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Built on ISFDB, Wikipedia, Wikidata and Open Library. Curated reading orders carry their reasoning on the page; the rest follow publication order. Data sources & licenses

© Loreful · data: ISFDB · CC BY

More like Bob

anchored on:fantasyfriendshipoceaniacontemporarymiddle gradeportal fantasy+2 more

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Mood

The mood the book leaves you in.

  • The reading experience is propelled by journeys, exploration, and physical risk; excitement and forward momentum dominate over dread or introspection.
  • Joy and loss are deliberately mixed; the resolution grants characters something real while taking something else away, leaving warmth and sorrow together.
  • The book demands work from the reader — dense prose, difficult structure, unfamiliar ideas, or morally uncomfortable material — as part of its intended effect.
  • Grim events, cruelty, or despair dominate the atmosphere, and the book does not soften them with comfort or comic relief.
  • The atmosphere is quietly unsettling — wrongness, unease, and the uncanny pervade the book without necessarily escalating into overt horror.
  • The book is built to move the reader; character feeling is foregrounded and major scenes aim at a strong emotional response.
  • Humor is a primary aim and the prose plays for laughs — comic situations, wit, or dialogue produce sustained comedy, not occasional levity.
  • The book insists that things can improve; effort and decency are shown to matter, and the arc bends toward better outcomes even through hardship.
  • The book teaches as it goes — real facts, history, science, or craft are conveyed in enough depth that learning is part of the reading experience.
  • The book is designed to uplift and motivate, presenting perseverance or achievement in a way that invites the reader to aspire or act.
  • The overall register is cheerful and easygoing; stakes are kept gentle and the book avoids dwelling on pain or dread.
  • Withheld information drives the experience; the book sustains enigmas and secrets the reader wants resolved, whatever its genre.
  • The book is contemplative and inward-looking, giving more weight to thought, memory, and meaning than to external events.
  • The book works as comfort reading — low tension, a soothing pace, and an atmosphere the reader can unwind in.
  • Grief, loss, or melancholy set the dominant register, and the book lets sorrow stand rather than resolving it into comfort.
  • Sustained suspense is the point; the book keeps the reader braced for what happens next through danger, pressure, or impending revelation.
  • Playful invention and charm define the register — fanciful conceits, light absurdity, and a narration that delights in its own oddity.

About

What the story runs on.

  • Stories centered on witches and the practice of witchcraft — covens, hedge magic, familiars, and the witch's place in her community.
  • Stories structured as a quest — a journey undertaken to find, deliver, or destroy something of great import.
  • Stories in which staying alive against nature, catastrophe, or scarcity is the central problem.
  • Stories of lovers kept apart by law, family, faith, or station, where the obstacle to love is the plot.
  • Stories in which a friendship — its making, testing, or loss — is the emotional center.
  • Stories of growing up — a young protagonist crossing from childhood into adult knowledge and responsibility.
  • Stories about who a character truly is — self-discovery, doubled lives, and the search for a self.
  • Stories about mourning — living through the death of a loved one and what loss does to the survivors.
  • Stories in which a buried family truth — hidden parentage, crimes, or shames — surfaces and reorders the present.
  • Stories driven by maneuvering for power — factions, conspiracies, and statecraft conducted in shadow.
  • Stories in which war itself is the subject — combat, occupation, and what warfare does to soldiers and civilians.
  • Stories organized around investigating a killing — the case, the clues, and the pursuit of the killer, in any genre's clothing.

Shelf

Where it sits in the library.

