It has been my fear that once Harry and his friends finish their adventures, there would be no hype left for reading. While JK Rowling's books have brought many people back to the bookstores and libraries, it doesn't look like the media and general pop culture want to get behind anyone else. That is a total shame, because there are hundreds of better written books and series out there, in my opinion, that should (have) take(n) over.

If we could all just spread suggestions by word of mouth, perhaps that will get at least some people reading something- which is definitely better than nothing!

For 8-12 year old readers, I'd suggest:
Bone and Abadazad [Graphic novels]
Artemis Fowl and all other books by Eoin Colfer
Doctor Illuminatus and other books by Martin Booth
books by Cornelia Funke, Jonathan Stroud
Crispin by Avi
The Mismantle Chronicles
G. Korman's survival series books [Shipwrecked, Everest...]
Louis Sacchar, John Scieska

[do check spellings- I'm on summer vacat