Think back to the first time you picked up a fantasy book. What was it? How old were you? For most of us, the answer is probably pretty young. I remember Sherwood Smith’s Wren To The Rescue and Madeleine L’Engle’s Wrinkle In Time series were some of my earliest favorites. Some of the other middle grade gems on my shelves: Lloyd Alexander’s Westmark Trilogy, Elizabeth Winthrop’s Battle for the Castle, Harry Potter, Ender’s Game, pretty much everything by Rick Riordan, C. S. Lewis’ Chronicles of Narnia. And so many more in recent years!
Now, think to the books that got you through grade school or high school (Or those you devour now even without those excuses – just because you want to!).
Hunger Games, Divergent, These Broken Stars, Under the Never Sky, Maze Runner. Just walk down the YA aisle at your local bookstore. Chances are, they have an entire sub-section dedicated to YA fantasy.
Naming all the excellent adult SFF titles would take another post or ten, but from The Stormlight Archive to A Song of Ice and Fire to Shades of Milk and Honey or Naomi Novik’s Temeraire series, the genre offers yet another endless range of options for adult readers.
I don’t think I’m going out on a limb to say no other genre spans reader ages quite like fantasy. Mystery? Maaaybe, though on the younger end, it’s usually blended with another genre. Romance? Nah. Thriller? Most of the best MG thrillers ARE fantasy! It makes me so excited to be in a genre that appeals to such a wide age range and has the ability to fuel the imagination across a lifetime. I grew up with fantasy, and I feel like the genre has only grown with me.
Our authors, too, seem to write across ages more often than authors in most genres. Brandon Sanderson’s a great example—he has the Alcatraz books for middle grade readers, the Reckoners series for YA, and take your pick on the adult side. Garth Nix is another good one. I first came to know him through his MG series, The Seventh Tower, years before Sabriel and the Old Kingdom Trilogy (Though I think he published it in between). I mentioned Sherwood Smith earlier, too. Decades after I discovered and fell in love with Wren to the Rescue, I found her Inda series – it was like her writing had aged perfectly with me!
Why is fantasy such a great match for any age?
I like to think fantasy appeals to larger universal truths, no matter the age for which it’s written. Yes, it can be gritty and crass and paint the world as a dark, dark dystopian place, but more often than not it’s about light and goodness and standing against the odds. Strong friendships. Fighting the good fight. Staring down that bully with nothing but a toothpick. Even in the grittiest of tales, it comes back to this, and those are things to which people can relate at any age.
There’s also something to be said for the sheer power of imagination and the sense of adventure, escape and magic imbued in fantasy. It’s something we crave no matter how old we are. When we’re young, it’s a way of seeing our imaginings and dreams spring to life on the page; as we grow up and shoulder adult responsibilities, that escape somehow becomes dearer, the magic even more needed so that we always remember to keep imagining, keep dreaming. It fascinates us, broadens our horizons, and calls us back again and again.
For me, I think it’s also about the characters. Let’s face it, fantasy characters are just plain fun! Who wouldn’t want to read about them? Casts often are so large we follow characters of all ages within a single story or watch young MCs grow up over the course of a series. Some books, like Ender’s Game, even straddle age ranges and could arguably fit in either MG or YA.
Because the stories usually unfold in a series, we get to know characters far better than we would in a standalone. They feel like old friends. Think of the Harry Potter crew or Percy Jackson and friends for the MG reader. Who among teenagers (or adults, for that matter) doesn’t know the name Katniss Everdeen? And let’s not get started on how attached we get to colorful characters like Dresden or Lamora.
No doubt about it, there’s something special about fantasy, and when I have kids old enough to read, I hope they’ll find the same wonder and delight in it for years to come.
What have been some of your fantasy favorites across the ages?
