The Short Version
If you want books like Harry Potter, start with The Lightning Thief for the closest match in fun and pace, Nevermoor for the closest match in wonder, and A Deadly Education if you grew up with Hogwarts and now want a darker magic school. Every pick below is the first book of a series, so you can keep going the way you did with all seven Harry Potter books.
I chose them for the things that made Sorcerer’s Stone work for me: an ordinary kid who finds out they’re special, a magical school or hidden world, friends who become family, and a mystery with fair clues. No spoilers, for Harry Potter or for these books.
Jump to: Comparison table · For kids · Series like Harry Potter · For teens and adults · If you liked it for… · How to choose
Books Like Harry Potter, Compared
Length is a rough guide against Sorcerer’s Stone, which runs about seventy-seven thousand words by our count. Age fit is my own opinion, not a publisher rating.
| Book | Author | Year | Length | Age fit | Why it’s similar |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| The Worst Witch | Jill Murphy | 1974 | Much shorter | 6+ | A clumsy girl at a boarding school for witches |
| The Lion, the Witch and the Wardrobe | C. S. Lewis | 1950 | Shorter | 7+ | Ordinary children step into a hidden magical world |
| Nevermoor: The Trials of Morrigan Crow | Jessica Townsend | 2017 | Longer | 9+ | An unwanted child is whisked into a magical city and a secret society |
| The Lightning Thief | Rick Riordan | 2005 | Similar | 9+ | A boy learns who his real parent is and goes to a camp for kids like him |
| Artemis Fowl | Eoin Colfer | 2001 | Shorter | 9+ | A hidden world of magical folk under our noses |
| Fablehaven | Brandon Mull | 2006 | Similar | 9+ | Two siblings discover a secret refuge for magical creatures |
| Keeper of the Lost Cities | Shannon Messenger | 2012 | Longer | 9+ | A girl who never fit in finds out she belongs to a magical world and its school |
| Northern Lights (The Golden Compass) | Philip Pullman | 1995 | Longer | 11+ | A girl raised in an Oxford college on a quest across a darker, larger world |
| A Wizard of Earthsea | Ursula K. Le Guin | 1968 | Shorter | 11+ | A gifted boy goes to a school for wizards, with real consequences |
| Carry On | Rainbow Rowell | 2015 | Longer | 13+ | A Chosen One in his last year at a school of magic |
| A Deadly Education | Naomi Novik | 2020 | Similar | 14+ | A magic school where the school itself tries to kill you |
| The Magicians | Lev Grossman | 2009 | Longer | Adults | A secret college of magic for a young man who loved a childhood fantasy series |
What Are the Best Books Like Harry Potter for Kids?
These are the gentlest picks, closest to the cozy, funny side of Sorcerer’s Stone. They work as read-alouds for the same eight-and-up crowd.
The Worst Witch
Jill Murphy’s The Worst Witch came out in 1974, more than twenty years before Harry boarded the Hogwarts Express. Mildred Hubble is a student at Miss Cackle’s Academy for Witches, and almost everything she tries goes wrong, from her broomstick to her spells.
The shared trope is the boarding school for magic: strict teachers, a rival who looks down on her, and a best friend who sticks by her. It’s much shorter and simpler than Harry Potter, with no real darkness, so it’s the best pick for younger readers who aren’t ready for a troll in the bathroom yet. It’s the first of a series.
The Lion, the Witch and the Wardrobe
C. S. Lewis published this in 1950. Four siblings, sent away from wartime London, step through a wardrobe into Narnia, a land trapped in endless winter.
It shares Harry Potter’s best feeling: an ordinary child finding a door into a secret world. It’s short, told by a narrator who talks straight to the reader, and the danger is real but never gruesome. There are seven Narnia books in all. If you want help with which one to read first, see our Narnia books in order guide.
Nevermoor: The Trials of Morrigan Crow
Jessica Townsend’s Nevermoor came out in 2017. Morrigan Crow is a cursed child, blamed for every bad thing in her town, until a strange man named Jupiter North sweeps her away to the magical city of Nevermoor.
To stay, she has to pass a series of trials to join the Wundrous Society. In my opinion this is the closest book here to the wonder of Diagon Alley and Morrigan’s arrival in a world that finally wants her, which mirrors Harry leaving the Dursleys. It’s funny, warm and a bit longer than Sorcerer’s Stone. It’s the first of a series.
What Book Series Are Like Harry Potter?
If what you loved was growing up with a hero across several books, these series give you that. Each starts accessible and gets bigger as it goes, the way Harry Potter does.
The Lightning Thief (Percy Jackson and the Olympians)
Rick Riordan’s The Lightning Thief came out in 2005. Percy Jackson is twelve, struggling at school, and keeps getting into trouble. Then he learns his father is a Greek god, and the only safe place for him is Camp Half-Blood.
It’s the closest match in pace and humor. Percy narrates in first person and he’s very funny, and the camp does the job Hogwarts does: a place full of kids like him, with teams, rivals and teachers who know more than they say. Chapters are short and the quest moves fast. If you only pick one, pick this.
Artemis Fowl
Eoin Colfer’s Artemis Fowl came out in 2001. Artemis is a twelve-year-old criminal mastermind who plans to restore his family’s fortune by kidnapping a fairy, Captain Holly Short of the LEPrecon police.
