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45 Hidden Gems for YA Superfans
From the sprawling territories of Erilea to the 12 districts of Panem, YA superfans have covered a lot of familiar ground. To help take these seasoned explorers off the beaten path, we skipped the classics and bestsellers and put together a list of hidden gems just waiting to be discovered.
For this roundup, we chose books that have been added fewer than 200,000 times on Goodreads members' shelves. To put this in perspective, members have added The Hunger Games to their shelves more than 6 million times. From there, we only included titles with a minimum four-star rating. Then we broke down the results into recommendations for fans of Sarah J. Maas, Suzanne Collins, John Green, Jenny Han, and Cassandra Clare.
This list is far from exhaustive, so make sure to add your own under-the-radar recommendations in the comments. And don't forget to add what catches your eye to your Want to Read shelf!
For this roundup, we chose books that have been added fewer than 200,000 times on Goodreads members' shelves. To put this in perspective, members have added The Hunger Games to their shelves more than 6 million times. From there, we only included titles with a minimum four-star rating. Then we broke down the results into recommendations for fans of Sarah J. Maas, Suzanne Collins, John Green, Jenny Han, and Cassandra Clare.
This list is far from exhaustive, so make sure to add your own under-the-radar recommendations in the comments. And don't forget to add what catches your eye to your Want to Read shelf!
(or epic fantasies featuring swords, sorcery, and kingdoms in peril)…
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(or tear-inducing contemporary fiction about catharsis and self-discovery)…
(or thrilling sci-fi with dystopian regimes and terrifying tech)…
(or tender romances with humor, drama, and "adorkable" mishaps)…
(or urban fantasies with paranormal activity in modern-day cities)…
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What's your favorite under-the-radar YA novel? Share it with us in the comments!
Check out complete coverage of YA Week:
The Most Anticipated YA Books
The Best YA Books of 2018 (So Far)
The Top 100 YA Books on Goodreads
The Most Anticipated YA Books
The Best YA Books of 2018 (So Far)
The Top 100 YA Books on Goodreads
Comments Showing 1-50 of 106 (106 new)
Y'all forgot the best YA book other than MAYBE Ender's Game that I've ever read (and yes, I've read HUNGER GAMES and DIVERGENT, among many others): Jeremy Robinson's THE LAST HUNTER The Last Hunter: Collected Edition
Cynthia Voigt's trilogy about the Tillerman siblings is my all-time favorite YA series. Written in a time when being filmable and ovetly melodramatic wasn't the main point of YA fiction.(Yes, I'm bitter. Now, if you'll excuse me, I have some clouds to go yell at.)
A lot of these are pretty popular books with thousands of ratings, I don't see how they count as hidden gems.
Demon trappers daughter is so good. I would add guardians of time by marianne curley. Dreaming anastasia by joy preble.
The Tremblers is a hidden gem, for sure. YA steampunk, post-apocalyptic/post-Civil War USA, zombie-esque adventure with romantic elements. It begs for representation in a cos-play event.
FYI, the page link for The Way I Used to Be takes you to the wrong book. :)
Dang, all of these books look so good...
Air awakens is a real hidden gem! Loved it!
Love that you said Throne of Glass OR epic fantasies featuring swords, sorcery and kingdoms in peril.Because Throne of Glass does not fit that description and is actually a frothy romance novel in a fantasy mask.
Fall of a KingdomThe Singer of All Songs
The Naming
The Haunting of Alaizabel Cray
Bartimaeus: The Amulet of Samarkand
Fly By Night
Fire Bringer
Abarat
The Cry of the Icemark
The Sea of Trolls
The Last Apprentice: Revenge of the Witch
Does Mortal Engines count as a hidden gem? I know there's a movie coming and it's a big deal in the UK but it hasn't quite caught on in my side of the pond.
Elias wrote: "Love that you said Throne of Glass OR epic fantasies featuring swords, sorcery and kingdoms in peril.
Because Throne of Glass does not fit that description and is actually a frothy romance novel i..."
I agree!
Because Throne of Glass does not fit that description and is actually a frothy romance novel i..."
I agree!
Before reading Flamecaster by Cinda Williams Chima it would help to read her Seven Realms series, starting with The Demon King. It is set in the same world and provides some background into a few of the characters.Also Kiss of Deception and The False Prince are some of my favorites! Must read!
Lexie wrote: "Six of Crows needs to be on here!"Six of Crows is too popular to be considered a hidden gem, it's just a gem
Elias wrote: "Love that you said Throne of Glass OR epic fantasies featuring swords, sorcery and kingdoms in peril.Because Throne of Glass does not fit that description and is actually a frothy romance novel i..."
Dear SJM, apply cold water to area of burn 🔥
Several years ago, I picked up this book in the library on a whim and was blown away. It's like a sci-fi YA novel written by George Saunders.Feed
TruthwitchAnd I Darken
Ruined
They are all hidden gems and more people need to read it so they can cry with me.
The chronicles of Nick series is awesome and so is the Finisher series by David Baldacci.
Not all of these are hidden gems but actually very popular books especially for people who are YA superfans. I'd recommend Katrina Leno's books like
,
and
. Also,
is a real hidden gem as well.
