Book picks similar to
Big Trouble by Matt Forbeck


fantasy
dungeons-and-dragons
middle-grade
fiction

Darkwalker on Moonshae


Douglas Niles - 1987
    Will the Balance of the Goddess, and the peace of the Ffolk, be destroyed by the Kazgaroth?Only Tristan Kendrick, troubled heir to the legacy of the High Kings, can rally the diverse people and creatures of the Isles of Moonshae to halt the spread of darkness...On the side of Evil: a relentless army of giant Firbolgs, dread Bloodriders, and preternatural incarnations of the Beast.On the side of Good: an uneasy alliance of halflings and dwarves, sister knights, bards and druids, and the powerful children of the Goddess--the Leviathan, the Unicorn and the Pack.

Seraphina


Rachel Hartman - 2012
    Four decades of peace have done little to ease the mistrust between humans and dragons in the kingdom of Goredd. Folding themselves into human shape, dragons attend court as ambassadors, and lend their rational, mathematical minds to universities as scholars and teachers. As the treaty's anniversary draws near, however, tensions are high.Seraphina Dombegh has reason to fear both sides. An unusually gifted musician, she joins the court just as a member of the royal family is murdered—in suspiciously draconian fashion. Seraphina is drawn into the investigation, partnering with the captain of the Queen's Guard, the dangerously perceptive Prince Lucian Kiggs. While they begin to uncover hints of a sinister plot to destroy the peace, Seraphina struggles to protect her own secret, the secret behind her musical gift, one so terrible that its discovery could mean her very life.

Inkling


Kenneth Oppel - 2018
    But after his dad’s string of successful books, a tragedy strikes the family and now his dad is completely stuck.If only artistic talent were hereditary. Ethan is stuck on a graphic-novel project of his own at school and won’t own up to the fact that he can’t draw. When one night an ink-blot creation emerges from his father’s sketchbook, the family’s whole world begins to change.Featuring artwork by the beloved, award-winning illustrator Sydney Smith, Inkling is a timeless story that speaks to the creator in us all.

Dungeons & Dragons Starter Set


James Wyatt - 2014
    This box contains the essential rules of the game plus everything you need to play heroic characters on perilous adventures in worlds of fantasy. Ideal for a group of 4 – 6, the Dungeons & Dragons Starter Set includes a 64-page adventure book with everything the Dungeon Master needs to get started, a 32-page rulebook for playing characters level 1 – 5, 5 pregenerated characters, each with a character sheet and supporting reference material, and 6 dice.

Hannah Green and Her Unfeasibly Mundane Existence


Michael Marshall Smith - 2017
    . . and now, they need her help.

Runemarks


Joanne Harris - 2007
    . . . Not that anyone would admit it was goblins. In Maddy Smith’s world, order rules. Chaos, old gods, fairies, goblins, magic, glamours – all of these were supposedly vanquished centuries ago. But Maddy knows that a small bit of magic has survived. The “ruinmark” she was born with on her palm proves it – and makes the other villagers fearful that she is a witch (though helpful in dealing with the goblins-in-the-cellar problem). But the mysterious traveler One-Eye sees Maddy’s mark not as a defect, but as a destiny. And Maddy will need every scrap of forbidden magic One-Eye can teach her if she is to survive that destiny.

Forsaken House


Richard Baker - 2004
    Original.

Beyond the Moons


David Zeb Cook - 1991
    With a dying alien's magical cloak and cryptic words, Teldin quickly discovers that he's a popular fellow with killers and cutthroats.

Frank Einstein and the Antimatter Motor


Jon Scieszka - 2014
    After an uneventful experiment in his garage-lab, a lightning storm and flash of electricity bring Frank’s inventions—the robots Klink and Klank—to life! Not exactly the ideal lab partners, the wisecracking Klink and the overly expressive Klank nonetheless help Frank attempt to perfect his Antimatter Motor . . . until Frank’s archnemesis, T. Edison, steals Klink and Klank for his evil doomsday plan!

