Le Guin has had a remarkably full writing career with many volumes of poetry, criticism, fantasy, science fiction, adolescent fiction, children's literature, and mainstream fiction to her credit. While the earlier books in the Earthsea series, A Wizard of Earthsea, The Tombs of Atuan, and The Farthest Shore, are the obvious connections to Tehanu, there are others as well. Very Far Away from Anywhere Else is a coming-of-age story for gifted adolescents told in a realistic mode similar to the adolescent novels of Judy Blume or Paul Zindel.

The Lathe of Heaven is a novel about dreams, dreaming, and utopia; as the main character, George Orr, discovers he can sometimes change reality by dreaming. The book in some ways resembles Utopian fiction, fantasy, and science fiction. The Beginning Place is similar to an adolescent novel, but there is an alternative world or dream world within the...