I read BNW when I was in third grade (yes, that's right) and again later. I like it conceptually, as SF, more than thematically.

MofG, like DaVinci Code, is one of those books on the "everyone tells me it's good" list. I'll end up reading them once everyone has forgot about them; I tend to do that! If you liked Memoires, you might like Tokaido Road, set in an earlier time period but also in JP, about a samurai's daughter. It grew on me & I found myself enjoying her adventures (and romance).