Story breakdowns
Want, need, lie, and stakes for bestsellers — reverse-engineered so you can get inspired.
A Game of Thrones
George R. R. Martin
Fourth Wing
Rebecca Yarros
Harry Potter and the Sorcerer's Stone
J.K. Rowling
Mistborn: The Final Empire
Brandon Sanderson
The Lies of Locke Lamora
Scott Lynch
The Name of the Wind
Patrick Rothfuss
Harry Potter and the Sorcerer's Stone
J.K. Rowling
Genre
Fantasy
Subgenre
Portal / school fantasy
Published
1997
On his eleventh birthday, a neglected orphan learns he is a famous wizard, is taken to a boarding school for magic, and uncovers a plot to steal an artefact of immortality for the dark wizard who murdered his parents.
Comparable
Cinderella at boarding school, with a locked-castle mystery underneath.
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