The talisman
Lynne Ewing
Book summary
This is a myth-inflected fantasy about a long struggle against evil, framed by Maggie’s approaching end and the need to choose a successor. Personal loyalties matter alongside the supernatural conflict.
Explore
Type a book, author, topic, idea or reading experience.
Find a Book
Scan the ISBN, scan the front cover, or type what you know.
Combine filters when useful. Values show what a book addresses, not what it endorses.
Clear filtersRequests, popularity, awards and recommendations—not just age. A list is a starting point, not a suitability verdict.
Popular themes
Type to search the full theme index.
Fresh mix gives you a varied selection that stays steady while you browse, so returning from a guide does not reshuffle the page.
Lynne Ewing
This is a myth-inflected fantasy about a long struggle against evil, framed by Maggie’s approaching end and the need to choose a successor. Personal loyalties matter alongside the supernatural conflict.
Michelle Krys
This is a supernatural search-and-rescue story, with Indie’s witchcraft efforts failing and the search leading to a perilous alternate dimension.
Cathy Cassidy
A family move sets up a story about adjusting to new relatives while navigating attraction to someone already involved with a stepsister.
Erin Hunter
This is a fantasy conflict centred on Brambleclaw’s struggle to remain loyal to his Clan while a dangerous quest for revenge unfolds around him.
Erin Hunter
Three young animals face distinct challenges: Thorn must confront betrayal in his troop, Sky seeks answers, and Fearless faces a usurper. Their efforts connect to a wider search for truth.
Erin Hunter
A Clan faces a crisis while its members try to protect their community. The shifting warrior code adds questions of loyalty and rules to the immediate trouble.
Erica Cameron
A teen science-fiction adventure about loyalty under pressure: Khya must decide whether to follow her clan or act to protect her brother, while relying on a rival.
Shanna Swendson
A fantasy adventure blends an alternate history with invention, rebellion, spying and a developing attraction. Verity must navigate life within a powerful family while taking risks for a cause.
Danielle Paige
This is a high-stakes fantasy conflict built around Amy’s responsibility for a failed mission and the danger of losing her way home.
Kevin J. Anderson, Rebecca Moesta
This instalment combines a dangerous Wookiee ritual with a mission that sets former friends against one another, bringing family concern and divided loyalties into a science-fiction adventure.
Brandon Sanderson
This is a science-fiction adventure about a would-be pilot investigating her father’s wartime actions while confronting unsettling discoveries about her world.
Stacey Jay
This is a fantasy romance built around a reimagined fairy tale, with competing survival needs and a relationship that challenges Isra’s inherited beliefs.
Nancy Werlin
A family curse and a bargain with a faerie queen set up a fantasy about loyalty under pressure. Fenella's promised freedom depends on destructive acts against the family she wants to protect.
Susanne Emily Dunlap
This historical setting combines a family’s exile and growing danger with a developing romance. The central tension is whether Anastasia and Sasha’s bond can protect her.
Rachel Cohn, David Levithan
A friendship story where a protective rule is tested, bringing questions of loyalty and love into sharp focus. The central relationship is emotionally complicated, rather than simply a romance.
Daniel McInerny
This is a playful fantasy adventure built around a hidden kingdom, unusual inventions and an unlikely mix of legendary peoples. Its central pull is Oliver’s new sense of friendship alongside a threat to his family.
Jen Calonita
A brisk, playful fairy-tale mash-up centres on a resourceful girl whose petty theft has consequences. Expect magic, mischief, action and uncertainty about which characters can be trusted.
Paige Green
This is a family-centred street-fiction premise, with twin brothers pulled in different directions by ambition, trouble and urgent family needs. Deion’s decision is posed, but its outcome is not given.
Julie Kagawa
This is a fantasy adventure built around Meghan’s family upheaval and discovery of a magical heritage, with a war and a dangerous prince shaping the stakes.
Leah Cypess
A fantasy about a young woman expected to serve as a royal protector, while trying to understand her identity and decide whom to trust.
Kiki Hamilton
This is fantasy adventure driven by danger, a search for treasure and Tiki’s divided loyalties. It may appeal to readers interested in faerie courts and perilous quests.
Jen Calonita
This is a fairy-tale-inspired school adventure centred on Gilly’s effort to help her younger sister. Its setup combines familiar storybook figures with a reform-school predicament.
