Is The Nevermoor Book Series Similar To Harry Potter?

This series and Harry Potter are two of my favorites. Both feature magical worlds, young heroes who discover their special talents, and the children’s finding of an alternate family. However, whereas Harry Potter is a more serious novel with a focus on evil versus good, Nevermoor is more of a tale of self-discovery. The Hotel Deucalion is one of the main characters in the novel. Morrigan faces all sorts of weird tests in order to determine whether or not she is the right candidate for the Hotel. These are more like a puzzle than life-or-death situations that face Harry in Hogwarts. So, while Harry Potter readers will likely enjoy Nevermoor because of its magic and its cast of friendships, the book is decidedly not as dark or detailed as the Potter series.

I’m thinking of a few ways to compare Nevermoor to Harry Potter. The surface-level comparison is that both feature a young, abused kid who leaves his terrible home to find magic and adventure in a fantastical world. But the books take very different approaches to that premise. For one thing, the magic in Nevermoor is very surreal, very fantastical, even weird — umbrellas that are alive, rooms that change around you — whereas the magic in Harry Potter is highly systematic and even academic. Then there’s the stakes, and the ways in which Morrigan fights against her doubts and the society’s dismissal of her, as opposed to Harry’s external battles against the war against wizards and so on.

There is also a marked difference in terms of humor and light-hearted moments between Nevermoor and Harry Potter. While both series have plenty of instances of humor and light-hearted moments, Nevermoor is a far more ‘whimsy’ focused book. The lighthearted moments in Harry Potter have to be counterbalanced against increasingly dark plot points as the series continues. The world-building in Nevermoor is lavish, yet it is largely confined to the city of Nevermoor, which is in itself a magical and wondrous place. For those looking for an ‘outsider finds magic’ style story with a light-hearted twist, Nevermoor is a great read. But for fans of more in-depth world-building, intricate lore, and high-stakes battles, Nevermoor may fall somewhat short.

I read both series back to back. As for how they compare to each other, I’d say Nevermoor is like the cousin of Harry Potter rather than the twin sibling. While the two series share a lot of DNA (i.e. magical competitions, offbeat, mercurial mentors and a secret magical world), Jessica Townsend has crafted a truly unique world and main character here. Rather than a story to save a world from certain doom, Nevermoor follows Morrigan as she struggles to gain acceptance in a world that believes she is cursed.

A great deal of the magic in Nevermoor is presented as rather flexible and even unpredictable, having a sort of wonder-filled fairy-tale quality. It’s quite a contrast to Hogwarts, which feels as though it could exist in the same world as our own, in contrast to Morrigan’s rather dream-like world of wonder. A great read for fans of the magical school experiences of Harry Potter, although it is not as emotionally resonant or ‘epic’ in scope.