I've just finished another YA fantasy novel, and it was great. I've read quite a few decent YA fantasy books this year, and I've posted about this genre before. Since my favorite pastime after reading is giving people advice they didn't ask for, here is my list of books and authors you should read if you're in a YA fantasy mood.
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Before I give you my list, and just in case you've stumbled on my blog and don't know me, here's what I look for in my YA fantasy.
1. A protagonist I like. Usually the only problem I have with my main characters is if they're female and useless. I feel like female protagonists should be strong.
2. A good
story. Something I love to read because it's human and interesting. Something I summarize badly to Lindsay while telling her why it's awesome and repeatedly calling her until she gets it from her library and reads it. Something I may even attempt to tell my husband about, while simultaneously shouting at him to turn
off that
game because this is
important! But that's only if it's really good.
3. A clean read. Unfortunately, a lot of "edgy" authors think that f-words and sex make for a good YA read. Sorry, popular authors, but I just can't get through all of your "edginess." I'd rather have plot and characters I secretly think of as real people than f-words and angsty teen-aged sex.
Of course, as a disclaimer, some of these books do have these things in them, but not a gratuitous amount. Most of these books are written for an older YA audience. Maybe not as old as me, but some of us have a hard time growing up.
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On to the list! I'll list authors, because that's what I do; I find an author I like and read all their stuff.
Carrie Vaughn -
Voices of Dragons.
I haven't read anything else by her yet, and this is her only YA book, so I can't vouch for the swearing/sex level of her adult novels.
Kelley Armstrong - The Darkest Powers Trilogy:
The Summoning, The Awakening, and
The Reckoning. Currently working on
Dime Store Magic, however, I think I should have gone to
Stolen, because I'm pretty sure it's one of her first ones, and they all take place in the same world.
Cassandra Clare - The Mortal Instruments Series:
City of Bones, City of Ashes, and
City of Glass. They're pretty good, even if the main character is dangerously close to breaking my anti-"female and useless" rule.
She has a new series starting called The Infernal Devices. We'll have to see about those.
Libba Bray - The Gemma Doyle Trilogy:
A Great and Terrible Beauty, Rebel Angels, and
The Sweet Far Thing.
Scott Westerfeld -
Leviathan was my favorite of his, but you may also enjoy his Uglies Series:
Uglies, Pretties, Specials, and
Extras. Peeps and his Midnighters Series (
The Secret Hour, Touching Darkness, and
Blue Noon) were also pretty good. He has a ton of books out, so type his name in the search box under "author" at your library and go at it.
Suzanne Collins - The Hunger Games Series:
The Hunger Games, Catching Fire, and
Mockingjay ( the last one is coming out August 24 of this year, so I haven't read it and don't know if it will be good or not, obviously).
And of course, good ol'
Orson Scott Card -
Ender's Game. It's just good. I have a hard time putting it in the same category as these, because I feel like it's a heavier read. Not harder, just deeper. All of his books are pretty dense reads. Very good, but in medium-sized quantities.
Alright, I feel satisfied that this is enough unsolicited advice for now. Remember, I have a limited attention span and scope of interest, so if one of these isn't your thing, they probably all aren't (with the exception of
Ender's Game).
