The Magicians by Lev Grossman

The Magicians by Lev Grossman is the perfect book for anyone who has fallen in love with the Harry Potter series, but wants and/or is told to read more age appropriate books. This trilogy is the adult Harry Potter. It is a phenomenal coming-of-age story full of dangerous Beasts, fairytales come true, college partying, and real live magic.

The main character, Quentin Coldwater, is a teenage boy with brains too developed for his own good, and therefore, lacking stimulus during his senior year in a dreary Manhattan. His only solace is found in his favorite childhood fairytale, the five volumes describing the fantastical world of Fillory, and his two best friends James and Julia. He only finds interest in his life when he finds himself with a dead Princeton-applicant interviewer, with an unheard of copy of the sixth Fillory book, and having built a massive mansion of cards out of thin air on the desk of the dean of a school for magicians. At Brakebill, Quentin is inspired in ways that he never dreamt possible, while for the first time building solid friendships, and facing his darkest fear and highest hope: the actual existence of Fillory.

All of us have felt the lack of knowing oneself while trying to figure out who we are and what we are going to do after high school, creating a unique bond between the reader and Quentin. The encompassment of high quality character development, the page-turner plot, and the fun that comes with the college experience make The Magicians by Lev Grossman an awesome read for those adults who are not quite ready to grow up. Had Harry Potter stuck it out and gone to college, he would have gone to Brakebill.

"And then a vast stony weight suddenly lifted off Quentin's chest. It felt like it had been there his entire life, an invisible albatross, a granite millstone holding him down, and all at once it just dropped away and disappeared without a splash. His chest expanded. He was going to bob up to the ceiling like a balloon. They were going to make him a magician, and all he had to do was sign. Jesus, what the hell was he thinking? Of course he was going to sign. This was everything he'd always wanted, the break he'd given up on years ago. It was right in front of him. He was finally on the other side, down the rabbit hole, through the looking glass. He was going to sign the papers and he was going to be a motherf**king magician. Or what the hell else was he going to do with his life?"(40).