For a reader who just finished
after Heroes by Jen Calonita · ages 12–16
Young adult · grades 7–11 · 850L
A solid, fast-paced fantasy installment that keeps the momentum going without adding much new depth to the world or characters.
Same style
by Andy Weir
Young adult · ages 14–18 · grades 9–12 · 850L
A sharp, queer-affirming remix that respects its source material while asking three iconic heroines to rewrite their own stories—best for readers who love both literary reference and genuine stakes.
Young adult · ages 10–14 · grades 5–9 · 850L · 2010
The foundational gender-nonconforming fantasy adventure — Alanna's defiance is earned, not preached, and the friendships feel genuine enough that rereads still sting.
Young adult · ages 14–18 · grades 9–12 · 820L · 2019
A bridge collection for Shadowhunters fans—shorter, more intimate stories that fill gaps and deepen the world without requiring book-length investment, though existing knowledge of the universe helps.
Stretch them up
Young adult · ages 14–18 · grades 9–12 · 1050L · 2024
A genuine doorstop fantasy that respects teen readers' intelligence — ornate prose, deep worldbuilding, and a narrator whose unreliability becomes part of the pleasure.
Young adult · ages 14–18 · grades 9–12 · 1050L
A play about mass hysteria and coerced confession that lands harder after every election cycle — teens wrestle with why good people participate in injustice, and it's the rare YA text that trusts them with that complexity.
Young adult · ages 12–18 · grades 7–12 · 1050L · 2012
The foundational fantasy epic — dense prose and a sprawling cast will test a 12-year-old's stamina, but kids who can stick with it experience the architecture of an entire imagined world and the rare pleasure of a book that respects their intelligence.
Complementing on courage
Nonfiction · ages 9–12 · grades 4–7 · 820L · 1990
Freedman's accessible, photo-rich biography makes FDR's disability and determination feel immediate without sentimentality; kids grasp both the man and the era.
Young adult · 1050L · 1952
The most philosophically rigorous American family saga; demands intellectual maturity but rewards it with a genuinely moral argument about choice and human nature that lands harder at 15–16 than at 12.
by Rick Riordan
Middle grade · ages 9–12 · grades 4–7 · 740L · 2008
The gold standard entry point for myths, quests, and kids who love witty protagonists — the ADHD/dyslexia angle feels earned, not decorative, and Riordan's voice carries slow readers through.
We'd skip — for now
by Sarah J. Maas
A step up — ages 16–18 · grades 11–12
Skip it if graphic sexual content, profanity, or sustained violence in fantasy settings are off-limits; the third act includes visceral combat and on-page intimacy.