Fantasy Series You Can Share With Your Teens

By
Jessie Weaver
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Fantasy Series You Can Share With Your Teens

Hi, my name is Jessie, and sometimes I read the same books as my kids.

I’ve been a big fan of young adult novels for ages, and I enjoy a middle-grade read pretty often too! I’m very aware though, after a whole lot of YA novels under my belt, that not everything labeled “young adult” is devoid of s-e-x scenes I might not want my 16- and 14-year-olds to be seeing quite yet.

(I know everyone’s tastes vary here, so I would definitely urge you to pre-read books you feel might not be your level of appropriate for them, or at least find someone who has.)

With the popularity of fantasy series like A Court of Thorns and Roses, a loooot of fantasy series are being released, and many are sort of on the edge of YA and adult.

So if you too are looking for books that you feel okay handing off to your teens, here are some I’ve really enjoyed:

Anything by Marissa Meyer

I have been a huge fan of Marissa Meyer’s since she was still writing The Lunar Chronicles, and I continue to read everything she’s written! Her books are romantic but pretty squeaky clean in my opinion!

The Renegades trilogy is about superheroes and the main character trying to figure out if she can fight for the “good guys”…and are they even good?

The Lunar Chronicles are a sci-fi/fantasy mashup, with cyborgs, space travel, moon princesses, and are all based on fairy tales.

The Gilded duology is a Rumpelstiltskin retelling. It’s so good on audio, too! (There is implied sex once but definitely not on the page.)

 

Defy the Night Series by Brigid Kemmerer

This series is the impetus for this post! After I raved about them on Instagram, my friend Amy asked if she could give them to her 14-year-old daughter. Again, there is implied sex in the third book, but it’s all off page and mentioned in pretty gentle terms. Nothing I would call an open door at all, so I would be fine giving it to my kids.

I actually don’t know if this is a “fantasy” series because there is no magic. But it’s a made-up world with a king and his brother finding their way after their parents are murdered. A sickness ravages the kingdom, and it can only be cured with moonflower. Tessa is entrenched in delivering stolen moonflower elixir in the dead of night as a rebel when her partner in crime is killed. The series unfolds from there, and I ADORED it.

Kemmerer’s Cursebreakers series is also enjoyable, especially the first book (A Curse So Dark and Lonely), which can be read as a standalone.

The Raven Cycle by Maggie Stiefvater

In rural Virginia, some private-school boys and the daughter of a witch go searching for a long-lost king with a lot of trouble along the way. This four-book series is one of my favorites by a favorite author! No dragons here, but lots of enchantment, ley lines, and witchy things.

An Ember in the Ashes series by Sabaa Tahir

In a world that feels like Ancient Rome, Laia is desperate to find her brother and save him from an awful prison. Elias is just trying to survive at the martial school he attends. They meet, they go on a quest, all that good stuff.

But this series incorporates some great character development and really interesting moments. If you’re looking for something more toward high fantasy, this has more world-building than the other series I’ve mentioned.

There is *one* moment in the four books that is a little more sexy than I’d like for YA, but…it’s literally a dream in the book and doesn’t get into much detail. So take that info and do with it what you will!

Teens Not into Fantasy?

Here are some of the YA romance books I suggest to friends who want something without sex for their younger readers to enjoy:

I would love to hear your suggestions in the comments!

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