My favorite fantasy stories are based on possibilities.not only what Might be so Happens to characters, but what they can do make break out. If you need a reminder that life is not set in stone, here are six expansive and empowering young adult fantasy books that show that real people are capable of extraordinary abilities.
“The Dark Is Rising” by Susan Cooper
Reading this classic 1973 novel was a formative experience for me. The novel follows a boy named Will who wakes up on the morning of his eleventh birthday to find his family, neighbors, and world frozen. He then learns that he is the last of a band called the Old Ones, warriors of an ancient battle, and must go on a quest to fight the evil that is coming. “The Dark Is Rising” is the first modern fantasy I remember reading as a child, a fantasy set in the “real world.” This subgenre balances out on the edges of the familiar and the fantastical, which makes it well-suited for stories that use genre conventions to examine real-world history and teenage issues. This novel is atmospheric, thrilling, high stakes and captivating magic. ‘The Dark Is Rising’ is his second book in a five-book series, but it’s a good stand-alone read.
“Cemetery Boys” is a modern day fantasy that fires on all cylinders. Driven by heart and humor in equal parts, this story is based on a heart-wrenching family and community crisis that begins just days before Dia de los Muertos. The novel begins with Yadriel, the novel’s transgender and queer protagonist, and his best friend Maritza sneaking into a church to perform a magical coming-of-age ceremony — and in the process, he accidentally becomes the spirit of a dead boy. Summons. Oops! To Live and Love Freely is an expert work that interweaves Yadriel’s personal journey to help her live on her own terms and be accepted as a brujo within the magical traditions of the Latinx community. interweaves a broader conversation about the meaning of
Pets by Akwaeke Emezi
As someone who loves to identify genres, I defy every attempt at categorization and am gleefully baffled and obsessed with “pets.” Is this book a young adult fantasy? yes. It’s an alternate history, but is it set in the future? yes. Is it a detective novel? absolutely. This novel tells the story of a teenage jam who lives in a city without monsters. After accidentally creating a seemingly gigantic creature for himself, Jam must go on a mission to find the secrets remaining in the world that he believes angels have rid society of evil. In “Pets”, Emeji cleverly uses the conventions of the genre to examine who is dangerous and who is safe, how monsters are made and enabled.
Elatsoe, by Darcy Little Badger
“Elatsoe” is set in an alternate America I would love to live in. In this book’s version of America, ghosts, vampires, and other things we consider supernatural are commonplace. Ellie (short for Elatsoe) is a Ripan-her Apache teenager who can raise ghosts from the dead, including her deceased dog Kirby. This paranormal fantasy novel is also a murder mystery. Ellie’s cousin died in an accident, but we don’t know the details. To find out what happened, Ellie must consider her ancestral knowledge and memories. It’s an exploration that’s necessary to solve a central mystery and that connects the protagonist to her past and community in an uplifting way.
“Winter Song” by S. Jae-Jones
I’m an 80’s kid at heart and grew up on the movie Labyrinth.I again I’m a myth and legend geek, and I’m obsessed with the story of Hades and Persephone.So the lyrical and atmospheric fairy tale of ‘Winter Song’, creatively combining elements from both stories, drew me in. straight awayIn this novel, Liesl, the innkeeper’s daughter, travels to the perilous Goblin Underworld to rescue his sister from the Goblin King, but of course, everything in his realm comes at a price. bride. Their cat-and-mouse game is part romantic, part adversarial, and weaves a haunting and terrifying kind of beauty that lends itself to stories about music theory, evocative views of mental health, seduction and sacrifice. I’m here.
A Phoenix First Must Burn: Black Girl Magic, Resistance and 16 Stories of Hope by Patrice Caldwell
I have to admit, this recommendation is a bit deceptive. It’s not a single novel, it’s an anthology with 16 different stories to choose from. Collected in the spirit of Octavia Butler’s vast body of work, this collection touches on black culture, folklore and fantasy, where stories draw on lived experience with speculative imagination. What I like most is the focused, polyphonic assertion that black women and gender nonconforming people are so multifaceted, in fact, infinite.
Tracy Deonn is the author of the Coretta Scott King-John Steptoe Award winning Legendborn and its sequel Bloodmarked.
