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 LibrariesYouth team at Wellington City Libraries
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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...
Children of blood and bone
Adeyemi, Tomi
Paper Book
Tomi Adeyemi conjures a stunning world of dark magic and danger in her West African-inspired fantasy Children of Blood and Bone, the first in the #1 New York Times-bestselling Legacy of Orïsha series. 'A hugely enjoyable escapist story that makes you re-examine the...
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! Enter the Grishaverse with book one of the Shadow and Bone Trilogy by number one New York Times-bestselling author, Leigh Bardugo. Perfect for fans of...
The cruel prince
Black, Holly
Paper Book
Queen of fantasy Holly Black weaves her magic with the tale of Jude, a mortal girl who is caught up in a dangerous web of royal faerie intrigue.
The gilded wolves
Chokshi, Roshani
Audiobook
A wizard of Earthsea
Le Guin, Ursula K.
Paper Book
The first book of Earthsea is a tale of wizards, dragons and terrifying shadows. The island of Gont is a land famous for wizards. Of these, some say the greatest - and surely the greatest voyager - is the man called Sparrowhawk. As a reckless, awkward boy, he discovered the great power...
The assassin's apprentice
Hobb, Robin
Paper Book
'Fantasy as it ought to be written' George R.R. Martin The kingdom of the Six Duchies is on the brink of civil war when news breaks that the crown prince has fathered a bastard son and is shamed into abdication. The child's name is Fitz, and he is despised. ...
The fifth season
Jemisin, N. K
Paper Book
At the end of the world, a woman must hide her secret power and find her kidnapped daughter in this "intricate and extraordinary" Hugo Award winning novel of power, oppression, and revolution. (The New York Times) This is the way the world ends. . .for the last time. ...
The eye of the world
Jordan, Robert
Paper Book
Serpent & dove
Mahurin, Shelby
Ebook
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 that kept me...
The magician of Hoad
Mahy, Margaret.
Paper Book
A legend is born. Heriot has always known that he was different with his terrifying dreams and psychic powers. Ripped from his family farm, he is forced to serve as the King's magician in the capital city of Diamond. Isolated and lonely, his only friends...
The left-handed booksellers of London
Nix, Garth
Paper Book
A girl's quest to find her father leads her to an extended family of magical fighting booksellers who police the mythical Old World of England when it intrudes on the modern world. From the bestselling master of fantasy, Garth Nix. In a slightly alternate London in 1983, Susan...
Sabriel
Nix, Garth
Paper Book
Who will guard the living when the dead arise? Sabriel is sent as a child across the Wall to the safety of a school in Ancelstierre. Away from magic; away from the Dead. After receiving a cryptic message from her father, 18-year-old Sabriel leaves her ordinary school and returns across the Wall into...
A deadly education : a novel
Novik, Naomi
Paper Book
____________ The Sunday Times bestseller! FINALIST FOR THE LODESTAR AWARD In the start of an all-new trilogy, the bestselling author of Uprooted and Spinning Silver introduces you to a dangerous school for the...
The colour of magic
Pratchett, Terry
Paper Book
'His spectacular inventiveness makes the Discworld series one of the perennial joys of modern fiction' Mail on Sunday NAMED AS ONE OF THE BBC'S 100 MOST INSPIRING NOVELS The Discworld is very much like our own - if our own were to consist of a...
Carry on : the rise and fall of Simon Snow
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
The #1 New York Times Best Seller! Age range 12 to 17 There's no such thing as safe in a city at war, a city overrun with monsters. In this dark urban fantasy from acclaimed author Victoria Schwab, a young woman and a young man must choose whether to become heroes or...
The alchemyst : the secrets of the immortal Nicholas Flamel
Scott, Michael
Paper Book
Nicholas Flamel was born in Paris in 1330. Nearly 700 years later, he is acknowleged as the greatest alchemyst of his day. It is said that he discovered the secret of eternal life. The records show that he died in 1418. But his tomb is empty
Leviathan
Westerfeld, Scott.
Paper Book
The year is 1914 and Europe, armed with futuristic machines and biotechnology, is on the precipice of war. Prince Aleksandar is fleeing for his life. When he meets Deryn Sharpe, an orphan girl who has disguised herself as a boy so she can join the British Air Service, they form an uneasy alliance.

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