Young
Adult Fantasy is a broad genre like any other and has multiple subgenres. As a
YA Fantasy magazine, we wanted to be able to break it down so that they’re all
understood. We may have left out a couple, but we chose some of the most popular
ones. Though Sci-Fi and Fantasy are often lumped together, we left out the
subgenres of Sci-Fi in this list. If you feel we left out anything important,
comment below and we’ll add it to our list of subgenres!
Before we detail each subgenre,
here’s a sneak peek at our list:
· Dark Fantasy
· Urban Fantasy
· High/Epic Fantasy
· Paranormal Romance
· Historical Fantasy
· Retold Fairy Tales
Dark Fantasy
Dark
fantasy is the type of story that mixes strange creatures with elements of
horror. They’re both disturbing and alluring. You know that some of the
characters should be feared, but you feel drawn to them anyway. An example of a
dark fantasy story is The Coldest Girl in Coldtown by Holly Black, which we reviewed in a previous post. In this story,
which could also be classified as a dystopian novel, the U.S. has been plagued
with a sudden outbreak of dangerous vampires. These aren’t the vampires we’re
used to in paranormal romances, but monstrous beasts that are out to kill you.
Urban Fantasy
Urban fantasy is a favorite. The
goal of fantasy is to make it believable, and what’s more believable than
placing unnatural creatures in a setting you already know? Don’t be fooled by
the title of “urban.” Urban fantasy can happen just about anywhere in our
world, in any recognizable setting, be it city or countryside. The trick, then,
to make urban fantasy stories relatable is to weave in supernatural characters
and creatures in a way that makes sense. Take Wicked Lovely by Melissa Marr for example. The main character goes
to Catholic school and lives with her grandmother, but she can see faeries that
no other people, except her grandmother, can see. It works because most people
can’t see the faeries, and they use that to their advantage to also disguise
buildings that they use for themselves in their respective territories.
High/Epic Fantasy
High fantasy, also known as epic
fantasy, is a term most people know because the famous The Lord of the Rings trilogy by J. R. R. Tolkien. That’s right,
high fantasy is the classic other world, and usually medieval-like, setting
that is inhabited by men, elves, dwarves, wizards, dragons, and a plethora of
other creatures. This subgenre is represented in YA with books like Eragon by Christopher Paolini. Eragon has been out for a long time now,
but it’s a perfect example of high fantasy since the main character rides a
dragon, teams up with various creatures, and realizes he must save the land
from a cruel dictator.
Paranormal Romance
Regarde!
Mon amour…. Who doesn’t love a good paranormal romance? It has all the electric
feelings of falling in love, but with the dangerous, forbidden edge of being
with someone who’s not quite human. And let’s face it, the love interest is
usually drop-dead-gorgeous. Realistic? No, but it sells because we want to read
about hot, steamy romances! If we wanted realistic love, we’d go to
contemporary fiction section of the store. An interesting example of a
paranormal romance flipped on its head is Claudia Gray’s Evernight. In this story, the main character attends a private
academy and appears to be falling in love with a vampire, but everything turns
upside down. We won’t spoil it!
Historical Fantasy
Historical fantasy is a lot like
urban fantasy, but it takes place in the past! A lot of research goes into
these stories, which is why they tend to be so good. First the author has to
research several aspects about the time period, from social norms to the way
people dressed, and it all depends on the region of the world. Then the fantasy
bit comes in, and for those who are truly talented, they slip their fantasy
characters in there as if they belonged in history all along. Cassandra Clare
mastered this subgenre with ClockworkAngel. The main character travels to London to meet her brother, but is
captured by two warlocks who torture her into using her hidden powers she never
knew about. Then the Shadowhunters, a group of people dedicated to hunting
demons, bust her out. The fantasy story and historical setting blend so well
that you can’t imagine a London without them!
Retold Fairy Tales
Lastly, we want to talk about fairy
tale retellings! There’s a reason fairy tales are told and retold again and
again: everyone loves them. The formula is already there, guaranteeing a
loveable story, but what’s amazing about retold fairy tales is how they are
told. Some of them are spun in such a different light that you might not have
guessed it was based off of a fairy tale, like Rosamund Hodge’s Cruel Beauty, a retelling of Beauty and the Beast. Others are more
obvious by their title, like Cinder by
Marissa Meyer, but she completely makes the story her own by turning Cinderella
into a cyborg and a mechanic in a futuristic world.
So tell us, what's your favorite subgenre of YA Fantasy? It's hard to pick just one!
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