Young Adult Fantasy Book List
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The Taking of Jake Livingston by Ryan Douglass – YA F DOU
Jake Livingston is one of the only Black kids at St. Clair Prep, one of the others being his infinitely more popular older brother. It’s hard enough to fit in, but Jake can see the dead to make matters worse and more complicated. |
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A Dark and Starless Forest by Sarah Hollowell – YA F HOL
Derry and her eight siblings live in an isolated house by the lake, separated from the rest of the world by an eerie and menacing forest. Frank, the man who raised them after their families abandoned them, says it’s for their own good. After all, the world isn’t safe for people with magic. And Derry feels safe until the night her eldest sister disappears. |
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Realm Breaker by Victoria Aveyard – YA F AVE
Strange darkness grows in Allward. Even Corayne an-Amarat can feel it, tucked away in her small town at the edge of the sea. She soon discovers the truth: She is the last of an ancient lineage— and the last hope to save the world from destruction. But she won’t be alone. |
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The Gilded Ones by Namina Forna – YA F FOR
Sixteen-year-old Deka lives in fear and anticipation of the blood ceremony that will determine whether she will become a member of her village. Deka prays for red blood so she can finally feel like she belongs. But on the day of the ceremony, her blood runs gold, the color of impurity–and Deka knows she will face a consequence worse than death. |
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Lore by Alexandra Bracken – YA F BRA
Every seven years, the Agon begins. Nine Greek gods are forced to walk the earth as mortals, hunted by the descendants of ancient bloodlines, all eager to kill a god and seize their divine power and immortality as punishment for a past rebellion. |
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What Big Teeth by Rose Szabo – YA F SZA
Eleanor Zarrin has been estranged from her wild family for years. When she flees boarding school after a horrifying incident, she goes to the only place she thinks is safe: the home she left behind. But when she gets there, she struggles to fit in with her monstrous relatives, who prowl the woods around the family estate and read fortunes in the guts of birds. |
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An Affair Of Poisons by Addie Thorley – YA F THO
After unwittingly helping her mother poison King Louis XIV, seventeen-year-old alchemist Mirabelle Monvoisin is forced to see her mother’s Shadow Society in a horrifying new light: they’re not heroes of the people, as they’ve always claimed to be, but murderers. Herself included. |
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The Belles by Dhonielle Clayton – YA F CLA
Camellia Beauregard is a Belle. In the opulent world of Orléans, Belles are revered, for they control Beauty, and Beauty is a commodity coveted above all else. In Orléans, the people are born gray. They are born damned, and only with the help of a Belle and her talents can they transform and be made beautiful. |
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Children of Blood and Bone by Tomi Adeyemi – YA F ADE
Zélie Adebola remembers when the soil of Orïsha hummed with magic. Burners ignited flames, Tiders beckoned waves, and Zélie’s Reaper mother summoned forth souls. But everything changed the night magic disappeared. Under the orders of a ruthless king, maji were killed, leaving Zélie without a mother and her people without hope. |
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Descendant of the Crane by Joan He – YA F HE
Princess Hesina of Yan has always been eager to shirk the responsibilities of the crown, but when her beloved father is murdered, she’s thrust into power, suddenly the queen of an unstable kingdom. Determined to find her father’s killer, Hesina does something desperate: she engages the aid of a soothsayer—a treasonous act punishable by death… because, in Yan, magic was outlawed centuries ago. |
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Damsel by Elana K. Arnold – YA F ARN
The rite has existed for as long as anyone can remember: when the prince-who-will-be-king comes of age, he must venture out into the gray lands, slay a fierce dragon, and rescue a damsel to be his bride. This is the way things have always been. |
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Girls of Paper and Fire by Natasha Ngan – YA F NGA
Eight beautiful girls are chosen as Paper Girls to serve the king each year. It’s the highest honor they could hope for…and the most demeaning. This year, there’s a ninth. And instead of paper, she’s made of fire. |
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The Wild Ones by Nafiza Azad – YA F AZA
Meet the Wild Ones: girls who have been hurt, abandoned and betrayed all their lives. It all began with Paheli, who was once betrayed by her mother and sold to a man in exchange for a favor. When Paheli escapes, she runs headlong into a boy with stars in his eyes. As battered as she is, this boy tosses Paheli a box of stars before disappearing. |
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Six Crimson Cranes by Elizabeth Lim – YA F LIM
Shiori, the only princess of Kiata, has a secret. Forbidden magic runs through her veins. She usually conceals it well, but on the morning of her betrothal ceremony, Shiori loses control. |
















