# The 22 Best Young Adult Fantasy Series of All Time

> Fae courts, heist crews, dragon riders and the occasional vampire, spread across four decades of teen shelves. Some run to eight books; some said everything they had to say in two.

*By YPB Team · Published November 4, 2026 · https://youpick.best/ranking/the-22-best-young-adult-fantasy-series-of-all-time*

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## Current results (no votes yet)

1. **Six of Crows**
   Leigh Bardugo's Grishaverse duology (Six of Crows, 2015; Crooked Kingdom, 2016) about Kaz Brekker's crew of thieves in the city of Ketterdam.
2. **The Folk of the Air**
   Holly Black's trilogy (The Cruel Prince, 2018, to The Queen of Nothing, 2019) following the mortal Jude Duarte through the faerie court of Elfhame.
3. **The Infernal Devices**
   Cassandra Clare's Shadowhunter trilogy (Clockwork Angel, 2010, to Clockwork Princess, 2013) set in Victorian London.
4. **The Raven Cycle**
   Maggie Stiefvater's four novels (The Raven Boys, 2012, to The Raven King, 2016) about Blue Sargent and four boys searching Virginia for a sleeping Welsh king.
5. **The Mortal Instruments**
   Cassandra Clare's six-book series (City of Bones, 2007, to City of Heavenly Fire, 2014) in which Clary Fray discovers the Shadowhunters of New York.
6. **Shadow and Bone**
   Leigh Bardugo's Grisha trilogy (2012 to 2014) about Alina Starkov, a soldier who discovers she can summon light in the war-torn country of Ravka.
7. **Throne of Glass**
   Sarah J. Maas's eight-book series (2012 to 2018) that begins with the assassin Celaena Sardothien competing to become the king's champion.
8. **Harry Potter**
   J.K. Rowling's seven novels (1997 to 2007) following a young wizard through his years at Hogwarts School of Witchcraft and Wizardry.
9. **His Dark Materials**
   Philip Pullman's trilogy (Northern Lights, 1995; The Subtle Knife, 1997; The Amber Spyglass, 2000) following Lyra Belacqua across parallel worlds.
10. **Daughter of Smoke & Bone**
   Laini Taylor's trilogy (2011 to 2014) about Karou, an art student in Prague raised by chimaera, caught in a war between angels and monsters.
11. **An Ember in the Ashes**
   Sabaa Tahir's four-book series (2015 to 2020) following Laia, a Scholar spy, and Elias, a soldier of the brutal Martial Empire.
12. **Graceling Realm**
   Kristin Cashore's series that began with Graceling (2008), set in a world where some people are born with an extreme skill called a Grace.
13. **Song of the Lioness**
   Tamora Pierce's quartet (1983 to 1988) in which Alanna of Trebond disguises herself as a boy to train as a knight of Tortall.
14. **The Old Kingdom**
   Garth Nix's series that began with Sabriel (1995), about the Abhorsens, necromancers who use bells to lay the dead to rest.
15. **The Inheritance Cycle**
   Christopher Paolini's four novels (Eragon to Inheritance, 2011) about the farm boy Eragon and his dragon Saphira.
16. **Twilight**
   Stephenie Meyer's four-novel saga (2005 to 2008) about Bella Swan and the vampire Edward Cullen in Forks, Washington.
17. **Red Queen**
   Victoria Aveyard's four-novel series (2015 to 2018) about Mare Barrow, a commoner with red blood who discovers a power of her own in a kingdom ruled by Silvers.
18. **Legacy of Orïsha**
   Tomi Adeyemi's West African-inspired series that began with Children of Blood and Bone (2018), in which Zélie Adebola fights to bring magic back to Orïsha.
19. **Caraval**
   Stephanie Garber's trilogy (Caraval, 2017, to Finale, 2019) about the sisters Scarlett and Donatella Dragna and a magical game run by the mysterious Legend.
20. **Strange the Dreamer**
   Laini Taylor's duology (Strange the Dreamer, 2017; Muse of Nightmares, 2018) about the librarian Lazlo Strange and the lost city of Weep.
21. **Seraphina**
   Rachel Hartman's duology (Seraphina, 2012; Shadow Scale, 2015) about a half-dragon court musician in the kingdom of Goredd.
22. **Letters of Enchantment**
   Rebecca Ross's duology (Divine Rivals and Ruthless Vows, both 2023) about rival journalists Iris Winnow and Roman Kitt during a war between gods.

Tags: fantasy, books, fiction, young adult