Next SFF Author: Rick Yancey

Previous SFF Author: John Wyndham

Series: Young Adult

Fantasy Literature for Young Adults (over the age of 12).

The Captive: Characters to care about

The Captive by L.J. Smith

The Captive is the second book in the Secret Circle trilogy by L.J. Smith. In this book Faye tightens her hold around Cassie, blackmailing her over her love for Adam and forcing her to betray Diana. At the same time the Circle learns that a dark power is on the loose and killing, and Cassie begins to suspect that the crystal skull recovered from Black John’s articles is behind the deaths.

L.J. Smith has written a number of trilogies in the YA paranormal arena, and excels at the format.

Stoneheart: YA adventure on audio

Stoneheart by Charlie Fletcher

Stoneheart, the first book in the Stoneheart trilogy by Charlie Fletcher features a cast of three main characters. George, a 12 year old boy, has a hard home life. His father died in a car accident, his mother is a self-absorbed actress who is physically and emotionally absent most of the time, and he’s a social outcast at school. When he gets unfairly blamed for an accident on a school field trip, he lashes out by breaking the head off a stone dragon carved on the outside of the museum.

Shade: Enjoyable YA

Shade by Jeri Smith-Ready

Everyone in the world who is Aura’s age or younger can see ghosts, while older people can’t see them. Aura dreads her “gift” (mostly) until her boyfriend, Logan, dies of a drug-alcohol overdose and returns to watch over her. Despite Logan’s lack of a physical body, their relationship deepens.

Meanwhile, Aura begins to fall for a living boy: Zachary. Zachary was born scant minutes before Aura, and whereas she was the first born with the ability to see ghosts, Zach is the last child born without that ability.

Wish: Reviewed by Kelly the curmudgeon

Wish by Alexandra Bullen

Olivia always lived in the shadow of her outgoing twin sister Violet — until Violet died. Now, Olivia is starting over, with a new home, a new school, parents who have become strangers to her, and a hole in her life where Violet should be. Everything changes when Olivia takes one of Violet’s dresses to be mended, and meets the mysterious seamstress Mariposa of the Mission, a.k.a. Posey. Instead of repairing Violet’s dress, Posey makes Olivia a beautiful new one. This is not just any dress; it comes with a wish,

The Iron King: Real pleasure for teen and adult readers

The Iron King by Julie Kagawa

The Iron King (2010) is just plain fun. Julie Kagawa takes sixteen-year-old Meghan Chase on a heroic journey through the lands of Faerie, where she meets a host of vivid characters and crosses unearthly landscapes in search of her missing kid brother. Along the way, she learns a dangerous secret about her parentage, gets caught up in a Faerie political struggle, and finds herself torn between two very different fey boys.

There’s an element of pastiche to The Iron King;

Echo: Teenage angst in a fairytale setting

Echo by Francesca Lia Block

For anyone who’s ever read Francesca Lia Block before, you’ll know what to expect here. Riddled with teenage angst, fairytale settings and dense, poetic language, Echo provides another glimpse into the mind of tortured, restless adolescence. As always, Block’s novel stands outside any particular genre; is it fantasy or drama? Poetry or prose? Magic realism or something else entirely? As always, her trademark style is the use of her intoxicating language, which again defies description, but is best compared to fantasist Patricia McKillip.

Shadow Mirror: YA ghost story with realistic relationships

Shadow Mirror by Richie Tankersley Cusick

I’ve said it before and I’ll say it again: I love a good ghost story. I don’t love it when a book isn’t clearly marked as a sequel. However, that is the fault of neither Shadow Mirror nor Richie Tankersley Cusick, so I’ll let it slide. Just know you’ll want to read Walk of the Spirits first, if you’re interested in Shadow Mirror.

Miranda Barnes has the ability to hear and see the dead.

Primavera: A fascinating story

Primavera by Francesca Lia Block

Francesca Lia Block’s novel Primavera is the sequel to an earlier novel Ecstasia, which should probably be read before continuing with this one. I hadn’t read Ecstasia, and though this didn’t prevent me from grasping what was going on here, I couldn’t help but feel that some of the action that takes place would have been better understood and more poignant had I previously read Ecstasia.

From what I gathered here,

Possessed: Spooky YA

Possessed by Kate Cann

The beginning of Possessed drops the reader right into the stifling life of Rayne, a young London teenager. Her relationships with her mother and boyfriend are dysfunctional, and she’s unable to find a moment’s peace amid the noise and crime of the city. Kate Cann does an excellent job of showing us Rayne’s frayed nerves and her desire to get out of her neighborhood by any means necessary. Desperate, she takes a live-in job at the country estate of Morton’s Keep.

As Rayne settles into her new life,

The Fledging of Az Gabrielson: A YA page turner

The Fledging of Az Gabrielson by Jay Amory

In the wake of a global apocalypse, humans take to the skies, building enormous cities above the encroaching cloud cover, connected to the earth by slender columns. The columns enclose supply elevators that bring essential resources up from the surface to the earth to the Airborn , who are so named because of these cities and because of their giant wings that allow them to fly like angels. All the Airborn have wings, except for the teenager Az Gabrielson, born without the wings that mark everyone else in his society.

Next SFF Author: Rick Yancey

Previous SFF Author: John Wyndham

We have reviewed 8497 fantasy, science fiction, and horror books, audiobooks, magazines, comics, and films.

Subscribe to all posts:

Support FanLit

Want to help us defray the cost of domains, hosting, software, and postage for giveaways? Donate here:

You can support FanLit (for free) by using these links when you shop at Amazon:

US UK CANADA

Or, in the US, simply click the book covers we show. We receive referral fees for all purchases (not just books). This has no impact on the price and we can't see what you buy. This is how we pay for hosting and postage for our GIVEAWAYS. Thank you for your support!

SFF Deals

Recent Discussion:

David C Walton on Bury Our Bones in the Midnight Soil: Ambitious, atmospheric, and ultimately unevenJuly 5, 2025
Do it! One of the best things I've read in recent years.
Marion Deeds on Bury Our Bones in the Midnight Soil: Ambitious, atmospheric, and ultimately unevenJuly 5, 2025
This reminds me. I want to read Addie LaRue.
Bill Capossere on Bury Our Bones in the Midnight Soil: Ambitious, atmospheric, and ultimately unevenJuly 3, 2025
We’re in total agreement David!
David C Walton on Bury Our Bones in the Midnight Soil: Ambitious, atmospheric, and ultimately unevenJuly 3, 2025
I felt just the same. The prose and character work was excellent. The larger story was unsatisfying, especially compared to…
Marion Deeds on Bury Our Bones in the Midnight Soil: Ambitious, atmospheric, and ultimately unevenJuly 3, 2025
Hmmm. I think I'll pass.