Welcome to our list of the best YA fantasy and fiction books set in the southern United States!
Explore the genre of YA Southern Fiction and Fantasy, where authors draw inspiration from Southern culture to create enchanting stories. This article takes a closer look at the magical worlds and captivating tales that incorporate elements of magic, mystery, and timeless allure. Journey through haunted plantations and hidden bayous with these intriguing YA books.
Without further ado, pick out the perfect read for anyone in their teens or anyone who just flat-out enjoys the epic magic of the young adult fantasy genre!
YA Southern Fiction and Fantasy Books
1) Spellbound Under The Spanish Moss
In this southern fantasy novel, Gareth Greyfin needs to save his father Samuel, who was bitten by a one-eyed snake. Gareth follows his father's instructions to take him to a witch with a fearsome reputation. The witch then sends Gareth on a quest to find five ingredients for the potion that can save his father's life. Throughout his journey, Gareth discovers his own strength and courage and forms an unexpected alliance with a Raven. Additionally, he learns a family secret that could potentially harm his father's life.
2) Big Fish: A Novel of Mythic Proportions
Edward Bloom was an impressive man in his prime. He had numerous talents, such as being the fastest runner, never missing a day of school, saving lives, taming giants, and making both animals and people love him. He was also a master of jokes, as he claimed. However, now that he's on his deathbed, his son, William, wants to know the truth about his father before it's too late. William uses the few facts he knows to retell his father's life through a series of legends and myths, which helps him understand both his father's successes and failures.
3) Witchy Eye
Sarah Calhoun, a 15-year-old with one bad eye and the ability to hex, desires to be left alone. However, her solitude is interrupted when a Yankee wizard priest attempts to abduct her. Fortunately, Sarah is aided by Thalanes, a secretive monk, and one of the enigmatic Firstborn. Together, they defend themselves against the attacker. Thalanes then reveals to Sarah a surprising and unknown ancestry. As Sarah embarks on a perilous journey with Thalanes to claim her inheritance, they are pursued by both the Emperor's elite dragoons and malevolent forces.
4) Garden Spells
There is a special apple tree in a garden behind a house in a small town. The tree is known for bearing unique fruit and is tended by extraordinary people. The Waverley family, who live in Bascom, North Carolina, are known for having peculiar gifts, and their garden is famous for the tree and its flowers, which have special powers of their own.
5) The Raven Boys
Blue Sargent accompanies her clairvoyant mother every year as she sees the spirits of the soon-to-be-deceased pass by. However, this changes when a boy named Gansey, a wealthy student from the local private school, talks to Blue, something that has never happened before. Renowned as the Raven Boys, Blue tries to avoid them at all costs because of the trouble they often cause. Nonetheless, she feels inexplicably compelled towards Gansey, who's on a journey involving three of his Raven Boy friends.
6) The Witching Hour
The story is about Rowan Mayfair, a talented neurosurgeon who is beautiful and has special abilities. However, she is unaware of her ancestry as a witch. While exploring the coast of California, she discovers the lifeless body of Michael Curry, a formerly poor man who has developed alarming sensory powers during his brief encounter with death. As they bond and investigate the cause of their mysterious abilities, they uncover a sinister plot.
7) The Beautiful Creatures
Ethan Wate's perception of his small Southern hometown, Gatlin, as a place where nothing ever changes is challenged when he meets Lena Duchannes. Lena reveals to him a secret world where her family of powerful Supernaturals has been cursed for generations. The Beautiful Creatures book series—Beautiful Darkness, Beautiful Chaos, and Beautiful Redemption—are mysterious, suspenseful, and romantic stories that introduce a hidden world that exists in plain sight. This stunning paperback set is a great gift for fans of this bestselling Southern Gothic romance.
8) The Hum and The Shiver
The Tufa's origins and presence in the Smoky Mountains of East Tennessee remain unknown. They live in seclusion and are wary of outsiders in Cloud County. However, their songs hold clues to their true nature, despite the mystery surrounding them. Bronwyn Hyatt, who is full-blooded Tufa, has a reputation for going against the norm, even if it leads to negative consequences.
9) The Twisted Ones
Mouse agrees to clean out her deceased grandmother's house when her dad asks her to. She wasn't expecting it to be so bad. Her grandmother was a hoarder, and her house is filled with useless items. To make matters worse, Mouse discovers her step-grandfather's journal, which appears to contain crazy rants. However, when she experienced some frightening situations that were described in the journal, she realized that it was not nonsense. While she was in the woods with her dog, she came across a series of inexplicable horrors.
10) Jitterbug Perfume
This southern fantasy book starts in the forests of ancient Bohemia and ends at nine o'clock tonight (Paris time). The book is a saga that centers around a janitor searching for a missing blue bottle. The bottle is very old and has an embossed image of a goat-horned god. Some believe that the liquid inside the bottle is the secret essence of the universe. However, the bottle is leaking, and there's only a drop or two left, so it needs to be found quickly.
11) Hex Hall Book One
Sophie Mercer, who realized her witchcraft abilities three years ago, received support from her non-magical mother. However, after a spell goes terribly wrong during her prom and she gains too much human attention, her father punishes her by sending her to Hex Hall, a school for troubled Prodigium (witches, faeries, and shapeshifters). On her first day, she makes three beautiful enemies, develops a crush on a warlock, makes friends with a ghost, and shares a room with a vampire.
