This year on the Hub we are celebrating the Twelve Days of YA with a series of posts loosely based on the traditional Twelve Days of Christmas gifts. We have converted each gift into a related theme common to YA and paired it with a list of relevant titles. You may use the Twelve Days of YA tag to read all of the posts in the series.
Special thanks goes to Carli Spina, Faythe Arredondo, Sharon Rawlins, Geri Diorio, Becky O’Neil, Carla Land, Katie Yu, Laura Perenic, Jennifer Rummel, Libby Gorman, Carly Pansulla, Anna Dalin, and Allison Tran for their help creating the booklists and organizing this series.
On the tenth day of YA, my true love gave to me ten lords-a-leaping.
When looking for lords-a-leaping, there was only one place to turn in YA lit – high fantasy. These lords are often doing a lot more than leaping and pretty frequently they are actually ladies out there kicking butt. We hope you enjoy the high fantasy adventures that we picked and encourage you to share your favorites in the comments!
- Graceling by Kristin Cashore (2009 Morris Honor Book, 2009 Teens’ Top Ten, 2009 Best Book for Young Adults, 2012 Popular Paperback for Young Adults)
- Throne of Glass by Sarah J. Maas (2013 Best Fiction for Young Adults)
- Shadow and Bone by Leigh Bardugo (2013 Best Fiction for Young Adults, 2013 Readers’ Choice)
- Huntress by Malinda Lo (2012 Best Fiction for Young Adults)
- Star Crossed by Elizabeth C. Bunce
- Defy by Sara B. Larson
- The Thief by Megan Whalen Turner (2015 Popular Paperbacks Nominee, 2003 Popular Paperback for Young Adults, 1997 Best Book for Young Adults)
- Finnikin of the Rock by Melina Marchetta (2012 Popular Paperback for Young Adults, 2011 Top Ten Amazing Audiobook for Young Adults, 2011 Top Ten Best Fiction for Young Adults)
- Alanna (Song of the Lioness series) by Tamora Pierce (2013 Edwards Award Winner)
– Jessica Lind, currently reading Isla and the Happily Ever After by Stephanie Perkins
Aria in Veronica Rossi’s Under the Never Sky Trilogy, and Marissa Meyer’s Cinder, Scarlet and Cress and Tana in Holly Black’s The Coldest Girl in Coldtown.
Thanks for adding to the list, BJ! I have a few readers burning these titles right now and I’m always looking for more to recommend.
So many swords! Great roundup!
I always recommend Graceling to the Hunger Games kids, and usually they love it. The Girl of Fire and Thorns is another great action fantasy. It has a princess, not a lord, but she’s still pretty kickass.
I have never received negative feedback from someone after recommending Graceling and I recommend it a lot. It truly is a fantastic novel. It’s interesting to hear that you make the dystopian-to-fantasy transition here. I think I’ll give this a try on a HG fan next chance I get!