Young Adult trilogies I enjoyed reading the most (disclaimer: in no particular order)
After not posting anything for ages, my hands have been itching to type something, anything. Truth is that I haven’t only not been posting much, I also haven’t been reading a lot. Partly because I’ve been busy with my fulltime job, partly because I have a household to run (doesn’t matter if it only consists of me, it’s still a lot of work) but also because I have run out of inspiration. I’ve been happily observing the world, thinking about a lot of things. Now I wanted to write, post something, and I thought, why not put some blasts from my reading past into the spotlight.
Leigh Bardugo’s Grishaverse
A soldier with unexpected powers that could change the entire war and future of her country. The Grisha trilogy was hard to put down every time after starting a new book. The world Leigh Bardugo had created was astonishing. You’re rooting for Alina, for Genya, for Ravka, but you’re also spellbound by The Darkling. You hate him but you also find him very charming. After the original three Shadow and Bone books, Leigh expanded the Grishaverse with two Six of Crow-books, King of Scars and multiple short stories. The best thing that has yet to happen? The books will be adapted into a series by Netflix and production has already started! We’ll have Jessie Mei Li as Alina Starkov and Ben Barnes (my youth crush after seeing Narnia and I’m sure I’m not the only one) as The Darkling.
Jenny Han’s To All the Boy’s I’ve Loved Before
I’m not sure if Jenny Han had spent hours and hours on Pinterest or if it’s just her, but she managed to create to cutest, most fluffy, love story. Lara Jean Covey writes letters to boys she has had a crush on and one day, those secret letters are sent to said boys. To cover herself, she convinces Peter Kavinsky to play her boyfriend. And Peter Kavinsky… how to describe a boy like Peter, huh? Normally, I don’t think it’s necessary for a love story to consist out of three books but with this trilogy, I never had the feeling that it was too much, that the author was dragging things. To All the Boys is also a film on Netflix, starring Lana Condor and Noah Centineo.
Kerstin Gier’s Ruby Red trilogy
German author Kerstin Gier is one of the most hilarious writers I’ve ever come across. The Ruby Red books were her first Young Adult fantasy trilogy. It’s about Gwendolyn (Gwyneth for US/UK readers), who has inherited time travel genes and has to save the world from an evil time travelers. She has to do this with Gideon, a charming albeit annoyed fellow time traveler. I think it’s wonderful how Kerstin created a great mystery, used history and on top of that, it’s genuinely funny. I also believe this is one of the most underrated trilogy’s abroad (it was very popular here in The Netherlands). This originally German trilogy is adapted into a film series.
Michelle Hodkin’s Mara Dyer
What would happen if you have a bad thought about a person – let’s say they die a horrible death – and suddenly it comes true? That’s Mara Dyer’s life, and Mara isn’t the only one with special powers. To figure out what is happening to her, Mara has to dig into the past. And who better to do that with than a smart, arrogant boy named Noah Shaw? I remember how long I had to wait until Michelle Hodkin had written a new book but every time was worth the wait because of Mara and Noah. After this trilogy, Michelle continued their story with the Shaw confessions, three books written from Noah’s POV.
Tahereh Mafi’s Shatter Me
Am I cheating by including these books? Maybe, but the Shatter Me series originally was a trilogy. Tahereh Mafi added another three books much later after the publication of Ignite Me. In these books, Juliette Ferrars is a girl whose touch could kill someone. She has been treated like a monster because they wanted to turn her into a monster they could use as a weapon but she decided to fight back. There aren’t many authors who have that special ability to use words in such a beautiful way as Tahereh Mafi. It’s almost poetry.
Stephanie Perkin’s Anna and the French Kiss trilogy
Equally fluffy as Jenny Han’s TATBILB trilogy but slightly different. Stephanie Perkins’s books are set in the same universe but each book is about a different person. We have Anna, who is sent to Paris by her parents and falls in love with the city and a charming French/American/British boy. And we have Lola, who is confronted by her first love and her feelings for him, a boy named Cricket. And then we have Isla, who finally has her chance with the boy she’s been crushing on forever. I enjoyed crawling into this world so much that I did it multiple times. I’m still waiting for Stephanie to write another love story.
Marie Rutkoski’s The Winner’s trilogy
Another highly underrated trilogy! Kestrel Trajan is the daughter of a general. She’s been brought up learning how to be strong and strategic. But then she meets Arin, a slave she buys at an auction. Arin has some secrets that could turn her world upside down and Kestrel will have to pay the price. What I loved about this novel is that it doesn’t sugarcoat the situation and the actions the main characters have to take for their goal. If you have to choose between two evils, which one would you choose?
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