Fantasy (YA)

The books in this list are primarily about worlds that are imagined (or a slightly wonky reality) -- think magic, elves, faeries, and quests in a universe that's not quite our own!

If you're also interested in fantasy creatures inhabiting a real work, be sure to check out our Supernatural and Urban Fantasy list!

Updated June 19, 2024
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Wellington City Libraries Youth team at Wellington City Libraries
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Fantasy (YA)

The books in this list are primarily about worlds that are imagined (or a slightly wonky reality) -- think magic, elves, faeries, and quests in a universe that's not quite our own!

If you're also interested in fantasy creatures inhabiting a real work, be sure to check out our Supernatural and Urban Fantasy list!

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Half a king
Abercrombie, Joe
Paper Book
A classic coming-of-age tale set in a vivid and richly-imagined world from Sunday Times bestselling author Joe Abercrombie. 'A fast-paced tale of betrayal and revenge that grabbed me from page one and refused to let go' GEORGE R.R. MARTIN Prince Yarvi has vowed to...
Children of blood and bone
Adeyemi, Tomi
Paper Book
Soon to be a major movie starring Wicked's Cynthia Erivo, Amandla Stenberg, Viola Davis, Idris Elba, Lashana Lynch and Chiwetel Ejiofor. Enter Tomi Adeyemi's stunning world of dark magic and danger in her West African-inspired fantasy...
Shadow and bone
Bardugo, Leigh.
Paper Book
See the Grishaverse come to life on screen with the Netflix series, Shadow and Bone -- Season 2 streaming now! Discover the adventure that started it all and meet Alina, Mal, and the Darkling in Shadow and Bone from #1 bestselling author, Leigh Bardugo.
The guns above
Bennis, Robyn
Paper Book
Robyn Bennis's THE GUNS ABOVE is an adventurous military fantasy debut about a nation's first female airship captain. They say it's not the fall that kills you. For Josette Dupre, the Corps' first female airship captain, it might just be a bullet in the back...
The cruel prince
Black, Holly
Paper Book
By #1 New York Times bestselling author Holly Black, the first book in a stunning new series about a mortal girl who finds herself caught in a web of royal faerie intrigue. Of course I want to be like them. They're beautiful as blades forged in some divine...
The gilded wolves
Chokshi, Roshani
Paper Book
*AN INSTANT NEW YORK TIMES BESTSELLER* First in a "wildly inventive and wildly representative" (The New York Times Book Review) historical fantasy series, Roshani Chokshi's The Gilded Wolves follows the exploits of a found family--six societal outcasts...
The Scapegracers
Clarke, Hannah Abigail
Paper Book
An Indie Bestseller! 2021 Locus Award Finalist for Best Young Adult Novel 2021 Dragon Award Finalist for Best Young Adult/Middle Grade Novel "As tender and intimate as it is ferocious and volatile, Scapegracers deserves to be this generation's go-to grimoire...
A wizard of Earthsea
Le Guin, Ursula K.
Paper Book
Assassin's apprentice
Hobb, Robin
Paper Book
"Fantasy as it ought to be written . . . Robin Hobb's books are diamonds in a sea of zircons."--George R. R. Martin    Young Fitz is the bastard son of the noble Prince Chivalry, raised in the shadow of the royal court by his father's gruff stableman. He is treated as an...
The fifth season
Jemisin, N. K.
Paper Book
Winner of the Hugo Award for Best Novel Book 1 in the record-breaking triple Hugo-Award-winning trilogy ***One of Time Magazine's top 100 fantasy books of all time*** ***Shortlisted for the World Fantasy, Nebula, Kitschies, Audie and Locus...
The eye of the world
Jordan, Robert
Paper Book
The Wheel of Time is now an original series on Prime Video, starring Rosamund Pike as Moiraine! The Eye of the World, the first novel in Robert Jordan's #1 New York Times bestselling epic fantasy series, The Wheel of Time®, follows Moiraine Damodred as she...
Dreamhunter
Knox, Elizabeth.
Paper Book
'...amazing and unique ... like nothing else I've ever read. You will want to go there.' Stephenie Meyer - author of the Twilight Saga Suitable for ages 12+ Fast-paced and dazzlingly imaginative, Dreamhunter will draw the reader into an extraordinary fictional world in which dreams are...
Arrows of the queen
Lackey, Mercedes.
Paper Book
Follows the adventures of Talia as she trains to become a Herald of Valdemar in the first book in the classic epic fantasy Arrows trilogy Chosen by the Companion Rolan, a mystical horse-like being with powers beyond imagining, Talia, once a runaway, has now become a trainee...
Serpent & Dove
Mahurin, Shelby.
Paper Book
New York Times Bestseller * Indiebound Bestseller * An Amazon Best Book of 2019 * B&N's YA Book Club Pick "A brilliant debut, full of everything I love: a sparkling and fully realized heroine, an intricate and deadly system of magic, and a searing romance...
The magician of Hoad
Mahy, Margaret.
Paper Book
