The Books on My “Prize Shelf” Part Two

Last post we talked about how for some reason I rank the shelves in my bedroom and that books have to earn their way to the top one, but we only covered half of the books on that shelf. So without further ado, let’s examine the rest of the books up there! 

Coming after The Books of Bayern, we have the newest series to ascend to that shelf: The Ranger’s Apprentice. This is a twelve book series that my mom gave me for Christmas because I just read too dang fast XD. These were recommended to us by a friend and clearly, I liked them. 

The Ranger’s Apprentice probably will not be everyone’s cup of tea –they’re definitely more of a middle grade, young man type book, not unlike Laura Martin’s Hoax for Hire. However, as evidence would suggest, they can be enjoyed by highschool girls, albeit girls who have a taste for weapons and medieval fantasy. The Ranger’s Apprentice follows orphan boy Will as he is selected to become one of the elusive and mysterious Rangers of Araluen. Throughout this huge series, Will goes from shy young boy to a competent middle aged man with an Apprentice of his own.

This series draws a lot of its inspiration from medieval Europe, with England posing as Araluen. Many other countries come in, including Skandia (can you guess what country that is?) with its vikings with a twist. The plot of the books does get a bit repetitive as you go on, but I highly enjoyed the archery, horses, battles (Without a lot of gore) and coming of age/adventure. Definitely recommend particularly for any middle schooler boys you know, and  people who have a taste for medieval adventure.

In between are a few random assorted books that are all quite small and I won’t be talking about them. One of these is an anthology –the only anthology I own. It’s called Voices of the Future, volume 1. This book is up there simply because one of the authors in it is my absolute favorite young author. I’ve read two of her unpublished books and they are exceptional, so her story was granted automatic clearance to the top shelf. 

Following closely behind we have my favorite slice-of-life/comedy series, The Penderwicks! My mom read the first book to me and my siblings a loooooooong time ago, and we loved it. The Penderwick girls are hilarious, compelling, and just a little bit crazy;). The first book is the story of their vacation at Arundel, a mansion and grounds owned by the stuck-up Ms. Tifton and her intriguing son Jeffery. The girls quickly get tangled up with Jeffrey and cause all sorts of well-meaning trouble. And the next four books are just as good, building off of the first one and creating a series that will alternatively have you laughing and crying with the characters. I always go back to the Penderwicks whenever I need a break from the heavier or sadder books, and they work like magic. 

After the Penderwicks is an interesting stack of books that are up there for special reasons. Top of the stack is The Royal Ranger, follow up series to The Ranger’s Apprentice. I liked the first series so much that the follow up was nearly guaranteed a spot up there unless it was a total flop, which it was not. Again, it is similar in storyline to the first series, but something that I like about Ranger’s is that it is really several mini-series combined into one huge one. For example, books 2, 3, and 4 are all connected to each other, with cliffhangers at the end of each. 5 and 6 are their own little series, but 7 stands alone. The same is true for The Royal Ranger. 1 is actually the last book in Ranger’s Apprentice, 2 and 3 are a series, as are 4 and 5. I believe six is on it’s way out though, so we’ll see! 

Some people may not like these books for the exact reason I do like them –they’re very similar to the first series. A different protagonist brings some new life into the books, as does some deepening development for returning characters. I enjoyed it though, and it has received a place on the shelf. 

Underneath those books is a copy of Ember Falls. Some of you are probably asking, why on earth isn’t the whole series there? Well, because my family would most likely rebel if I took them in here and because I don’t have room. This book is here because it was signed by S.D. Smith after my mother surprised us by taking us to a coffee shop he was doing a talk at and shocked me so much I whisper-yelled “SHUT UP!” in front of probably twenty people. I’ll have to do a whole new post on The Green Ember, because I was raised on those books (#firstgreenemberbirthdaypartyever) but for now suffice it to say that that book is there for a reason. 

The most recent addition to this shelf is a book by the name of The Ten Thousand Doors of January, by Alix E. Harrow. I… My mom gave me this book about six months ago and I let it sit on the ground on the unread stack for far too long. I picked it up a few weeks ago and I think I read it in four days. It is so freaking good. The story pulled me in instantly. Harrow’s writing style is incredible and I was rooting for her characters the whole time. I also really loved that the main character had a dog, and that the dog was there through the whole book. I have experienced so few fantasy books where the human and dog actually have a relationship like people and animals have in really life 😆. And as the people who were in the car with me can attest, the suspense was great. There may have been some agonized groaning and I might’ve yelled, “You have a gun! Just shoot him!” This quite possibly is the best book I’ve read all year. 

And to end it all, I have The Silver Mirror. Yes, that one. I wrote that book. It was my very first one, actually. That’s a special copy I ordered when I finished it, and while I will probably never pick it up again because it is so cringey, it will also probably never leave that spot. 

Well, those are the books on my “Prize shelf.” Which ones were your favorites if you’ve read them, and which ones did I (hopefully) convince you to check out?