    • Fiction built on magic or other supernatural elements that have no scientific explanation.
    • Secondary-world fantasy at large scale, where the fate of nations or the world turns on the protagonists' struggle.
    • Fantasy set in a recognizably modern city or contemporary world where the supernatural intrudes on everyday life.
    • Fantasy that blends in horror's atmosphere and imagery, keeping a fantastical frame around grim or frightening material.
    • Action-driven fantasy following warriors or rogues with personal stakes against sorcerous threats, rather than world-spanning conflicts.
    • Fantasy set in a real historical period or a close analogue of one, with magic woven into the era.
    • Fantasy in which protagonists cross from the ordinary world into another world through a portal or similar passage.
    • Fiction that retells or reworks a traditional fairy tale in a new form or setting.
    • Fantasy drawing directly on myths, legends, and folklore, retelling them or building on their figures and logic.
    • Fantasy of ghosts, vampires, shapeshifters, psychics, and similar phenomena, usually set in an otherwise ordinary world.
    • Fiction mixing science-fictional trappings with overtly magical or impossible elements in one setting.
    • Low-stakes fantasy emphasizing comfort, community, and everyday pleasures over conflict and peril.
    • Speculative fiction of pervasive moral ambiguity, violence, and cynicism that rejects heroic conventions — fantasy and SF alike.
      • Fiction that extrapolates from science and technology — future societies, space travel, or speculative inventions — within at least nominally natural laws.
      • Science fiction of interstellar scope — starships, galactic polities, and adventure across star systems.
      • Science fiction committed to scientific rigor, where technical plausibility constrains the story.
      • Science fiction centered on armed forces and warfare, told largely from a military point of view.
      • Science fiction of networked, corporate-dominated near futures, pairing high technology with social decay.
      • Science fiction styled on nineteenth-century steam-powered technology, often in a Victorian or pseudo-Victorian setting.
      • Fiction depicting an oppressive or catastrophic society, presented as a warning.
      • Fiction set after civilization's collapse, following survivors in the ruins of the old world.
      • Fiction in which characters move between past and future, and the mechanics or consequences of that travel drive the plot.
      • Fiction exploring a world where a historical event went differently and history diverged from ours.
      • Science fiction about humanity's first encounter and communication with an alien intelligence.
      • Science fiction in which extraterrestrial forces attack or occupy Earth and humanity resists.
      • Fiction whose primary aim is to frighten or unsettle the reader through dread, menace, or the monstrous.
      • Horror of vast, indifferent, incomprehensible entities before which humanity is insignificant, in the Lovecraft tradition.
      • Horror of decaying houses, buried family secrets, and oppressive atmosphere in the Gothic literary tradition.
      • Horror centered on hauntings and the returning dead.
      • Horror located in the mind — paranoia, obsession, and unreliable perception rather than external monsters.
      • Horror built around the reanimated dead and survival amid their outbreaks.
      • Horror defined by explicit, transgressive gore that refuses to cut away from violence.
      • Speculative fiction of the strange and uncanny that resists both natural explanation and standard genre categories.
      • Fiction organized around solving a crime or puzzle, typically following an investigator toward the identification of a culprit.
      • A puzzle-first mystery that lays out clues so the culprit's identity can be deduced before the reveal.
      • Crime fiction of moral ambiguity, fatalism, and hard-edged style, set among the corrupt and the doomed.
      • A mystery following the realistic routines of police work — forensics, interviews, and case-building.
      • A gentle mystery with an amateur sleuth, a small community, and violence kept off the page.
      • A mystery set in a past era, where the investigation works within that period's methods and society.
      • Fast-paced fiction driven by imminent danger, pursuit, or high-stakes conspiracy, built to sustain tension.
      • A thriller of espionage — agents, tradecraft, and intelligence services in conflict.
      • A thriller centered on lawyers and the courtroom, where litigation carries the suspense.
      • A thriller driven by detailed contemporary or near-future technology, often military or scientific.
      • A thriller whose tension comes from mental states and manipulation between characters rather than external action.
      • Fiction whose central plot is a romantic relationship and its development toward an emotionally satisfying resolution.
      • Romance in which one or both partners are supernatural beings, blending fantasy elements into the love story.
      • A fantasy-romance hybrid in which the romantic arc and the fantasy plot carry equal weight.
      • Romance set in a past era, with courtship shaped by the period's society and manners.
      • Romance set in the present day, without supernatural or historical elements.
      • Fiction set in a real past period, where the historical setting materially shapes characters and events.
        • General and literary fiction emphasizing prose style, character interiority, or formal ambition over genre plot conventions.
        • Fiction in a realistic world where magical events occur and are treated as ordinary, in the tradition of Latin American literature.
        • Fiction that ridicules people, institutions, or society in order to criticize them.
        • Fiction of dreamlike, irrational imagery and logic that breaks from realistic representation.
        • Fiction that plays with narrative convention through metafiction, fragmentation, and self-reference.
        • Fiction propelled by journeys, exploration, and physical peril, where action and survival carry the plot.
        • Adventure fiction of ships and seafaring — naval engagements, voyages, and life at sea.
        • Fiction of the American frontier West — gunmen, ranchers, and lawmen, typically in the late nineteenth century.
        • Fiction centered on soldiers, campaigns, and the experience of warfare, historical or imagined.
          • Fiction written primarily to amuse, using comedic situations, wit, or parody as its organizing principle.
            • Multi-generational fiction following a family or dynasty across decades, with inheritance and kinship as the through-line.
              • Fiction whose world runs on explicit game mechanics — levels, stats, and skills that characters can see and exploit.
                • Fiction about costumed or superpowered heroes and their conflicts with comparable villains.

