Many kids love fairy tales and so did I but I was always puzzled by the lack of fairies in these tales. The idea of a separate world containing these beautiful but flawed creatures enthralled me from an early age. I read everything about them so that I could get my hands on, whether the book was fiction or nonfiction. When doing my Master's in Children’s Literature, I studied fae tales that appear around the world which evoked a thirst in me to write my own…so I did. All the books on this list give a glimpse of the chaotic nature of the fae, of the world that surely exists beyond our comprehension. I hope they are as much a treat for your imagination as they were mine.
Holly Black is a master of the fae tale. Much has been said about this trilogy already but I assure you, the praise is well-deserved. Each book has a tight and dynamic plot, prose that fairly flies off the page, and a conclusion that is very satisfying. The first book was almost deceptive in the way it presented a not-very-strong protagonist until she evolves and becomes so much more than the reader thinks her to be. It’s the best kind of fictional surprise.
Discover Holly Black's epic bestselling The Folk of the Air series in this complete e-book collection which includes: The Cruel Prince, The Lost Sisters, The Wicked King, and The Queen of Nothing.
Of course I want to be like them. They're beautiful as blades forged in some divine fire. They will live forever.
And Cardan is even more beautiful than the rest. I hate him more than all the others. I hate him so much that sometimes when I look at him, I can hardly breathe.
Jude was seven years old when her parents were murdered and she and her…
The October Daye series is a fun series featuring a sassy protagonist who has a penchant for getting into trouble with the supernatural, who are mostly fae from both the Seelie and UnSeelie courts. MaGuire weaves in a lot of fae mythology to buoy the plot that keeps each installment in the series fresh and thrilling. With endearing side characters and a charged romantic sub-plot, the series offers the (mostly) perfect escape from the prosaic world.
The first instalment of the highly praised Toby Daye series. The world of Faerie never disappeared; it merely went into hiding, continuing to exist parallel to our own. Secrecy is the key to Faerie's survival: but no secret can be kept forever, and when the fae and mortal worlds collide, changelings are born. Outsiders from birth, these children spend their lives fighting for the respect of their immortal relations. Or in the case of October 'Toby' Daye, rejecting the fae completely. Toby has retreated into a 'normal' life - spending her nights stocking shelves at a San Francisco grocery store…
This is an old one and to be honest, I’m not sure if it’s still in print, but if you are able to hunt a copy down, give it a read. It is one of the very first contemporary urban fantasies written featuring a YA protagonist. A precursor to more recent works by Holly Black among other writers, the novel takes the fae out of the fae world and brings them to the chipped pavements of a contemporary city to wreak havoc as they will. The story is fun and the fae mythology intriguing.
Eddi McCandry has just left her boyfriend and their band when she finds herself drafted against her will in a faerie war between the Summer and Winter Courts, the WAR FOR THE OAKS. While trying to cope with her new otherworldly bodyguyard, the Pooka, Eddi also struggles to build a new life, a new band, survive the schemes of the Queen of Air and Darkness -- and discover the magic that is truly her own. Emma Bull and Will Shetterly write novels, short stories, screenplays, comic books, poetry and essays. Emma was a finalist for the Hugo, Nebula and World…
If you’ve read any book by Valente, you will know the worlds she creates are a trip. As a reader, you have no choice but to trust her and she doesn’t let you down. This series is ostensibly for middle graders but I dare say that you will enjoy it no matter your age—as long as you allow your imagination free rein (or is it reign? Either way). The story features a young girl who goes to Fairyland and has many adventures while learning important life lessons. It is loads of fun.
The Fairyland Series (Books 1-3): The Girl Who Circumnavigated Fairyland in a Ship of Her Own Making, The Girl Who Fell Beneath Faiyland and Led the Revels There, and The Girl Who Soared Over Fairyland and Cut the Moon in Two "One of the most extraordinary works of fantasy, for adults or children, published so far this century"—Time magazine, on the Fairyland series
Twelve-year-old September lives in Omaha, and used to have an ordinary life, until her father went to war and her mother went to work. One day, September is met at her kitchen window by a Green Wind…
I will never understand why this trilogy isn’t more widely read. Amongst all the titles in the list, this one has the most fleshed-out fae mythology, bringing to vivid life creatures and legends that aren’t commonly known. I don’t know how much research Harbour did but the fact that she knows her fae is very evident in the way the story unfurls throughout the three books. Every time I think of this series, I think of a dark night lit by fireflies, with the scent of clove and cinnamon in the air, and an anticipation of danger. This is good stuff, friends. If you are into fae, give this one a read.
Combining the sorcery of The Night Circus with the malefic suspense of A Secret History, Thorn Jack is a spectacular, modern retelling of the ancient Scottish ballad, Tam Lin-a beguiling fusion of love, fantasy, and myth that echoes the imaginative artistry of the works of Neil Gaiman, Cassandra Clare, and Melissa Marr. In the wake of her older sister's suicide, Finn Sullivan and her father move to a quaint town in upstate New York. Populated with socialites, hippies, and dramatic artists, every corner of this new place holds bright possibilities-and dark enigmas, including the devastatingly attractive Jack Fata, scion of…
Croi is a brownie, glamoured to be invisible to humans. Her life in the Wilde Forest is ordinary and her magic is weak—until the day that her guardian gives Croi a book about magick from the Otherworld, the world of the Higher Fae. Croi wakes the next morning with something pulling at her core, summoning her to the Otherworld. It’s a spell she cannot control or break.
Forced to leave her home, Croi begins a journey full of surprises…and dangers. For Croi is not a brownie at all but another creature entirely, enchanted to forget her true heritage. As Croi ventures beyond the forest, her brownie glamour begins to shift and change. Who is she really, who is summoning her, and what do they want?
A fractured mind or a global conspiracy? Uncovering the truth can be hell when nobody believes you… and you can’t even trust yourself.
"A fantastic science fiction thriller with a sincere and important message.”—Kirkus Reviews.
“A breathtaking, deeply dark alternate-history Earth with complex characters, layered worldbuilding, and twist after twist after twist.”—Julianna Caro, Reedsy Discovery.
Broken Mirror is the first volume in a queer psychological science fiction saga that looks at the stigma of mental illness and the hellish distrust and alienation that goes with it.
Broken Mirror: the start of a smart, complex, and imaginative cyberpunk alternate history saga. Literary science fiction from a fresh, young voice.
In a skewed mirror universe, a mentally ill young man searches for his grandfather’s killer.
Someone killed Jefferson Eastmore. His grandson Victor is sure of it, but no one believes him.
Diagnosed with mirror resonance syndrome and shunned by Semiautonomous California society, Victor suffers from hyperempathy, blank outs, and sensory overload. Jefferson devoted his life to researching mental illness and curing Broken Mirrors like Victor through genetic engineering, but now that he’s gone, Victor must walk a narrow…
