March 13, 2012

Cross My Palm: YA Fantasy

This is a series of posts I'm doing discussing current trends in YA genres and what might be in store for the future. This is just based on my own observations of books and what I've seen publishers/authors/other bloggers talking about.


Sorry it's been so long since the last post in this series! You can catch up on all the previous posts here (contemporary, sci-fi/dystopian, historical, and paranormal YA have already been covered), but this time it's YA fantasy trends.

  • Time travel is the next "hot" topic. I think time travel stories hold a lot of potential for creativity — and apparently publishers think so too, with offerings such as the Hourglass series by Myra McEntire, the Ruby Red series by Kerstin Gier, the River of Time series by Lisa Bergren, and Tempest by Julie Cross. Not always "fantasy" in the strictest sense, I know, but time travel books kind of fit into several genres...
  • Retellings — both fairytale and mythological — are holding their own. On the fairy tale side of things, we've got books like the Lunar Chronicles by Marissa Meyer, Jackson Pearce's fairy tale companion books (Fathomless is releasing this year), Queen of Glass by Sarah J. Maass, and Enchanted by Alethea Kontis. In terms of mythology, there's a whole subsection just for "the underworld" stories, like Meg Cabot's Abandon trilogy, the Sirenz series by Charlotte Bennardo and Natalie Zaman, the Everneath series by Brodi Ashton, and The Goddess Test series by Aimee Carter. Other mythological retellings (or stories with mythological aspects) include the Starcrossed series by Josephine Angelini, the Medusa Girls series by Tera Lynn Childs, Starling by Lesley Livington, and the Gods & Monsters series by Kelly Keaton. And there are even a few upcoming fantasy retellings of classic tales like Jane Eyre (Ironskin by Tina Connolly) and the Ugly Duckling (The Sweetest Spell by Suzanne Selfors).

On a related note, fairytale retellings seem to be popping up in TV and movies as well! Any of you who have not yet tuned into the TV show Once Upon A Time, you guys are missing out. And I haven't watched Grimm but I know that it's a CSI-style show based on the Grimm fairytales. Also, be on the lookout this year for the movies Snow White and the Huntsman (yes, it stars Kristen Stewart – but seriously, check out the cool trailer!) and Mirror Mirror (which has Julia Roberts in it, even though the trailer makes me think a lot of the comedy might not be my style). 
  • Here be dragons — well, a few, anyway. Dragons are no vampires in YA, at least not yet. But there seems to be the start of a renewed interest in these fire-breathing monsters, with books like Sophie Jordan's Firelight series, Seraphina by Rachel Hartman, Incarnate by Jodi Meadows, Prophecy by Ellen Oh, and Dragonswood by Janet Lee Carey.

  • Faeries are in, but elves and dwarves are not. Tolkien-esque fantasy does not yet seem to have made its way back into popularity, but faeries still hold an allure for readers. (Note the spelling there: by and large these are the unpredictable, can't-always-be-trusted "fey," not the Tinkerbell type of fairies.) Examples of upcoming faerie releases include Shadowfell by Juliet Marillier, The Treachery of Beautiful Things by Ruth Frances Long, The Wood Queen by Karen Mahoney, The Falconer by Elizabeth May, The Torn Wing by Kiki Hamilton, and Luminance Hour by Ryan Graudin.

  • Thieves and assassins are stealing readers' hearts. In a way, I think this is kind of the fantasy version of the trend in historical YA for secret agents and spies. I guess there's something about the seedy underbelly of a city that draws readers in... Recent or upcoming books that fit into this category are Thief's Covenant by Ari Marmell, Mastiff by Tamora Pierce, Throne of Glass by Sarah J. Maass, Grave Mercy by R. L. LaFevers, and Liar's Moon by Elizabeth C. Bunce.
  • Oddly enough, "touch" seems to be an important theme in fantasy (and paranormal) YA these days. I don't know if this is just a fluke or what, but with books like Touch of Power by Maria V. Snyder, Touched by Corrine Jackson, the A Touch trilogy by Leah Clifford, Shatter Me by Tahereh Mafi, the Clarity series by Kim Harrington, and the Curse Workers series by Holly Black...it seems like this idea is becoming popular. What do you think?

  • Unusual settings (for fantasy) and PoC characters are making an appearance. I wouldn't say yet that either of these aspects are common in YA fantasy, but hopefully others will follow these authors' leads and make it happen. We're talking books such as Stormdancer by Jay Kristoff, the Wildefire series by Karsten Knight, the Daughter of Smoke & Bone series by Laini Taylor, Vessel by Sarah Beth Durst, The Chaos by Nalo Hopkinson, and Valkyrie Rising by Ingrid Paulson.

So, what are your thoughts on trends in YA fantasy? Is the "power of touch" something concrete or just coincidence? Will we keep seeing more PoC characters and different settings in the future? Will there be a return of the elves? Let me know what you see for the future of YA fantasy!


11 comments:

  1. I really enjoy your posts on trends in YA, Danya! Most of these are trends I'm not into or just haven't read yet. I don't mind the idea of time travel and you're right, re-tellings of fairy tales seems to be in right now.

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. Thanks!! I'm so glad to hear you've been enjoying the Cross My Palm series :) I too like the time travel trend – I think there's a lot of different ways to approach it without copying a story already out there.

      Delete
  2. I'm usually totally skeptical about trends. I tend to wrinkle my nose at them, but for once, I'm totally cool with all of these trends! Time travel, theives/assassins, and retellings especially.

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. I know, I dislike some trends in certain genres or they just get worn out really quickly. I'm a definite fan of the fairytale retellings, though!

      Delete
  3. That's interesting. I have noticed the fairy tale retellings, but I never really paid attention to the other stuff.

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. I think the fairytale retelling trend may have been around longer than some of the others in this post, but it doesn't look like it's going anywhere! (Personally I'm a sucker for fairytales, so that's fine with me :))

      Delete
  4. It would be awesome to have time traveling PoC assassins that kill with touch. I feel a story coming on. But seriously, I see a lot of these trends, but I really hope the PoC one takes off, however, not with a bunch of copy cats trying to cash in on one story that makes it huge (because there's a chance knockoffs can get ethnicity and culture wrong and just resort to tropes and stereotypes just to make a buck) but with a bunch of well written stories about characters that are PoC, but the focus of the story isn't about their race.

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. "It would be awesome to have time traveling PoC assassins that kill with touch. I feel a story coming on." << You should totally write this one! :D

      Also, I hear you about the copycat writers jumping on the bandwagon...that would definitely not be good in the case of stories featuring PoC characters. The ethnicity/culture aspects should be written as sensitively and accurately as possible, and if all the authors are doing is trying to make a quick buck, that integrity could be jeopardized. So hopefully this trend (if that's what it is) won't end up going in that negative kind of direction! *crosses fingers*

      Delete
  5. I noticed a lot of these trends too. I really hope that the POC characters are used more-not just in fantasy but in YA genre all over.

    p.s. I can't wait to read Grave Mercy and Starcrossed by Bunce (which a coworker put into my hands and said "You must read this".

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. I agree, we need to see more PoC characters throughout YA! Also, I have heard pretty much nothing but good things about Grave Mercy so I am definitely looking forward to getting my hands on that one :)

      Delete
  6. I definitely agree with all of these trends! I think dragons are going to get bigger and bigger...I also noticed how vampires are starting to very very slowly fade away...

    ReplyDelete

I love comments, so post away!

Related Posts with Thumbnails