What We’re Reading: Young Adult Fantasy & Sci-Fi
I’ve been under the weather this last week (fever, sore throat, ear infection, you name it), and in order to give my body time to recuperate, I’ve had to do the thing I fear most: nothing. To keep myself from going bonkers, I, of course, fell back on books to save me. However, instead of my usual reading, I turned to my bookshelves with a nostalgic yearning for my younger years of fantasy and sci-fi novels. I re-read some old favorites, and ventured into some new territories, with an enthusiasm and pleasure that can only come from un-apologetically immersing oneself completely into these alternate worlds teeming with ancient languages, magical spells, and speaking animals.
While today’s genre is seeing a healthy resurgence of these young adult fantasy and sci-fi (the Inheritance series by Christopher Paolini, Rick Riordan of the Olympian series and Kane Chronicles, and yes, The Hunger Games trilogy that is all the rave right now from Suzanne Collins), I found myself remembering my personal favorites as a young adult. (Note: since everyone and their brother have read both the Narnia books and Lord of the Rings, I’m going to omit those—but believe me, they belong on any fantasy/sci-fi list.)
A Wrinkle in Time by Madeleine L’Engle: You remember, the three Mrs. W’s who help Meg, her brilliant little brother Charles Wallace, and her friend Calvin find Meg’s father (who disappeared while working for the government), by transporting them through the tesseract (i.e. the wrinkle in time)? Ah yes, how could you forget? A beautifully imagined book, this was a delight to read. I read somewhere that L’Engle’s manuscript was rejected many times, due to the fact that she inserted a female heroine into a sci-fi novel in a time when that was simply not done (the book was eventually published in 1962).
Abhorsen series by Garth Nix: This series was possibly my favorite, with its deeply intricate history and layers of background information built up through the trilogy, forming the magical setting the author created. The main characters throughout (Sabriel, Lirael) are necromancers that, instead of raising the dead, put the dead to rest, through a belt of magical bells, an ancient language, with the help of other magical creatures. I always enjoy novels or series that develop over generations of families or successions, and this book does that. I also reveled in the strong female heroines in the series in the otherwise largely testosterone-filled fantasy/sci-fi world.
Redwall series by Brian Jacques: My two older siblings (Hazel included) were OBSESSED with this anthropomorphic animal series, and passed that appreciation down to us younger siblings. There are a bagillion books now, but I mostly read the early books, which followed different heroes in different periods of time, including mice (Martin the Warrior being the most memorable for me), badgers, rats, foxes, and more. Centered around Redwall Abbey and the Mossflower Woods, one of my favorite part of these books was devouring all the mouth-watering, paragraph-upon-paragraph descriptions of the feasts these animals partook of. Jacques’ in-depth, lavish sensory word choices made acorns, seeds, and other wares gathered from the woods sound like a delectable delicacy bathed in honey and toasted to perfection.
What were some of your favorite young adult fantasy or sci-fi novels? Have any of the new ones piqued your appetite?
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You guys got me thinking about a couple series I loved then, and still love now! I discovered the Song of the Lioness Quartet by happy accident at the local library when I was around 11 yrs old. It includes : Alanna: the first adventure, In the Hand of the Goddess, The Woman Who Rides Like a Man, and Lioness Rampantt… all by Tamora Pierce. I loved that series so much, I didn’t know that I’d love the next one even more! I highly recommend both the Song of the Lioness quartet and the Immortals quartet by Tamora Pierce. Both series highlight strong, heroic young female characters.
Let’s hear it for the strong female characters! Thanks for the suggestion, Becca (and good to hear from you, m’dear)! I’m going to have to look into this series…:)
The Bartimaeus Trilogy by Jonathan Stroud, especially the third book, Ptolemy’s Gate. These books stand alone better than many trilogy volumes do. I actually read the last book first. They’re quite sophisticated reading.
The Skulduggery Pleasant books by Derek Landy by Derek Landy. The last couple of books in this series haven’t been published in the U.S.
You brought up an excellent point that I often think about with series; whether or not the books in a series should be read in consecutive order or not. Obviously, this varies with each series, but there’s the question then, of whether or not the author is over-repeating themselves to their faithful readers, or whether it slows down the plot of each book. I personally really enjoy delving into the layers upon layers of history and story built up through consecutive books, but do recall that the Redwall series was one that didn’t need to be read in consecutive order, as the time periods and characters jumped around.
Thanks for the suggestions, Gail!
Young adult fantasy nostalgia is my favorite literary genre. I love going back and rereading the books that influenced me during those awkward personality shaping years. I loved Tamora Pierce’s books, as Rebecca Strauss mentioned, both the Lioness series and the Protector of the Small. I continue to go back to the things she’s publishing now – she writes such phenomenal and complex young female characters. I also loved everything Gale Carson Levine wrote – more great strong female characters. For some reason the strong young women of these fantasy series spoke to me more than similar characters in more realistic fiction.
I’m so glad you brought up Gail Carson Levine, Molly! I had forgotten about her, but Ella Enchanted was one of my all-time favorite books. The paperback version I own is so worn along the spine that it is about to fall apart!
I agree that sometimes these fantasy female leads sometimes overshadow their realistic fiction counterparts. I wonder if it has something to do with the fact that many of the fantasy/sci-fi realms deal with heros and heroines, making the achievements they do seem even more amazing, especially when that role used to be filled by men exclusively.
I really liked Pierce’s books too–and Wrinkle in Time. More obscurely, I heartily recommend Ursula Le Guin’s Earthsea series. Pretty much wrote the book on fantasy for me . . . and then wrote it again when she published an 80s sequel to her original 60s trilogy that put a whole different spin on heroism, fantasy, and what makes a good story. . . Also amazing Laurie Marks’ Fire Logic, Earth Logic, and Water Logic series, which further questions what a fantasy hero is (and makes it plural). Plus for sheer mind blowingness, Octavia Butler’s Xenogenesis series. . .
Great choices. I have to stay true to Narnia and The Lord of the Rings. However, I did spend a lot of time in the world of Terry Brooks.
I have been reading some of my old favorites from my youth as well. I read a lot of Young Adult mysteries back then, so I’ve been reading those.
In terms of YA science fiction and fantasy, from someone who reads a lot of them, I think there are a lot of great writer’s being published right now in this genre. One novel that I highly recommend that is recent is Lost Voices by Sarah Porter, which is a mermaid novel. In the novel, girls who have been abandoned or abused are given a new life as a mermaid, and they use their new voices to sink ships and kill the humans that they despise. But Luce struggles with her humanity more than the other mermaids and she wonders if she can commit murder with others. It’s the first in a trilogy and the second will be released this summer. I plan to reread the first before the second is released.