In times of stress, the best way to find some kind of escapism is by reading a good fantasy book series. You can go on an adventure, cast magical spells, and rebel against an unjust government, all from the safety of your home. This is especially important in this time of Social Distancing. If you don’t like to wait around for a year or more until the new book in a series is released, keep scrolling to find three recommendations for completed trilogies.
The series listed here are available through our digital collection, so you don’t have to leave your home to pick them up or check them out. Just enter your library card information through Overdrive, the Libby app, or hoopla and, depending on the title, they may be available immediately or you will be placed on a waitlist, where you will receive the titles within a few days or weeks depending on the list size. If you need any more assistance with these apps, check out our FAQ page.
So, without further ado, from a magical circus to a faerie realm to a land of witches, here are three ya fantasy trilogies to escape into.
*All descriptions are for the first book in the trilogy and from the publisher.
Caraval Trilogy by Stephanie Garber
Scarlett has never left the tiny island where she and her beloved sister, Tella, live with their powerful, and cruel, father. Now, Scarlett’s father has arranged a marriage for her, and Scarlett thinks her dreams of seeing Caraval, the far-away, once-a-year performance where the audience participates in the show, are over.
But this year, Scarlett’s long-dreamt of invitation finally arrives. With the help of a mysterious sailor, Tella whisks Scarlett away to the show. Only, as soon as they arrive, Tella is kidnapped by Caraval’s mastermind organizer, Legend. It turns out that this season’s Caraval revolves around Tella, and whoever finds her first is the winner.
Scarlett has been told that everything that happens during Caraval is only an elaborate performance. But she nevertheless becomes enmeshed in a game of love, heartbreak, and magic with the other players in the game. And whether Caraval is real or not, she must find Tella before the five nights of the game are over, a dangerous domino effect of consequences is set off, and her sister disappears forever.
Welcome, welcome to Caraval . . . beware of getting swept too far away.
Read or listen to the Caraval series here in Overdrive.
The Folk in the Air Trilogy by Holly Black
Jude was seven years old when her parents were murdered and she and her two sisters were stolen away to live in the treacherous High Court of Faerie. Ten years later, Jude wants nothing more than to belong there, despite her mortality. But many of the fey despise humans. Especially Prince Cardan, the youngest and wickedest son of the High King.
To win a place at the Court, she must defy him—and face the consequences.
In doing so, she becomes embroiled in palace intrigues and deceptions, discovering her own capacity for bloodshed. But as civil war threatens to drown the Courts of Faerie in violence, Jude will need to risk her life in a dangerous alliance to save her sisters, and Faerie itself.
Holly Black’s The Fold in the Air series is available here in Overdrive.
The Bone Witch Trilogy by Rin Chupeco
Tea can raise the dead, but resurrection comes at a price…
When Tea accidentally resurrects her brother, Fox, from the dead, she learns she is different from the other witches in her family. Her gift for necromancy means that she’s a bone witch, a title that makes her feared and ostracized by her community. But Tea finds solace and guidance with an older, wiser bone witch, who takes Tea and her brother to another land for training.
In her new home, Tea puts all her energy into becoming an asha-one who can wield elemental magic. But dark forces are approaching quickly, and in the face of danger, Tea will have to overcome her obstacles…and make a powerful choice.
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