Nothing But Reading Challenges discussion

Hello everyone!

I love fantasy books where a character discovers they have magical abilities. I'm not very fussy apart from that, and can do YA or high fantasy or whatever really. I've read Eragon and Harry Potter but would love to hear any and all other suggestions you have for books that do the whole coming-of-age/discovering magic abilities thing.

Also, when I was young I read a book about a boy who had learned to control the elements and he fell in love with a girl who spent time in some kind of time capsule and aged by seven years, and her brother was evil because he was possessed after a shipwreck. I know that's all very vague but does anyone know what this book is? I loved it so much but I've not been able to find it since.

Thanks so much for your help :)

Hi Sarah

For coming of age dicovering magic I would suggest

(not quite YA, but great book)


I hope that helps!
Sorry I don't know the book you are referring to :(

Hi Sarah!

A lot of books by Mercedes Lackey have characters who discover they have magical abilities. The ones I can think of right now are:


Other books I can think of are:


--This entire series deals with a group of friends who learn to use their magic. I can't remember if they knew they had magic before they were found, though.

And if you don't mind going a little old-school:

I second most of the recs made by Karen and Amanda! They stole some of what I would have suggested! ;)

More stuff:

Adult fiction (not so much coming of age here):


YA/Middle Grade:


Hope you find some you like!

its ya but I really liked it

Hi Sarah, I just got done reading the entire Hex Hall series by Rachel Hawkins - its YA, but it was a pretty good series, and I do recommend it. Hex Hall Demonglass Spell Bound

I loved Vampire Acadamy and Bloodlines

The Magiciansby Lev Grossman is really good as well as the sequel but it has some mature themes, that you may want to consider before choosing.

I would second and the whole Seven Realms series as well.

I'd recommend the Inkheart Trilogy. It's considered a YA.

(Power over water)

I recommend Cinder by Marissa Meyer and The Mistborn trilogy by Brandon Sanderson.

If you are still looking for that book I suggest asking this group: https://www.goodreads.com/group/show/...

Tamora Pierce has some very good books with that. Try her Circle of Magic series, or the Immortals quartet, with .
Diana Wynne Jones is fantastic with a great sense of humor. Especially her Chrestomanci series, in publication order it begins with . Her most recent (last book) is .

Also try:
Sherwood Smith's Wren quartet . The heroine for her Dobrenica series is perhaps a little old for what you want (just out of grad school), but is good.
Andrea K. Höst's is gateway fantasy meets sci-fi. Aussie high school girl accidentally walks into a different world, eventually discovers powers and saves the world - with psychic space ninjas! Her and are more purely fantasy.

I hope you find something you like!

I'm totally recommending The Ankhs: Red Marks The Child by Amira Awaad.

I love anything/everything fantasy related. This is so "new" and fresh! Plus, the setting is ancient Egypt, and the author is Egyptian!

I would definitely recommend Maria V Snyder's books set in fantasy world Ixia. I love them, Poison Study is the first of all the series.

Most definitely the Gone series.

it's so amazing and I hope you will love it!

There are lots of super powers in this new series .

I really liked and

I'm enjoying The Abhorsen/The Old Kingdom series by Garth Nix
and the Septimus Heap books by Angie Sage

The Belgariad, Kingkiller Chronicles and Wheel of Time have the MC's discovering they have magical abilities, though that's not the main focus of the series.