Here are 74 books that The Changeover fans have personally recommended if you like
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I’m an award-winning and USA Today Best-Selling author whose work includes everything from short stories in school journals to horror and epic fantasy. But I’ve long been obsessed with books that work as well for adults as they do for children. The prose must be beautiful and designed to read aloud; the plot must be on point, and the characters must be compelling. And all of this with a PG rating. A tricky ask, even when the authors haven’t added Easter egg extras for adults. It’s because of this that I believe these are some of the best fantasy books ever written. So, enjoy!
“Doors are very powerful things. Things are different on either side of them”’
I love this quote. There’s nothing like the threshold of a door when it comes to story magic! It’s steeped in tradition since long before Roman times. And Diana Wynne Jones is the underrated Queen of this whimsical genre. Her words flow so beautifully, and not only that, her characters are the cutest. I fell in love with Calcifer, the little fire demon, and the headstrong Sophie.
Now an animated movie from Studio Ghibli and Hayao Miyazaki, the oscar-winning director of Spirited Away
In this beloved modern classic, young Sophie Hatter from the land of Ingary catches the unwelcome attention of the Witch of the Waste and is put under a spell...
Deciding she has nothing more to lose, Sophie makes her way to the moving castle that hovers on the hills above her town, Market Chipping. But the castle belongs to the dreaded Wizard Howl, whose appetite, they say, is satisfied only by the souls of young girls...
There Sophie meets Michael, Howl's apprentice, and Calcifer…
Mixing the magical with everyday life is part of my Louisiana culture. Our history is a rich gumbo of legends from Indigenous peoples, Africa, the Caribbean, Spain, and France. So, as a child, hearing stories of the supernatural didn’t seem abnormal at all. I was ten years old when I became hooked on supernatural suspense. I voraciously read Agatha Christie's mysteries and spooky comic books. The comic book sleuths were sometimes as scary as the villains they chased. And I loved every page. What fun I had during summer school breaks! If you’re like me and love mysteries with paranormal twists, dive in. You won’t be disappointed in this list.
I was instantly pulled into this first book in the Rivers of London series because of the main character. I found Constable Peter Grant to be delightfully awkward. His very much unwanted ability to see and speak to lingering spirits results in his assignment to a secret police unit that investigates crimes involving magic.
He’s stunned to meet gods, goddesses, and more fantastic beings who exist in a hidden world alongside mortals. I loved meeting all of the engaging characters, normal and supernatural. I was totally engaged in the believable world created by the author, where the ordinary ticks beside the extraordinary. Even better, the humorous situations Peter stumbles into as he chases down whodunit made me laugh out loud.
Book 1 in the Rivers of London series, from Sunday Times Number One bestselling author Ben Aaronovitch.
My name is Peter Grant, and I used to be a probationary constable in that mighty army for justice known to all right-thinking people as the Metropolitan Police Service, and to everyone else as the Filth.
My story really begins when I tried to take a witness statement from a man who was already dead...
Probationary Constable Peter Grant dreams of being a detective in London's Metropolitan Police. After taking a statement from an eyewitness who happens to be a ghost, Peter comes…
I was an avid reader as a child. Then I became a teenager and started hating it! Why? Because the teachers at school started pushing classical literature on me. I didn’t read for years until a friend introduced me to fantasy. I fell in love and haven’t looked back. I love commercial fantasy fiction that has lots of action, where the writer focuses less on elegant prose and more on plot and characters. I aim to write the kind of books that readers get addicted to, where they can disappear into another world and forget they are reading – the kind of books I love to read!
The main character in this book is a badass, snarky, strong female lead and I fell in love with her immediately. But I also loved the humour in this book.
Annette Marie is particularly good at creating humourous dialogue and she did it so well in this book. There is also a reverse harem type of feel with several mages all of whom are kind of competing for the attention of the lead character.
However, unlike some reverse harem series on the market, this one is very clean with light romance – the plot is more focused around mystery-solving and action, my favourite combination! I tore through the entire series in a few weeks. Highly addictive reading!
Broke, almost homeless, and recently fired. Those are my official reasons for answering a wanted ad for a skeevy-looking bartender gig.
It went downhill the moment they asked me to do a trial shift instead of an interview — to see if I'd mesh with their "special" clientele. I think that part went great. Their customers were complete dickheads, and I was an asshole right back. That's the definition of fitting in, right?
I expected to get thrown out on my ass. Instead, they… offered me the job?
It turns out this place isn't a bar. It's a guild. And…
I’ve always delighted in stories where characters find they are not quite who they thought. I love double identities, triple identities, dual roles, and mysterious extra names…so long as they are written so I can believe in them. My own family tree is full of people using names or personas that weren’t quite what one might expect, and I follow the tradition in that although there is just one of me, physically speaking, I wear a great many hats. I have also loved hidden identity TV and film, such as Nowhere Man, and the first iteration of Total Recall. Many of my own books deal with identity, and it was difficult to pick just one!
