The 10 Best YA Fantasy Books

Don't let the title mislead you - I am not the be all end all of good book opinions. There's probably a million books out there that are incredible that I haven't even heard of, let alone read. Saying this - if you know a good one you should drop a comment below and let me know about it! I'll add it to my ever-expanding "to-read" pile.

For now, here it is, the list of my top ten favourite YA Fantasy books I've read in recent years.

1. Sabriel by Garth Nix. This is book 1 of the Abhorsen Trilogy, and although I listed this book, I think my favourite of the series was actually the second novel, Lirael. Still, Sabriel came first, and it stuck with me for years after I first read it. It's a young adult book, and I read it for the first time at around 15. I loved it; the world is dark, gritty, and full of magic. As an adult, it still holds up. The story is compelling, and Sabriel remains one of my favourite female book characters. She's smart, tough as nails, and gets things done; I highly recommend.

2. Graceling by Kristen Cashore. This a great read, I couldn't put it down. I love 'high fantasy', and any book with a unique take on magic sucks me in every time. Katsa is a great character - she's reminiscent of Katniss of The Hunger Games; she's deadly, smart, independent, and questions authority. This book has a depth that comes unexpectedly as we grow with Katsa, and as she questions both her humanity and morality. "When a monster stopped behaving like a monster, did it stop being a monster?" - what a compelling idea.

3. Harry Potter by J.K. Rowling. I suppose I'd be remiss if I didn't mention Harry Potter. Don't misunderstand - I love Harry Potter. It just seems funny to recommend a book that literally everyone has heard of. Still, if you haven't read HP yet... what are you doing reading my blog post? Go pick up Harry Potter! (As an aside, here's an unpopular opinion: my favourite book of the HP series is The Order of the Phoenix. I know, I know. What can I say? It's always been my favourite since the first time I read it.)

4. Singer of All Songs by Kate Constable. I'm sure the day will one day come where I will stop raving about this book, but today is not that day. Don't get me wrong - it's got problems. But the world is beautiful and intriguing, and even more importantly, the magic is cool. Imagine being able to sing your magic?! I'm hooked. This is a trilogy, and the writing in it is probably the best part. Calwyn, the isolated main character who stumbles into an adventure is kind of a whiner, but later in the book Mica, a spirited wind enchantress makes up for her and more. Read this book, and then please talk to me about it, because I've been freaking out about this book since I was like, 12.

5. Partials by Dan Wells. I actually read this book as an adult, so I don't have the "young adult" perspective on this one. I really enjoyed it, however. The story is gripping, and although I generally don't like 'sci-fi' ideas, this one hooked me. It has all the best parts of a survivalist/end of days story without the tired "YA dystopian themes" that have been emerging since The Hunger Games (to be clear, I enjoyed the Hunger Games, and I'm a sucker for a dystopian novel; they're just really 'on-trend' these days!). Fans of "The Children of Men"... read this book!

6. Howl's Moving Castle by Diana Wynne Jones. My only regret about this entire book is that I watched the movie before I read the book. The movie is fantastic (praise Hayo Miyazaki), and you should definitely watch it; however, this book is incredible. The writing is magical, and the ending is just... so satisfying. Everything comes together. If I hadn't seen the movie, I think I would have loved the book even more, simply because of the ending payoff - but it was still fantastic. Read this!

7. The Transall Saga by Gary Paulsen. All you 90's kids who read "Hatchet" have heard of Gary Paulsen. Here's the thing - I read Hatchet in school, and while I liked it, it was nothing special. Then I picked up The Transall Saga and was BLOWN away. It's like Hatchet on steroids (in my opinion). There's some cool twists, the main character grows up in front of your eyes, and the ending...well, I've said too much. Just read it.

8. East by Edith Pattou. I am a sucker for any books that are retellings of fairy tales. This book is... beyond lovely. The writing is gorgeous, the pacing is perfect, and I can't say anything else because I'm too busy hunting down my copy so I can re-read this one for the seventeenth time.

9. The Host by Stephanie Meyer. OKAY - please don't judge me. I read Twilight (I mean, I was 14 when it came out and obsessed with Anne Rice, of course I read it), and while I enjoyed it at 14, it lacks a little something as an adult. Here's the thing: we all know Twilight is filled with mediocre writing, a problematic love interest, and a boring main character. The Host... is none of these things. It's got a compelling plot, two main characters, girl power friendships, and despite the presence of a "love triangle" it doesn't feel like a farce. Fans of Nicole Kidman and "The Invasion", eat your hearts out.

10. Among the Hidden by Margaret Peterson-Haddix. The "Shadow Children" series has been a favourite of mine for a long time. I would argue that it's actually aimed at an audience a little younger than the other books on this list, despite having a dark premise. In this series, parents are only allowed a maximum of 2 children. Our main character is a third child, a shadow child, who doesn't and can't exist. While the first book remains my favourite, the series as a whole is worth reading. Honourable Mentions: Maximum Ride by James Patterson and Silverwing by Kenneth Oppel. Both of these novels I devoured as a teen. The reason I didn't list them on here officially is simple... for Maximum Ride, as the series continued I felt like it became a bit meandering. Additionally, I tried to re-read them recently and just couldn't get into it. For Silverwing - the first and second novels in the series were awesome at 14, and remain awesome to my adult self. I even read Silverwing to my grade 5 class when I was teaching! The final book in the series, Firewing, lost me a bit. I would still say these are worth reading, but I was disappointed in the ending.

I had more trouble than I'd like to say making this list. I like YA fiction, and of course, I love fantasy. My problem is that usually when I'm reading YA novels they are considered a "guilty pleasure" and it took me ages to wade through all of the novels I "liked" and decide if they were actually quality. Narrowing down the problematic elements that I didn't love so much took me ages. I also wanted to give a few names that weren't as well known - what's the point of reading a list of books to read if you already KNOW you should read them? Anyway, this is my current list, and I'd love to hear from any of you - have you read any of these books? Did you enjoy them? Do you have a list of "To-Read's" that you want to share?

Drop a comment and let me know!