Contemporary fiction is as important to literature as classic fiction, because while one kickstarted the reading revival, the other aided in its survival. That’s why, on this Book Lovers Day, we will take a look at those fiction series that should be part of every youngster’s bookshelf, even though they might seem old to some.

In the last 75 years, fiction has evolved due to these books and even though Nancy Drew and Hardy Boys made their first appearance in the last century, they gained popularity in the last 75 years and took the good work of their predecessors forward.

That doesn’t mean the newer literature isn’t up to the mark; while most of the kids out there can’t imagine life without the Diary of a Wimpy Kid series, many feel that those who haven’t had the chance to read The Harry Potter series don’t deserve to exist — such is the impact of the J K Rowling books.

So, let’s find out what makes these books important and why going through them will only help you develop your taste in quality literature.

Fantastic fantasies

Let’s start with what can easily be termed the most popular genre of the last two decades — fantasy. The genre has grown from second most popular to the most popular in a matter of a few years and one must thank The Lord of the Rings series, as well as The Harry Potter series for that.

While J R R Tolkien’s series featuring three books — The Fellowship of the Ring, The Two Towers, and The Return of the King — was written between 1954 and 1955, it gained popularity as soon as it was completed and went onto become one of the best-selling books ever written. Thanks to director Peter Jackson’s film trilogy, Lord of the Rings’ popularity increased in the last 20 years, and anyone who isn’t familiar with them is considered an outsider.

On the other hand, J K Rowling’s Harry Potter series came into existence in 1997, and in the course of ten years, the author wrote as many as six sequels and a total number of seven books, that were made into eight feature films, all creating records everywhere.

The novels chronicle the life of Harry Potter, a young wizard who is a student at Hogwarts School of Witchcraft and Wizardry, and how he and his friends continue to learn magic and defeat a dark wizard, Lord Voldemort, forms the central idea of the series.

And then there is the Percy Jackson & the Olympians series comprising of five novels that came out between 2005 and 2009. Penned by Rick Riordan, the novels are set in a fantasy world where the protagonist Percy Jackson, himself a young demigod, must prevent the Titans, led by Kronos, from destroying the world. Two of the five novels The Lightning Thief and The Sea of Monsters were converted into films as well, and fans of the series hope that they get to see the remaining three novels as well on a film screen, soon.

The spellbinding mysteries

Before moving away from the fantasy genre to the mystery genre, let’s spend some time with those book series that have shaped the future we are experiencing of children’s novels.

The first book series that comes to mind is Charlie and the Chocolate Factory, and its sequel Charlie and the Great Glass Elevator. Both novels by Roald Dahl revolve around the adventures of young Charlie Bucket, who in the former is visiting the chocolate factory of eccentric chocolatier Willy Wonka, whereas in the latter travels in the Great Glass Elevator, with Willy Wonka.

One can also go through the Diary of a Wimpy Kid series by American author Jeff Kinney which revolves around a middle-schooler Greg Heffley who illustrates his daily life in a diary, thus the title. So far 17 Wimpy Kids books have been published since 2007 and many kids find it extremely relatable, since most of them are going through the same things as The Wimpy Kid.

And finally, coming to the contemporary fiction in the mystery genre, which helped sustain English fiction amongst youngsters and competed well with the comic invasion of the last century, where they had to take on characters like Superman, Batman and Spider-Man, to name a few. Beginning with the Hardy Boys series in the 1920s and continuing in the 2020s with the Enola Holmes Mysteries, these series have kept the interest of young minds in the detection, deduction and solution of crimes that have ranged from murder to kidnapping.

The Hardy Boys series began as a mystery series for young adults and became hugely popular because of its plots, and its two main leads Frank and Joe Hardy. The two brothers who loved solving crimes as amateur sleuths had a great run as their original series continued to bask in glory from 1927 till 2005.

On the sidelines, there was the Hardy Boys Casefiles series created in 1987 (ended 1998), followed by Undercover Brothers (ended 2012) in the same year the original series run ended. Since 2013, The Hardy Boys Adventures has been in print and if the total number of their cases is calculated, it will cross 400 cases!

The Nancy Drew series came into existence in 1930 to bank on the popularity of the Hardy Boys mysteries and since then has garnered a huge following around the world. Penned by ghost writers under the pseudonym of Carolyn Keene, it followed the adventures of a teenage sleuth who never says no to an interesting case. Her character has evolved since the debut novel and many important women in the world cite Nancy Drew as their inspiration, which is the biggest validity any character can get.

To not include Enid Blyton’s name in the contemporary writers’ list would be an injustice to her since she single-handedly kept the genre alive during the last century. If the Five Find-Outers series catered to young adults, Famous Five and Secret Seven targeted even younger ones, whereas The Barney Mysteries was something that attracted every kind of audience. Her mysteries were simple and that made her books even more interesting today, despite the technological advancements of the day.

There was The Three Investigators series as well where Jupiter Jones, Pete Crenshaw, and Bob Andrews solved cases of all kinds, and then reported them to famous director Alfred Hitchcock who presented them in his usual style. A total of 43 books were published between 1964 and 1987 and were so popular that they were translated into multiple languages and even adapted into audio plays and graphic novels. The mysteries in this series were quite different from other series and the investigators’ ages (between 13 and 15) made it ideal to connect with the readers.

And then there is the legacy of Sherlock Holmes, simplified for young readers in two separate series. The first one — Young Sherlock Holmes series — features the adventures of a teenaged Sherlock who finds himself in trouble on a daily basis, but then solves the case with the help of his friends, and mentors. How he got his peculiar habits and what made him fall in love with the violin, author Andrew Lane’s eight books explain it all.

If you have watched the two Enola Holmes movies on Netflix then you know how she is connected to Sherlock Holmes, the greatest detective in the world. However, in The Enola Holmes Mysteries, penned by Nancy Springer, it is the youngest Holmes who takes the centre stage and solves crimes, while learning the tricks of the trade from her elder sibling. So far seven books in the series have been published and well received and one hopes that the Holmes tradition continues in coming years.

Published in Dawn, Young World, August 5th, 2023