Get Yer YA Recommendations Here!

[J.A.Nielsen]

I immediately thought of Life of Pi by Yann Martel.

This was one of the first things I thought of, too!

 

[Morgan Morrow]

I'm curious for recommendations off this list. I've heard of very few besides Kuang.

Best Non-Western and POC Fantasy Books in 2020 | Den of Geek

Recent years have seen an uptick in fantasy books that exist outside of a white American/European context.

www.denofgeek.com

I listened to Riot Baby and enjoyed it, the magic system was really unique and interesting.

I really liked Shadow of the Fox (book 1 in the trilogy that Night of the Dragon completes), but I'm a sucker for stories that feature kitsune and samurai plagued by inner demons. Will definitely be getting/reading the rest of the trilogy.

Read and enjoyed The Bone Shard Daughter, this is another one that I'm definitely going to get the sequels to.


A couple feel like they don't really fit on the list, but I loved them and want to talk about them. I am absolutely infatuated with the Daveabad trilogy (Empire of Gold is the final installment), but I think it's adult not YA. Ditto for The Jasmine Throne - loved it to death but I think it's adult not YA. (Side note gushing - Tasha Suri does an amazing job of forging strong female characters that are strong in a variety of ways and not just 'girls who beat up boys')

I think Tasha Suri's previous duology 'The Books of Ambha' probably fits into YA better, and they are awesome and very worth reading.

Edit: I looked a bit more closely and I don't see anything that says it's limited to YA, so I dunno where I got that idea. But anyways, as long as I'm gushing over non-western fantasy, I have to add Fonda Lee's Green Bone Saga. Holy moly it is good! South-Asian inspired world with magic and mafia, really cool characters and imagery and so tense and exciting.

 

[TomCrossley]

I think the last time I properly read some YA was 'the mazerunner' about 2 years ago!

Anyone got any good suggestions?

 

[Makkura]

There's so many, but my current favourite recommendation is Gideon the Ninth by Tamsyn Muir.

 

[Jazz Club]

I'll just recommend my comps haha

Dark Room Etiquette. Amazing (and warning: fairly dark in places). I've been raving about it. So good.

Lies Like Wildfire by Jennifer Lynn Alvarez. Nice and twisty with some great tangled relationships. Nice atmosphere and a relatable MC.

This one isn't one of my comps, and everyone recommends it, but that doesn't mean it's not good: We Were Liars by E. Lockhart.

 

[starrystorm]

Fantasy: Seasons of Chaos by Elle Cosimano

Scifi: The Cage Trilogy by Megan Shepard

Horror: And the Trees Crept In by Dawn Kurtagich

Thriller: Lies Like Wildfire by Jennifer Lynn Alvearez

Bonus *cough* self promotion *cough* The Door in My Hand is ya urban fantasy.

A lot of these are backlogs because I tend to read older ya.