Embark on an enchanting journey to worlds filled with magic, mystery, and the untold secrets of nature! If you were captivated by the mystical allure and thrilling escapades of “Fablehaven” by Brandon Mull, then your adventure is far from over.
In this post, we explore a collection of spellbinding books that will transport you to realms where magical creatures roam, hidden sanctuaries exist, and young heroes rise to face unimaginable challenges. From forbidden forests to enchanted islands, each of these tales is a gateway to extraordinary adventures that echo the spirit of “Fablehaven.”
Prepare to be whisked away into stories where courage, friendship, and a dash of magic collide to create unforgettable journeys. So, grab your magical amulets and whisper the secret incantations as we delve into these mesmerizing worlds that await your discovery!
7 Books Like Fablehaven Series
Fablehaven represents a magical, wonderful place with fairies, setters-senators, amazing creatures, and scary creatures like trolls and demons. So there are all these wonderful fun adventures they’re going to have. Our main characters, Kendra and Seth, are excited and curious to find out what will happen and how the day will be saved.
Also, all these characters are not good, and they’re on this preserve, and something happens that causes a big commotion. Kendra and Seth have to figure out how to save the day and save Fablehaven. I will discuss 7 children’s fantasy/magic books similar to Fablehaven. Let’s go!
| Name | Key Focus | Tropes |
|---|---|---|
| The Gracekeepers by Kirsty Logan | A fantasy novel set in a world where the Earth is mostly water, following the intertwined lives of a circus performer and a gracekeeper who performs burials at sea, exploring themes of belonging, identity, and the human connection to nature. | Dystopian world, sea-based setting, magical realism, circus life, societal division, ecological themes, character-driven narrative, lyrical prose, folklore elements, emotional depth. |
| The School for Good and Evil by Soman Chainani | A fantasy novel centered on two best friends who are taken to an enchanted school where children are trained to become either heroes or villains, challenging notions of good, evil, and friendship. | Fantasy school setting, fairy tale elements, good vs. evil, friendship dynamics, moral ambiguity, magical training, young adult adventure, character development, plot twists, quest narrative. |
| Alanna by Tamora Pierce | A fantasy novel about a young girl who disguises herself as a boy to train as a knight, exploring themes of gender roles, courage, and self-discovery. | Gender disguise, knight training, fantasy adventure, strong female protagonist, magical elements, coming-of-age, identity exploration, medieval setting, personal growth, quest journey. |
| Dealing with Dragons by Patricia C. Wrede | A fantasy novel that subverts traditional fairy tale tropes, featuring a princess who voluntarily chooses to live with a dragon rather than adhere to conventional princess roles, leading to adventures and self-discovery. | Strong female protagonist, dragons, unconventional princess, humorous tone, fairy tale inversion, self-determination, magical creatures, witty dialogue, fantasy adventure, empowerment. |
| Emperor of the Eight Islands by Lian Hearn | A fantasy novel set in a mythical, medieval Japan, where a young warrior embarks on a quest for power and identity amidst political intrigue and ancient magic. | Feudal Japan setting, mythical creatures, epic quest, political intrigue, magical powers, warrior journey, identity exploration, complex characters, historical fantasy, supernatural elements. |
| The Iron Trial by Holly Black | A fantasy novel about a boy who reluctantly enters a magical school to become a mage, uncovering secrets about his past and a larger magical conflict in the process. | Magic school, young protagonist, forbidden magic, hidden heritage, fantasy adventure, dark powers, coming-of-age, mentor-student relationship, magical creatures, good vs. evil conflict. |
| The Dreadful Tale of Prosper Redding by Alexandra Bracken | A middle-grade fantasy novel about a young boy, Prosper Redding, who discovers he is carrying a centuries-old demon inside him and must break a family curse while navigating the complexities of friendship and family. | Family curse, internal demon, supernatural elements, small-town mystery, middle-grade adventure, coming-of-age, dark humor, magical creatures, friendship dynamics, historical flashbacks. |
1. The Gracekeepers
We have two different cultures. The land lockers live on the land, and the dumplings live on the water. This world is largely flooded, and there are small islands of people living on the islands. So we have one main character called North. She is part of a circus, the bear trainer within the circus. The other main character, Callanish, is a Gracekeeper. She lives out on the water on her own, and people come to her when someone has died for her to perform the last graces.
So it’s like a funeral ceremony. She conducts their funeral, so the two girls don’t know each other. We follow each of their stories individually. As time goes on, we see them intersect, and it’s a wonderful book. I enjoyed the relationship between North and her bear.
It was entertainment and attraction. You travel around, and at the point where we pick up the story, all we know is that North is hiding something. She’s very happy there with her bear, but she’s hiding something, and some of the other people on the crew know what it is, but most of them don’t. She will be disgraced if she gets discovered and has a secret.
By coincidence, these two girls end up meeting, and they instantly connect. That changes the course of both their lives. Both of them have been settled in their lives but are not happy. When they meet each other, they find out they need to be satisfied. Like Fablehaven’s Kendra and Seth, they need to change up things and do things for themselves. Although some of it’s predictable, some of it’s not. Overall, it’s a solid, likable read. I would certainly say check out if it appeals to you.
Author: Kirsty Logan
Average Rating: 4/5
Category: Mythology & Folk Tales
Number Of Pages: 320
Available: Audiobook | Paperback | Hardcover | Kindle | Audio CD
2. The School for Good and Evil
This book is about two girls who grow up in a village where the school for good and evil will sometimes pull kids into studying to either be heroes or villains at a certain age. So, one girl always grows up thinking that she would be a villain and a witch. The other girl feels that she would be a hero. But they go to the school, and it turns out that they’re wrong. It undercuts these interesting ideas about good and evil and how we handle gender.
