Why am I passionate about this?

As a fantasy author, I have always been drawn to magic and alternative universes as a way of exploring the issues that seem unsolvable here on earth. We are so entrenched in our own ways of seeing the world that it can be hard to imagine looking at things from a different perspective, but twisting these ideas sideways and adding a dash of magic can remind us that everything exists in shades of grey. Teenagers are learning to think abstractly and explore their own relationships with ethics, and I have vivid memories of being drawn to moral ambiguity at that age. 


I wrote

The Natural Order

By R.J. Vickers,

Book cover of The Natural Order

What is my book about?

When Tristan Fairholm is invited to study at the Underground Academy, he thinks he’s being transferred to a more secure…

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The books I picked & why

Book cover of Harry Potter and the Order of the Phoenix

R.J. Vickers Why did I love this book?

After starting out as a more straightforward magical adventure, the Harry Potter series begins digging deeper into the murkiness of good and evil in Book 5. Harry himself is an unquestionably “good” person, who makes the right decision even if it’s difficult, so he provides a fitting contrast for other characters who aren’t so clean-cut. 

Though it’s now common knowledge, I can still remember how the scene where Harry sees his father bullying Snape in the Pensieve shook me to the core. Harry’s father had always been portrayed as a paragon of good, a true hero, while Snape was nothing more than a bully. As the series continues, Harry is forced to come to terms with the moral ambiguity of more than one character, most prominently Dumbledore. And Rowling provides no answers, instead leaving readers to debate endlessly over these questions.

By J.K. Rowling,

Why should I read it?

6 authors picked Harry Potter and the Order of the Phoenix as one of their favorite books, and they share why you should read it. This book is for kids age 10, 11, 12, and 13.

What is this book about?

The fifth adventure in the spellbinding Harry Potter saga - the series that changed the world of books forever Dark times have come to Hogwarts. After the Dementors' attack on his cousin Dudley, Harry Potter knows that Voldemort will stop at nothing to find him. There are many who deny the Dark Lord's return, but Harry is not alone: a secret order gathers at Grimmauld Place to fight against the Dark forces. Harry must allow Professor Snape to teach him how to protect himself from Voldemort's savage assaults on his mind. But they are growing stronger by the day and…


Book cover of The Penultimate Peril

R.J. Vickers Why did I love this book?

A Series of Unfortunate Events begins by pitting the Baudelaires against the evil Count Olaf and his henchmen, escaping time and time again from his villainous schemes. But as the series progresses, good and evil begin to blur. The Baudelaires are forced to do things they would have previously considered evil (lighting fires, lying), while they learn that V.F.D. is not the noble organization they had once thought. 

Towards the end of the series, the moral ambiguity grows starker than ever, and in The Penultimate Peril, the Baudelaires find themselves facilitating an evil scheme in the process of trying to disguise themselves. Though aimed at younger readers, these books are very cleverly written, with plenty of hidden meanings that I’ve enjoyed rediscovering as an adult! 

By Lemony Snicket,

Why should I read it?

1 author picked The Penultimate Peril as one of their favorite books, and they share why you should read it. This book is for kids age 8, 9, 10, and 11.

What is this book about?

Dear reader,

There is nothing to be found in Lemony Snicket's 'A Series of Unfortunate Events' but misery and despair. You still have time to choose another international best-selling series to read. But if you insist on discovering the unpleasant adventures of the Baudelaire orphans, then proceed with caution...

Violet, Klaus, and Sunny Baudelaire are intelligent children. They are charming, and resourceful, and have pleasant facial features. Unfortunately, they are exceptionally unlucky.

In The Penultimate Peril, the siblings face a harpoon gun, a rooftop sunbathing salon, two mysterious initials, three unidentified triplets, a notorious villain, and an unsavoury curry...

In…


Book cover of The Hunger Games

R.J. Vickers Why did I love this book?

The very premise of this trilogy is chilling—a staged battle where children fight one another to the death—and it’s hard to see how a noble character could have any part in this. But Katniss volunteers out of the selfless desire to save her sister, which creates the immediate question of how someone that kind-hearted could participate in such a horrific spectacle. 

I remember reading with apprehension about Katniss’s burgeoning friendships, because I knew she would have to kill or be killed in the end. How would she reconcile what she was forced to do with her own humanity? 

When the games begin, Katniss creates emotional distance by treating the career tributes—those who train from a young age for the hunger games—differently from those who were forced into the games against their will. But in the end, it comes down to Katniss and Peeta, the closest of her competitors. She can’t bring herself to kill him…but the game makers give her no choice.

By Suzanne Collins,

Why should I read it?

53 authors picked The Hunger Games as one of their favorite books, and they share why you should read it. This book is for kids age 12, 13, 14, and 15.

What is this book about?