Jennifer L. Armentrout
A supernatural romance and conflict story, with Layla's divided heritage shaping her sense of belonging and complicating whom she can trust.
Rachel Roberts
This is a high-stakes fantasy finale centred on three young mages, their animal friends and a last chance to fulfil a shared destiny.
Rebecca Barnhouse
This historical story centres a servant's perspective on a pilgrimage, giving attention to the labour and hardship behind the travellers' religious journey.
K. M. Peyton
This is a historical adventure centred on Minna’s determination to stay close to people she cares about, even as she encounters the harsh realities of army life.
Rhiannon Thomas
This is court-centred fantasy with a murder mystery: an unexpected queen must investigate a poisoning while deciding whether, and how, to rule.
This is a suspense-led adventure about a brother searching for his missing sister inside an Imperial academy, with secret affiliations and loyalty tests driving the plot.
Robin Stevenson
A suspenseful story about Franny weighing loyalty to her girlfriend against concern for her parents, amid threats connected to their abortion work.
Tamora Pierce
This fantasy adventure follows a girl pursuing knighthood in a role that conceals her identity. Its central tension links ambition, loyalty to a friend and the risk of being discovered.
Isaac Blum
This is a community-conflict story as well as a first-love plot: Hoodie is caught between someone he cares about and the Orthodox Jewish community he has always known.
A space-opera adventure centred on Han and Chewbacca, set just after a major Rebel victory. Their hopes of collecting a reward and settling debts sit alongside the Empire’s continuing effort to find the rebels.
French, Simon
Kieran wants to fit in at school, but his cousin Bon becomes a target for teasing. Kieran must choose between acceptance by the other children and standing up for Bon. The story also involves jealousy, family secrets and unexpected kindness; how these strands develop or end is unclear.
John Flanagan
This is a fantasy adventure shaped by a royal threat, rumours of sorcery and a hostage situation. Its central pressure is Will’s conflict between duty to the king and loyalty to Alyss.
Lisa McMann
A fantasy adventure shaped by divided loyalties, perilous plans and the prospect of war, with the brothers’ relationship under strain.
Sarah Mlynowski
The setup may appeal to readers interested in stories about travel, friendship and family concerns.
Rick Riordan, Mark Oshiro
This is a mythological quest centred on Nico and Will, combining supernatural danger with a relationship under strain. Nico’s grief and experience of being outed are part of his background.
Susan Holliday
A fantasy adventure centred on Juniper’s rule-breaking, risk-taking and friendship with Oak.
Avi
A dog’s-eye adventure about divided loyalties: McKinley is pulled between his human family and the freedom Lupin offers. Animal characters speak English, giving the story a fantastical element.
Jacob Devlin
This is an imaginative fairy-tale adventure about family, friendship and finding missing people, combining modern Virginia with an older magical world. Its shifting settings, time structure and recognisable story figures may appeal to readers who enjoy elaborate retellings.
Robert Liparulo
A family mystery combining time-period portals, a missing mother, a threatening stranger and a house full of secrets. The story appears to build suspense through pursuit, uncertainty and questions about who is watching the family.
Billie Livingston
This appears to offer a close, troubled family story rather than a straightforward adventure: a mother and daughter are bound by both volatility and affection, with addiction shaping their circumstances.
Erin Hunter
This is an energetic animal fantasy about survival, territory and loyalty. Expect danger, competing packs, resource shortages and a protagonist forced to make difficult choices between established relationships and a new community.
Sasha Paley
This is a character-led summer-camp story about two girls negotiating weight, money, family expectations, attraction and friendship. It offers humour and conflict, but its treatment of body image may feel troubling or unresolved.
Ryan Mark
A tense dystopian adventure about survival, loyalty and resistance after societal collapse. William’s attempt to find someone who has disappeared places personal devotion alongside questions about Terrafall’s authority and promises.
Andrew Clements
A map-loving pupil faces a mystery after secret maps about school life disappear and threatening notes arrive. The investigation offers puzzles, inventive interests and school relationships, while privacy and the effects of representing other people deserve attention.
Pam McGaffin
A reflective coming-of-age novel centred on a teenager waiting for her fisherman father, with family strain, friendship, first love, self-image and prejudice among its stated concerns.
Jennifer L. Armentrout
A fast-moving paranormal sequel combining soul-threatening danger, investigation, humour and romance. Layla’s divided loyalties and changing abilities place personal relationships alongside a threat affecting students at her school.