Top Young Adult Fantasy Books of 2024
Apprentice to the Villain (Released: August 2024)
Author(s): Hannah Nicole Maehrer
Ratings and Reviews from Hardcover
Rating: 3.94 (61 Ratings, 11 Reviews)
Pages: 431
NOTICE TO STAFF: There has been a disturbing increase in cheeriness, sprightly behaviour and overall optimism of late. Please resume your former dark, ominous terrors at your earliest convenience. —Mgmt Evie Sage has never been happier to be the assistant to The Villain. Who would have thought that working for an outrageously handsome (shhh, bad for his brand) evil overlord would be so rewarding? Still, the business of being bad is demanding, the forces of good are annoyingly persistent, and said forbidding boss is somewhat…er, out-of-evil-office. But Rennedawn is in grave trouble, and all signs – Kingsley’s included – point to catastrophe. Something peculiar is happening with the kingdom’s magic, and it’s made The Villain’s manor vulnerable to their enemies ... including their nemesis, the king. Now it’s time for Evie to face her greatest challenge: protecting The Villain’s lair, all of his nefarious works, and maybe (provided no one finds out) the entire kingdom. No pressure, Evie. It’s time to step out of her comfort zone and learn new skills. Like treason. Dagger work. Conspiring with the enemy. It’s all so…so…delightfully fun. But what happens when the assistant to The Villain is ready to become his apprentice?
Genre(s): Fantasy, Young Adult, Adventure, Fiction
Mislaid in Parts Half-Known (Released: January 2024)
Author(s): Seanan McGuire
Ratings and Reviews from Hardcover
Rating: 4.27 (51 Ratings, 11 Reviews)
Pages: 146
Dinosaurs and portals, and a girl who can find both in the latest book in the Hugo and Nebula Award-Winning series. Antsy is the latest student to pass through the doors at Eleanor West's School for Wayward Children. When her fellow students realize that Antsy's talent for finding absolutely anything may extend to doors, she's forced to flee in the company of a small group of friends, looking for a way back to the Shop Where the Lost Things Go to be sure that Vineta and Hudson are keeping their promise. Along the way, temptations are dangled, decisions are reinforced, and a departure to a world populated by dinosaurs brings untold dangers and one or two other surprises! A story that reminds us that finding what you want doesn't always mean finding what you need.
Genre(s): Fantasy, Young Adult, LGBTQ, Adventure
Somewhere Beyond the Sea (Released: January 2024)
Author(s): TJ Klune
Ratings and Reviews from Hardcover
Rating: 4.14 (97 Ratings, 14 Reviews)
Pages: 416
A magical house. A secret past. A summons that could change everything. Arthur Parnassus lives a good life, built on the ashes of a bad one. He’s the headmaster of a strange orphanage on a distant and peculiar island, and he hopes to soon be the adoptive father to the six magical and so-called dangerous children who live there. Arthur works hard and loves with his whole heart so none of the children ever feel the neglect and pain that he once felt as an orphan on that very same island so long ago. And he is not alone: joining him is the love of his life, Linus Baker, a former caseworker in the Department in Charge of Magical Youth; Zoe Chapelwhite, the island’s sprite; and her girlfriend, Mayor Helen Webb. Together, they will do anything to protect the children. But when Arthur is summoned to make a public statement about his dark past, he finds himself at the helm of a fight for the future that his family, and all magical people, deserve. And when a new magical child hopes to join them on their island home―one who finds power in calling himself monster, a name Arthur worked so hard to protect his children from―Arthur knows they’re at a breaking point: their family will either grow stronger than ever or fall apart. Welcome back to Marsyas Island. This is Arthur’s story. Somewhere Beyond the Sea is a story of resistance, lovingly told, about the daunting experience of fighting for the life you want to live and doing the work to keep it.
Genre(s): Fiction, Fantasy, LGBTQ, Young Adult
Heartless Hunter (Released: January 2024)
Author(s): Kristen Ciccarelli
Ratings and Reviews from Hardcover
Rating: 4.11 (132 Ratings, 40 Reviews)
Pages: 416
On the night Rune’s life changed forever, blood ran in the streets. Now, in the aftermath of a devastating revolution, witches have been diminished from powerful rulers to outcasts ruthlessly hunted due to their waning magic, and Rune must hide what she is. Spending her days pretending to be nothing more than a vapid young socialite, Rune spends her nights as the Crimson Moth, a witch vigilante who rescues her kind from being purged. When a rescue goes wrong, she decides to throw the witch hunters off her scent and gain the intel she desperately needs by courting the handsome Gideon Sharpe – a notorious and unforgiving witch hunter loyal to the revolution – who she can't help but find herself falling for. Gideon loathes the decadence and superficiality Rune represents, but when he learns the Crimson Moth has been using Rune’s merchant ships to smuggle renegade witches out of the republic, he inserts himself into her social circles by pretending to court her right back. He soon realizes that beneath her beauty and shallow façade, is someone fiercely intelligent and tender who feels like his perfect match. Except, what if she’s the very villain he’s been hunting? Kristen Ciccarelli’s The Crimson Moth is the thrilling start to a romantic fantasy duology where the only thing more treacherous than being a witch…is falling in love.
Genre(s): Fantasy, Young Adult, Fiction, YA Fantasy
The Prisoner's Throne (Released: January 2024)
Author(s): Holly Black
Ratings and Reviews from Hardcover
Rating: 3.73 (55 Ratings, 12 Reviews)
Pages: 352
The highly anticipated conclusion to the Stolen Heir duology by #1 New York Times bestselling author Holly Black. After the shocking events of The Stolen Heir, Prince Oak is in deeper trouble than ever before. As his situation grows more precarious, Oak is desperate to find a way out, before all of Elfhame is caught in the coming storm.