Sixteen-year-old Katniss Everdeen regards it as a death sentence when she is forced to represent her district in the annual Hunger Games, a fight to the death on live TV. But Katniss has been close to death before - and survival, for her, is second nature. The Hunger Games is a searing novel set in a future with unsettling parallels to our present. Welcome to the deadliest reality TV show ever...


Book cover of Skyward

R.J. Vickers Why did I love this book?

At the beginning, readers are drawn into an exciting world where humans battle to save their desolate planet from an alien race. But in typical Brandon Sanderson fashion, good and evil are not clear-cut, and the conflict soon grows far more complex. 

As the series progresses, the main character, Spensa, discovers that the battle for her planet is not as straightforward as she had once thought, and that the aliens she had fought were neither uniform nor uniformly evil. When she infiltrates an alien homeland in Book 2, Spensa is forced to question her original assumptions about who deserves to be saved—not just humans, but maybe also some alien races and even artificially intelligent beings. 

By Brandon Sanderson,

Why should I read it?

3 authors picked Skyward as one of their favorite books, and they share why you should read it. This book is for kids age 12, 13, 14, and 15.

What is this book about?

Spensa's world has been under attack for hundreds of years. An alien race called the Krell leads onslaught after onslaught from the sky in a never-ending campaign to destroy humankind. Humanity's only defense is to take to their ships and fight the enemy in the skies. Pilots have become the heroes of what's left of the human race.

Spensa has always dreamed of being one of them; of soaring above Earth and proving her bravery. But her fate is intertwined with her father's - a pilot who was killed years ago when he abruptly deserted his team, placing Spensa's chances…


Book cover of Ender's Game

R.J. Vickers Why did I love this book?

Ender’s Game follows the development of a young genius as he learns to fight the alien race threatening humanity. As he advances through the ranks, Ender begins to fight in battle simulations with the help of his team. 

But when he wins a major battle, he learns the simulations were real, and he has now destroyed the alien race. This horrifies him, and readers are left grappling with the moral question of what it means for Ender that he has participated in such large-scale slaughter without knowing what he was doing.   

By Orson Scott Card,

Why should I read it?

20 authors picked Ender's Game as one of their favorite books, and they share why you should read it. This book is for kids age 12, 13, 14, and 15.

What is this book about?

Orson Scott Card's science fiction classic Ender's Game is the winner of the 1985 Nebula Award for Best Novel and the 1986 Hugo Award for Best Novel.

In order to develop a secure defense against a hostile alien race's next attack, government agencies breed child geniuses and train them as soldiers. A brilliant young boy, Andrew "Ender" Wiggin lives with his kind but distant parents, his sadistic brother Peter, and the person he loves more than anyone else, his sister Valentine. Peter and Valentine were candidates for the soldier-training program but didn't make the cut―young Ender is the Wiggin drafted…


Explore my book 😀

The Natural Order

By R.J. Vickers,

Book cover of The Natural Order

What is my book about?

When Tristan Fairholm is invited to study at the Underground Academy, he thinks he’s being transferred to a more secure juvenile detention center. But something doesn’t seem right about this new academy. For one, it’s hidden away in the Canadian Rockies, where no one can find it. For another, all fifteen students have a criminal record. Oh—and they’re studying magic.

As he learns to extract and shape raw magic, Tristan finds unexpected friendships in his fellow students. But the more he learns, the more the mysteries pile up. Why did the Underground Academy recruit juvenile offenders? Why are the students harvesting mountains of raw magic, if they rarely get a chance to use it? And who is sabotaging their school?

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Serendipity

By Maria de Fátima Santos,

Book cover of Serendipity

Maria de Fátima Santos Author Of Serendipity

New book alert!

Why am I passionate about this?

Author

Maria's 3 favorite reads in 2024

What is my book about?

Serendipity is a magical story told by a grandmother to a granddaughter, introducing us to the traditional way of living of the Scottish Travellers and their Cant language.

A fantasy tale for children of 8 years old and older inspired by three real places in Scotland. Serendipity takes us to Helge's Hole in Forres, the Hermitage Forest in Dunkeld, and Glen Lyon in Perth on a quest for Truth, Beauty, and Goodness. It's a story of a grandmother's greater love for a granddaughter, a mother for a daughter, and the boundless bounty of the natural realm for each one of…

Serendipity

By Maria de Fátima Santos,

What is this book about?

Not so long ago, nomadic communities in Scotland told stories around camp fires and slept in bow tents made of hazel and canvas. In this book, their culture is introduced through Cant's vocabulary, a dialect spoken by Scottish travellers. Following them, Serendipity takes you to Helge's Hole in Forres, Hermitage Forest in Dunkeld, and Glen Lyon in Perth, meandering through the valleys and cragged peaks of the Scottish Highlands, in a quest for Truth, Beauty and Goodness.

Dive into Scottish culture as the old grandmother, Julia, recounts to her granddaughter Gaia the tale of a little girl of pure heart.…


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