The Neverending Story

Written by: Michael Ende

First line: This inscription could be seen on the glass door of a small shop, but naturally this was only the way it looked if you were inside the dimly lit shop, looking out at the street through the plateglass door.

Why you should read this book: If you think you know The Neverending Story because you saw the movie eleventy billion times in the eighties, you do NOT know The Neverending Story, because that movie ends less than halfway through this novel and the author hated it so much that he sued to have his name removed from the film. In the original version, Bastian does more than hide in an attic and scream the Empress's new name; naming the Empress is his passage into a magical land (here called Fantastica) where his use of AURYN helps him overcome every one of his numerous personality flaws, transforming him into a kid who wouldn't steal an antique book from an old man or hide from his bullies all day. It's a much more expansive and intelligent story than the movie shows, and Bastian is a much more flawed hero who requires much more from Atreyu, Falkor, the Childlike Empress, and the land of Fantastica than they ever needed from him.

Why you shouldn't read this book: The narration reminds us, over and over and over, that chief among Bastian's flaws (and he's a pretty flawed person: canonically, his only redeeming characteristic is his imagination) is that he is fat and bow-legged. 

The Days Are Just Packed

Written by: Bill Watterson

First line: MOMMM

Why you should read this book: If you find yourself yearning for a simpler era, one in which the entire country was rallied around the philosophical musings of an impulsive six-year-old and his more mature but equally prone to chaos tiger companion, perhaps it's time to revisit the magical world of Calvin and Hobbes. This collection from the early '90s has it all: dissociative daydreams, rhyming verse, Calvin harassing his father, Calvin harassing his mother, Calvin harassing his teacher, and, of course, Calvin harassing the little girl next door. Just all around late twentieth century joy from a time where everyone consumed the same media and people felt OK about little children reading the news.

Why you shouldn't read this book: This work is not to be consumed by authoritarians. 

179 Degrees from Now: Four Stories from Just Past the Edge

Written by: Thomas Watson

First line: "She's too old for this imaginary friend nonsense," said George.

Why you should read this book: These four short stories hit that speculative space that sometimes leans toward fantasy and sometimes toward science, asking questions like "What if imaginary friends were real?" and "What if there was some direct connection between Charon on the River Styx and Henry David Thoreau on Walden Pond?" There's one about the multiverse and one that's sort of about a ghost, plus excerpts from two of the author's novels. Each story turns on a bit of a twist, the kind that is only available to writers of speculative fiction who know how to weave reality and imagination together on a single loom.

Why you shouldn't read this book: You're absolutely dragging your ex to hell with you if at all possible.  

Reverie

Written by: Ryan La Sala

First line: This is where it happened. 

Why you should read this book: I think, at its core, it's a metaphor about maladaptive daydreaming, the kind where it's so easy to escape into your dissociative fantasy world that your coping mechanism becomes more real to you than the real world, and begins to impact your real life and all your relationships, but it's also a YA queer fantasy, so the daydreams are very, very real and if the characters can't control them, it could be the end of life as we know it. Kane doesn't have any real memories of the night he supposedly crashed his car and burned down a local landmark, but, as he heals, he starts to realize that he's missing a lot of memories, mostly those pertaining to close friendships he doesn't remember having, but also that he was the leader of a group of teens with superpowers and that other worlds are creeping out of people's imaginations and taking over reality. Kane has to figure out who to trust and who to protect, and to defeat a magical drag queen who wants to use him to create another world in place of the one Kane calls home. 

Why you shouldn't read this book: It took me a while to get into it.

The Pomegranate Gate

 Written by: Ariel Kaplan

First line: Naftaly was dreaming again, in that strange dreamlandscape where the stars whirled overhead like snow on the win and the people he met all had square-pupiled eyes.

Why you should read this book: In this powerhouse fantasy epic beginning in the Spanish Inquisition with the expulsion of the Jews, the narrative moves between that world and a parallel world populated with magical beings, a strange and even more dangerous place which both mirrors and influences the human realm. Separated from her family and the group of Jews fleeing the country, a young woman named Toba, who is both clever and clumsy stumbles through the gate into the land of the Mazik. This new place is complex, and operates by rules that Toba does not quite understand, but if she wants to survive she will have to untangle the mystery of her own past, and events that took places a thousand years before she was born. 

