7 Clean Young Adult (YA) Fantasy Books You Should Read

Below is a list of seven fantastic clean young adult fantasy books that I have read and highly recommend for teenagers to read.

What makes these books “clean”?

These books are free from cussing, explicit sexual content, drug usage, and excessive gore and violence. There may be some kissing, some adventure and danger, but otherwise, it is clean. These books are similar to PG-13 movies. Everyone’s taste for clean books varies, but this is usually the standard I use for clean books.

How do you define “young adult fantasy”?

Young adult, for the sake of this article, is defined as between the ages of 13-18. This is slightly different than some standards in the industry, so I wanted to make it clear that these books are appropriate for teenagers and maybe even strong middle school readers.

Now, on to the list!

1. The Book of Secrets

My review: A cross between Alice in Wonderland and Series of Unfortunate Events, plus a dash of steampunk, The Book of Secrets is a fun and clean Young Adult Fantasy read.

Blurb

After Gabriel Draven smuggles home the Stone of the Seven Realms, his fear of facing consequences launches him and his oddball family on a rollicking run for their lives across the world they only thought they knew. As his journey takes him out of his realm and into another, Gabriel discovers that the deepest mystery lies at the heart of his own family, and he must do whatever it takes to find his way back home.

Strong and unapologetic, full of vivid, well-timed simile and lilting rhythm, bright with humor, at times bursting into a depth of pure simplistic beauty, The Book of Secrets looks far beyond the typical medieval swords-and-sorcery and, instead, introduces mystical creatures, absurd new worlds, and, at its heart, a hymn of praise to the complicated bond of siblinghood.

Buy the Book: https://amzn.to/3XnP8yB

2. Heartmender

My review: This is a perfect combination of fairy-tale and allegory that I absolutely adore in clean Young Adult Fantasy.

Blurb

In the land of Barracks, the economy thrives on the barter of their citizens’ most precious commodity—a human heart. Each year, the Heart Reign festival is thrown for those who have become of age to trade their hearts for their deepest desires.

And this year is Adelaide Tye’s year to trade.

After despising Heart Reign for years, Addie endures her Extraction and discovers that her heart isn’t gray and dying, like all other hearts in Barracks, but bright red, alive, and teeming with power.

With a warning from the extractor of hearts, Addie rushes through Heart Reign to make her choice—trade her heart to Schism, the monster who took her brother years before, or go in search of the Mender—a mythical man said to purify hearts and save her own heart. Either decision will rip her away from the one man who has always been by her side.

Knowing there is only one real choice to make, Addie jumps through Schism’s red door and is thrust into a dark and dangerous realm where she is faced with making a trade she may not survive.

Buy the Book: https://amzn.to/3zuXzjE

3. Songflight

My Review: It took me awhile to get into this book, but once I did, I absolutely loved it…My heart broke with Alisa, soared with Alisa, and wept with Alisa through her trials and triumphs…This is clean Young Adult Fantasy at its finest.

Blurb

Alísa was born to lead her clan of dragon slayers, but her vocal stammer has robbed her of confidence and respect. If she can’t lead slayers, how on A’dem is she supposed to lead dragons?

As the only child of a dragon slayer chief, Alísa’s purpose should have been simple: lead the clan in ridding humankind of the dragon scourge. But while gaining respect from hardened warriors is difficult enough with a vocal stammer, when they learn her empathic powers connect uncontrollably to the dragon enemy, it becomes impossible.

Confidence shattered, Alísa resigns herself to silent service under her father’s apprentice. But when her growing connection reveals one dragon’s capacity for good, she realizes the war isn’t as black and white as the slayers teach. Now Alísa faces an impossible choice: stay with her family in comfortable but condemning silence, or follow the dragon claiming to know her true purpose.

Buy the Book: https://amzn.to/3MLPQki

4. Lander’s Legacy

My Review: This is a wonderful and clean Young Adult Fantasy about a boy named Lander and all his struggles to accept who he is and what he must do to save his people.

Blurb:

Raised by his secretive grandfather, Pop-pop Ian, high school junior Lander’s history had always been shrouded in mystery. His after-school hours were spent in the woods flicking fire on his fingers, tracking Ian, or standing still as a statue, invisible, observing the wildlife that never noticed him.

Until the day Ian dies. His final words direct Lander to a buried box. Within it, Lander finds stones that glow when he picks them up and a letter telling him to seek out a man called Castor Elm.

Alone and pursued by menacing strangers, Lander sets out on a journey to find not only safety and friendship, but the truth of why his grandfather called him special … the truth of his legacy.

A legacy that will take him to the center of the earth. 

Buy the Book: https://amzn.to/3XIA2Fm

5. A Week of Werewolves, Faeries, and Fancy Dresses

My Review: The plot pacing, character development, and setting are spectacular, making this book perfect for any fans of clean Young Adult Fantasy. 

Blurb:

Chelsea Welling is a completely normal fifteen year old girl… well normal except for the pesky fact that she thinks she is going crazy. Either that or she really is being transported to a magical world known locally as Amar. However when Chelsea is transported to Amar with her friend Easton, she knows beyond a shadow of a doubt that these little trips are more than figments of her imagination. Then the unthinkable happens. Chelsea, Easton, Chelsea’s brother Clint, and their mutual friend Bobby are all stranded in Amar. They cannot return to Earth until they finish a dangerous quest that their fathers set out on over twenty years ago.

Chelsea is in for one trying week as she flees from werewolves, faces down faeries, and fits into fancy dresses- all while she struggles alongside her friends to fulfill the all-but-impossible tasks of finding out what the quest their fathers set out on was, and succeeding where their fathers failed.

Buy this Book: https://amzn.to/3XJeEzK

6. An Echo of the Fae

My review: A whimsical adventure perfect for fairy tale lovers…This story is intriguing. Even though it has a slow start, it draws you in with its mystery and keeps you going with its non-stop adventure in this clean Young Adult Fantasy.

Blurb:

Echo enjoys the peace and solitude of the Faeorn forest, regardless of how strange spending time in the “haunted” wood seems to others.

But on the cusp of her thirteenth birthday, the discovery of a family secret reveals why Echo has never been drawn to the sea like her mother. This discovery shakes the foundations of her world and sends Echo on a quest, not merely into the forest, but into the heart of the fae-lands themselves, to rescue the sister she didn’t know existed.

Elves, dragons, and fairy courts will put Echo’s wit and resolve to the test. But with time running out for her sister, will Echo even be able to save herself?

Buy this Book: https://amzn.to/3zkFYuY

7. Unbetrothed

My Review: Despite a very unlikable protagonist, the author does a fantastic job immersing you into a Latin-inspired young adult appropriate, fantasy world. I really enjoyed this book and look forward to reading the sequel.

Blurb:

Around Agatha Sea, princesses are poised, magically gifted, and betrothed.

So, when seventeen-year-old Princess Beatriz still fails to secure a betrothal, her parents hold a ball. Forming an alliance could mean the difference between peace and war, but Beatriz doesn’t want just any suitor.She’s in love with her best friend, Prince Lux. Marrying Prince Lux will always be a silly dream as long as she has no magical gift.

Princess Beatriz will do whatever it takes to obtain a touch of magic, including making a deadly oath to go on a quest to Valle de Los Fantasmas. A valley where no one comes out alive.

If she can manage to succeed, Princess Beatriz could have everything she desires and secure peace for her kingdom. If she fails, she’ll lose not only her greatest dream but also her kingdom, and maybe even her own life.

Buy this Book: https://amzn.to/3MJs7kH

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