Forced from home, twelve-year old Heriot's unwilling steps lead him to Diamond, first city of the Hoadara. Forced to serve as the King's magician, Heriot is isolated within the walls of Diamond, until he finds Cayley, a wild, ambiguous rat-of-the-city. Two lonely souls forge an unlikely friendship...
Mask of shadows
Miller, Linsey
Paper Book
Age range 14 to 17 Sallot Leon is a thief, and a good one at that. But gender fluid Sal wants nothing more than to escape the drudgery of life as a highway robber and get closer to the upper-class -- and the nobles who destroyed their home. When Sal steals a flyer for an audition to...
The bright and breaking sea
Neill, Chloe
Paper Book
Kit Brightling, rescued as a foundling and raised in a home for talented girls, has worked hard to rise through the ranks and become one of the few female captains in Queen Charlotte's fleet. But the waters become perilous when the queen sends Kit on a special mission with a partner she never asked...
Unbroken : 13 stories starring disabled teens
Nijkamp, Marieke
Paper Book
This anthology explores disability in fictional tales told from the viewpoint of disabled characters, written by disabled creators. With stories in various genres about first loves, friendship, war, travel, and more, Unbroken will offer today's teen readers a glimpse into the lives of...
The left-handed booksellers of London
Nix, Garth
CD
Sabriel
Nix, Garth
Paper Book
Garth Nix's fantasy masterwork is a compelling high fantasy, the gripping story of a young woman who must journey into Death to defeat a powerful necromancer. A tale of dark secrets, deep love and dangerous magic.
A deadly education : a novel
Novik, Naomi
Paper Book
NEW YORK TIMES BESTSELLER * From the author of Uprooted and Spinning Silver comes the first book of the Scholomance trilogy, the story of an unwilling dark sorceress who is destined to rewrite the rules of magic. FINALIST FOR THE LODESTAR AWARD * "The dark...
Dorothy must die
Paige, Danielle
Paper Book
The New York Times bestselling first book in a dark series that reimagines the Oz saga, from debut author Danielle Paige. Start at the beginning and discover your new series to binge! My name is Amy Gumm--and I'm the other girl from Kansas. I've been recruited by the...
Tempests and slaughter : the Numair chronicles, book one
Pierce, Tamora
Paper Book
Bestselling author Tamora Pierce crafts a richly realised world in the highly anticipated first installment of The Numair Chronicles - a gripping fantasy series for young adults. THREE STUDENT MAGES, BOUND BY FATE . . . FATED FOR DANGER Arram Draper is on the path to becoming one of the realm's most...
The color of magic : a Discworld novel
Pratchett, Terry.
Paper Book
"A master of laugh-out-loud fiction . . . Pratchett has created an alternate universe full of trolls, dwarfs, wizards, and other fantasy elements, and he uses that universe to reflect our own culture with entertaining and gloriously funny results. . . . Nothing short of magical." --Chicago...
Carry on
Rowell, Rainbow
Paper Book
Simon Snow just wants to relax and savour his last year at the Watford School of Magicks, but no one will let him. His girlfriend broke up with him, his best friend is a pest and his mentor keeps trying to hide him away in the mountains where maybe he'll be safe. Simon can't even enjoy the fact that...
This savage song : a Monsters of Verity novel
Schwab, Victoria
Paper Book
Kate Harker and August Flynn are the heirs to a divided city, a grisly metropolis where the violence has begun to create real and deadly monsters. All Kate wants is to be as ruthless as her father, who lets the monsters roam free and makes the inhabitants pay for his protection. August just wants to...
The alchemyst : the secrets of the immortal Nicholas Flamel
Scott, Michael
Paper Book
Nicholas Flamel appeared in J.K. Rowling's Harry Potter--but did you know he really lived? And his secrets aren't safe! Discover the truth in book one of the New York Times bestselling series the Secrets of the Immortal Nicholas Flamel.   The truth:<...
Iron cast
Soria, Destiny
Paper Book
It's Boston, 1919, and the Cast Iron club is packed. On stage, hemopaths - whose "afflicted" blood gives them the ability to create illusions through art - Corinne and Ada have been best friends ever since infamous gangster Johnny Dervish recruited them into his circle. By night they perform for...
The thief
Turner, Megan Whalen.
Paper Book
Discover and rediscover the world of the Queen's Thief, from the acclaimed novel The Thief to the thrilling, twenty-years-in-the-making conclusion, The Return of the Thief. The epic novels set in the world of the Queen's Thief can be read in any order. ...
Leviathan
Westerfeld, Scott
Paper Book
The first novel in a masterful trilogy about World War I with a steampunk twist by #1 New York Times bestselling author Scott Westerfeld. It is the cusp of World War I. The Austro-Hungarians and Germans have their Clankers, steam-driven iron machines loaded with guns and...
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