Princess Theresa-Maria has wonderful breeding but no money and little future in the crumbling Austrian castle where she lives with ancient relations. Rebranding herself as Tessa, our heroine becomes a wardrobe mistress, working for nothing for an opera company almost as destitute as she is. Tessa is much happier until she falls in love with a wealthy man…a poor-boy-made-good, who hires the company to delight his fiancée. With much melodrama, an unlikely pot of yogurt, a drastic haircut, a metaphorical silk purse, and a button, this story wends its opulent way to a happy ending. The hero’s foster mother, Martha, crawling about the castle as a self-ordered penance for telling fibs is a particularly odd moment, but whether she is being Theresa-Maria or plain Tessa, our heroine is a wistful, starry-eyed delight.
Tessa is a beautiful, tiny, dark-eyed princess - who's given up her duties to follow her heart, working for nothing backstage at the Viennese opera. No one there knows who she really is, or that a fairytale castle is missing its princess, and Tessa is determined to keep it that way.
But secret lives can be complicated. When a wealthy, handsome Englishman discovers this bewitching urchin backstage,Tessa's two lives collide - and in escaping her inheritance, she finds her destiny. . .
My family and I moved from America to Aotearoa New Zealand in 2019. As a children’s author, one of the best parts has been discovering a new world of literature. New Zealand is a very small country, so bookstores, libraries, and schools are filled with books from the U.S., the UK, Australia, and more. As one New Zealander so eloquently put it, “Kiwi kids read the world.” On the flip side, it’s extremely rare for books from New Zealand publishers to make it to other parts of the world, no matter how great they are. I hope this introduction to Kiwi KidLit makes you eager to seek out even more!
There’s no way to talk about Kiwi KidLit without acknowledging Margaret Mahy, New Zealand’s most celebrated children’s writer and the author of more than 120 books.
The Boy with Two Shadows is a classic from 1971 about a witch who entrusts a boy with her shadow for two weeks.
I love how the playful story and language have some bite—there’s a deliciously sharp edge here that you won’t find in picture books today. Add wonderfully retro illustrations by Jenny Williams, and you feel instantly transported to 1970s New Zealand.
There once was a little boy who took great care of his shadow...
One day a witch notices the care he has for his shadow and asks him to look after her shadow while she goes away on holiday. But minding a witch's shadow turns out to be more complicated than the boy ever imagined!Discover a magical and mischievous story about a boy, a witch and one cheeky shadow.From the celebrated children's writer Margaret Mahy and award-winning illustrator Sarah Greig.
I am a half-Mexican author who grew up in a tiny Alabama town, where I spent my summers playing with sticks in the woods and exploring such distinguished careers as Forest Bandit, Wayward Orphan, and Woodland Fairy Princess. After college, I ran away to New Zealand for seven months and only pretended to be a character from Lord of the Rings on special occasions. Nowadays, I live and work in South Carolina with my clingy (and, unfortunately, non-magical) cat.
This dark fantasy, about a powerful teenage witch who must travel to the eerie land of Los Lagos to rescue her family, is fast-paced and profoundly moving.
The magic, which is inspired by Mexican Brujería, is a beautiful tribute to a rich cultural history. There is a queer love triangle for any romance lover, but it doesn’t overshadow the exciting adventure and self-discovery at the heart of the story.
The first book in the Latinx-infused Queer fantasy series from highly acclaimed author Zoraida Cordova that follows three sisters-and teen witches-as they develop their powers and battle magic through epic questing in the realms beyond. Alex is a bruja and the most powerful witch in her family. But she's hated magic ever since it made her father disappear into thin air. So while most girls celebrate their Quinceanera, Alex prepares for her Deathday-the most important day in a bruja's life and her only opportunity to rid herself of magic. But the curse she performs during the ceremony backfires, and her…
My name is Kelly Fernández (she/her) and I’ve been making comics since 2014. I’vealways been fascinated by stories about ghosts, monsters, and witches because I grewup in a family that believes in them. While writing my graphic novel Manu,Iresearchedand spoke to Latinx friends and colleagues about their personal experiences withbrujería (the Spanish word for witchcraft) to try and learn more about it across differentcultures. I love comics because, like oral storytelling, it’s just another way for people toshare their stories with each other!
I’m a huge fan of Emily Carroll’s comic art, which is creepy, emotional, and perfectly echoes the tone of McCoola’s story. In this book, teenager Masha runs away from home to live with the terrifying, child-eating witch Baba Yaga. Luckily, Masha is able to impress the Baba Yaga with her wit and knowledge of Russian folklore. But when Masha’s little sister gets captured by the witch, Masha has to finally face the family troubles she’s been avoiding.
Russian folklore icon Baba Yaga mentors a lonely teen in a wry graphic novel that balances gleefully between the modern and the timeless.
