Four books that changed Mardi McConnochie

Mardi McConnochie is an Australian author and playwright. One of four books that changed her, as shared at the Sydney Morning Herald:

A WIZARD OF EARTHSEA
​Ursula K. Le Guin

This series exemplifies all the things I like about the best fantasy fiction for younger readers. Le Guin's prose is pared back but amazingly deep and supple, expressing very complex ideas and emotions in simple language. Her work is psychologically rich and satisfying, with characters caught in dilemmas that are profound and urgent. Earthsea is a diverse world that feels both deep and broad, vividly imagined, with a conception of magic at its centre that is utterly convincing and never generic.

Read about the other entries on the list.

A Wizard of Earthsea is among Maria Turtschaninoff's ten favorite feminist heroes in fiction, BBC.com Culture’s best children’s books ever published in English, five books that changed Gary Corby, and Lev Grossman's top five fantasy novels.

--Marshal Zeringue