Brandon Mull's Fablehaven series offers fun spook factor for young adults and older

In the 2000s, amid the Harry Potter craze, fantasy books aimed at the same young adult audience became more prolific. Rick Riodan's multiple Percy Jackson series is a great example; Brandon Mull's Fablehaven series was another.

The great thing about these series is that there is plenty of appeal for an older audience too. Like Harry Potter, parents and grandparents could enjoy the action and adventure as much as their younger family members.

Authors like Riodon and Mull did an incredible job of not just copying what J.K. Rowling did with the fantasy genre but developing their own worlds of magic, characters, and worlds. There were no crossovers.

What makes the Fablehaven such a terrific fantasy series

The main characters in Fablehaven are siblings aged 11 and 13. They are sent to visit their grandparents, who live on this incredibly interesting chunk of land. What they do not know is that their grandparents' home is actually a magical sanctuary called Fablehaven.

The children quickly become aware that not all is as it seems, and throughout the first book, they learn the secrets of the sanctuary and its hidden inhabitants. It is a vibrant yet dangerous place for the unknowing, and their education of their grandparents' world begins.

Throughout the series, Kendra and Seth (the siblings) discover that there are good magical creatures in the world, such as centaurs, unicorns, faeries, and others. However, there are also evil creatures, such as trolls, imps, and demons.

Throughout the five-book series, Kendra and Seth, with a host of friends and allies, have to match their wits with evil beings to save the world. The children age a couple of years over the course of the books as they experience new experiences.

While these books are written for an age group, be careful starting them too early with your child. There are plenty of scary instances throughout the series, so if your child is sensitive to these types of themes, it's better to wait until they are 10 or 11 years old to start them on these books. They are great books to read aloud to your kids, too. It is so much fun to share these adventures with your children.

These stories are also well-written enough for adults to enjoy them independently. Mull's imagination has such a vividity that it is easy to fall into the story and not feel like you are reading a kid's book. They are not quite as dark as the Harry Potter books, but they still deal with magical creatures in a magical world.

There is a follow-up series to Fablehaven called Dragonwatch that takes place in the same world and has the same main characters, but that is a story for another time.

Here is a list of the five books in the Fablehaven series.

Fablehaven
Fablehaven: Rise of the Evening Star
Fablehaven: Grip of the Shadow Plague
Fablehaven: Secrets of the Dragon Sanctuary
Fablehaven: Keys to the Demon Prison