By Laura Sullivan
Have you ever finished a book and felt like you left a friend behind? I have. I still remember reading Les Miserables by Victor Hugo one summer on the train every day. It is such a large book! As a voracious reader as I was, and still am, it took me six weeks to finish. I read on the T, at my lunch hour, at night. (I really got out a lot…) I can still feel how it was to close that last page and just hold it on the way home. We were done, Jean Val Jean and me. What book in the world can you go to after you've finished a book like that?
The above scenario is why reading a series is so satisfying. No mourning and wondering what you will possibly read next- there's something in line to take its place and continue the story. Until the end of course- it's hard, but you will recover. Many series are written for young adults, or by mystery writers. The young adult should be "young at heart." A good story is a good story, no matter the intended market. Young adult books don’t mean have teeny bopper themes, or that the writing is sub-par; they often have content that is appropriate for a young adult audience. Think of them as PG books. Okay, enough convincing- here are some of my favorites:
Little House on the Prairie by Laura Ingalls Wilder
I read this series three times; once when I was a kid, once to my older two children, and once to my younger two boys. Find someone to tread this series to- just 15 minutes a night and you'll be through it in a year. So many discussions along the way!
Harry Potter, by JK Rowling
What can I say? I didn't dress up like my 43 year old sister in law when the books came out (her daughters haven't even read them!) but I did attend the midnight release party of the final installment at Westwind's and finished the 800 plus page book two days later.
The Hunger Games, by Suzanne Collins
I usually really hate post apocalyptic literature, but I had to read the first book for book club, and I'm so glad I did! Books two and three followed soon after, and when I was done, I passed them to my husband, who read all three as voraciously as I did.
Percy Jackson and the Olympians, by Rick Riordian
I am still reading the latest of this series to my nine year old. I so try not to read ahead after he goes to bed…
Chains and Forge by Laurie Halse Anderson
These books are Revolutionary War diary stories of a slave girl trying to find her sister. It is gripping, and the cliffhangers would put any soap opera to shame.
These are only a very few of what's out there- my son Ben loves spy books- the Alex Rider series and the CHERUB series. The point is, there are so, so many to choose from. Ask your local bookstore owner for some guidance. I'm sure they will talk your ear off, as I have!
