If you're looking for some new reading material now that Harry Potter is complete, I've been doing some investigating for you. Some websites say Eva Ibbotson's The Secret of Platform 13 is the closest read to Harry Potter, but I don't agree. It's a perfect choice for a early grade school-aged kid, but pretty fairy tale cutesy for adults. At least Ibbotson has many novels to choose from if you like her style.

However, there is material in the juvenile section that an adult Harry Potter fan will enjoy. I'm reading Midnight for Charlie Bone by Jenny Nimmo right now and it has the kind of story I'm looking for. We've got the young boy with a gift he wasn't expecting and the school filled with eccentric characters. It's a very different plot in some ways from HP but it definitely meets the need of an engaging magical tale about a young hero. There are six books out in this series and more to come.

For other "read-a-likes" check out www.fantasticfiction.com for suggestions. One nice feature of the site is it has recommendations by the authors themselves. For instance, Ibbotson recommends Cornelia Funke's The Thief Lord, which I didn't personally adore, though I do love any story set in Venice just on principle. My favorite recent youth-oriented read has been The Bartimaeus Trilogy by Jonathan Stroud. This trilogy is not exactly Harry Potter-ish but it's fantastic. Other series to try are the Artemis Fowl books (haven't read those yet) and Philip Pullman's His Dark Materials series (which starts with The Golden Compass and may be more like Dan Brown books than J.K. Rowling in some ways). I've also heard good things about Garth Nix's Old Kingdom series (as well as complaints). Of course, the Christopher Paolini book Eragon remains hugely popular but in my opinion it's more of a straight adventure tale. I haven't read the sequel though, so the story could deepen.