Reddit mentions of Sabriel (Old Kingdom)

People above are mentioning similarity to Garth Nix. His Old Kingdom series is among my favorite books ever. The first one is called Sabriel. Definitely worth a read if you liked this.

You seem to have two types of books here, fantasy YA and classics that span the genres.

For fantasy YA-type books I recommend:

1. The Monster Blood Tattoo series by D.M. Cornish.
   
   
2. The Bartimaeus Trilogy by Jonathon Stroud.
   
   
3. The 3 volumes of the Chronicles of Chrestomanci by Diana Wynne Jones.
   
   
4. The Discworld Series by Terry Pratchett. It's not technically YA but would be very complimentary to YA, I think. The books are mostly standalone, though set in the same universe, so you can start anywhere. I started with "Small Gods," and it was great, so I recommend it as an entry to Discworld.
   
   
5. The Abhorsen trilogy by Garth Nix.
   
   For non-YA I think you might enjoy from the other books you've included, I recommend:
   
   
6. Watership Down by Richard Adams
   
   
7. The Hobbit/Lord of the Rings by Tolkien
   
   
8. Since you're interested in Sherlock Holmes, I wonder if you might be interested in The Beekeeper's Apprentice by Laurie R. King. It's the first in a set of novels reimagining Sherlock Holmes after his retirement, when he takes on a young woman named Mary Russell--his match in intellect and observation--as a protege. I first read The Beekeeper's Apprentice at about your age and loved it.

Three of the best after Ice and Fire:

The Abhorsen Trilogy by Garth Nix (trilogy)

His Dark Materials by Philip Pullman (trilogy)

The Earthsea series

Sabriel -Nix

Bout a Girl who can raise the Dead and talk with them-in a Fantasy/WWI setting. Awesome read & 1st in a series of 3

Nix is holding a giveaway for some bell charms and a sneak peak at Clariel! I was conflicted since sharing this here meant lower odds of me winning :P

>I think it must be time to have a giveaway again. I still don't have time to find someone to sell bell charms, so I will give some away. To have a chance to get some, write a review of SABRIEL here http://www.amazon.com/Sabriel-Abhorsen-Trilogy-Garth-Nix/dp/0064471837/ (nowhere else) and then comment on this post to let me know what name you've used. Seven people chosen at random from the reviewers who also post here will get two sterling silver bell charms each and a sneak peak of a piece of CLARIEL, two chapters bound in a small signed and numbered booklet. Yes, I know it is being Amazon-specific, and I know you may have to buy a book. But for better or worse, Amazon ripples spread widest and the giveaways are worth much more than a book, not least because they are otherwise unobtainable. I'll use my old D&D dice to choose who gets the loot a month from now, 8th September 2013.

The Unhandsome Prince by John Moore. It's kind of similar to Pratchett.

[Sabriel](http://www.amazon.com/Sabriel-The-Abhorsen-Trilogy-Garth/dp/00644718370 by Garth Nix. This is a light read, not light-hearted.

Raising people from the dead has been done in some good stories.

The closest to what I think you want would be the necromancers in Garth Nix's Abhorsen series. They have an official line of necromancers who can raise the dead to real life again; although they are more concerned with keeping the dead from coming back unnaturally.

http://www.amazon.com/Sabriel-Abhorsen-Garth-Nix/dp/0064471837

The hero Severian in Gene Wolfe's Shadow Of The Torturer series, gains the power to bring back the dead. He encounters a necromancer who has raised a classic zombie. Severian brings the zombie to life again. Strangely, the people who witness this find a true return to life more frightening than the zombie existence.

Jim Butcher's Dead Beat (I think the fifth book in the Harry Dresden series) has the hero up against necromancers. It is a forbidden magic but one of them is convinced it can lead to a natural immortality without being corrupting.

I'd argue that Sabriel and Girls Like Us didn't have romance, but I can think of more adult examples. Even in the narrower "adult books that appeal to YA readers" category.

Sure! I know exactly what you mean. So, I will say that a lot of the most interesting stuff in Fantasy is (and has for a while) being done in YA fantasy, and I don't mean stuff like Twilight.

Garth Nix's Abhorsen series (starting with Sabriel) is excellent. Melina Marchetta's Finnikin of the Rock is kind of along the lines of what you're talking about, but is really well done.

Just about anything by Dianna Wynne Jones is great, I will call out specifically Howl's Moving Castle (the inspiration for the Miyazaki film of the same name) and also her 6 part [Chronicles of Chrestomanci] (http://www.amazon.com/Chronicles-Chrestomanci-Charmed-Lives-Christopher/dp/006447268X/ref=sr_1_1?s=books&ie=UTF8&qid=1417629757&sr=1-1&keywords=chronicles+of+chrestomanci).

If you're in the mood for something more adult, I really enjoyed Jacqueline Carey's Kushiel series, starting with Kushiel's Dart, but that gets into some S&M stuff, which, YMMV.

And then Terry Pratchett's Discworld. Which is just fantastic.

The His Fair Assassin trilogy features Breton assassin nuns who serve a death god. In the books it states that the gods are pre-Christian but are now worshipped as saints. Those who still worship them as gods are known as followers of the old ways. I definitely recommend the series.

Though not Pagans, one of the main character's sisters in The Passion of Dolssa is a fortune-teller, and Dolssa herself is a mystic fleeing from inquisitors after being branded a heretic.

My friend recommended Till We Have Faces to me. It's a retelling of the myth of Eros and Psyche.

Cruel Beauty's main characters are Hellenists who practice Hermetic magick, and "As Above, So Below/As Within, So Without" is a running theme in the book. There are also Celtic pagans in the book.

I'd also say Sabriel. Sabriel is the daughter of a necromancer and she and her father practice Charter Magic, which uses runes. There is also a community of seers in the book.

I tend to read a lot of fantasy and YA, so hopefully this isn't a turnoff.

Abhorsen Trilogy, in case you haven't already read it! It's one of my favorite fantasy series. I don't know of a single person who I convinced to read it and didn't end up loving it :) The first book is called Sabriel. (http://www.amazon.com/Sabriel-Old-Kingdom-Garth-Nix/dp/0064471837/ref=sr_1_1?s=books&ie=UTF8&qid=1415711623&sr=1-1&keywords=sabriel)

I really hoped the thumbnail would appear for this post! Come on, NYT gallery ....

Anyhow, though I didn't know who they were until recently, as a child I was instantly drawn to books illustrated by Leo and Diane Dillon. I had to have every book I found featuring their art, including novels by Isabel Allende. I loved to read, but I'm sure I read more because of the artists' work. Other favorites I wished were illustrated by the couple — they made characters complex, dignified and multiethnic, overall more like the world I knew than the one reflected by most book covers.

Image Google "Leo and Diane Dillon art" for more excellence.