So You Want to Read Young Adult Fantasy: Here’s Where to Start
Young adult fantasy — much like the broader fantasy genre — is full of subgenres and wildly imaginative takes on classic tropes. There’s something here for readers of essentially any age, whether you’re looking for a simple escape, a complex tale of fantastical intrigue, or deeply rooted and thought provoking allegories. YA may have been our first introduction fantastical realms, nigh-impossible quests, and epic struggles between good and evil. There really is no better time to take a nostalgia-fueled trip back to the roots of your love of fantasy. The books below feature a few classics — vanguards of the current YA fantasy heavyweights — as well as a few more recent entries worth your attention.
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Add to BookshelfThe Hobbit
by J.R.R. Tolkien
Arguably the grandfather of YA fantasy, The Hobbit is most widely known as the prelude to The Lord of the Rings and the 300 page basis for a 462-minute trilogy of films. The tale of Bilbo Baggins and his unexpected stint as a burglar for a band of dwarves is the early forerunner to a host of YA fantasy reads.
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His Dark Materials: The Golden Compass (HBO Tie-In Edition)
by Philip Pullman
A masterwork of storytelling and suspense, Philip Pullman’s award-winning The Golden Compass is the first in the His Dark Materials series, which continues with The Subtle Knife and The Amber Spyglass.
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An Ember in the Ashes
by Sabaa Tahir
Under the Martial Empire, defiance is met with death. Those who do not vow their blood and bodies to the Emperor risk the execution of their loved ones and the destruction of all they hold dear. But when Laia’s brother is arrested for treason, Laia is forced to make a decision. In exchange for help from rebels who promise to rescue her brother, she will risk her life to spy for them from within the Empire’s greatest military academy.
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Tempests and Slaughter
by Tamora Pierce
In the Numair Chronicles, readers will be rewarded with the never-before-told story of how Numair Salmalín came to Tortall. Newcomers will discover a YA fantasy where a kingdom’s future rests on the shoulders of a talented young man with a knack for making vicious enemies.
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Ash Princess
by Laura Sebastian
Theodosia was six when her country was invaded and her mother, the Fire Queen, was murdered before her eyes. On that day, the Kaiser took Theodosia’s family, her land, and her name. Theo was crowned Ash Princess–a title of shame to bear in her new life as a prisoner. For ten years, the Ash Princess has seen her land pillaged and her people enslaved. That all ends here.
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The Book of Dust: The Secret Commonwealth
by Philip Pullman
Return to the parallel world of His Dark Materials in the second volume of Philip Pullman’s new bestselling masterwork The Book of Dust. Powerful forces are about to throw Lyra and Malcolm together once again. And the dangers they face will challenge everything they thought they knew about the world, and about themselves.
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Beasts Made of Night
by Tochi Onyebuchi
Black Panther meets Nnedi Okorafor’s Akata Witch in Beasts Made of Night, the first book in an epic fantasy duology. Tochi Onyebuchi delivers an unforgettable series opener that powerfully explores the true meaning of justice and guilt.
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Forest of a Thousand Lanterns
by Julie C. Dao
Set in an East Asian-inspired fantasy world filled with both breathtaking pain and beauty, Forest of a Thousand Lanterns possesses all the hallmarks of masterful fantasy: dazzling magic, heartbreaking romance, and a world that hangs in the balance.
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Pet
by Akwaeke Emezi
The highly-anticipated, genre-defying new novel by award-winning author Akwaeke Emezi that explores themes of identity and justice. Pet is here to hunt a monster. Are you brave enough to look?
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The Dark Descent of Elizabeth Frankenstein
by Kiersten White
Discover the stunning and dark reimagining of Frankenstein that internationally bestselling author Stephanie Garber raves is “exquisitely disturbing.”
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Soundless
by Richelle Mead
For as long as Fei can remember, there has been no sound in her village, and Fei and her people are at the mercy of a zipline that carries food up the treacherous cliffs from Beiguo, a mysterious faraway kingdom. When villagers begin to lose their sight, deliveries from the zipline shrink and many go hungry. Richelle Mead takes readers on a triumphant journey from the peak of Fei’s jagged mountain village to the valley of Beiguo, where a startling truth and an unlikely romance will change her life forever….
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