What are some captivating fantasy books for teens?

Whether you call it young adult fantasy, YA, or just fantasy – fictional worlds and magical elements have inspired readers for generations. They can be a gateway to reading in a way that real-world-based stories cannot.

What fantasy books do you recommend for teenagers (or even tweens or pre-teens) to hook them into the fantasy genre? These could be books set in a fictional universe, books with magic elements, or anything else that plays with magical realism to tell a compelling tale that school-aged readers can identify with.

Books41

Answers94

Readers33

Details	Rating	Readers Count
Mistborn: The Final Empire Brandon Sanderson	4.44	2,300 reads
Harry Potter and the Sorcerer's Stone J. K. Rowling	4.29	5,264 reads
Eragon	3.63	1,269 reads
Six of Crows Leigh Bardugo	4.29	1,152 reads
Redwall Brian Jacques	3.98	267 reads
Cemetery Boys Aiden Thomas	4.11	181 reads
Nimona N.D. Stevenson	4.27	373 reads
Percy Jackson's Greek Gods Rick Riordan	4.27	105 reads
Cinder Marissa Meyer	3.98	681 reads
Tress of the Emerald Sea Brandon Sanderson	4.47	820 reads
A Wizard of Earthsea Ursula K. Le Guin	3.87	784 reads
The Eye of the World Robert Jordan	4.01	1,176 reads
Raybearer Jordan Ifueko	4.35	86 reads
Carry On Rainbow Rowell	4.07	378 reads
City of Bones Cassandra Clare	3.61	1,017 reads
The Merciful Crow Margaret Owen	3.88	40 reads
Dealing with Dragons Patricia C. Wrede	4.15	124 reads
Magician: Apprentice Raymond E. Feist	4.01	329 reads
Children of Blood and Bone Tomi Adeyemi	3.97	339 reads
Ender's Game Orson Scott Card	4.25	1,968 reads
Pentagon Pirate Gang Pentagon Pirate Gang: The Secret of the Orchard J.W. Nelson	5	1 read
Half a Soul Olivia Atwater Nathalie Huet (Translator)	4.1	165 reads
The Elfstones of Shannara Terry Brooks	3.83	32 reads
Wit'ch Fire James Clemens	3.75	13 reads
The Alchemyst Michael Scott	3.7	200 reads
Abandon Meg Cabot	3.08	13 reads
The Dragonet Prophecy Tui T. Sutherland	3.6	72 reads
Water & Fire Tamora Pierce	3.93	62 reads
The Forbidden Game L.J. Smith	3.71	9 reads
Gardens of the Moon Steven Erikson	3.99	478 reads
The Reader Traci Chee	3.69	18 reads
Dragons of Autumn Twilight Margaret Weis Tracy Hickman	3.72	162 reads
Every Heart a Doorway Seanan McGuire	3.88	460 reads
A Song of Wraiths and Ruin Roseanne A. Brown	4.04	52 reads
Howl's Moving Castle Diana Wynne Jones	4.16	678 reads
Goddess of the Night Lynne Ewing	2.6	9 reads
The Sum of All Men David Farland	3.5	36 reads
He Who Fights with Monsters Shirtaloon Travis Deverell	4.1	94 reads
A Game of Thrones George R.R. Martin	4.37	2,507 reads
The Amulet of Samarkand Jonathan Stroud	4.01	191 reads
Night World No. 1 L.J. Smith	3.63	41 reads

Details	Rating	Readers Count
Mistborn: The Final Empire Brandon Sanderson	4.44	2,300 reads
Harry Potter and the Sorcerer's Stone J. K. Rowling	4.29	5,264 reads
Eragon	3.63	1,269 reads
Six of Crows Leigh Bardugo	4.29	1,152 reads
Redwall Brian Jacques	3.98	267 reads
Cemetery Boys Aiden Thomas	4.11	181 reads
Nimona N.D. Stevenson	4.27	373 reads
Percy Jackson's Greek Gods Rick Riordan	4.27	105 reads
Cinder Marissa Meyer	3.98	681 reads
Tress of the Emerald Sea Brandon Sanderson	4.47	820 reads
A Wizard of Earthsea Ursula K. Le Guin	3.87	784 reads
The Eye of the World Robert Jordan	4.01	1,176 reads
Raybearer Jordan Ifueko	4.35	86 reads
Carry On Rainbow Rowell	4.07	378 reads
City of Bones Cassandra Clare	3.61	1,017 reads
The Merciful Crow Margaret Owen	3.88	40 reads
Dealing with Dragons Patricia C. Wrede	4.15	124 reads
Magician: Apprentice Raymond E. Feist	4.01	329 reads
Children of Blood and Bone Tomi Adeyemi	3.97	339 reads
Ender's Game Orson Scott Card	4.25	1,968 reads
Pentagon Pirate Gang Pentagon Pirate Gang: The Secret of the Orchard J.W. Nelson	5	1 read
Half a Soul Olivia Atwater Nathalie Huet (Translator)	4.1	165 reads
The Elfstones of Shannara Terry Brooks	3.83	32 reads
Wit'ch Fire James Clemens	3.75	13 reads
The Alchemyst Michael Scott	3.7	200 reads
Abandon Meg Cabot	3.08	13 reads
The Dragonet Prophecy Tui T. Sutherland	3.6	72 reads
Water & Fire Tamora Pierce	3.93	62 reads
The Forbidden Game L.J. Smith	3.71	9 reads
Gardens of the Moon Steven Erikson	3.99	478 reads
The Reader Traci Chee	3.69	18 reads
Dragons of Autumn Twilight Margaret Weis Tracy Hickman	3.72	162 reads
Every Heart a Doorway Seanan McGuire	3.88	460 reads
A Song of Wraiths and Ruin Roseanne A. Brown	4.04	52 reads
Howl's Moving Castle Diana Wynne Jones	4.16	678 reads
Goddess of the Night Lynne Ewing	2.6	9 reads
The Sum of All Men David Farland	3.5	36 reads
He Who Fights with Monsters Shirtaloon Travis Deverell	4.1	94 reads
A Game of Thrones George R.R. Martin	4.37	2,507 reads
The Amulet of Samarkand Jonathan Stroud	4.01	191 reads
Night World No. 1 L.J. Smith	3.63	41 reads

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What are some captivating fantasy books for teens?