September 2026’s newsletter: “Books with the Same Vibe as ‘Dez and the Iron Prince'”
I’ve been querying my middle grade portal fantasy “Dez and the Iron Prince” to agents for a little over a year now. I figured it’d be fun to give you a peek behind the curtain of what’s to come and share books with the same vibe as “Dez and the Iron Prince.”
Each of these books are ones I’m using as comp titles while querying agents. I’ve also added a new title to the list recently, which makes you the first to see my newest addition.
What is a comp title?
A comp title– aka a comparative title– is a book that an author uses to describe their work to an agent. Basically it’s saying: “If my book was sold in a book store, these books would be sorted next to it on the shelf.” They may contain similar themes, writing styles, voice, characters, plot points, etc. Authors want at least two comps to include in our query letters to agents.
They’re also a huge pain! We’re so close to our work, it’s really hard to tell if someone else’s book is similar in some regard. Like, how am I supposed to know if their voice is the same as mine? Not to mention the requirements for a comp are very specific: they have to be published within the last five years, sold well, but not so well that we’re claiming our book will be, like, Brandon Sanderson popular. (That’s just unrealistic for a debut author.)
But many agents find them useful in categorizing or describing our book, and for pitching our book to publishing houses should the agent take us on. So we authors have to come up with at least 2 comp titles if we plan on pursuing traditional publishing with an agent.
“Cattywampus” by Van Ash Otterloo
You might recognize this stand-alone from a book recommendation I wrote a while back. (If not, and you’re interested, you can read it on my website here.)
While I read this book, I was struck by how similar one of its main characters– Delpha– and my main character– Dez– are. (No, not because their names both begin with “D”!) They’re two kids who feel like they have to act tough and push people away because they’re hurting inside. I was drawn to Delpha’s healing journey as she learns to trust again.
Summary: Magic is forbidden in Howler’s Hollow, but Delpha McGill is desperate to learn her family’s witch heritage and solve her mama’s money problems. Her dreams come true when she discovers her family’s old spellbook. But when her spellbook is stolen by Katybird Hearn– the daughter of a rival witch family– their conflict accidentally raises their dead ancestors and rekindles an ancient witch war. The two girls must work together to save their town before their families’ secrets are blown. And they might learn something about themselves along the way.
“Kiki Kallira Breaks a Kingdom” by Sangu Mandanna
This is the first in a duology, but I haven’t gotten around to reading the second book. I will someday, I swear!
“Kiki Kallira Breaks a Kingdom” delves even deeper into the topic of mental health as Kiki struggles with anxiety. The monsters she has to physically overcome are quite symbolic of her internal struggle with her mental illness. Dez’s depression and his friends’ own mental health struggles are central to my story, so I see parallels that would place these two books side by side on a shelf. Also, “Kiki Kallira” is a portal fantasy too!
Summary: When Kiki Kallira’s sketchbook of an imaginary city populated by Indian myths and legends comes to life, she must enter her little world to stop an evil god from breaking through to reality. Except Kiki is plagued by doubt– can one anxious girl and a team of kid rebels stop a god? With her pencil and creativity, Kiki will find hidden strength within herself and discover an important truth: little girls can defeat monsters.
“Into the Wild Magic” by Michelle Knudsen
My new addition to the comp list!
“Into the Wild Magic” is another portal fantasy where the young protagonists join a ragtag rebellion against the ruler who overthrew the previous good king. And yet, the battle is more complicated than it first appears; it isn’t a mere story of good vs evil.
The heroine Bevvy also reminded me a lot of Dez himself: a young protagonist who escapes into books and struggles with the negative voices in their own head. Bevvy has to learn how to overcome her own inner critic and trust her friends, much like Dez does.
Summary: Bevvy spent her free time at school reading about magical worlds and fantastical adventures, but she never thought she’d go on one herself. Not until the standoffish new girl, Cat, opens a portal in her back yard. The magical world is ruled by an evil king and his sorcerers, and Bevvy and Cat’s talents are needed to set things right. But can Bevvy trust her new friend? Can she trust herself?
I hope getting a peek behind the curtain has piqued your interest! (Whenever I manage to get an agent, that is!)
And if you happen to know any middle grade books that you think have a similar vibe to the ones listed above, send them my way! I’m always happy to find new titles to add to my list.
Thanks for reading!
-S. Labrecque