#LoveOzYABloggers is a meme to fuel the conversation providing themed prompts that bloggers or anyone on social media can respond to fortnightly.
#LoveOzYABloggers is hosted by #LoveOzYA, a community led organisation dedicated to promoting Australian young adult literature. Keep up to date with all new Aussie YA releases with their monthly newsletter, or find out what’s happening with News and Events, or submit your own!
Fantasy
I’m pretty far behind when it comes to OzYA fantasy, I’ll admit. I have a big collection begging me to read it, so I just don’t have the wide knowledge I’d like to have to make some solid recommendations. But I can find at least 3.
By far the best fantasy from Australian YA author is the Old Kingdom trilogy by Garth Nix. You can’t top it. It’s got the most amazing worldbuilding, it’s elegant and gritty at the same time, it’s cinematic and would translate well to the big or small screen. It has the most amazing female leads and despite being written by a man he really manages to tap into life for a young female, especially one who doesn’t feel like she belongs in her community.
Vanessa Garden wrote a beautiful trilogy called Submerged Sun about a girl mistakenly kidnapped into a glittering underwater city to marry the young king and I have to say, the romance was very sweet and realistic! They had to get to know each other and I’m glad to say there was none of the usual sexual assault that tends to happen in these kinds of ‘romances’. I think Harlequin published the first two books but Garden had to finish the trilogy herself, which deserves commendation! I even had a guest post from Garden here after Captivate was released, and a Q&A here after her second book Impulse was released.
Obernewtyn by Isobelle Carmody gets a warning as my third recommendation because I haven’t finished the series yet. Growing up, the Obernewtyn chronicles were the bane of many a young adult reader. Carmody took forever to write and publish them, stopping to have babies and produce other novels and god knows what else. The series is complete now, and it’s a post-apocalyptic kind of X-Men kind of thing, with unique worldbuilding and a great cast of characters from what I recall. I also think Carmody published the first installment when she but a slip of a girl at age 16, so that’s something.
Share this:
About Nemo
A lover of kittens and all things sparkly, Nemo has a degree in English Literature and specialises in reviewing contemporary, paranormal, mystery/thriller, historical, sci-fi and fantasy Young Adult fiction. She is especially drawn to novels about princesses, strong female friendships, magical powers, and assassins.
Subscribe to Blog via Email
You might also enjoy:
#LoveOzYABlogger: High School
#LoveOzYABloggers: Feels
#LoveOzYABloggers: Sci fi
#LoveOzYABlogger: Historical
Powered by YARPP.
Nicole Has Read
Excellent choices! I think the Submerged Sun trilogy is so underrated. It definitely deserves more attention.
Nemo
Yeah, especially since Harlequin has this habit of publishing only the first or the first two books of a series and then dropping it due to poor sales or whatever reason. I’m glad Garden took it upon herself to complete the story.