It shares Harry Potter’s hidden magical world living right beside ours, with its own rules, police and technology. The twist is that the human boy is the villain, at least at first, so it reads like a heist story with magic. It’s short, clever and full of gadgets. Pick it if you liked the rule-breaking more than the lessons.
Fablehaven
Brandon Mull’s Fablehaven came out in 2006. Kendra and her younger brother Seth stay with their grandparents and discover that the estate is a secret sanctuary for magical creatures, with rules the children must not break.
It shares the Forbidden Forest feeling: a place full of wonderful and dangerous things, and kids who can’t resist exploring it. Seth breaks every rule, Kendra keeps them, and the sibling teamwork works a lot like Harry, Ron and Hermione. It starts gentle and gets more exciting with each book. Pick it for the magical creatures.
Keeper of the Lost Cities
Shannon Messenger’s Keeper of the Lost Cities came out in 2012. Sophie Foster is twelve and can read minds. She has never fit in, and then she learns she isn’t human at all, but an elf, and she is taken to a hidden world and its school, Foxfire.
It’s the most Harry-like setup on this list: the special kid who doesn’t know her own story, a world that has been hidden from her, and a school year full of classes, friends and secrets. The books are long and the series is long too. Pick it if you want a series to live in for a while.
Northern Lights (The Golden Compass)
Philip Pullman’s Northern Lights was published in 1995; in the US it’s called The Golden Compass. Lyra lives at an Oxford college in a world where every person has a daemon, an animal companion that is part of their soul.
It shares the old-college setting and a brave, rule-breaking child, but it’s darker and more thoughtful than Sorcerer’s Stone, closer to the later Harry Potter books. It’s the first of the His Dark Materials trilogy, and I’d say eleven and up. Pick it if you liked the mystery and the big questions.
What Are Books Like Harry Potter for Teens and Adults?
If you read Harry Potter as a kid and want the same magic with grown-up stakes, these four are for you.
A Wizard of Earthsea
Ursula K. Le Guin published A Wizard of Earthsea in 1968. Ged is a gifted, proud boy who goes to a school for wizards on the island of Roke, and one act of showing off releases something terrible into the world.
This is the classic wizard school, long before Hogwarts. It’s short, quiet and beautifully written, and it’s about learning that power has a cost. There’s less humor than Harry Potter and more wisdom. Pick it if you want the magic school idea at its most serious.
Carry On
Rainbow Rowell’s Carry On came out in 2015. Simon Snow is the Chosen One in his final year at the Watford School of Magicks, and his roommate, Baz, is his enemy.
It’s a loving riff on the Chosen One story, so if you grew up on Harry Potter, you’ll recognize the shape and enjoy what Rowell does with it. It’s funny, romantic and young adult in tone, told in several voices. It’s the first of a trilogy. Pick it for the rivalry.
A Deadly Education
Naomi Novik’s A Deadly Education came out in 2020. El is a student at the Scholomance, a school of magic with no teachers, where monsters come through the walls and graduation is a fight to survive.
It takes the magic-school fantasy and turns it inside out: no Great Hall feasts, just a sarcastic heroine with a talent for dark magic who is trying very hard not to use it. It’s dense, clever and darker than Harry Potter. It’s the first of a trilogy. Pick it if you want Hogwarts with teeth.
The Magicians
Lev Grossman’s The Magicians came out in 2009. Quentin Coldwater is a gifted, unhappy young man obsessed with a childhood fantasy series, until he’s admitted to Brakebills, a secret college of magic in New York.
This is Harry Potter for adults, and it asks what happens when the magic doesn’t make you happy. There’s drinking, sex, swearing and real darkness, so it’s not for kids. It’s the first of a trilogy. Pick it if you want to see the fantasy you loved taken apart and put back together.
If You Liked Harry Potter for This, Read That
For the magic school:
- The Worst Witch, for the youngest readers
- Keeper of the Lost Cities, for the classes and friendships
- A Wizard of Earthsea, for the classic version
- A Deadly Education, for a darker school
For the found family and the friendships:
- The Lightning Thief, for a trio on a quest
- Nevermoor, for a hero who finally finds a home
- Fablehaven, for siblings who work as a team
For the mystery and the clues:
- Northern Lights, for a puzzle that keeps growing
- Artemis Fowl, for a heist told from both sides
For the humor:
- The Lightning Thief, for Percy’s voice
- Nevermoor, for its odd and lovable adults
- Carry On, for its Chosen One jokes
For the wonder of a hidden world:
- The Lion, the Witch and the Wardrobe, for the door into another land
- Nevermoor, for a city full of surprises
- The Magicians, for the grown-up version
How To Choose
So, how to choose. For the closest match, The Lightning Thief. For pure wonder, Nevermoor. For young readers, The Worst Witch or Narnia.
For a long series to live in, Keeper of the Lost Cities. For magical creatures, Fablehaven. For a heist, Artemis Fowl. For something deeper, Northern Lights.
And if you’re grown up now: A Wizard of Earthsea for the classic, Carry On for the rivalry, A Deadly Education for a darker school, and The Magicians for the adult version.
Where To Go Next
Rereading Harry first? My Sorcerer’s Stone review is spoiler-free, the ending explained covers the twist, and the HBO series guide and book vs movie are good next stops. Tell me which one you’re reading first.
