Orphans book series in reading order

by L.A. Meyer

by David Rosenfelt

by Trenton Lee Stewart

by Georgia Byng

by Lauren Oliver

by Avi

by Sarah E. Ladd

Anthony Horowitz

106 books• 23 series

Anthony Horowitz is an English novelist and screenwriter, born 5 April 1955, who specialises in mystery and suspense. For children and young adults Horowitz created Alex Rider, a 14-year-old British boy who spies for MI6, along with The Power of Five (titled The Gatekeepers in the US) and The Diamond Brothers. The catalogue holds 106 Horowitz books from Enter Frederick K. Bower (1978) to A Deadly Episode (2026). Other listed series include Detective Daniel Hawthorne, Susan Ryeland, Groosham Grange and the Pentagram Chronicles. Horowitz is still publishing.

L.M. Montgomery

57 books• 9 series

Lucy Maud Montgomery (November 30, 1874 to April 24, 1942) was a Canadian author who published as L. M. Montgomery. Anne of Green Gables (1908) began the body of work Montgomery is known for, and the orphan Anne Shirley brought Montgomery fame and an international readership. The career produced 20 novels plus more than a thousand short stories and poems, alongside essays. The catalogue lists 57 books, from Anne of Green Gables to editions dated 2025, and holds the Anne Shirley, Emily and Silver Bush series and the published journals.

Mercedes Lackey

230 books• 52 series

Valdemar, a country in the world of Velgarth, is the setting for many of Mercedes Lackey's interlinked fantasy novels and trilogies. Lackey, an American writer born on June 24, 1950, brings human and non-human protagonists from many cultures together in the Valdemar books. A second Lackey setting resembles Earth but hides populations of elves, mages, vampires and other mythical beings. Bedlam's Bard follows a young man who works magic through music, SERRAted Edge features elves who race cars, and the Diana Tregarde thrillers star a Wiccan fighting evil. Arrows of the Queen (1987), Arrow's Flight (1987) and Arrow's Fall (1988) are among the listed titles, and Elemental Masters and Five Hundred Kingdoms are further series.

Rick Riordan

82 books• 19 series

Rick Riordan, born Richard Russell Riordan Jr. on June 5, 1964, is an American author. Riordan is best known for the Camp Half-Blood Chronicles, which take in Percy Jackson & the Olympians, The Heroes of Olympus, The Trials of Apollo and The Nico di Angelo Adventures. The catalogue holds 82 books from 1997 to 2026, opening with Big Red Tequila (1997) and reaching The Lightning Thief in 2005; the Tres Navarre and Kane Chronicles lines also feature. Riordan's books have been translated into 42 languages and have sold more than 30 million copies in the United States. 20th Century Fox filmed the first two Percy Jackson books, a project Riordan had no part in.

Barbara Cartland

702 books• 3 series

Barbara Cartland, born Mary Barbara Hamilton Cartland on 9 July 1901 and died on 21 May 2000, was an English romance novelist and socialite. This directory catalogues 702 titles under Cartland's name, from His Hour (1910) through to A Heart in the Highlands (2024), with the 1980s the heaviest decade. The Eternal Collection, the Pink Collection and the Camfield Novels Of Love group the bulk of that output. Cartland wrote contemporary as well as historical romance, the historical novels set mainly in the Victorian and Edwardian periods, and ranks fifth among the most translated authors worldwide.

Daniel Handler

18 books• 4 series

Under the pen name Lemony Snicket, Daniel Handler wrote the children's series A Series of Unfortunate Events and All the Wrong Questions. Handler is an American writer, musician and television producer born February 28, 1970. A Series of Unfortunate Events became a 2004 film and a Netflix series from 2017 to 2019. The Basic Eight (1999), a satirical first book, was turned down by many publishers over its dark subject matter. The catalogue lists 18 books through And Then? And Then? What Else? (2024), including The Wide Window (2000) and The Grim Grotto (2004).

James Patterson

510 books• 73 series

James Patterson, born on March 22, 1947, is an American writer whose catalogue here holds 514 books published from 1976 to 2027. The run opens with The Thomas Berryman Number (1976), and Along Came a Spider (1992) and Kiss the Girls (1995) follow later. Alex Cross, Michael Bennett, Maximum Ride, Daniel X, Witch & Wizard, NYPD Red, Private, Middle School and the Women's Murder Club are among the Patterson series, alongside standalone thrillers, non-fiction and romance. Marshall Karp shares the credit on 5 of the books. Patterson's sales exceed 425 million copies, and Patterson was the first person to sell one million e-books. Forbes ranked Patterson the highest-paid author in 2016, for a third year running, and the National Book Foundation gave Patterson the Literarian Award in November 2015. 27 Stars is scheduled for 2027.

