Fantasy

 Landy, D. (2007). Skulduggery Pleasant. New York: HarperCollins.

When Stephanie Edley’s uncle is murdered, a mysterious figure shows up at his funeral and the reading of his will. Soon, Skullduggery Pleasant, the mysterious figure, is showing Stephanie a secret world she never knew existed, but she knows she must be a part of.



Skulduggery Pleasant is an example of low fantasy involving the supernatural. Stephanie is a strong-willed character who has always felt that she doesn’t fit in. Once her uncle is murdered, she becomes immersed into another secret world. She lives this double life- one with her parents and the other with  Skulduggery Pleasant trying to solve her uncle’s murder.  Throughout the novel, she struggles with the theme of identity and who she really is. She realizes that she is like her uncle and she does have magic in her. Once she realizes what’s she capable of and knows she can’t go back to the boring life she lived before, she renames herself Valkyrie Cain to those in the secret world.

Holm, J. (2014). Comics Squad: Recess! New York: Random House Books.

Eight different comics, each told by different authors, the stories are a brillant mash-up with overlapping characters crossing over into each other's story. And it all take place during recess!

Comic Squad has parts or short stories that are examples of low fantasy with talking cupcakes, mice, and a pizza monster. The style of writing is a mash up of different short stories written by different authors but with overlapping characters. The setting makes it easy for these stories to mix and overlap due to same locale. Each story is set in the school hallway, classroom or the recess yard with most of them taking place during recess.

Hale, S. (2008). Rapunzel’s revenge. New York: Bloomsbury.

Rapunzel’s Revenge  isn’t your usual fairy tale. It begins the same, but Rapunzel isn’t a damsel in distress, she’s out for revenge! She and her sidekick Jack aim to save her mother and the land from the evil witch’s  magic hold.

Rapunzel’s Revenge has several new plot twists to the fairy tale. To start off, her  new outlaw sidekick is the well-known thief, Jack from Jack and the Beanstalk . Rapunzel isn’t some damsel in distress waiting to be rescued but instead is a courageous hero. As she tries to free her biological mother from slavery and get even with her evil “mother” , she  finds herself fighting to save others  all along the way.  She tames a wild boar, fights  with evil gangs, a large snake, and her evil mother’s henchmen, using her long hair as her weapon. Another unique twist is that the story takes place during the wild west rather than in the more traditional fairy tale setting.

Gaiman, N. (2008). The graveyard book. New York: Harper Collins.

Bod lives in a graveyard, surrounded by those who walk in the night. Bod is loved by his unusual family, but he longs to learn and be part of the real world, but it is dangerous for him beyond the gates.

The character, Bod, which stands for Nobody, is a human boy who is raised by ghosts in a graveyard. Since his family was murdered and the man, Jack, is still out to get him, the cemetery is the only safe place for him.  He grows up playing with spirits and being taught by a werewolf, and other creatures of the night. The theme surround that of good vs evil. Most of the good guys happened to be the supernatural, like the ghosts and the werewolf. On the other hand the evil guys are humans, like the Jacks of All Trades and the bullies at school. Most of them have the choice to be either good or evil and Bod tries to help them to be good and see the wrong in what they are doing. There is also the theme of family and  finding it in the unlikeliest of places.

Collins, S. (2004). Gregor the overlander. New York: Scholastic.

Gregor goes after his sister when she falls though a laundry room vent, only to find themselves in another world that is full of life size rodents, spiders and bats you can ride. It turns out he’s part of a prophecy and they have been waiting on him to save his father, who is being held captive.

Gregor the Overlander is an example of high fantasy. Gregor, the main character discovers another world underneath another New York City when he accidentally falls down the laundry room vent chasing after his baby sister. The new setting has insects and rodents who are bigger than humans such as cockroaches, bats, and evil rats who are at war and in alliance with each other. Gregor finds out that his father who has been missing for a couple of years is actually being held captive in this underworld. The plot takes a turn when they believe he is part of a prophecy. Some believe he is the warrior  who will save the captured overlander, while others doubt him.  Unwilling to believe he the one, he sets out on a quest to save his father from the rats, even if it will bring war to those who live in this underground world.