Book: The Last Unicorn

TITLE: The Last Unicorn
AUTHOR: Peter S. Beagle
PUBLISHED: 1968
GENRE: Fantasy
CATEGORY: I say it's adult as all the characters are adult, but I've seen it shelved as both YA and Childrens and adult so...
PAGES: 294
SUMMARY:  The unicorn, alone in her enchanted wood, discovers that she may be the last of her kind. Reluctant at first, she sets out on a journey to find her fellow unicorns.

Series: The Oz series

SERIES: Oz series
AUTHOR: Frank L. Baum
ORDER OF BOOKS: The Wonderful Wizard of Oz
The Marvelous Land of Oz
Ozma of Oz
Dorothy and the Wizard in Oz
The Road to Oz
The Emerald City of Oz
The Patchwork Girl of Oz
The Tok of Oz
The Scarecrow of Oz
Rinkitink in Oz
The Lost Princess of Oz
The Magic of Oz
Glinda of Oz
STARTED: 1900
COMPLETED: 1920
GENRE: Fantasy
CATEGORY: Childrens/Middle-grade/Classic
SUMMARY OF FIRST BOOK ON GOODREADS: The classic American fairy tale of Dorothy Gale and her dog, Toto, one of the true staples of American literature, The Wonderful Wizard of Oz has stimulated the imagination of young and old alike for generations.

Book: Peter Pan

Title: Peter Pan
Author: J. M. Barrie
Category: Classic, Childrens/Middle-Grade
Genre: Fantasy/Adventure
Pages: around 200 pages, depending on the version
Published: 1902
Summary on Goodreads: Neverland is home to Peter Pan, a young boy who has never grown up. On one of his visits to London, Peter makes the acquaintance of young Wendy Darling, whom he invites to travel with him to Neverland and become the mother of his gang of Lost Boys. Flying through the night sky to Neverland, Wendy and her brothers are soon caught up in adventures.

Series: The Naturals

Series: The Naturals
Order of Series: The Naturals
Killer Instinct
All In (coming November 3rd)
Possible forth book depending on how things go
Author: Jennifer Lynn Barnes
Started: 2013
Category: YA
Genre: Mystery, Paranormal/Urban Fantasy, People with Powers
Summary of First Book: Seventeen-year-old Cassie is a natural at reading people. Piecing together the tiniest details, she can tell you who you are and what you want. But it’s not a skill that she’s ever taken seriously. That is, until the FBI come knocking: they’ve begun a classified program that uses exceptional teenagers to crack infamous cold cases, and they need Cassie.

What Cassie doesn’t realize is that there’s more at risk than a few unsolved homicides—especially when she’s sent to live with a group of teens whose gifts are as unusual as her own. Sarcastic, privileged Michael has a knack for reading emotions, which he uses to get inside Cassie’s head—and under her skin. Brooding Dean shares Cassie’s gift for profiling, but keeps her at arm’s length.

Soon, it becomes clear that no one in the Naturals program is what they seem. And when a new killer strikes, danger looms closer than Cassie could ever have imagined. Caught in a lethal game of cat and mouse with a killer, the Naturals are going to have to use all of their gifts just to survive.

Good for: Jennifer Lynn Barnes fans, Mystery fans, NCIS/CSI fans, Body Finder fans, Urban Fantasy fans

Trilogy: Raised by Wolves

Trilogy: Raised by Wolves
Order of Books: Raised by Wolves
Trial by Fire
Taken by Storm
Author: Jennifer Lynn Barnes
Started: 2010
Category: YA
Genre: Urban Fantasy/Werewolves
Summary of First Book on Goodreads: Adopted by the Alpha of a werewolf pack after a rogue wolf brutally killed her parents right before her eyes, fifteen-year-old Bryn knows only pack life, and the rigid social hierarchy that controls it.  That doesn't mean that she's averse to breaking a rule or two.  

But when her curiosity gets the better of her and she discovers Chase, a new teen locked in a cage in her guardian's basement, and witnesses him turn into a wolf before her eyes, the horrific memories of her parents' murders return. Bryn becomes obsessed with getting her questions answered, and Chase is the only one who can provide the information she needs.

But in her drive to find the truth, will Bryn push too far beyond the constraints of the pack, forcing her to leave behind her friends, her family, and the identity that she's shaped?

Trilogy: Grisha

Series: Grisha Trilogy
Author: Leigh Bardugo
Started: 2012
Category: YA
Genre: Fantasy
Order of Books: Shadow and Bone
Siege and Storm
Ruin and Rising
Summary of First Book on Goodreads: Surrounded by enemies, the once-great nation of Ravka has been torn in two by the Shadow Fold, a swath of near impenetrable darkness crawling with monsters who feast on human flesh. Now its fate may rest on the shoulders of one lonely refugee.

Alina Starkov has never been good at anything. But when her regiment is attacked on the Fold and her best friend is brutally injured, Alina reveals a dormant power that saves his life—a power that could be the key to setting her war-ravaged country free. Wrenched from everything she knows, Alina is whisked away to the royal court to be trained as a member of the Grisha, the magical elite led by the mysterious Darkling.

