Recommendations
I had a few requests to put this page up, especially since I actually did get book recommendations for one of my assignments. Below are just snippets of what the books are and what your colleagues have said about it. Keep in mind that these books may or may not be G-rated, so if you are looking to find books to add to your shelves and are mindful of the story content, remember to check the age-range first!
Briar Rose - Jane Yolen
"It's a retelling of the Sleeping Beauty / Briar Rose story set during the Holocaust, and it's wonderful -- somewhat dark, as you would expect, but ultimately hopeful." - Niamh Cassidy
Godmother: The Secret Cinderella Story - Carolyn Turgeon.
"The main character, Lil, leads a quiet, dull life, working in a rare book store in New York and staying home alone in her apartment every night. But she has a secret: she was once a fairy godmother, banished from her sisters to live among humans after she betrayed the trust placed in her, to guide Cinderella to the ball to meet her Prince Charming...It's a rather depressing read, so be warned; but it's well-written and gives a fascinating perspective on a fairy-tale character that people don't tend to think much about." - Niamh Cassidy
Valiant - Holly Black
"...is written by Holly Black and is more adult than most 'teen' books that are out there. But given that more and more teens aren't just 'teens' anymore, I think this book fits right in. It deals with a lot of subjects Tithe did not...It centers around a girl named Val who heads off to the city after finding her mother making out with her boyfriend. After that she's thrown into a world unlike anything she's ever known. The story deals a lot with 'judging a book by it's cover', that not everything is as it seems and I think for the most part that applies to all of us..." - Britin Hale
The Keys to the Kingdom - Garth Nix
"...has all kinds of denizens of another world with some symbolic mythology." - Prof. Saeir Darr
So You Want to Be a Wizard - Diane Duane
"One of the most epic series ever starts with the first book...The series contains fantasy, other worlds, aliens, magic, religion, mythology. Diane Duane is well-versed in absolutely everything and so far I’ve loved every single book." - Prof. Saeir Darr
Sweep series and Balefire series - Cate Tiernan
"...both set in the same universe but happen in completely different places with different characters. If Wicca were actually a serious organized religion with things like blood witches and real magic, I would want it to be like Cate’s books." - Prof. Saeir Darr
Meredith Gentry series - Laurell K. Hamilton
"It follows Merry who is half mortal and half fairy and though her father is dead she has an aunt who is queen of the Unseelie court and an Uncle who is King of the Seelie court...In the book you see a lot of different Fey and a new way to look at the two courts where the Unseelie are not always the bad guys just because some of them look monsterous, and just because the Seelie court is full of beauty doesn’t mean it is not also full of monsters." - Ariel Kingston
East - Edith Pattou
"It's a retelling of the Norwegian tale "East of the Sun and West of the Moon". Rose's parents were to have seven children, one for each point of the compass - but not North, because Northern-born children were to be wild...and because years before, her mother had been told by a fortune teller that if she had a Northern-born child, the child would be crushed under an avalanche of ice and snow...I always loved it, though I've heard some peopled hated it." - Kirra Rohan
Bitterbynde Trilogy - Cecilia Dart-Thornton
"[Cecilia Dart-Thornton] has this lovely series called the Bitterbynde Trilogy which takes place in a land with the Faeren, and fae creatures. I can't really go into the plot because all three books are filled with secrets, but it is a beautifully written series." - Saene DeCobra
Fairyland series - Catherine Valente
"[Catherine Valente] is currently writing a Fairyland series which is about a girl named September who is invited to Fairyland by a jaguar...then she does on all sorts of adventures." - Saene DeCobra
Orphan Tale series - Catherine Valente
"My favorite of Cat Valente's books are her Orphan Tale series which is very "Shahrzad. It is about a prince who wanders into a garden and finds a girl who has been outcasted there because she was born with stories written all over her face...It's amazingly done, all the connections between the tales." - Saene DeCobra
Wicked Lovely series - Melissa Marr
"In the city of Huntsdale, Aislinn, a mortal, suddenly finds herself being "stalked" by a faery. And not just any faery; the King of the Summer Court. Keenan, the king, is seeking the one girl who's supposed to be his queen and able to unleash the full power of his court as well break the binding his mother has placed on him...It's a story that is about love, sacrifice, and responsibility, and how to balance them while still finding happiness. The book portrays fairies as beings yearning to find love themselves and how hard it is to love a mortal." - Jenna Hathaway
Pellinor series - Alison Croggon
"The series follows a girl named Maerad through her trials and tribulations along her ultimate goal of defeating the Nameless One and, you know, surviving. Maerad, because of her family’s unique bloodline (one of her ancestors was an Elidhu), is gifted with power beyond that of her peers, and uses that power to accomplish her goals...Of greater impact to the story, and in fact the central issue of the story, is the relationship between the faerie-analog Elidhu and music." - Alexander Bowne
Briar Rose - Jane Yolen
"It's a retelling of the Sleeping Beauty / Briar Rose story set during the Holocaust, and it's wonderful -- somewhat dark, as you would expect, but ultimately hopeful." - Niamh Cassidy
Godmother: The Secret Cinderella Story - Carolyn Turgeon.
