Top 5 Wednesday

Hey my book -loving people 🙂

It’s Caitlin here again, bring you another top 5 Wednesday post. The last one actually of September! Can you believe it that we are but a week a away from finding ourselves in October 😮 This month for me has absolutely flown by incredibly fast, but you know what they say- its almost Christmas time 🙂 My favorite time of the year, mostly because I have every excuse to buy an excessive amount of books and not feel guilty about it 🙂

Anyway, the last topic for September 2016: Gateway Books To Your Favorite Genre

So, before we dive right in, I guess I would need to tell you my favorite genre and just a quick reason why it is my favorite. Guys, I have been reading YA books for a long time now, and there is no genre quite like the FANTASY genre. The new worlds, creatures, languages, magic, battle scenes- I just adore being transported and going on journeys when I read books so naturally I lean more towards the fantasy genre when I pick up books. 😉

Also, if you are new to T5W, then here is the Goodreads group for topics and discussions, and just check it out to see what our group is all about 🙂

Also, I am combining the genres of epic YA fantasy (e.g. Setting in a new fantasy world) and urban YA fantasy (e.g. Fantasy world found in our modern times) in my answers even though they are technically separate sub-genres of the collective fantasy genre.

So now that we have gotten that out the way, lets dive right into the tag:

Harry Potter and the Philosopher’s Stone- J.K Rowling

I could write an essay about why you should read this book, whether or not you are trying to get into the YA fantasy genre, but I am going to try to restrict myself to a couple of lines. This books is the epitome of YA fantasy. It was technically written for a upper middle grade audience, so it is super easy to read and to understand all the magic terminology. The magic itself and the fantastical elements in this entire series are spectacular. The characters are interesting and sold and the plot is absolutely incredible and definitely not boring. If you enjoyed the movies, READ the books! Short summary: an orphan discovers that he is a wizard and joins Hogwarts, school of witchcraft and wizardry and goes on many, many adventures during his time there! 🙂

City of Bones/ Clockwork Prince- Cassandra Clare

Okay peeps, so these books lay more towards the urban fantasy genre 🙂 And I put down both of these novels, which are both the first novels in Clare’s Mortal Instruments and Infernal Devices series’ respectively, because both series are amazing introductions to the YA fantasy genre. Again, solid, and incredibly interesting characters, plot, treacherous villains and interesting magic systems 🙂 You can read both of these series as stand-alone series but where’s the fun in that. Personally, my favorite of the two was definitely the Infernal Devices trilogy 🙂 But I would recommend that you read the books in order of publication, to prevent any spoilers 🙂

Fallen Kingdoms- Morgan Rhodes

Despite my one frustration with this series (my ships keep sinking, but I’m okay for now 😦 ) this book as an introduction to the epic side of YA fantasy is utterly incredible. This novel, and the entire series has been dubbed by many to be the YA answer to a Game Of Thrones, and I truly agree. With multiple POV’s, you really get into the heads of all the characters. Rhodes has just an incredible skill of writing her character’s in such a way that you care for every one of them, then she completely rips your heart into a million pieces (all I’m saying : don’t pick a favorite character, they might just die!). The magic system in this series is also unique and refreshing. The plot is so fast-paced you will find yourself rereading pages just to make sure you didn’t miss anything! Truly one of the best!

Six of Crows- Leigh Bardugo

Guys 🙂 This book has done things to me that no book has ever done before. I have only thrown one book across a room before out of sheer anger and sadness and shock (A Fault In Our Stars, ahem!) but this book was soon a second. This duology lies somewhere between epic and urban YA fantasy in that the story does take place in a completely newly created world, but it feels eerily similar to our own in many ways. This books is action-packed to the brim and is really driven by the characters and the relationships they have with one another, and I’m not alluding at all to romantic relationships here. Reading this book is like being apart of a completely messed up, morally questionable family, but a family none the less. Magic in this one is not the heart and soul, but that does not take away from the sheer awesomeness that is SoC! Trust me when I say if you are going to pick up any one of these books, make sure it is this one first! (Besides Harry Potter, obvs 🙂 )

The Night Circus- Erin Morgenstern

Okay, so while this AMAZING novel does not strictly fall under the YA genre of fantasy, but leans more towards the adult side of things, I do believe that YA fantasy readers will greatly appreciate this whirlwind of a novel. I also would not be able to sleep comfortably tonight if I did not include my favorite book of all time in this list. One of the most vivid, beautifully written books I have ever read. It enchants you from start to finish! This story is about two magicians who compete in a magic dual of sorts, and the setting of the dual is, well, the Night Circus, which only arrives and opens at, you guessed it, night time 🙂 They however find that they are cursed to complete the dual, to the death of the other, even though they have fallen in love with each other! INTENSE! I read this book every year around the Christmas period and I surely believe that YA readers looking to dive into fantasy that is a little different but completely appropriate for a YA audience should give this one a try. I have recommended and forced 🙂 so many people I know to read this book. Go out now and read it 🙂

So there you have it, you beautifully book people you 🙂

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Until next time fellow humans 🙂

x Caitlin