15 Magical Books Like LEGENDBORN

This anthology by We Need Diverse Books collects several brilliant SFF stories, set in myriad worlds with a host of fascinating protagonists. A Universe of Wishes gives the reader a taste of fantasy or sci-fi works from authors such as Samira Ahmed, Mark Oshiro, Kwame Mbalia, and Zoraida Córdova, weaving diverse tales about teens and young adults who explore space, wield magic, and fall in love.

Princess Guinevere has arrived in Camelot to marry the young King Arthur – at least, that’s what most people think. Camelot is in danger from forces inside and out, and Guinevere is in fact a changeling with a fake name and backstory, sent in by the wizard Merlin to protect the king. A twist on Arthurian legend with an interesting heroine, The Guinevere Deception is an ideal read for Legendborn fans. 

Readers who like powerful, complex heroines will love The Gilded Ones. Set in a terrifying dystopian fantasy society, this novel explores religiously motivated misogyny and violence, as well the resilience of the young women that the system victimises. Deka, like all girls, must be bled when she turns 16 to prove her purity – but when her blood runs gold instead of red, she discovers she is an Alaki, a being with supernatural strength and powers considered demonic by the intolerant society she inhabits. Deka is rescued from the persecution meted out by her village, but is still in danger when she is brought to the kingdom’s capital to join a group of Alaki super-soldiers.

Meg Cabot is most famous for her series The Princess Diaries, but she takes a different angle on royalty and high-school drama in Avalon High. Ellie, a new arrival at the titular school, slowly begins to realise that her classmates – and perhaps she herself – are following in the footsteps of Arthurian figures, parallelling a legendary history that might lead to disaster for all of them.

Once and Future takes on corporatism and colonialism through King Arthur as a teenage girl refugee in space, which is potentially one of the best premises for a book I’ve ever seen. Ari Helix is on the run from the evil Mercer corporation, when she encounters the wizard Merlin. Merlin has been aging backwards as he travels forwards through time, and is now a teenage boy instead of the elderly wizard we all know from legend, but his quest is the same – he must help this latest incarnation of Arthur defeat the evil that exists in the universe, and bring peace and harmony.

Deonn references Susan Cooper’s The Dark is Rising sequence as a major point of inspiration for Legendborn, and although the series began in the ’60s, it still holds up today. Over Sea, Under Stone is the first installment, following siblings Simon, Jane, and Barney as they go on holiday in Cornwall with their parents and their great-uncle, Merriman Lyon. The children find an old manuscript, which they realise is the first clue in their quest for the Holy Grail.

The Wicker King is a fascinating but tough read, exploring the boundaries between fantasy, daydream, and mental illness. Best friends August and Jack have a richly imagined fantasy world that they have build from childhood, but August begins to realise that Jack is losing the ability to tell the difference between imagination and reality. August believes that Jack can be saved if they complete the quest in their fantasy world, but in doing so, both boys may be destroyed.