I'm linking up with That Artsy Reader Girl for another Top Ten Tuesday.
This week we're talking about series! I've written about series I want to start and series I don't plan to continue, so today I thought I'd share some great series that I've actually read all the way through.
These two series follow a core band of characters through several great quests to save the world. I read both of these series in middle school, and they ruined me for other high fantasy because they have so many great female characters with such sharp, witty banter.
Admittedly I was less of a fan of the third book in this trilogy, but on the whole this is a great series, with engaging plots, interesting world-building, and significant themes packed into novella-size stories.
My older kid and I both enjoyed this whole series about four boys in Ohio, which was published in the 1990s and 2000s but didn't feel outdated most of the time. I'm not sure it's accurate to call them all "mysteries," but they all involve some combination of action, suspense, and learning, with age-appropriate discussions of everything from slavery to wildlife rescue to homelessness.
I don't know if French has said for sure that there will not be any more books in this series, but she's turned to writing other things in recent years. Although every book except the last one infuriated me with its resolution (or lack thereof), her writing is so incredibly good that I couldn't stop reading these.
Not only is each book in this trilogy brilliantly plotted, but they build on each other such that minor details from each book end up weaving into a larger narrative in subsequent books. The third book goes in a different direction than the first two, but it's equally well done and I'm still thinking about it weeks after finishing it.
In my quest to read Agatha Christie's complete works, I've now read every novel featuring these detectives. (I've started on the Superintendent Battle books next.) Although most of these books don't have to be read in order and thus maybe they don't constitute a "proper" series, I've enjoyed reading each detective's books in publication order for those moments where there are recurring characters or references to previous solutions.
I had a very rough first half of 2022, and these six books, beautifully narrated on audio by Katherine Kellgren (except for the last one, which came out after she died), got me through it. Take Mary Poppins and put her in the Victorian era educating three children raised by wolves and you've got the gist of this ridiculous, hilarious, and heartwarming middle grade series.
This is a middle grade series that I adore, even more than the previous one. Four children, each gifted in very different ways, solve puzzles and save the world. The Disney+ adaptation of the first book was fantastic and the second season looks great as well.
The Raven Cycle series is one of the few examples of YA fantasy that I love, and while the sequel trilogy that takes place after they graduate high school was completely bananas, it was enjoyable as well. I listened to every single one narrated by Will Patton and wouldn't have wanted them any other way.
The first book in this series is by far the strongest — the rest become progressively less plot-driven and more exercises in world-building as Chambers plays around in the universe she created, but it's a great universe and I enjoyed all the time I spent in it.
What series have you enjoyed?
Looking back:
One year ago I was reading: Wholehearted Faith, Monsters and Mold, and Muse of Nightmares
Five years ago I was reading: Birdsong and The World According to Garp
Ten years ago I was reading: A Year of Biblical Womanhood
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