Ella Enchanted: by Gail Carson Levine

This is a fun Cinderella story with a spunky main character. It's not too 'Fairy-tale Princess'-y, but rather has a more humorous take on the fairy tale world. However, the humor is not like it was in the movie - which had a very different feel than the book.

Levine has a very amusing way of retelling fairy tales and has created her own unique world, or atmosphere for the land in which they take place. Her shorter stories, including The Fairy's Mistake, Princess Sonora and the Long Sleep, The Pincess Test, and Cinderellis and the Glass Hill would be a great introduction to her writing. The reading level is probably mid-upper elementary

Vampire Kisses series: by Ellen Schreiber

Not overly dark and creepy, but with a fair ammount of suspense. The characters are easy to relate to, and don’t get annoyingly angsty or stupid. The main character Raven will especially appeal to kids who have always lived outside the 'In crowd'. The focus is more on the typical relationships and inner lives of teenagers than on Vampire lore or a dark underworld. This series is also pretty 'clean' for a teenage romance. Don't read the first book without the seccond one handy becuase it has a real cliff-hanger ending.

There are currently 4 books in the series, and the 5th one is coming out in June.
A manga based on these books has also been published entitled: Vampire Kisses: Blood Relatives. The plot does not strictly follow the first book, but the artwork is pretty good and it's an enjoyable addition to (or even introduction to) the series.

The Redwall Series: by Brian Jaques

The setting is roughly medieval. While the characters are animals, they dress and behave more like people. The stories are filled with action and adventure, as well as mystery, and mouthwatering descriptions of grand feasts. There are always several groups of characters we follow who will eventually meet up, usually at an epic battle at the end. Usually someone dies, but not one of the main characters, except in Martin the Warrior, and always for a good cause, never pointlessly. There are villains you love to hate, true heros, and many many loveable characters. The values of honor and friendship, as well has helping those in need are strong themes in these books. While most of the main characters are male, these books are easily enjoyed by both boys and girls. The reading level is probably upper elementary for the most part, but they remain of interest even for adults. The timeline spanns many generations of the inhabitants of Mossflower woods and the fortress called Redwall Abbey. While most of the books could stand alone, they are linked by references to eachother and the appearance of the same characters in more than one book, often once in their youth, and then again later in their old age, and yet again as the heroes of old legends. One could read them in chronological order, but I would highly reccommend starting with either Redwall, or Mossflower.