I'm not sure what it is about young adult fantasy - often these are giant thick tomes with lots and lots of characters to keep track of over the course of multiple books in a series - yet they are also just so much fun to read. My 13 year old daughter (almost 14) Allison is also a big fan of the genre, so she's read many of these as well and I'll fill you in on her opinions too where applicable.
So, if you share my love for the genre here are some of my favorite young adult fantasy series:
Throne of Glass series by Sarah Maas - I'm in the middle of reading this totally epic fantasy series, and I am LOVING it! It is set in a medieval-ish world with magic and some supernatural beings, with a powerful female heroine, lots of action, and some romance. Each book gets crazier and crazier, and they are all just so good! You may have heard me mention the series when I discussed what I (and my family) were reading on our February vacation, as Allison and I both read book 4 on that trip, while Dan read the first book. Allison and I have now read through book 5, along with a book of novella prequels that actually is somewhat required reading, but should be read mid-way through the series. Allison and I are pretty much obsessed with the series since we discovered it last fall, and have been reading them at roughly the same time as each other so we can discuss them as we go. We plan to read book 6 this summer, and the final book, book 7, is coming out this fall. I know it might sound overwhelming to commit to a 7 book series (really 8 with the novellas) of long books, but if you like this kind of book, it is well worth it.
Lunar Chronicles series by Marissa Meyer - Arguably I could have included this series with dystopian books instead (and indeed, my friend Sarah called me out for skipping it), but to me, it falls more into the fantasy category even though it definitely has dystopian elements too. The series is set on a futuristic Earth - but where there are also a whole colony of people who live on the moon who have basically magical mind control powers, and the books are all inspired by fairy tales. For example, the first book, "Cinder," features a main character who is sort of a play on Cinderella, but she's also a cyborg. Seriously. Later books add in characters inspired by Little Red Riding Hood, Rapunzel, and Snow White. I know this sounds kind of cray-cray, and it is, but it is also tremendously fun. Allison also read and loved this series.
Graceling series by Kristin Cashore - These three books are all set in the same somewhat medieval-like world where some people have special magic-like talents called "graces." They are not exactly sequels to each other as they are all set in different times with different main characters, but definitely are a series, and all feature strong female leads. The third book actually landed on my 2013 Top 10 favorites list. These books are a bit more mature so I hadn't previously given them to Allison to read, but I think she's ready for them now.
Ruby Red series by Kerstin Gier - This is a totally charming, light, young adult fantasy series, about a teenage girl in contemporary London who finds out that her family has a tendency towards time travel. There's romance and history and lots of fun. Allison really enjoyed this series too.
Seraphina series by Rachel Hartmann - These books are set in a medieval-ish world where dragons not only co-exist with people, but can actually take human form. There are two books featuring Seraphina as the main character, "Seraphina" and "Shadow Scale," and another book called "Tess of the Road" which is a sequel of sorts set in the same world but with a different main character. Very original books with a fantastically imagined world. Allison really liked the first book, but hasn't gotten around to reading the others yet.
Twilight series by Stephenie Meyer - I hesitate slightly to put these books on the list because they're so trashy, but what the heck - I really enjoyed them despite their stupidity, and I always say I don't believe in feeling guilty about what other people consider "guilty pleasures." You've surely heard of this series before even if you're not a fan of young adult fantasy - they're about a teenager named Bella who somehow gets herself entangled with both vampires and werewolves and also lots and lots of romance. They are not exactly works of great literary merit (and in my opinion, Stephenie Meyer's other books are better), but they were also tremendously fun to read. Allison has not read them yet since she hates romance and I know she's going to find Bella the most insipid character ever, but I kinda want her to hate read them just because her reaction is going to be so funny.
Have you read any of these series? Do you have any other young adult fantasy series to recommend to me and Allison?
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