V.C. Andrews was the name used by Cleo Virginia Andrews (June 6, 1923 to December 19, 1986), an American novelist best known for Flowers in the Attic (1979). That novel led to four sequels and two film adaptations. The publisher never classed the books as Young Adult, yet their young protagonists have drawn teenage readers for decades. After Andrews died in 1986, a ghostwriter first hired to finish two incomplete manuscripts went on publishing new books under the V.C. Andrews name. The catalogue carries 108 books under that name from 1979 to 2025, across series such as Dollanganger, Casteel, Cutler, Landry, Logan and De Beers.

Ann M. Martin

446 books• 24 series

Ann Matthews Martin, born August 12, 1955, is an American writer of children's and young adult fiction and a Smith College graduate. The Baby-Sitters Club, first published in 1986, is the series Martin is known best for, and Martin remains involved with the series and its spin-offs. The catalogue lists 446 books, beginning with Inside Out and Bummer Summer in 1983. Related lines include Baby-Sitters Club Mysteries, California Diaries, Kids in Ms. Colman's Class, Main Street and Doll People. Jessi Ramsey, Pet-sitter: A Graphic Novel (2025) is the newest listed title.

Neta Jackson has 101 books in the catalogue, published between 1974 and 2021. Living Together in a World Falling Apart (1974) is the earliest, and Hero Tales, Vol. IV (2021) is the newest. The Yada Yada Prayer Group is among the character entries, and series include Yada Yada House of Hope, Trailblazer, Hero Tales, SouledOut Sisters, Windy City Neighbors, Pet Parables and Secret Adventures. Subjects include Christian life, Christian women, missionaries, prayer groups, female friendship, orphans, biography and children's fiction.

Lauren Oliver

25 books• 5 series

Lauren Oliver, born Laura Suzanne Schechter on November 8, 1982, is an American novelist whose work includes numerous young adult novels. Before I Fall (2010) opens the catalogue and was filmed in 2017. The Delirium trilogy comprises Delirium, Pandemonium and Requiem. Amazon Studios made Panic into a series, with Oliver as creator, writer and showrunner. Liesl & Po, a middle-grade novel, was a 2012 E. B. White Read Aloud Award nominee. The catalogue lists 26 books through A Fatal Delivery (2026), with The Sleepwalker due in 2027.

J.K. Rowling is the pen name of Joanne "Jo" Murray, OBE (born Rowling), a British author who created the Harry Potter fantasy series. The idea for Harry Potter came to Rowling on a train from Manchester to London in 1990. The Potter books have won multiple awards, sold more than 400 million copies and been adapted into a film series. Harry Potter and the Sorcerer's / Philosopher's Stone (1997) opens the catalogue, followed by Chamber of Secrets (1998), Prisoner of Azkaban (1999), Goblet of Fire (2000) and Order of the Phoenix (2003). Fantastic Beasts and Where to Find Them appeared under the name Newt Scamander and Quidditch Through the Ages under Kennilworthy Whisp. Cormoran Strike is also listed among the author's characters.

Lemony Snicket is the pen name of Daniel Handler, an American writer, musician and television producer born February 28, 1970. A Series of Unfortunate Events and All the Wrong Questions are the children's series published under the Snicket name. A Series of Unfortunate Events became a film in 2004 and a Netflix series that ran from 2017 to 2019. Handler publishes adult novels and a stage play under the real name. The catalogue records 33 books from The Bad Beginning (1999) to Poison for Breakfast (2021), with orphans, siblings and humorous stories among the subjects.

Gilbert Morris produced Christian historical fiction at length: 248 catalogued books between 1977 and 2014. The House of Winslow follows one family across American history; the Appomattox Saga and Bonnets & Bugles take up the Civil War; Cheney Duvall, M.D. follows a woman physician; the Seven Sleepers, Dixie Morris and Too Smart Jones series sit alongside, with children's fiction among the subjects. The catalogue opens with Race Against Time (1977), reaches Raina's Choice, and is listed as likely complete.

Timothy Zahn

98 books• 26 series

Timothy Zahn, born September 1, 1951, is an American writer of science fiction and fantasy who grew up in Lombard, Illinois. The Star Wars books, above all the Thrawn trilogy, are the core of Zahn's reputation, and those novels are credited with reviving interest in the franchise. Original series include Cobra, Blackcollar, Dragonback, Quadrail, Conquerors Saga, Icarus and Sibyl's War. The catalogue lists 99 books by Zahn, starting with The Blackcollar (1983); Trap Line appeared in 2025 and A Call to Deception is due in 2027.

