Recent YA fantasy and sf

[rachelmanija]

I realized while chatting with sartorias the other day that I've disliked an unusually high percentage of the YA sf and fantasy that's come out in the last couple years. There have certainly been some novels I've adored, but compared to, say, what was coming out five years ago, it's been a lower percentage. The authors I already liked, I still like; but I've been liking the debut novels less, overall.

I suspect that part of the problem is that certain subgenres I'm not big on have become very popular. I'm a little burned out on "modern teenager meets faeries." I've never much liked "my vampire/werewolf/angel/zombie boyfriend." I have yet to really enjoy a dystopia of the Primary colors have been banned and the government controls your sexual orientation variety, and while I like post-apocalyptic novels that focus on the changed landscape of the far future, or in which people are actively trying to rebuild civilization, I am a hard sell on post-apocalyptic stories in which the focus is despair, cannibalism, and rape gangs.

1. Do you feel the same way? Or are you loving the explosion in YA paranormal romance and so forth?

2. What very recent (last three years or so) YA sf or fantasy would I like? Please rec me books which are either in different genres (space opera, high fantasy, steampunk, etc) or such absolutely stunning examples of genres I don't like that I will like them anyway. Also, PLEASE check my author tags to make sure I haven't already read and reviewed the books in question. (To head off a flood of recs, I didn't like The Girl Who Circumnavigated Fairyland. Sorry.)

Comments

[janni.livejournal.com]

Chima's first series is worth reading too. For, among other things, the joy of a series that manages to have a male protagonist yet still have strong women who are very much real characters with agency and agendas of their own along the way.

[sarahtales.livejournal.com]

Noted and thank you! I'd been wondering about it.