Books like Ronia, the Robber's Daughter

The tragedy of Romeo and Juliet with a happy ending! Two clans of robbers, enemies for as long as the two chiefs Mattis and Borka can remember, share a forest and a castle split in two by a giant lightning, and a common enemy in the knights of the crown. Bad-mannered, ill-tempered, violent and boastful, they live their robber's lives between the magical and dangerous creatures of the woods...... until one day, they meet a challenge where they least expect it: in their own children!Ronja, Mattis' daughter, and Birk Borkasson are true children of Sweden's natural spirit. Wild, confident, at home in the forest, and with a mind of their own, not bowing to parents or traditions. Becoming friends, they defy their fathers and move out of the divided castle to build a future for themselves beyond the dogmatic hate of their clans. In a cave in the forest, they learn skills for life, and how to face dangers bravely, and conflicts not so bravely, but passionately enough.Omnipresent is the threat of Swedish winter: the two children know they won't survive the harsh climate, and the short summer all too quickly turns into cold and rainy autumn. Stubbornly, they refuse to return to their families until peace is made, and until they are allowed to be friends.In the end, Mattis reaches out to save his daughter's life, and the two clans are united under one chief. In typical robber's code, the physically strongest of the chiefs will become leader, and Mattis wins the fight. At the celebrations in the castle afterwards, Mattis and Borka drink together and moan over their post-fight pains, to the ridicule and amusement of their respective wives. In an act of generosity, Mattis consoles Borka and tells him Borka's son Birk will be the next chief, as his own headstrong daughter has declared the robber way of life to be unethical: to steal from others does not match her worldview at all.Borka's machismo enjoys a short, proud victory until Birk and Ronja stand up and swear in front of the entire robber community that they will never be robbers as long as they live.Mattis just smiles sheepishly:"Well, you know, Borka, children nowadays, they do what they want!"Breaking patterns of hate, renouncing robbery, uniting two families, building bridges over deep pits, and daring to get to know the other side of the story: what a cheerful message after a dramatic adventure set in a fantasy version of a Swedish Medieval forest.To the spirit of Ronja and Birk!