Jeff Wheeler writes fantasy, with subjects that include magic, quests, kings and rulers, orphans and coming of age. The catalogue runs from The Wishing Lantern (1999) to Serpent Queen (2026), with The Fallen Empires scheduled for 2027. The Blight of Muirwood, The Scourge of Muirwood and The Wretched of Muirwood all appeared in 2011. Series include Kingfountain, Legends of Muirwood, Covenant of Muirwood, Whispers from Mirrowen, First Argentines and Grave Kingdom.

Michael Morpurgo

171 books• 5 series

Sir Michael Morpurgo, born 5 October 1943, is an English author, poet, playwright and librettist best known for children's novels such as War Horse (1982). Morpurgo served as the third Children's Laureate from 2003 to 2005 and is President of BookTrust, a children's reading charity. Recurring themes include outsiders who triumph, survival and bonds with nature, set in places such as the Cornish coast and the First World War trenches. The catalogue holds 171 books from It Never Rained (1974) to Down Burrow Lane (2026), including the Mudpuddle Farm series.

Across 194 catalogued books, Danielle Steel writes contemporary romance and family drama: love stories, marriages, widowhood and the turns that reshape a life. The run starts with Going Home (1973) and continues through Celebration, with 24 Hours scheduled for 2027. Steel's catalogue also holds children's picture books, short stories and non-fiction beside the standalone novels that make up most of it.

Cassandra Clare

82 books• 13 series

Cassandra Clare is the pen name of Judith Lewis, born Judith Rumelt on July 27, 1973. Clare is an American author of young adult fiction, known above all for The Mortal Instruments. The catalogue lists 82 books under the name, from City of Bones (2007) to The Last King of Faerie (2026). The Shadowhunter Chronicles, Magisterium, the Bane Chronicles and the Chronicles of Castellane all appear on the page, alongside graphic novel and manga editions. Holly Black is credited with Clare on 3 of those books. Subjects include magic, demonology, vampires and orphans.

Leigh Bardugo

25 books• 12 series

Leigh Bardugo is an American fantasy author, born April 6, 1975, best known for the young adult Grishaverse: the Shadow and Bone trilogy and the Six of Crows and King of Scars duologies. Ninth House was Bardugo's paranormal fantasy debut for adults. Netflix adapted Shadow and Bone and Six of Crows as the series Shadow and Bone, Amazon Studios holds Ninth House, and Bardugo is an executive producer on both. The catalogue lists 25 books from Shadow and Bone / The Gathering Dark (2012) to A Darker Shore (2026), with Alex Stern and Language of Thorns among the series.

Gena Showalter is an American novelist, born in Oklahoma in 1975, who writes contemporary romance, paranormal romance and young adult fiction. Showalter sold a first book at age 27 and has reached the New York Times and USA Today bestseller lists. The catalogue lists 116 books from The Stone Prince (2004) to The Kraken Bride (2026). Lords of the Underworld, Alien Huntress, Angels of the Dark and the White Rabbit Chronicles are among the linked series, and vampires and demonology recur in the subject headings.

Linda Ford writes Christian historical romance, and the catalogue counts 125 books from The Heart Seeks a Home (2000) to Christmas in Golden Valley (2026). Cowboys, ranchers, widows, orphans and Montana are among the recorded subjects. Series include Big Sky Country, Glory, Montana, Montana Mail-Order Brides, Stagecoach to Golden Valley, Wagon Train Romance, Cowboys of Eden Valley and Dakota Brides. Early titles include Crane's Bride (2001) and Darcy's Inheritance (2007).

Avi is the pen name of Edward Irving Wortis, an American author of children's and young adult books born December 23, 1937. Avi won the 2003 Newbery Medal for Crispin: The Cross of Lead and was a Newbery runner-up in 1991 and 1992. The catalogue records 87 books from Things That Sometimes Happen (1970) to The Road From Nowhere (2026), and Rat Race is set for 2027. Series include Crispin, Dimwood Forest and Beyond the Western Sea. Ghosts, animals, adventure and mysteries appear among the subjects.

Rumer Godden

69 books

Rumer Godden was a British author with more than 60 fiction and non-fiction books to her name. Black Narcissus opened the catalogue in 1939 and reached the screen in 1947; The River followed in 1946 and was filmed in 1951; nine of Godden's works were adapted for film in all. India, nuns, family life and children's stories about dolls and mice, The Mousewife (1951), Mouse House (1952), Impunity Jane (1954), run through the work. Godden wrote a few books with her elder sister, the novelist Jon Godden, among them Two Under the Indian Sun, a memoir of a childhood spent in a part of India now inside Bangladesh. The catalogue holds 69 entries reaching 2012.