"The main character, Lil, leads a quiet, dull life, working in a rare book store in New York and staying home alone in her apartment every night. But she has a secret: she was once a fairy godmother, banished from her sisters to live among humans after she betrayed the trust placed in her, to guide Cinderella to the ball to meet her Prince Charming...It's a rather depressing read, so be warned; but it's well-written and gives a fascinating perspective on a fairy-tale character that people don't tend to think much about." - Niamh Cassidy
Valiant - Holly Black
"...is written by Holly Black and is more adult than most 'teen' books that are out there. But given that more and more teens aren't just 'teens' anymore, I think this book fits right in. It deals with a lot of subjects Tithe did not...It centers around a girl named Val who heads off to the city after finding her mother making out with her boyfriend. After that she's thrown into a world unlike anything she's ever known. The story deals a lot with 'judging a book by it's cover', that not everything is as it seems and I think for the most part that applies to all of us..." - Britin Hale
The Keys to the Kingdom - Garth Nix
"...has all kinds of denizens of another world with some symbolic mythology." - Prof. Saeir Darr
So You Want to Be a Wizard - Diane Duane
"One of the most epic series ever starts with the first book...The series contains fantasy, other worlds, aliens, magic, religion, mythology. Diane Duane is well-versed in absolutely everything and so far I’ve loved every single book." - Prof. Saeir Darr
Sweep series and Balefire series - Cate Tiernan
"...both set in the same universe but happen in completely different places with different characters. If Wicca were actually a serious organized religion with things like blood witches and real magic, I would want it to be like Cate’s books." - Prof. Saeir Darr
Meredith Gentry series - Laurell K. Hamilton
"It follows Merry who is half mortal and half fairy and though her father is dead she has an aunt who is queen of the Unseelie court and an Uncle who is King of the Seelie court...In the book you see a lot of different Fey and a new way to look at the two courts where the Unseelie are not always the bad guys just because some of them look monsterous, and just because the Seelie court is full of beauty doesn’t mean it is not also full of monsters." - Ariel Kingston
East - Edith Pattou
"It's a retelling of the Norwegian tale "East of the Sun and West of the Moon". Rose's parents were to have seven children, one for each point of the compass - but not North, because Northern-born children were to be wild...and because years before, her mother had been told by a fortune teller that if she had a Northern-born child, the child would be crushed under an avalanche of ice and snow...I always loved it, though I've heard some peopled hated it." - Kirra Rohan
Bitterbynde Trilogy - Cecilia Dart-Thornton
"[Cecilia Dart-Thornton] has this lovely series called the Bitterbynde Trilogy which takes place in a land with the Faeren, and fae creatures. I can't really go into the plot because all three books are filled with secrets, but it is a beautifully written series." - Saene DeCobra
Fairyland series - Catherine Valente
"[Catherine Valente] is currently writing a Fairyland series which is about a girl named September who is invited to Fairyland by a jaguar...then she does on all sorts of adventures." - Saene DeCobra
Orphan Tale series - Catherine Valente
"My favorite of Cat Valente's books are her Orphan Tale series which is very "Shahrzad. It is about a prince who wanders into a garden and finds a girl who has been outcasted there because she was born with stories written all over her face...It's amazingly done, all the connections between the tales." - Saene DeCobra
Wicked Lovely series - Melissa Marr
"In the city of Huntsdale, Aislinn, a mortal, suddenly finds herself being "stalked" by a faery. And not just any faery; the King of the Summer Court. Keenan, the king, is seeking the one girl who's supposed to be his queen and able to unleash the full power of his court as well break the binding his mother has placed on him...It's a story that is about love, sacrifice, and responsibility, and how to balance them while still finding happiness. The book portrays fairies as beings yearning to find love themselves and how hard it is to love a mortal." - Jenna Hathaway
Pellinor series - Alison Croggon
"The series follows a girl named Maerad through her trials and tribulations along her ultimate goal of defeating the Nameless One and, you know, surviving. Maerad, because of her family’s unique bloodline (one of her ancestors was an Elidhu), is gifted with power beyond that of her peers, and uses that power to accomplish her goals...Of greater impact to the story, and in fact the central issue of the story, is the relationship between the faerie-analog Elidhu and music." - Alexander Bowne