Books like Amari and the Night Brothers

Amari and the Night Brothers by B. B. Alston reads as magical, adventurous. These 12 books share its genome — matched by how they actually read, not just their shelf label.

What Amari and the Night Brothers is like to read

A middle-grade-leaning YA adventure that drops a scholarship-underdog heroine into a hidden magical bureau, braiding a missing-brother mystery with class-outsider stakes and a rowdy magical-creature supporting cast. Best for: readers who want a Percy Jackson / Nevermoor-style magical-academy adventure with a Black heroine and class-conscious stakes.

Nevermoor

Jessica Townsend · 2017

A whisked-away-to-a-magical-city adventure structured around escalating trials, with a cursed heroine finding belonging among eccentric mentors and rivals.

mildly eerieYAdeep cut

The Throne of Fire

Rick Riordan · 2011

A globe-hopping Egyptian-mythology romp narrated in alternating sibling voices, packed with quips, cliffhangery chapters, and mythic set pieces.

mildly eerieYA

Exile

Shannon Messenger · 2012

A propulsive middle-grade/YA fantasy sequel that blends cozy magical-creature care with escalating mystery and peril — earnest, plot-forward, and easy to binge.

mildly eerieYA

Tristan Strong Punches a Hole in the Sky

Kwame Mbalia · 2019

A grief-stricken boy punches into a mythic realm and finds himself thrown headlong into fast, funny, high-stakes adventure alongside African American folk heroes and West African gods.

mildly eerieyounger readerscliffhanger

How to Steal a Dragon's Sword

Cressida Cowell · 2011

A brisk, whimsical Viking-and-dragon adventure told through a clever underdog hero who wins by wits rather than muscle, ending on a hook that pulls readers into the next installment.

mildly eerieyounger readerscliffhanger

Race to the Sun

Rebecca Roanhorse · 2019

A young Navajo girl discovers she's destined to be a monster slayer and races against time through mythic landscapes to save her family, blending fast-paced adventure with cultural legend and coming-of-age heart.

younger readerscomplete storydeep cut

Spy school

Stuart Gibbs · 2012

An ordinary kid gets yanked into a secret spy academy where the classes are as dangerous as the missions — a brisk, joke-forward middle-grade adventure built on fish-out-of-water gags and escalating capers.

younger readersdeep cut

Dragon Pearl

Yoon Ha Lee · 2019

A shapeshifting fox-spirit heroine navigates a space-opera setting full of disguises, cons, and family mystery, blending trickster fun with genuine stakes about identity and belonging.

mildly eerieYAdeep cut