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Top 10 YA Fantasy Books
Being a normal human can be overrated. Young adult fantasy offers irresistible escapism, letting readers step into the shoes of demigods, demons, witches, and assassins. Sure, these heroes possess supernatural abilities and supernatural luck, but they're also intensely relatable as they grapple with growing up and falling in love (and saving the world).
As we searched for the best YA fantasy on Goodreads, we stuck to books with at least a 4.0 average rating. This meant that popular titles with big film adaptations like Twilight, Eragon, and The Golden Compass missed the cut. While The Boy Who Lived made it in, surprising no one, the list is dominated by powerful girls with no time for evil royals or rampaging monsters.
Take a look at our top 10 YA fantasy books and let us know how many you've read in the comments!
by J.K. Rowling
You could've been…a wizard!
The muggle struggle is real for young Harry until he's swept away to Hogwarts School of Witchcraft and Wizardry.
by Rick Riordan
You could've been…the child of a Greek god!
Percy, son of Poseidon, realizes he must travel to the Underworld to stop a war between the gods.
by Cassandra Clare
You could've been…a demon hunter!
After witnessing a terrifyingly bizarre murder, Clary enters a new world of vampires, werewolves, and demons.
by Kiera Cass
You could've been…a princess contestant!
One girl gets the chance to compete for a prince's affection in this fairy tale with a light dystopian twist.
by Becca Fitzpatrick
You could've been…a fallen angel!
Nora doesn't have time for romance, let alone a romance with an angel, but handsome Patch turns her "normal" world upside down.
by Richelle Mead
You could've been…vampire royalty!
Where do vampires learn about their powers? St. Vladimir's Academy, an exclusive school for the creatures of the night and their guardians.
by Victoria Aveyard
You could've been…a commoner with god-like superpowers!
In a realm divided by blood, one red-blooded girl discovers she possesses the same unnatural abilities as the silver-blooded elite.
by Sarah J. Maas
You could've been…an assassin!
Celaena Sardothien, a famed assassin, competes to become the king's champion in a contest that quickly turns deadly.
by Kristin Cashore
You could've been…the king's thug!
Born with the ability to kill a man with her bare hands, Katsa finds herself the unwilling pawn of her uncle, the king.
by Laini Taylor
You could've been…a demon in love!
A young art student with a mysterious past gets caught up in a brutal otherworldly war between angels and demons.
What's your favorite YA fantasy? Share it with us in the comments.
See the complete coverage of Sci-Fi & Fantasy Week including:
Top 50 Favorite Fantasy Novels on Goodreads
Top 10 YA Science Fiction on Goodreads
Top 50 Science Fiction Books on Goodreads
Comments Showing 51-100 of 231 (231 new)
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Ro
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Jul 30, 2017 11:11AM
8/10!
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Seriously, I know everyone said that already, but The Selection is dystopia, not fantasy. Really.
I'm surprised I've only read 4/10 since I read more YA Fantasy than anything else. I need to read Throne of Glass ASAP!
9 out of 10 but even though I haven't read Graceling I know all about it Love the top 10 by the way!
I've only read 2 out of 10: Harry Potter and Percy Jackson. I have Daughter of Smoke and Bone in my TBR, and maaaaaaaaaybe I will read the Throne of Glass series, I'm not sure yet. The rest will never be in my read list because they honestly give me a feeling that they are trash and not worth it.
They should of replaced the Selection with Six of Crows or An Ember in the Ashes. The Selection is dystopian. And frankly, my opinion is that those two books are much better than the Selection.
Read all but one! I really need to finally make time for The Lightning Thief I guess :P
Harry Potter always and forever my #1 <3I've read 2/10: the Harry Potter series and the Vampire Academy series.
However I'm getting through 3/10 at the moment: I'm reading the Mortal Instruments series and I'm up to book 2, City of Ashes.
Loving it so far!
Read 6/10Started 2/10
Waiting for the Red Queen series to end before starting it
- ̗̀ mymy ̖́- wrote: "isn't harry potter middle grade?"same for percy jackson
Read 6/10, and have 3 of the other 4 sitting on my shelf :-)
The first Harry Potter title is NOT YA but juvenile, written for kids 8 or 9 and up. As an adult, I enjoyed it when it came out, but I was a school librarian at the time, and most teens who visited my library and actually read it thought it was too kiddy for them. Interest with the YA community didn't get started until well after the movies started--come to think of it, the teens at that time had read the book when they were younger. Come to think of it, Rick Riordan's The Lightening Thief was also written for middle grades and not YA.
Janet wrote: "The first Harry Potter title is NOT YA but juvenile, written for kids 8 or 9 and up. As an adult, I enjoyed it when it came out, but I was a school librarian at the time, and most teens who visited..."yeah that's true. especially for the Rick Riordan books, the Harry Potter series matured as it went on, but Rick Riordan's books are still middle grade.
7/10. Percy Jackson, Vampire Academy, and Daughter of Smoke and Bone series are in my TBR.
Atlas wrote: "Read 8/10, but thought The Selection, Throne of Glass, Graceling, and Red Queen are all mediocre books at best :/"It gets so much better
7/10 Lol that's not terrible!!! I still need to read Graceling, Hush Hush and Vampire Academy...
Love these. I'd also add the Inkheart series (even though it's probably more middle grade than YA?) since (1) it's amazing and (2) is perfect for bookworms. :)
I enjoyed "The Selection" but I'm not sure why it's on this list. It's not fantasy. "The Raven Cycle" by Maggie Stiefvater is another great series that is true fantasy.
8/10 I still need to read Vampire Academy and Graceling
Denise wrote: "9/10! Haven't read Graceling yet." same here! :D But it was on my to-read list so let's call it a 9,5/10!
Kate Elliott's new YA COURT OF FIVES and two sequels is a must-read, especially for girls, and girls interested in sports.
I've read six..... And Percy Jackson is the best!!!!!!!I love the whole series!!
7 out of 10 and waiting on 2 from the library now...
I've read 4 of the 10 (plus sequels), but after checking both this list and the adult list, the books I think are missing are Patricia McKillip's Riddlemaster of Hed series. For some reason they never got the traction of so many other fantasy series, but they are my favorites. I would say they are for an older audience that Percy Jackson or Harry Potter, but accessible to fantasy fans of all ages.
8/10 I didn't read Vampire Academy and Harry Potter.
6 of the 10. Although I definitely wouldn't consider "The Selection" a fantasy novel. It befits the dystopian genre much more. There's no magic, knights, dragons, myth and legend, etc.
5/10 but I agree with everyone who said Six of Crows. It should definitely be on this list.
Jessa wrote: "8/10..still deciding if I will read Hush, Hush and Vampire Academy"vampire academy is very good. i recommend it (:
Haha! I've read almost all of them! YES! Only one on my to-read list and two I'm going to look into IMMEDIATELY.
4/10 not too good considering this is my favorite genre...
I'm really surprised Divergent isn't on the list but I do love everything else! Go team YA :D