Katsuro wrote: “Cynthia Voigt’s trilogy about the Tillerman siblings is my all-time favorite YA series. Written in a time when being filmable and ovetly melodramatic wasn’t the main point of YA fiction.(Yes, I’m …”
That’s a very powerful series!
Try the Michael Vey series (Richard Paul Evans) for superb YA. Also check out Garth Nix and Jonathan Stroud.
Maya's Magical Adventures - a new series of magical comedy adventures by Malcolm McCoard following a young Scottish girl who with some dubious help from her forgetful cat discover a magical realm. Unusual word play, humour and plot twists abound. The sequel is an emotional roller coaster - heart warming, funny and a bit of a tear jerker. Purple dragonfly YA winner 2017 so worth checking out. Check them out in the what to read after Harry Potter list.
Chandhanaa wrote: "TruthwitchAnd I Darken
Ruined
They are all hidden gems and more people need to read it so they can cry with me."
GIRL YES
Vodník, Insignia, Hold Me Closer, Necromancer, and In Other Lands are all books I would add to this list. Maybe not all of them are completely unknown, but "The Novice" has more ratings than all of them, so that's why I've included them.
Picture Us in the LightThe Crown's Game
Scythe
Hidden gems that other people need to read, they're just that amazing. It's upsetting to find out that no one knows about them.
Biggest and bestest YA hidden gem: The Wee Free Men I've never seen anybody reading or talking about it and yet it's in my top 5 all time favorites. It's so funny and Pratchett was such a gifted writer. If you love the British sense of humor mixed with the epicness of Tolkien, you'll love this.
Because Everything Is Right but Everything Is WrongA debut by a young New Zealand author. You can't get much more under the radar than that. This gem belongs in the tear-inducing self-discovery list.
Sammm wrote: "IDK about other people, but as I type this reply, 
's average rating is 3.99, while close, hardly fair, is it, to be on this list, when you clearly stated a minimum four-star rat..."Ooo, good catch!
Oh my, I HAVE to recommend Scarlet by A. C. Gaughen! Three books in the series, a excellent slow-burn romance, and who doesn't love Robin Hood?!
Elias wrote: "Love that you said Throne of Glass OR epic fantasies featuring swords, sorcery and kingdoms in peril.Because Throne of Glass does not fit that description and is actually a frothy romance novel i..."
Haha, thank you. That series was cringe worthy
The Chronicles of Ancient Darkness series by Michelle Paver should be on here. It's such a well-written series but sadly underrated.
I love whoever made this so much. I need to make you an apple pie. Like this is exactly what I needed because the cliches in YA are making me not even want to read any books from the genre anymore, and this is exactly what I need to get back to what I love! Thank you for being a genius.
Helen wrote: "I love whoever made this so much. I need to make you an apple pie. Like this is exactly what I needed because the cliches in YA are making me not even want to read any books from the genre anymore,..."I super agree with The Start of Me and You. Emery Lord is just a hidden gem of an author in general. She's another contemporary Queen like Kasie West, Meg Cabot and Sarah Dessen.
Elias wrote: “Love that you said Throne of Glass OR epic fantasies featuring swords, sorcery and kingdoms in peril.Because Throne of Glass does not fit that description and is actually a frothy romance novel i…”
Yes it is! Thank you.
Hmmmm... If you like feminist themes in YA, focused on issues of sexual assault::
Here's a retelling of Snow White and The Snow Queen that is LGBTQ friendly:
Wolf by WolfI'm not sure how it took me so long to find this book but wow did I love it! Of the above categories, it would fall under "For fans of The Hunger Games."
A tightly-plotted alternate history where Germany won WWII and a Jewish girl who survived the Holocaust enters a cross-continental motorcycle race to win a meeting with Hitler--so she can assassinate him.
Lindsay Buroker's Emperor's Edge series is my personal YA hidden gem. Crisply written with strong, humane and weirdly witty women leads, these books are a treat to read. Every. Single. Time.
Urban Fantasies
Dystopias/sci-fi
Fantasy
The False PrinceImperial Spy
The Glass Swallow
A Face Like Glass
Barefoot on the Wind
Howl's Moving Castle
The Witching hour
Gullstruck Island
Listen to the Moon
Allies and Assassins
And my absolute favourite... The Beast Player! READ IT if you love japanese fantasy tales!
Audrey wrote: "Try the Michael Vey series (Richard Paul Evans) for superb YA. Also check out Garth Nix and Jonathan Stroud."Nix and Stroud are two of the greatest.
Shizuku wrote: "The False PrinceImperial Spy
The Glass Swallow
A Face Like Glass
Barefoot on the Wind
Howl's Moving Castle
The Witching hour
Gullstruck Island
Listen to the Moon
Allies and Assassins
And my absolu..."
The False Prince, Howl's Moving Castle and especially A Face Like Glass are genius.
Frank wrote: "Elias wrote: "Love that you said Throne of Glass OR epic fantasies featuring swords, sorcery and kingdoms in peril.Because Throne of Glass does not fit that description and is actually a frothy r..."
The sad thing is that I actually know SJM and she's a lovely person. Even if she did murder YA fantasy with a blunted sword. But thanks for the reply! I work hard on my witty retorts.
Well, speaking of hidden gems,