Best modern YA fiction?

[Brian G Turner]

The Daughter of Smoke and Bone series by Laini Taylor

That's on my wish list - will be interesting to try it soon.

Has anyone read the Throne of Glass series by Sarah J Maas?

 

[Juliana]

Has anyone read the Throne of Glass series by Sarah J Maas?

I have, and I know it's hugely popular, but I didn't love it (though I definitely liked it). The Six of Crows duology by Leigh Bardugo is excellent, though — if you're a fan of Scott Lynch's Locke Lamora books you'll like these. Really fast-paced fantasy heist stories, with some really great characters.

One I read this year and loved is Melissa Albert's The Hazelwood, which is a mixture of dark/portal fantasy with magical realism. Great voice, and a nice twist on fairytales.

 

[Titus Groan]

The Raven Cycle by Maggie Stiefvater is amazing! Old Welsh witches and a girl who lives in a tarot reading shop meets millionare obsessed with finding old Laylines of magic in small town. The cast is just incredible, every character is so human and relatable, and the plot is gripping to boot. Has a very American Gods vibe to it.

 

[nixie]

Cassandra Clare's Immortal Instruments and Shadow Hunters series .

 

[Juliana]

The Raven Cycle by Maggie Stiefvater is amazing!

I loved the Raven Cycle boks.

 

[The Bluestocking]

Cassandra Clare's Immortal Instruments and Shadow Hunters series .

I'm a fan of these... though Clary makes me want to shake her til her teeth rattles.

 

[Juliana]

Victoria Schwab's Monsters of Verity duology is fabulous - the first book is This Savage Song.

An slightly older YA series, but one that's really different and very, very cool is Tom Pollock's Skyscraper Throne trilogy, set in London. The first book is The City's Son.

 

[picklematrix]

I second the Reckoners and Daughter of Smoke and Bone. I'm rarely into very romantic novels and suffer from super hero fatigue but I think those two series are my favourites within he YA classification.

I like the Red Rising books. Some people disagree that they are YA, but as far as I can see they contain some of the standard YA elements, and are popular with the same demographic. I would say they are a natural choice for someone who has enjoyed Hunger Games and Divergent. It even uses first person present tense narration.

 

[Juliana]

I like the Red Rising books. Some people disagree that they are YA, but as far as I can see they contain some of the standard YA elements

I agree; they're not marketed as YA, and technically they're not as the MC is over 18 for pretty much the entire trilogy, but it feels very YA. (I really enjoyed them!)