Quirky, Upbeat Teen Fantasy

Try these books if you're looking for:

• Teen books
• Upbeat or light books
• Read-alikes for Diana Wynne Jones
• Quirky tone
  

The Secret Hour
By by Scott Westerfeld
YA F WESTERFE
Upon moving to Bixby, Oklahoma, fifteen-year-old Jessica Day learns that she is one of a group of people who have special abilities that help them fight ancient creatures living in an hour hidden at midnight; creatures that seem determined to destroy Jess.

Keturah and Lord Death
By Martine Leavitt
YA F LEAVITT
When Lord Death comes to claim sixteen-year-old Keturah while she is lost in the King's Forest, she charms him with her story and is granted a twenty-four hour reprieve in which to seek her one true love.

Sabriel
By Garth Nix
YA F NIX
Sabriel, daughter of the necromancer Abhorsen, must journey into the mysterious and magical Old Kingdom to rescue her father from the Land of the Dead.

Avielle of Rhia
By Dia Calhoun
YA F CALHOUN
Taught to hate and fear the heritage that sets her apart from most people of the kindgom, fifteen-year-old Princess Avielle of Rhia must finally embrace the magic of her Dredonian ancestors to save the very people who scorn her.

Wizard Test
By Hilari Bell
YA F BELL
Fourteen year-old Dayven is devastated when he learns he has wizard powers, since wizards are considered to be disloyal deceivers who believe in nothing, until he undergoes wizard training and discovers a new way of looking at the world that will change his values, friendships, and future.