Fantasy

Grades 6 and 7

Adia Kelbara and the Circle of Shamans by Isi Hendrix

Life is tough for twelve-year-old orphan Adia. Her aunt and uncle believe she's an ogbanje, a demon-possessed child that brings misfortune wherever they go, and Adia can't disagree, especially when she suddenly manifests mysterious powers that she can't control, causing an earthquake in her village. So when Adia is offered a kitchen apprenticeship at the faraway Academy of Shamans, she flees with nothing but a pouch of change, her cat Bubbles, and the hope that someone there can figure out what's wrong with her, and fix it. But just as she's settling in, Adia stumbles upon a shocking secret: Unlike her, the kingdom's emperor really is possessed, by a demon more wicked than any other. And he's on his way to the Academy for a visit. Joining forces with a snarky goddess, a 500-year-old warrior girl, and an annoying soldier-in-training, Adia must travel through hidden realms to exorcise the emperor and save her kingdom. But to succeed, she first must come to understand the powers inside her. The fate of the world hangs in the balance.

Amari and the Night Brothers by B.B. Alston

Thirteen-year-old Amari, a poor Black girl from the projects, gets an invitation from her missing brother to join the Bureau of Supernatural Affairs and join in the fight against an evil magician.

The Girl Who Drank the Moon by Kelly Barnhill 

An epic fantasy about a young girl raised by a witch, a swamp monster, and a Perfectly Tiny Dragon, who must unlock the powerful magic buried deep inside her.

Greenwild by Pari Thomson

Eleven-year-old Daisy Thistledown is on the run. Her mother has been keeping big, glittering secrets, and now she has vanished. Daisy knows it's up to her to find Ma--but someone is hunting her across London. Someone determined to stop her from discovering the truth. So when Daisy flees to safety through a mysterious hidden doorway, she can barely believe her eyes--she has stepped out of the city and into another world. This is the Greenwild. Bursting with magic and full of amazing natural wonders, it seems too astonishing to be true. But not only is this land of green magic real, it holds the key to finding Daisy's mother. And someone wants to destroy it. Daisy must band together with a botanical genius, a boy who can talk with animals, and a cat with an attitude to uncover the truth about who she really is. Only then can she channel the power that will change her whole world ... and save the Greenwild itself.

Ikenga by Nnedi Okorafor

Nnamdi’s father, the chief of police, determined to root out the criminals that had invaded the town was murdered. Nnamdi has vowed to avenge his father, but he wonders what a twelve-year-old boy can do. Until a mysterious nighttime meeting, the gift of a magical object that enables super powers, and a charge to use those powers for good changes his life forever.

The Inquisitor’s Tale: Or, The Three Magical Children and Their Holy Dog by Adam Gidwitz

Informed by six years of research, and reminiscent of “The Canterbury Tales,” Adam Gidwitz has written a brand-new illuminated manuscript, a sometimes harrowing, sometimes hilarious epic about three magical friends on the run in 1242 France and their encounters with a dragon, a holy dog, and cheese. 

Skandar and the Unicorn Thief by A.F. Steadman

Thirteen-year-old Skandar Smith has always wanted to be a Unicorn rider, but when the mysterious Weaver steals the most powerful unicorn in the world, Skandar must face sky battles, ancient secrets, and bloodthirsty unicorns in order to save his island.

Tristian Strong Punches a Hole is the Sky by Kwame Mbalia

Seventh grader Tristan Strong feels anything but strong ever since he failed to save his best friend when they were in a bus accident together. All he has left of Eddie is the journal his friend wrote stories in. On his first night at his grandparents' farm in Alabama, a sticky creature shows up in his bedroom and steals Eddie's notebook. In a last attempt to wrestle the journal out of the creature's hands, Tristan punches a Bottle Tree, accidentally ripping open a chasm into the MidPass. In order to get back home, he will need to entice the god Anansi, the Weaver, to come out of hiding and seal the hole in the sky.

Grades 7 and 8

Nsibidi Script Series (Akata Witch, Akata Warrior, and Akata Woman) by Nnedi Okorafor

Twelve-year-old Sunny Nwazue, an American-born albino child of Nigerian parents, moves with her family back to Nigeria, where she learns that she has latent magical powers which she and three similarly gifted friends use to to save humanity.

Cinderella is Dead by Kalynn Bayron

Two hundred years after Cinderella found her prince, girls are required to appear at the Annual Ball to find a suitor. If a match is not found, the girls are never heard from again. Sixteen-year-old Sophia would much rather marry Erin, her childhood best friend, than parade in front of suitors. At the ball, Sophia makes the desperate decision to flee, and finds herself hiding in Cinderella’s mausoleum. There, she meets Constance, the last known descendant of Cinderella and her step sisters. Together they vow to bring down the king once and for all.

Echo by Pam Munoz Ryan

Lost and alone in a forbidden forest, Otto meets three mysterious sisters and suddenly finds himself entwined in a puzzling quest involving a prophecy, a promise, and a harmonica. Decades later, Friedrich in Germany, Mike in Pennsylvania, and Ivy in California each, in turn, become interwoven when the very same harmonica lands in their lives. All the children face daunting challenges: rescuing a father, protecting a brother, holding a family together. And ultimately, pulled by the invisible thread of destiny, their suspenseful solo stories converge in an orchestral crescendo.

The Guinevere Deception by Kiersten White

Princess Guinevere has come to Camelot to wed a stranger: the charismatic King Arthur. With magic clawing at the kingdom's borders, the great wizard Merlin conjured a solution--send in Guinevere to be Arthur's wife . . . and his protector from those who want to see the young king's idyllic city fail. The catch? Guinevere's real name--and her true identity--is a secret. She is a changeling, a girl who has given up everything to protect Camelot.

La Belle Sauvage by Philip Pullman

Malcolm, a boy from an alternative Oxford, gets involved with a group of spies and learns that the nuns at the priory across the street are hiding baby Lyra from a sinister group. When a flood rages, Malcolm must rescue Lyra and keep her safe from her enemies.

Legendborn by Tracy Deonn

To discover the truth behind her mother's mysterious death, a teen girl infiltrates a magical secret society claiming to be the descendants of King Arthur and his knights.

A Phoenix First Must Burn Edited by Patrice Caldwell

Evoking Beyoncé’s Lemonade for a teen audience, these authors who are truly Octavia Butler’s heirs, have woven worlds to create a stunning narrative that centers Black women and gender nonconforming individuals. A Phoenix First Must Burn will take you on a journey from folktales retold to futuristic societies and everything in between. Filled with stories of love and betrayal, strength and resistance, this collection contains an array of complex and true-to-life characters in which you cannot help but see yourself reflected. Witches and scientists, sisters and lovers, priestesses and rebels: the heroines of A Phoenix First Must Burn shine brightly. You will never forget them.

Raybearer by Jordon Ifueko

Raised in isolation, Tarisai yearns for the closeness she could have as one of the Crown Prince's Council of 11, but her mother, The Lady, has magically compelled Tarisai to kill the Crown Prince.

A Snake Falls to Earth by Darcie Little Badger

Nina is a Lipan girl in our world. She's always felt there was something more out there. She still believes in the old stories. Oli is a cottonmouth kid, from the land of spirits and monsters. Like all cottonmouths, he's been cast from home. He's found a new one on the banks of the bottomless lake. Nina and Oli have no idea the other exists. But a catastrophic event on Earth, and a strange sickness that befalls Oli's best friend, will drive their worlds together in ways they haven't been in centuries. And there are some who will kill to keep them apart.