Yet nothing in this lavish world is what it seems. With darkness looming and an entire kingdom depending on her untamed power, Alina will have to confront the secrets of the Grisha . . . and the secrets of her heart.

Series: The Indian in the Cupboard

Series: Indian in the Cupboard
Author: Lynne Reid Banks
Started: 1980
Category: Childrens/Middle-Grade
Genre: Magical Realism
Order of Books: The Indian in the Cupboard
The Return of the Indian
The Secret of the Indian
The Mystery of the Cubboard
The Key to the Indian
Summary of first book on Goodreads: At first, Omri is unimpressed with the plastic Indian toy he is given for his birthday. But when he puts it in his old cupboard and turns the key, something extraordinary happens that will change Omri's life for ever. 
For Little Bull, the Iroquois Indian brave, comes to life...

Book: The True Confessions of Charlotte Doyle

Title: The True Confessions of Charlotte Doyle
Author: Avi
Category: YA
Genre: Historical Fiction
Published: 1990
Pages: 304
Summary on Goodreads: An ocean voyage of unimaginable consequences... Not every thirteen-year-old girl is accused of murder, brought to trial, and found guilty. But I was just such a girl, and my story is worth relating even if it did happen years ago. Be warned, however: If strong ideas and action offend you, read no more. Find another companion to share your idle hours. For my part I intend to tell the truth as I lived it.

Notes: This author has written dozens of other books, including two other award winners. This is my personal favorite.

Author: Jane Austen

Author: Jane Austen
Wrote during: the 1800s
Category: Classic
Genre: Romance
Books: Sense and Sensibility
Pride and Prejudice
Mansfield Park
Emma
Northhanger Abbey
Persuasion
Lady Susan

Note: There are several versions of these books available. You can buy them individually or in a bound volume like the one pictured.

Book: The Handmaid's Tale

Title: The Handmaid's Tale
Author: Margaret Atwood
Published: 1985
Category: Adult
Genre: Dystopian
Pages: 311
Summary on Goodreads: Offred is a Handmaid in the Republic of Gilead. She may leave the home of the Commander and his wife once a day to walk to food markets whose signs are now pictures instead of words because women are no longer allowed to read. She must lie on her back once a month and pray that the Commander makes her pregnant, because in an age of declining births, Offred and the other Handmaids are valued only if their ovaries are viable. Offred can remember the years before, when she lived and made love with her husband, Luke; when she played with and protected her daughter; when she had a job, money of her own, and access to knowledge. But all of that is gone now... 

Series: Foundation

Trilogy: Foundation
Author: Isaac Asimov
Started: 1951
Category: Adult
Genre: Science Fiction
Order of Books: Foundation
Foundation and Empire
Second Foundation
Foundation's Edge
Foundation and Earth
Prelude to Foundation (prequel)
Forward the Foundation (prequel 2)
Summary of first book: For twelve thousand years the Galactic Empire has ruled supreme. Now it is dying. But only Hari Seldon, creator of the revolutionary science of psychohistory, can see into the future -- to a dark age of ignorance, barbarism, and warfare that will last thirty thousand years. To preserve knowledge and save mankind, Seldon gathers the best minds in the Empire -- both scientists and scholars -- and brings them to a bleak planet at the edge of the Galaxy to serve as a beacon of hope for a future generations. He calls his sanctuary the Foundation.

But soon the fledgling Foundation finds itself at the mercy of corrupt warlords rising in the wake of the receding Empire. Mankind's last best hope is faced with an agonizing choice: submit to the barbarians and be overrun -- or fight them and be destroyed. 

Note: Asimov's Robot series is also apart of this universe. 

Book: Thirteen Reasons Why

Title: Thirteen Reasons Why
Author: Jay Asher
Published: 2007
Category: YA
Genre: Realistic Fiction, Personal/Family Drama
Pages: 304
Summary on Goodreads: Clay Jensen returns home from school to find a mysterious box with his name on it lying on his porch. Inside he discovers thirteen cassette tapes recorded by Hannah Baker, his classmate and crush who committed suicide two weeks earlier.
On tape, Hannah explains that there are thirteen reasons why she decided to end her life. Clay is one of them. If he listens, he'll find out how he made the list.

Book is Good for: Speak fans, serious issue book fans, realistic fiction fans

Series: Arkwell Academy

Series: Arkwell Academy
Author: Mindee Arnett
Started: 2013
Category: YA
Genre: Urban Fantasy
Order of Books: The Nightmare Affair
The Nightmare Affair
The Nightmare Charade (out August 4rth)
fourth book apparently coming
Summary of the first book: Sixteen-year-old Dusty Everhart breaks into houses late at night, but not because she’s a criminal. No, she’s a Nightmare.

Literally.

Being the only Nightmare at Arkwell Academy, a boarding school for magickind, and living in the shadow of her mother’s infamy, is hard enough. But when Dusty sneaks into Eli Booker’s house, things get a whole lot more complicated. He’s hot, which means sitting on his chest and invading his dreams couldn’t get much more embarrassing. But it does. Eli is dreaming of a murder.