Most children think twice before braving a haunted wood filled with terrifying beasties to match wits with a witch, but not Masha. Her beloved grandma taught her many things: that stories are useful, that magic is fickle, that nothing is too difficult or too dirty to clean. The fearsome witch of folklore needs an assistant, and Masha needs an adventure. She may be clever enough to enter Baba Yaga’s house-on-chicken-legs, but within its walls, deceit is the…
I’m a historian who wants to know: Why did people burn other people at the stake for what we think was an impossible crime? It seems so unjust; indeed it was unjust. I mention Amnesty International in my book; as well as being a professional historian, I’ve been writing letters for Amnesty for many years, trying to rectify injustice. Yet witch-hunting made sense to the perpetrators; they weren’t simply ‘wicked’ or ‘crazed’ or ‘ignorant’. We need to understand them on many levels, from the most erudite demonology, all the way down to psychological processes by which we identify enemies. The five books I’ve chosen move gradually downwards, in order, from the highest to the deepest level.
As well as the village witch, we have what might be called the ‘folkloric witch’, and other folkloric traditions.
When interrogators asked witchcraft suspects about the Devil, the answers sometimes surprised them. They uncovered beliefs about nature spirits, practices of magical healing and divination, and visionary experience of otherworlds.
Some of this material fed into ideas about the witches’ sabbat, but these beliefs, practices, and visions were not necessarily about ‘witchcraft’ at all. Ronald Hutton’s ambitious book surveys these beliefs, practices, and visions.
He ranges far back into the ancient history of Europe – and adjacent regions, exploring traditions of ceremonial magic from ancient Egypt. If the idea of the witch is frightening, it is partly because of the folklore brought together in this book.
Why have societies all across the world feared witchcraft? This book delves deeply into its context, beliefs, and origins in Europe's history
"Traces the idea of witches far beyond the Salem witch trials to beliefs and attitudes about witches around the world throughout history."-Los Angeles Times
The witch came to prominence-and often a painful death-in early modern Europe, yet her origins are much more geographically diverse and historically deep. In this landmark book, Ronald Hutton traces witchcraft from the ancient world to the early-modern stake.
This book sets the notorious European witch trials in the widest and deepest possible perspective…
My name is Kelly Fernández (she/her) and I’ve been making comics since 2014. I’vealways been fascinated by stories about ghosts, monsters, and witches because I grewup in a family that believes in them. While writing my graphic novel Manu,Iresearchedand spoke to Latinx friends and colleagues about their personal experiences withbrujería (the Spanish word for witchcraft) to try and learn more about it across differentcultures. I love comics because, like oral storytelling, it’s just another way for people toshare their stories with each other!
This is a funny and beautifully drawn love story about two preteen witches– What elsecan you ask for? Beetle is a goblin living in a magical world and studying sorcery underher grandmother. The fast-paced plot revolves around her and her childhood BFF Kattrying to free Blob Ghost, who is spiritually bound to a local mall that is about to bedemolished. Beetle and Kat sweetly and awkwardly fumble around as they try to solvethe mystery behind Blob Ghost, and watching them navigate their feelings and workthrough their insecurities is the highlight of this book.
An enchanting, riotous, and playfully illustrated debut graphic novel following a young goblin trying to save her best friend from the haunted mall—perfect for fans of Steven Universe and Adventure Time.
In the eerie town of ‘Allows, some people get to be magical sorceresses, while other people have their spirits trapped in the mall for all ghastly eternity.
Then there’s twelve-year-old goblin-witch Beetle, who’s caught in between. She’d rather skip being homeschooled completely and spend time with her best friend, Blob Glost. But the mall is getting boring, and B.G. is cursed to haunt it, tethered…
Throughout my childhood, my mother repeated the mantra, “Love your own, leave others alone.” Her purpose was to prevent me and my siblings from begging to keep every animal we saw. Arguably, the phrase had some impact because we obviously didn’t bring home every animal. (But we also adopted a opossum from the backyard and named him Mr. Jenkins, so you be the judge.) For as long as I can remember, I have loved finding fantasy adventure books that feature the animals I love so much as trusted companions. I hope you enjoy the books on this list as much as I do!
Creating a book recommendation list of clean fantasy books with animal companions and not including The Girl Who Drank the Moon is like going ice skating without skates—I just can’t do it!
Though written for a middle grade audience, this fantasy novel is one all ages can enjoy. It is clean and the narrative focuses on found family, goodness in life despite bad things happening, and hope—there’s so much beautiful hope in this book. But wait; there’s more! The cast of lovable characters includes Fyrian, a Perfectly Tiny Dragon (who believes he is a Simply Enormous Dragon).
Every Luna needs a Fyrian. And every witch. Oh, I can’t forget about swamp monsters—it seems everyone needs a Fyrian!
THE NO 1 NEW YORK TIMES BESTSELLER AND NEWBERY MEDAL WINNER
'This beautifully written, darkly funny coming-of-age story will enchant and entertain' Daily Mail
Every year, the people of the Protectorate leave a baby as an offering to the witch who lives in the forest. They hope this sacrifice will keep her from terrorizing their town. But the witch in the Forest, Xan, is in fact a good witch who shares her home with a wise Swamp Monster and a Perfectly Tiny Dragon. Xan rescues the children and delivers them to welcoming families on the other side of the forest,…
