Best Young Adult Fantasy Books

Young adult fantasy targets readers between the ages 12 to 18 and typically feature a young adult as the main character of the story. Because of the protagonist's age, coming-of-age often plays a key role in YA fiction.

We’ve given a list of what we consider to be the best modern YA fantasy books, drawing from a number of different styles of fantasy from different periods, ranging from the recently published to several decades old. Each of the suggested books is highly recommended as a great read for teenagers and adults alike. A good number of these titles may be familiar to you as classics, but there may be a few surprise reads in the mix too.

YA Fantasy Books vs. Children's Fantasy Books

We distinguish between Young Adult fantasy books and Children’s fantasy books in that YA books often have more complex, adult themes than children’s fantasy; YA fantasy might be considerably darker in tone and atmosphere as well. Quite a few YA fantasy books can be read by readers under the age of 12, however. Many of these stories can easily be appreciated by adult readers as well. Be sure to read our related Best Children's Fantasy Books list which suggests specific books for children (readers under the age of 12). There may be some overlap between the two lists.