Then Eli’s dream comes true.

Now Dusty has to follow the clues—both within Eli’s dreams and out of them—to stop the killer before more people turn up dead. And before the killer learns what she’s up to and marks her as the next target.

Good for: Harry Potter fans, Percy Jackson fans, Mythos Academy fans

Series: Avalon

Series: Avalon
Author: Mindee Arnett
Started: 2014
Category: YA
Genre: Science Fiction
Order of Books: Avalon
Polaris
Summary of First Book: Of the various star systems that make up the Confederation, most lie thousands of light-years from First Earth-and out here, no one is free. The agencies that govern the Confederation are as corrupt as the crime bosses who patrol it, and power is held by anyone with enough greed and ruthlessness to claim it. That power is derived from one thing: metatech, the devices that allow people to travel great distances faster than the speed of light.

Jeth Seagrave and his crew of teenage mercenaries have survived in this world by stealing unsecured metatech, and they're damn good at it. Jeth doesn't care about the politics or the law; all he cares about is earning enough money to buy back his parents' ship, Avalon, from his crime-boss employer and getting himself and his sister, Lizzie, the heck out of Dodge. But when Jeth finds himself in possession of information that both the crime bosses and the government are willing to kill for, he is going to have to ask himself how far he'll go to get the freedom he's wanted for so long.

Good for: Firefly fans, science fiction adventure fans

Series: Women of the Otherworld

Series: Women of the Otherwold
Author: Kelley Armstrong
Started: 2001
Category: Adult
Genre: Urban Fantasy
First Book: Bitten
Summary of The First Book: Elena Michaels is the world’s only female werewolf. And she’s tired of it. Tired of a life spent hiding and protecting, a life where her most important job is hunting down rogue werewolves. Tired of a world that not only accepts the worst in her–her temper, her violence–but requires it. Worst of all, she realizes she’s growing content with that life, with being that person.

So she left the Pack and returned to Toronto where she’s trying to live as a human. When the Pack leader calls asking for her help fighting a sudden uprising, she only agrees because she owes him. Once this is over, she’ll be squared with the Pack and free to live life as a human. Which is what she wants. Really.

Author: Maya Angelou

Author: Maya Angelou
Genre most written: Poetry/Biography/Essays
Category: Non-Fiction
List of Major Books: Autobiography series (six books, first is I Know Why the Caged Bird Sings)
Complete Collected Poems
A Letter to My Daughter
Mom and Me and Mom
Phenomenal Women
There are many more, but these are the major ones you should probably read first.

Her work is good for: poetry fans, non-fiction biography fans,

Series: Kate Daniels series

Series: Kate Daniels
Author: Ilona Andrews
Started: 2007
Order of books: Magic Bites
Magic Burns
Magic Strikes
Magic Bleeds
Magic Slays
Magic Rises
Magic Breaks
Gunmetal Magic (side/companion book)
Magic Shifts (coming August 4rth)
Genre; Urban Fantasy/Shifters/Paranormal Romance

Note: This is a handle used for a husband wife team. They also have a couple of other series out that also fall under the urban fantasy/paranormal romance genre: The Edge series
Hidden Legacy series
Innkeeper Chronicles series

Author: Laurie Halse Anderson

Author: Laurie Halse Anderson
List of Books: Speak (must-read)
Fever 1793
Catalyst
Twisted
Chains/Forged
Wintergirls
Prom
The Impossible Knife of Memory
and more, but these are her major ones

Her work is good for: those who like standalone books, realistic fiction fans, serious fiction fans, books that go into touchy subjects fans,

Author: Julia Alvarez

Author: Julia Alvarez
Category: Adult/YA
Genre: Realistic Fiction, Family/Personal Drama, Historical Fiction
List of Major Books: How the Garcia Girls Lost Their Accents (and sequels)
In the Time of Butterflies
Before We Were Free (YA/MG)
In the Name of Salome
Return to Sender
Tia Lola series
Once Upon a Quinceanera
Yo!
and many more

Her work is good for: literature readers, Isabel Allende fans, those looking for books with Latino characters, family saga fans

Series: Gilda Joyce

Series: Gilda Joyce
Author: Jennifer Allisonh
Category: Childrens/Middle-Grade
Genre: Mystery/Paranormal
Order of Books: Psychic Investigator
The Ladies of the Lake
The Ghost Sonata
The Dead Drop
The Bones of the Holy
Started: 2005
Summary of First Book on Goodreads: Ever since her father died, quirky Gilda Joyce has been working hard to sharpen her psychic skills. She's determined to communicate with spirits from the Other Side and become a crack investigator of spooky, twisted mysteries. After wrangling an invitation to visit relatives in San Francisco, Gilda discovers that her dreary, tight-lipped uncle and his strange, delicate daughter need her help to uncover the terrible family secret that has a tortured ghost stalking their home. From poignant to hair-raising and hilarious, this is a behind-the-scenes, tell-all account of the very first case in the illustrious career of Gilda Joyce, Psychic Investigator. 

Series is good for: Nancy Drew Fans, Harriet the Spy fans, those looking for books with spunky girl characters