert Sabuda has created a resplendent pop-up version of The Wonderful Wizard of Oz to celebrate the 100th anniversary of the original publication. This glorious edition is told in a shorter version of L. Frank Baum's original text, with artwork in the style of W. W. Denslow. With sparkling touches of colored foil and Emerald City eyeglasses, this classic tale is certain to find an honored place on the family bookshelf.
Who was the man who would become Caesar's lieutenant, Brutus' rival, Cleopatra's lover, and Octavian's enemy?
When his stepfather is executed for his involvement in the Catilinarian conspiracy, Mark Antony and his family are disgraced. His adolescence is marked by scandal and mischief, his love affairs are fleeting, and yet,…
The Neverending Story was always one of my favorites growing up. The idea that a kid could get pulled into this amazing world full of adventure really spoke to me as a kid (I’m sure you’re starting to see the theme here). I loved that I could follow along and it felt like I was also going on these grand adventures.
Read the book that inspired the classic coming-of-age film! From award-winning German author Michael Ende, The Neverending Story is a classic tale of one boy and the book that magically comes to life.
When Bastian happens upon an old book called The Neverending Story, he's swept into the magical world of Fantastica--so much that he finds he has actually become a character in the story! And when he realizes that this mysteriously enchanted world is in great danger, he also discovers that he is the one chosen to save it. Can Bastian overcome the barrier between reality and his imagination…
A strange coin. A mysterious elevator. And a war deep within the Earth that could destroy the world.
If you like Cassandra Clare, Quantum Leap, and Lindsay Buroker, you'll love this hilarious portal fiction adventure full of snark, sass, and one curious little robot boy.
Maximilian Tundra is about to have an existential crisis of cosmic proportions.
When a physical duplicate of him appears in his living room, wearing a tight-fitting silver lamé unitard and speaking with an English accent, Max knows something bad is about to happen. Bad doesn’t cover it. Max discovers he’s…
A retired English teacher has come home to Appalachia, a land of industrial disaster and natural beauty. He has been enticed with stories of Wildcat’s transformation: of the collective action embodied in Hotel Wildcat as well as the artisanal pursuits springing to life in the old iron mill. But in…