                Practical

                How long a commitment, whether it stands alone, and whether it has finished.

                Tap a chip to ask for it · tap again to rule it out · once more to clear. Numbers show what would be left.

                • Cover of The Halloween Tree
                  The Halloween Tree

                  Ray Bradbury · standalone novel · 1972

                  similar bywhimsicalcontemporaryfantasyfriendshipmiddle grade

                  Eight boys gather on Halloween night to trick-or-treat with their ninth friend, Pipkin, only Pipkin never shows, having vanished on some errand that may cost him his life. A strange, black-robed guide named Moundshroud appears to lead the boys after him, and the chase turns into a journey through the history of the holiday itself: ancient Egypt, druidic Britain, Rome, medieval Paris, and the Mexican Day of the Dead, each stop peeling back another layer of how humanity has faced death and the dark. Ray Bradbury's Halloween novel doubles as a compressed history of the holiday's origins.

                • Cover of The Wildwood Chronicles
                  The Wildwood Chronicles

                  series · 3 books · 2011

                  similar bywhimsicalcontemporaryfantasyfriendshipportal fantasymiddle grade

                  Colin Meloy's Wildwood Chronicles opens with Wildwood (2011), illustrated by his wife Carson Ellis, in which two Portland seventh-graders are drawn into a hidden, magical forest while trying to rescue a baby kidnapped by crows, and are swept into a larger struggle as they learn of their connection to this parallel world. Praised for its illustrations and old-fashioned book design, the trilogy continues across Under Wildwood and Wildwood Imperium.

                • Cover of Miss Meteor
                  Miss Meteor

                  Anna-Marie McLemore & Tehlor Kay Mejia · standalone novel · 2020

                  similar bywhimsicalcontemporaryfantasyfriendshipidentity

                  Miss Meteor is a 2020 young adult fantasy novel by Tehlor Kay Mejia and Anna-Marie McLemore.

                • Cover of Joplin, Wishing
                  Joplin, Wishing

                  Diane Stanley · standalone novel · 2017

                  similar bywhimsicalfriendshipcontemporaryfantasyportal fantasymiddle grade

                  While cleaning out her reclusive grandfather s house, Joplin discovers pieces of a broken platter in a cookie tin. After having the platter repaired, Joplin wishes that she could both find a friend at school, and befriend the girl pictured in the platter. The next day, Joplin befriends a boy named Barrett, and also notices a girl outside her apartment. A girl who looks remarkably like the girl in the platter.

                • Cover of The BFG
                  The BFG

                  Roald Dahl · standalone novel · 1982

                  similar bywhimsicalcontemporaryfantasyfriendship

                  The BFG is a 1982 children's novel by British author Roald Dahl. It is an expansion of a short story from Dahl's 1975 novel Danny, the Champion of the World. The book is dedicated to Dahl's oldest daughter, Olivia, who had died of measles encephalitis at the age of seven in 1962.

