Top Ten Settings I’d Like to See More of in YA Fiction

In the build up to the ebook re-release of Pantomime & Shadowplay next month (they are available for pre-order), I am reposting some of the articles I wrote in 2012/2013 for the initial blog tours. This one is a Top Ten Tuesday from January 2013.

I found this guest post very interesting to write, as settings in YA are something I’ve thought about but never fully articulated. Normally, I speak more about characters, but a setting brings a character to life. I’m enchanted by rich worldbuilding.

It also sparked some interesting Twitter discussions when I put out a call for what other people want to see more of in YA when I was stuck on the 10th setting.

Asian-inspired fantasy. I recently read Shadows on the Moon by Zoe Mariott, which is a pseudo-medieval Japanese Cinderella and Count of Monte Cristo fantasy. Whew. But it was absolutely wonderful and one of my favourite reads of 2012. I also recently read Eon by Alison Goodman, which features dragons and a girl disguised as a boy, which I enjoyed. There’s Stormdancer by Jay Kristoff, and the Tales of the Otori books by Lian Hearne, which I haven’t read. But there’s not all that much, and I’d like to see more as there’s such rich mythology in that corner of the world.
African-inspired fantasy. I realized… I haven’t read any except for Frostfire by Zoe Mariott, and though that had a wonderful cast of (diverse!) characters, didn’t feel super African-inspired, perhaps because for that book the reader is in the isolated setting of the hill guard. I can’t believe there aren’t more. In adult fantasy, I’ve read Anansi Boys and there’s Zoo City . I put out a call on Twitter and had a couple of recommendations: Akata Witch and Zahrah the Windseeker by Nnedi Okorafor. So there’s a gap in the market. Any others out there?

Read the rest of the list on the Bookworm Dream blog!