Why you shouldn't read this book: If you don't like really long books that end when things are getting really interesting because they're the first tome in an epic series, you shouldn't read really long books in epic series. 

The Greatest of Marlys

Written by: Lynda Barry

First line: One day, I was drawing my weekly comic strip, and as I drew the frame, I had a half-memory of being with my cousins after seeing the torchlight parade.

Why you should read this book: Lynda Barry returns the reader to the magical, confusing, frustrating, delightful, dirty, and exuberant world of childhood with her strange four-panel strips, containing far more words than you would expect, and far more ideas. Marlys, her siblings Freddy and Maybonne, and their cousins Arna and Arnold, live in a gritty but joyful world where adults are bizarre and inscrutable, teenagers are mysterious and exciting, kids have incredible power to interpret and reframe their circumstances, and also there are many cool dogs and interesting bugs. The next-level writing provides a unique and believable voice for every kid, offering short narrative arcs along with imaginative info-dumps from the young protagonists' perspective. 

Why you shouldn't read this book: Lord help me, her writing is SO good but frankly, her artwork makes me want to barf.

Tamamo the Fox Maiden and Other Asian Stories: A Cautionary Fables and Fairy Tales Book

Edited by: C. Spike Trotman, Kate Aswin, Kel McDonald

First line: There once lived a humble tinker by the name of Jinbei. 

Why you should read this book: A wonderfully balanced collection of stories from all over Asia, featuring magic, tricksters, transformations, talking animals, foolish gods, and happy endings. Other than the tale of Fa Mulan, most of these stories will be unfamiliar to Western readers, and some may require further research to fully comprehend if you aren't conversant with world mythology, but even without deeper knowledge, they should still appeal to the sensibilities of any lover of fairy tales. Delightful and thoughtfully compiled, this is a great addition to any collection of graphic novels for children.

Why you shouldn't read this book: I don't know how cautionary a story is if bad behavior turns out well for the protagonist.

Babymouse Queen of the World

Written by: Jennifer L. Holm and Matthew Holm

First line: Are you getting up, Babymouse?

Why you should read this book: Babymouse dreams of glamour, excitement, and adventure, but instead she has to go to school with a broken locker and daydream about living a more interesting existence in more interesting worlds, and and contemplating how great her life would be if she could just be friends with the most popular girl in her class, Felicia Furrypaws. Babymouse does everything she can think of to earn a coveted invitation to Felicia's slumber party, and finally achieves her coveted goal, by compromising herself. In the end, Babymouse realizes the true meaning of friendship, which does not involve debasing herself to go places where she isn't really welcome.

Why you shouldn't read this book: Babymouse's compromise involves aiding and abetting plagiarism.

So You Want to Be a Rock Star

Written by: Audrey Vernick and Kirstie Edmunds

First line: You want to be a rock star?

Why you should read this book: A fun but silly read aloud story that discusses children's make believe as if it is the actual thing. You don't need an instrument if you can play air guitar and sneer effectively! While yelling into their fists (because they don't have a microphone) and wearing "awesome-crazy clothes," the kids in this book imagine themselves living the dream while performing for an audience of enthusiastic family members and fantasizing about the perks of success. 

Why you shouldn't read this book: You probably don't actually want your kids acting like rock stars, or, at the very least, you want them to practice the guitar first.

Horns and Wrinkles

Written by: Joseph Helgerson 

First line: My cousin Duke's troubles on the river started on the day he dangled me off the wagon wheel bridge. 

Why you should read this book: Claire's stretch of the Mississippi River has always been rumored to be a little strange (even the adults know about the mysterious goings-on, which is pretty rare in a children's book) but Claire doesn't realize how strange until her bully cousin Duke falls in with a trio of river trolls with a mission. Against her will, Claire is dragged into all kinds of troll nonsense involving humans being turned to stone, fairies in bright orange tennis shoes, compulsively lying crickets, shooting stars, rhinoceroses, missing fathers, and a tyrant rock troll with an army of slaves. Things are so crazy Claire begins to question her own humanity, but maybe she's just been hanging around with trolls a little too long. 

