Wednesday, September 23, 2015

Crossing Over: Back to School Edition


It's time for this month's edition of Crossing Over. If you're not familiar with Crossing Over it's a feature where I recommend an adult book with crossover appeal based on a YA book that is similar. It's basically an if you liked, then try but for crossover books. I'm trying to make this a more regular thing where I pick the books based on that month's theme but I couldn't think of anything for mystery month. Instead I decided to do a back to school edition. If you didn't see my Instagram photo last weekend I posted a few of my favorite magical boarding schools which got me thinking about these books.



The Name of the Wind by Patrick Rothfuss 
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The Name of the Wind takes readers to the fictional land of where Kvothe, the most notorious wizard in the world is telling his story about how he got to be so notorious. We first meet him at a young age when he is orphaned from his loving family and forced to live on the streets, which is dangerous and not very ideal. It's all very Harry Potter. But then he enters a university where he learns all kinds of different kinds of magic including alchemy and naming, makes enemies and friends with a diverse and quirky cast of characters, and goes on adventures. The whole book is incredibly atmospheric with a pretty dark world that I just loved.

Ink and Bone by Rachel Caine
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Ink and Bone takes readers to the a revisionist future where the Library of Alexandria has maintained power and controls knowledge. We first meet our protagonist at a young age when he is forced by his family to do things that help them get by, which is dangerous and not very ideal. It's all very Harry Potter. But then he enters a boarding school where he learns all kinds of different kinds of magic including alchemy and steampunk technology, makes enemies and friends with a diverse and quirky cast of characters, and goes on adventures. The whole book is incredibly atmospheric with a pretty dark world that I just loved.

When I read Ink and Bone a lot of it reminded me of The Name of the Wind but in a great way. They're very different stories but the worlds are so similar and atmospheric and these are two of my favorite magical schools. They are both really dark and have pretty intricate plots that keep you reading and through all kinds of surprises at you. They not only have crossover feel in the way that they will appeal to fans of both YA and genre fiction but they also cross genres so they're good books if you are trying to explore a type of book you don't often read.

Have you read The Name of the and/or Ink and Bone? What did you think? What historical fiction crossovers do you like? Leave me a comment with your thoughts. Thanks for stopping by and HAPPY READING!

5 comments:

  1. Hmmm, I read and loved Ink & Bone so maybe I should read In The Name of the Wind... Magical school and things like that I usually love!

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    1. Yup, Pili, Britt's right. You will love it. It's a great fantasy series. And I can't remember if you do audiobooks but The Name of the Wind is one of my favorites.

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  2. THIS! This is a brilliant comparison! I never would have thought of it but now that you point it out its perfect!
    <3 Britt

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    1. I think I had just read The Wise Man's Fear so the comparison was fresh for me. But I'm glad you agree. I said it to someone while they were reading Ink and Bone, they agreed so much it kind of made the book not as good to them. Oh well, I love when something reminds me of a favorite read. And these two were different enough to me.

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