Brightstorm


Vashti Hardy - 2018
    To make matters worse, the Lontown Geographical Society finds Ernest Brightstorm guilty of sabotaging the expedition of his competitor, Eudora Vane, a respected and powerful member of the Society. But then a mysterious clue leads the twins to question the story they’ve been told. Joining the ragtag crew of the Aurora, a homemade sky-ship captained by the intrepid Harriet Culpepper, Arthur and Maudie race to South Polaris to salvage their family’s reputation. As the sky-ship sets sail, the twins must keep their wits about them if they are to uncover the truth about what happened on their father’s doomed expedition, and to prove themselves worthy explorers. Brightstorm is a propulsive, vividly imagined fantasy adventure set among vibrant landscapes and peopled with dynamic and unforgettable characters.

Azure Bonds


Kate Novak - 1988
    One day she wakes up with blue, twisting and magical runes inscribed on her right arm, and with total amnesia about the circumstances that surround the tattoo. Ready to unveil the impenetrable mystery, Alias ​​forms a group that integrates a series of heterogeneous characters. Ruskettle, halfling troubadour, magician Akabar and a strange, mute and introverted man-lizard whom Alias baptized with the name of Dragonbait. With the help of her friends, the warrior discovers that symbols hold the key to her own existence. Will she know the frightening secret of her origin? This is a new volume from the Forgotten Realms collection and, like all others, full of intrigue, adventure, and magic.

The List


Patricia Forde - 2015
    Speak outside the approved lexicon and face banishment. The exceptions are the Wordsmith and his apprentice Letta, the keepers and archivists of all language in their post-apocalyptic, neo-medieval world. On the death of her master, Letta is suddenly promoted to Wordsmith, charged with collecting and saving words. But when she uncovers a sinister plan to suppress language and rob Ark’s citizens of their power of speech, she realizes that it’s up to her to save not only words, but culture itself.

Saga of Old City


E. Gary Gygax - 1985
    Travel through the world of Oerth along with Gord, the boy who becomes a man as he fights for his survival in a world of mysterious wizards, fearsome monsters, dour dwarves, and beautiful women. For Oerth is a world where a man's eyes always watch the shadows...and a man's hand is always on the hilt of his dagger.Here, at last, is adventure enough to last a lifetime--perhaps a very short lifetime!SAGA OF OLD CITY is the first in a series fo novels by Gary Gygax, designer of the ADVANCED DUNGEONS & DRAGONS game system and creator of the WORLD OF GREYHAWK Fantasy Game Setting.

The House That Wasn't There


Elana K. Arnold - 2021
    Arnold returns with an unforgettable story of the strange, wondrous threads that run between all of us, whether we know they’re there or not.Alder has always lived in his cozy little house in Southern California. And for as long as he can remember, the old, reliable, comforting walnut tree has stood between his house and the one next door. That is, until a new family—with a particularly annoying girl his age—moves into the neighboring house and, without warning, cuts it down.Oak doesn’t understand why her family had to move to Southern California. She has to attend a new school, find new friends, and live in a new house that isn’t even ready—her mother had to cut down a tree on their property line in order to make room for a second floor. And now a strange boy next door won’t stop staring at her, like she did something wrong moving here in the first place.As Oak and Alder start school together, they can’t imagine ever becoming friends. But the two of them soon discover a series of connections between them—mysterious, possibly even magical puzzles they can’t put together. At least not without each other’s help.

The Adventurers Guild


Zack Loran Clark - 2017
    . . . Their members often died young.In one of the last cities standing after the world fell to monsters, best friends Zed Kagari and Brock Dunderfel have high hopes for the future. Zed desperately wishes to join the ranks of the Mages Guild, where his status as Freestone's only half elf might finally be an asset. Brock, the roguishly handsome son of merchants, is confident he'll be welcomed into the ranks of the Merchants Guild.But just as it seems the boys' dreams have come true, their lives take a startling turn . . . and they find themselves members of the perilous Adventurers Guild.Led by the fearsome Alabasel Frond, the guild acts as the last line of defense against the Dangers-hungry, unnatural beasts from otherworldly planes. And when the boys uncover a conspiracy that threatens all of Freestone, Zed, Brock, and their new allies-Liza, a fierce noble, and Jett, a brave dwarf-must prove their worth once and for all.This start of a thrilling new series is sure to be a hit with readers who like their fantasies clever and action-packed, with tons of humor and heart.