Why you shouldn't read this book: While it's engaging, inventive, and well-written, it's the sort of story that probably appeals more to younger readers.

Rosewater

Written by: Tade Thompson

First line: I'm at the Integrity Bank job for forty minutes before the anxiety kicks in.

Why you should read this book: If you enjoy complexity in your science fiction plots and attention to detail in speculative world-building, you'll find lots to love in this Afro-futurism novel (first in a trilogy) about an angry psychic whose world is shaped by an alien entity known as "Wormwood," which has been skulking about the earth's crust since 2012. In 2066, Kaaro lives in Rosewater, a ring-shaped town in Nigeria that has sprung up around the alien "biodome," which opens once a year and heals human maladies, with varying results. But something is killing men and women like Kaaro, and now that he finally has something to live for (love), he needs to figure out what kind of danger he might be in before it destroys him.

Why you shouldn't read this book: I thought I wouldn't be able to get into it because the main character is such a curmudgeon, but he grows.

Unicorn vs. Goblins

Written by: Dana Simpson

First line: What is up?

Why you should read this book: In the third installment of Phoebe and her Unicorn, Phoebe and Marigold go to band camp, where Phoebe makes friends with a human girl and Marigold makes friends with a lake monster. Readers will meet Marigold's sister, Florence Unfortunate Nostrils, and a bunch of goblins who kidnap Dakota for her magic hair. There's also a fun sequence where Marigold lets down her Shield of Boringness and Phoebe learns why it's better not to flaunt your unicorn.

Why you shouldn't read this book: You're fiercely protective of your magic hair.

Seven-Day Magic

Written by: Edward Eager

First line: "The best kind of book," said Barnaby, "is a magic book."

Why you should read this book: John and Susan's life was less interesting before Barnaby, Abbie, and Fredericka move in across the street, and it gets even more interesting when Susan discovers that a random library book contains a novel's worth of magic, allowing the children to make wishes that really come true, but not necessarily in the way they expect. The book is a seven-day loan, so the children have a week to figure out its rules and fulfill their fantasies, with the book and their own interpersonal relationships complicating things at every turn. This beloved children's novel combines a modern sentiment with a classical perspective on fantasy that makes it persistently excellent.

Why you shouldn't read this book: You don't think books are especially magic.

Phoebe and Her Unicorn

Written by: Dana Simpson

First line: Ow!

Why you should read this book: Phoebe is a little girl who just wants to be treated as the awesome human that she knows she is; Marigold is a unicorn who knows she is better than everyone else, especially humans. When Phoebe accidentally hits Marigold with a rock, she frees Marigold from a narcissistic fascination with her own reflection and is granted a magical wish, which she uses to make the unicorn her best friend. Reluctantly, Marigold infuses her unicorn magic into Phoebe's life, with comical results, and they are both better for the association.

Why you shouldn't read this book: You're the mean girl.

Ramona and Beezus

Written by: Beverly Cleary

First line: Beatrice Quimby's biggest problem was her little sister Ramona.

Why you should read this book: I skipped over it when I reviewed all those other Beverly Clearly books last July because I couldn't get my hands on a copy, and someone just gave me one, and it's still a delightful piece of work, if only the slightest bit dated (a 2018 parents requiring a nine-year-old to leave the four-year-old to play in a sand pile with no supervision while the older child takes an art class would likely lead to CPS involvement, and what modern parent would simply drop their kids off at another child's house on the invitation of a pre-schooler?). Unlike the other other Ramona books, this story is mostly about Beezus, her exasperation with her sister's rambunctiousness, and her own sense of unease over realizing that she doesn't always love Ramona. While justice isn't exactly served in every case, and the world isn't always fair, sensible, gentle Beezus usually comes out on top, and learns to tolerate her sister.

Why you shouldn't read this book: You're the person who calls CPS on the kid playing unsupervised in the sand pile.

