Inkheart by Cornelia Funke

How would you feel if when you read aloud from a novel, the characters came alive in front of you whilst simultaneously someone from your world was dragged into the story and disappears? Excited or terrified? This is what had happened to Meggie when her father read the book Inkheart to her and her mother 9 years ago. Suddenly her mother was gone, and the evil Capricorn had appeared.  However, Meggie remembers nothing of this until a fire-eater called Dustfinger appears at their house. Suddenly they are leaving to stay at her Aunt Eleanor’s book filled house and her father won’t say why. Has Capricorn finally has tracked down Meggie’s father? What evil does he want him to read out of Inkheart now? I loved all the characters in this book, and it gripped me right until the end. This is a book and a world that I really didn’t want to leave. I can’t wait to get stuck into the next one in this trilogy!

Mrs Godden

All Souls Trilogy by Deborah Harkness

My last series recommendations is my favourite trilogy of all time! This trilogy is about a vampire and a witch falling in love and a quest for an ancient book that tells of their origin but it is about so much more than that. It covers prejudice, intolerance and a distrust of anyone who is not like you. It speaks of abuse of power and what friendship really means. It is also about reaching your own potential and not letting the past affect how you are today. There are so many amazing characters in it and my favourite doesn’t even appear until Book 2! This is one of the few series that not only do I reread again and again but that all three books are brilliant in their own right. Very often trilogies start with a strong narrative in Book 1, end satisfyingly in Book 3 but Book 2 seems more of a bridge to get from one to the other. However, because each book is set in a different time and place, they are equally as strong. Suitable for age 14+, I have recommended this book to everyone I know and will probably end up reading it again over Christmas as Sky are just about to release the second book on their TV channel in January. Given that the author is on the production team and given how amazing series one was, I can’t wait!!

Mrs Godden

The Roman Mysteries by Caroline Lawrence

Our penultimate series recommendation is for The Roman Mysteries by Caroline Lawrence. This historical fiction series is set in ancient Rome (starting in AD79) and incorporates real events and real people within its stories. The series grow with you as a reader which means the books get more complex as it progresses. There are 17 books in total and although I have read every one of them, you can stop at any time as each book is a separate adventure. The stories follow the exploits of Flavia Gemina (who is a natural at solving mysteries and the daughter of a ship's captain), Jonathan (a Jewish boy and secretly a Christian), Nubia (an African slave girl) and Lupus (a mute beggar boy). Together they work together to solve various mysteries and crimes. Suitable for year 7 and above and I loved them.

    

Mrs Godden

Gallagher Girls series by Ally Carter

Today’s series is set in the modern world in a school that isn’t quite what it seems. Gallagher Academy might claim to be a school for geniuses - but it's really a school for female spies. Cammie Morgan is fluent in fourteen languages and capable of killing a man in seven different ways (three of which involve a piece of uncooked spaghetti). But what happens when she falls for an ordinary boy who thinks she's an ordinary girl. How can she ever have a normal relationship and be a trainee spy and keep the Head happy (someone who just happens to be her Mum!) I loved the various stories and how Cammie matures throughout the series. Also, the inventive titles are great! Age 11+

     

Mrs Godden

 

Ink Trilogy by Alice Broadway

 

In Leora’s world every action, every deed, every significant moment is tattooed on your skin for ever. When her father dies, she knows he deserves to have all his tattoos removed and made into a Skin Book to stand as a record of his good life. But when she discovers that his ink has been edited and his book is incomplete, she wonders whether she ever knew him at all or whether to trust anything he ever said to her. This trilogy is full of great themes such as finding your place in the world, reconciling your past and your future, first love, secrets and lies as well as questioning everything you have been told and working out for yourself what path you want to take. All three books were different and drew you in further to Leora’s world and the choices that she was making. Age 11+ and I loved it!!

    

Mrs Godden

The Rosie Project Series by Graeme Simsion

 More series recommendations and this time this trilogy is set in the modern day starring a thirty-nine-year-old geneticist called Don who's never had a second date. To solve this, he devises the ‘Wife Project’, a scientific test to find the perfect partner. He knows exactly what he wants and thinks the logic of science is the way to achieve it. Enter Rosie - 'the world's most incompatible woman' - throwing Don's safe, ordered life into chaos. This is a great trilogy about fitting in and what happens when you don’t think like other people but don’t realise it. It is very funny and you are routing for Don as he tries to work out what is happening in his life! The first and second books are great but the third one is absolutely brilliant! Age 14+

 

Mrs Godden

The Australia Trilogy by J P Smythe

More series recommendations for Christmas and this is a series I only read because Mrs Osafo enthused so much about it! This trilogy follows a character called Chan and is not set in Australia but in a spaceship which is rapidly descending into anarchy. When Chan’s mother dies, the teenager has to step up and become more ruthless to survive. It is violent in places but introduces you to lots of characters you care about and there are some massive twists and turns that I certainly didn’t see coming. The whole story arc is fast paced and as soon as you have finished one book you want to read the next. Great for 11+ - I loved it!

  

Mrs Godden

The Secrets of the Immortal by Michael Scott

Our next series recommendations veers onto a magical theme. If you love Harry Potter, you will love this series by Michael Scott. Nicholas Flamel is mentioned in Harry Potter and the Philosopher’s Stone as the man who made the stone that Voldemort is so desperate to get hold of. This series concentrates on that man and the legend that accompanies him.

Nicholas Flamel was born in Paris on 28 September 1330 and nearly seven hundred years later, he is acknowledged as the greatest alchemist of his day. It is said that he discovered the secret of eternal life although records show that he died in 1418. But his tomb is empty and Nicholas Flamel lives! The secret of eternal life is hidden within the book he protects - the Book of Abraham the Mage. This is the most powerful book that has ever existed and in the wrong hands, it will destroy the world. Dr. John Dee plans to do exactly that when he steals it. Humankind won't know what's happening until it's too late and if the prophecy is right, Sophie and Josh Newman (our teenage heroes) are the only ones with the power to save the world as we know it. Sometimes legends are true and Sophie and Josh Newman are about to find themselves in the middle of the greatest legend of all time.

    

Mrs Godden

The Themis Files Trilogy by Sylvian Neuvel

Continuing on with our series recommendations for the Christmas holidays, this is a trilogy which is written entirely in form of interviews and blogs making it a really interesting read. Science fiction but set in contemporary world, I loved the story arc over the three books – Sleeping Giants, Waking Gods and Only Human.

What would happen if we discovered a huge ancient alien robot with pieces scattered all over the world which was designed only to be discovered when we, as a civilisation, had advanced technologically a certain distance? What would happen when we finally put all the pieces together? Would the human race be able to face the consequences?

If you love science and the ’what if’ questions, this is the trilogy for you. Plus the covers are amazing!

Email the library@bgs.bristol.sch.uk if you want to see the full list of series