                • Cover of Summerland
                  Summerland

                  Michael Chabon · standalone novel · 2002

                  similar bywhimsicalcontemporaryfantasyportal fantasy+1 more

                  Summerland is a 2002 fantasy young adult novel by American writer Michael Chabon. It is about young children who save the world from destruction by playing baseball, the central theme and symbol throughout the novel. Summerland weaves elements of a World Series, parallel-universe road trip, and a hero's odyssey. The book received mixed reviews; The New York Times called it "bewilderingly busy" and likened it to "the novelization of an animated action film".

                • Cover of Circus Mirandus
                  Circus Mirandus

                  series · 2 books · 2015

                  similar bywhimsicalcontemporaryfantasyfriendshipmiddle grade

                • Cover of Black and Blue Magic
                  Black and Blue Magic

                  Zilpha Keatley Snyder · standalone novel · 1966

                  similar bywhimsicalcontemporaryfantasyidentitymiddle grade

                  Twelve-year-old Harry Houdini Marco is awkward and clumsy, bearing little resemblance to his magician namesake, until he acquires the gift of flight.

                • Cover of David and the Phoenix
                  David and the Phoenix

                  Edward Ormondroyd · standalone novel · 1957

                  similar bywhimsicalcontemporaryfantasyfriendship

                  David and the Phoenix is a 1957 children's novel about a young boy's adventures with a phoenix. It was the first published book by American children's writer Edward Ormondroyd.

                • Cover of Chrestomanci
                  Chrestomanci

                  series · 12 books · 1977

                  completed

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                  Chrestomanci, sometimes branded The Worlds of Chrestomanci, is a heptalogy of children's fantasy books written by British author Diana Wynne Jones, published from 1977 to 2006. In the context of the parallel universe setting of the books, Chrestomanci refers to both the British government office that is responsible for supervising the use of magic and Chrestomanci Castle in southern England, which is both residence and headquarters.

                • Cover of More Than Magic
                  More Than Magic

                  Kathryn Lasky · standalone novel · 2016

                  similar bywhimsicalcontemporaryfantasyfriendshipportal fantasymiddle grade

                  Ryder Holmsby is the same age as Rory, the popular TV cartoon character her animator parents created. Ryder and Rory are alike bold and brave! But Ryder is a bit lonely: Mom passed away a couple of years ago, and Dad is dating a woman with snooty teenage daughters. Ryder doesn t fit in with them at all. And then: Shazam! Rory jumps out of the TV into Ryder s bedroom to tell her that the TV studio behind her parents show is trying to turn Rory into a dopey princess no more adventures. She needs Ryder s help! The two girls team up with a crew of animated and real-life friends to save the day in both worlds.

                • Cover of Catweazle
                  Catweazle

                  Richard Carpenter · standalone novel · 1970

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                  Catweazle is a rather unsuccessful magician who lives in the eleventh century. One day he flies through time and ends up at Hexwood Farm, where Carrot the farmer's son befriends him.

                • Cover of The Secret of Platform 13
                  The Secret of Platform 13

                  series · 2 books · 1994

                  similar bywhimsicalcontemporaryfantasyportal fantasymiddle grade

                  Eva Ibbotson's The Secret of Platform 13 (1994) follows a rescue party of three magical misfits -- a giant, a wizard, and a young hag named Odge -- who cross from a hidden magical island to King's Cross Station's Platform 13 to recover an infant prince kidnapped as a baby and raised, unaware of his heritage, in the ordinary world. A 2019 sequel, Beyond Platform 13, was written by Sibéal Pounder after Ibbotson's death, continuing the story for new readers.

                • Cover of Elf Dog and Owl Head
                  Elf Dog and Owl Head

                  M. T. Anderson · standalone novel · 2023

                  similar bywhimsicalcontemporaryfantasyfriendshipportal fantasy

                  Elf Dog and Owl Head is a 2023 children's fantasy novel written by American author M. T. Anderson and illustrated by Junyi Wu. Set during a global pandemic, it follows young Clay as he escapes into a fantasy world. While out wandering the woods on Mount Norumbega, Clay encounters the elf-hound Elphinore, who guides him into the magical Kingdom Under the Mountain.