Falling in Love with Hominids

Written by: Nalo Hopkinson

First line: "The easthound bays at night," Jolly said.

Why you should read this book: This deeply imaginative short story collection covers the range of traditional speculative motifs, including ghosts, fairies, monsters, gods, and stochastic flying elephants, while maintaining a modern, enlightened sensibility that injects a bright freshness into familiar tropes along with the voices of queer folks and people of color. From teenage girls taking on the persona of dragons to fight back against sexual harassment to the sibling rivalry between the spirits from Shakespeare's Tempest, these intelligent  stories feel new and smart and forward-thinking. Enjoyable, fast-paced, clever, and wonderfully written, it's both fun and provocative.

Why you shouldn't read this book: Some nasty bits with city rats.

James and the Giant Peach

Written by: Roald Dahl

First line: Here is James Henry Trotter when he was about four years old.

Why you should read this book: Rollicking good fun for kids, this story is a tiny bit gentler than some of Dahl's other novels for young readers, full of invention and a touch of danger and just enough transformation to create a fairy tale sensibility. Orphaned at a young age, James escapes his abusive guardians with the help of a bag of magic, which he clumsily spills into the roots of a decrepit tree. Traveling in a giant peach, with the companionship of a group of giant, friendly insects, a little boy with no friends finds his way to a world with no lack of them.

Why you should read this book: Aside from a little sizeism directed at the terrible, abusive guardians, this book stands up pretty well for its age.

Ready Player One

Written by: Ernest Cline

First line: Everyone my age remembers where they were and what they were doing when they first heard about the contest.

Why you should read this book: In a future so bleak that everyone prefers to spend the vast majority of their lives jacked in to the virtual reality world known as the OASIS, the only beacon of hope for many young people is the contest set up by the OASIS's creator: solve a series of puzzles based on '80s pop culture knowledge and become the heir to the creator's tremendous fortune. Five years after the announcement, no one's solved a single puzzle, but Wade, impoverished and with very few of the resources needed to explore the OASIS, finally gets lucky. What follows is a break-neck journey through landscapes real, imaginary, and remembered, as Wade, his online friends, and an evil corporation race to reach the end of the quest and learn who will control the OASIS.

Why you shouldn't read this book: Oh, my god, the exposition. So. Much. Exposition.

Through the Woods

Written by: Emily Carroll

First line: When I was little I used to read before I slept at night.

Why you should read this book: Seven spine-tingling horror comics with a gothic feel and a modern sensibility haunt this charming collection of monsters, ghouls, and little girls in mortal terror. While some of the stories rely more on atmosphere than plot to stir the reader and leave the conclusions somewhat open-ended, there are enough creepy moments to satisfy readers seeking gore. Stunning, evocative, moody, and imaginative illustrations and literary language help elevate this book above its genre.

Why you shouldn't read this book: Can be really legitimately freaky.

The Hundred Lies of Lizzie Lovett

Written by: Cheslea Sedoti

First line: The first thing that happened was Lizzie Lovett disappeared, and everyone was all, "How can someone like Lizzie be missing?" and I was like, "Who cares?"

Why you should read this book: Hawthorn Creely doesn't understand why everyone is so caught up in the disappearance of pretty, perky Lizzie Lovett, who graduated from her high school three years ago and moved to the next town over, even though Hawthorn's own brother used to date her and there's nothing else going on to talk about in their town anyway. Jealous of the relationships she believes Lizzie had, Hawthorn neglects her own relationships as her obsession with the mystery leads her to insert herself into the life of the missing girl and attempt to recreate some of her circumstances. Fast-paced and fun, this story of a teenager taking a final, convoluted step, toward becoming a grown-up walks a surprising path.

Why you shouldn't read this book: The title is pretty misleading, given that Lizzie Lovett is a maguffin who possibly lies once in a flashback but doesn't actually play much of a role in the book, and the vast majority of lies about Lizzie are the conclusions Hawthorn draws in her head. Also, one of these coming-of-age stories where a teenage girl loses her virginity sort of accidentally.