It’s ultimately the story of a beautiful, strong friendship between the two young girls. But all of these other things that it unpacks. So it’s my favorite from childhood and one that I have reread multiple times over the years and continues to hold up very well.
Author: Soman Chainani
Average Rating: 4.8/5
Category: Children’s Folk Tales & Myths
Number Of Pages: 640
Available: Audiobook | Paperback | Hardcover | Kindle | Audio CD
3. Alanna: The First Adventure (Song of the Lioness)
The first quartet of books crosses from middle grade into WHYY. The main character is ten in book one, and by the end of the series, she’s in her early twenties is about Alanna. She has a twin brother, and she is supposed to be sent off to finish school. But what she wants is to be a knight, and her brother wants to be a mage. So they switch places.
Her brother Thom goes and trains magic to be a mage, and she disguises herself as a boy so that she can train to become a knight. This was, in many ways, my first introduction to feminism. I love Alanna as a character. There ends up being magic in the story, and it’s a beautiful world. So, I highly recommend Alanna if you love Fablehaven.
Author: Tamora Pierce
Average Rating: 4.7/5
Category: Action & Adventure Fantasy
Number Of Pages: 274
Available: Audiobook | Paperback | Hardcover | Kindle | Mass Market Paperback
4. Dealing with Dragons (Enchanted Forest Chronicles)
It is the Enchanted Forest Chronicle series, and this is book number one. Also, it is a middle-grade or children’s series. We follow a young princess called Cimorene who hates her life. She’s in a bad situation where she doesn’t like being a princess. Everyone expects her to act like a princess should act. Everyone thinks that she should smile when people smile at her. They think that she should be quite happy.
Unfortunately, Cimorene does not thrive in the environment of a palace. Being a princess waiting for her prince, she hates it. She wants to get out. So when she finds out that there is a plot from her parents to marry her off. She needs to leave the palace and get out. What she does is she goes to live with some dragons.
I have to say this is one of the funniest, most amusing, wonderful influences on young children that I could recommend to you, particularly young females. A lot of the time in fairy tales, we have the princess waiting for her prince, and she’s very reliant on the man in her life. It shows you a young princess who can think for herself, is intelligent, witty, funny, and gets things done. The adventure is simply for children, but the character and the flipped tropes made me so happy. If you like Fablehaven, then you must read this one.
Author: Patricia C. Wrede
Average Rating: 4.8/5
Category: Humorous Fiction & Literature
Number Of Pages: 212
Available: Audiobook | Paperback | School & Library Binding | Kindle | Audio, Cassette
5. Emperor of the Eight Islands (The Tale of Shikanoko)
The story is set in the same world as the author’s Tales of an Otory series. It’s very simple in the writing style, but the adventure and the plot are fast-paced and fun throughout the whole thing. This is a great way to get that fix of oriental-inspired fiction because it does have a lot of tribal influence from ancient Asia.
We follow a couple of different characters in this, and it’s set in a world three hundred years before the Otori story, where people rule in courts. They live in wilderness-like forests, in little shacks, and magic is very much alive in this world. Also, we follow many different big dynasties and families that are ever reaching across this place and big families that will connect with feuds. All plots are going on, or who will be the emperor of this world?
We also follow a young character called Yoshi, the new emperor, after the old one is killed. He is very young, though he is a child, and he doesn’t know anything about who he has to be or the expectations. So he is often traveling with other people. Ackie, or Akai, is the autumn princess. That’s her name, and she is helping Yoshi get away from the situation and hide until he is of age.
The magic in this book has raised the rating for me as Fablehaven. There’s no real explanation behind the magic. It’s a world where magic is a thing, and I like that sometimes to be chucked into a world where magic is just the thing. Overall, it was likable and easy to get into a quick read.
Author: Lian Hearn
Average Rating: 4.4/5
Category: Historical Fantasy, Magical Realism
Number Of Pages: 431
Available: Audiobook | Paperback | Kindle | Audio CD
6. The Iron Trial (Magisterium)
Their middle-grade Magisterium series gives me vibes like reading Harry Potter. It’s got that whimsicalness to it and vivid imagery. But it flips things on its head where instead of our protagonist being the chosen one to save all the people, our protagonist might be a prophesied villain who will destroy everything. So it’s a fun series like Fablehaven.
Author: Holly Black
Average Rating: 4.6/5
Category: Adult Fantasy Action & Adventure
Number Of Pages: 295
Available: Audiobook | Paperback | Hardcover | Kindle | Audio CD
7. The Dreadful Tale of Prosper Redding (Prosper Redding)
The story is about a boy who discovers that he’s been carrying another dimension because of his bloodline. Now it’s coming to life after thousands of years, and this being is named Alastor, who is hilarious. He’s been asleep for a thousand years, and he’s trying to come to terms with the modern world. So, it’s a great adventure story, a story about found family and coming of age. The character’s situation and the plot are very similar to Fablehaven.
Author: Alexandra Bracken
Average Rating: 4.4/5
Category: Family Life Fiction
Number Of Pages: 362
Available: Audiobook | Paperback | Hardcover | Kindle | Audio CD
Last Words
The books we’ve journeyed through offer not just escape into fantastical worlds but also lessons in bravery, friendship, and the power of believing in the extraordinary. They remind us that magic can be found in the most unexpected places and that heroes come in all ages and sizes.
So, as you close one book and open another, may your imagination soar to new heights and your heart be ever-ready for adventure. Until our next foray into worlds of wonder and mystique, may your path be ever-lit by the glow of magical tales and fantastical quests!
Read More Similar Fairy Tales Books:
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