                • Cover of The Island of Dr. Libris
                  The Island of Dr. Libris

                  Chris Grabenstein · standalone novel · 2015

                  similar bywhimsicalcontemporaryfantasyportal fantasymiddle grade+1 more

                  What if your favorite characters came to life? Billy’s spending the summer in a lakeside cabin that belongs to the mysterious Dr. Libris. But something strange is going on. Besides the security cameras everywhere, there’s Dr. Libris’s private bookcase. Whenever Billy opens the books inside, he can hear sounds coming from the island in the middle of the lake. The clash of swords. The twang of arrows. Sometimes he can even feel the ground shaking. It’s almost as if the stories he’s reading are coming to life! But that’s impossible . . . isn’t it?

                • Cover of Un Lun Dun
                  Un Lun Dun

                  China Miéville · standalone novel · 2007

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                  Un Lun Dun is a young adult fantasy novel by China Miéville, released in 2007. The title is derived from 'UnLondon,' the name of the alternate realm where the book is set. It also contains illustrations by Miéville. It was first released in January 2007. The novel also won the 2008 Locus Award for Best Young Adult Book.

                • Cover of The Winter Wolf
                  The Winter Wolf

                  Holly Webb · standalone novel · 2014

                  similar bywhimsicalcontemporaryfantasyfriendshipportal fantasy

                  Amelia is exploring the huge, old house where her family are spending Christmas when she finds a diary hidden in the attic. It was written by a boy struggling to look after an abandoned wolf pup. Before she knows it, Amelia is transported into the wintry world of the diary. Fans of Holly Webb's The Reindeer Girl will delight in this beautiful winter's tale.

                • Cover of The Starless Sea
                  The Starless Sea

                  Erin Morgenstern · standalone novel · 2019

                  similar bywhimsicalcontemporaryfantasyidentity

                  The Starless Sea is a 2019 speculative fiction novel by Erin Morgenstern. It is her second book, following the best-selling The Night Circus, which was published in 2011. The novel reached number three on The New York Times Best Seller list, and was also a Los Angeles Times and Sunday Times bestseller.

                • Cover of Tales of Magic
                  Tales of Magic

                  series · 7 books · 1954

                  completed

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                  Tales of Magic collects Edward Eager's seven loosely connected children's novels about ordinary kids who stumble into magic in everyday American settings, starting with Half Magic, in which four siblings find a coin that grants exactly half of any wish. Each book follows a different, sometimes overlapping set of children and a different magical object or rule, from Knight's Castle to the deliberately ambiguous Magic or Not? and its sequel The Well-Wishers. Eager wrote them as a direct homage to E. Nesbit, sometimes having his own child characters read her books.

                • Cover of Philippa Fisher
                  Philippa Fisher

                  series · 3 books · 2008

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                • Cover of Charlie (Roald Dahl)
                  Charlie (Roald Dahl)

                  series · 6 books · 1964

                  completed

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                • Cover of Fog Magic
                  Fog Magic

                  Julia L. Sauer · standalone novel · 1943

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                  A Nova Scotian girl's love of the fog brings her happy adventures in a village lost for a hundred years

                • Cover of Island of the Sequined Love Nun
                  Island of the Sequined Love Nun

                  Christopher Moore · standalone novel · 1997

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                  Island of the Sequined Love Nun is a novel by American absurdist writer Christopher Moore, published in 1997. It is based partly on the author's personal experiences in Micronesia.

                • Cover of Fairyland
                  Fairyland

                  series · 7 books · 2009

                  similar bywhimsicalfantasyportal fantasymiddle grade+1 more

                  Fairyland is a series of fantasy novels by Catherynne M. Valente. The novels follow a 12-year-old girl named September as she is spirited away from her average life to Fairyland.