10 Settings that Should be Seen More In YA

Anyone else tired of that go to fantasy setting? You know, the timeless stone castles, classic rolling hills and roaring seas full of monsters? Ok, me neither but it is nice when I see a new setting thrown into the mix, and here are 10 that really don’t get enough page time.

---

University

1. I cannot shout this one enough. How can we not have more YA novels set at university, with characters in their early twenties? It was way more character developing than school ever was for me. Think what a hit Fangirl was and Ninth House will be. Come on people, get on that gravy train.

---

Countries other than America

2. I love books set in the States, I really do, but wouldn’t it be cool to step on the Bakerloo Line in dystopian London, meet wizards in Siberia, or fight an epic war on the icy wasteland of the Artics? Although I am actually writing a story about dystopian London so shhhhh forget I said that.

---

Deserts

3. Come on, how do we not have more desert settings for fantasies?! There could be anything hidden in all that sand, and after Rebel of the Sands I have a real craving.

---

The Deep Sea

4. Have you seen some of the crawlies they’ve got under there?! It’s basically a fantasy novel already.

---

Dreams

5. Don’t worry I’m not endorsing the ‘it was all a dream’ trope, I just love a good novel with epic, surreal dream battles. Touched a bit on in Strange the Dreamer, The Dream Thieves and way more in Mirror Dreams, I am a big fan of dreamscape fantasies.

---

The Skies

6. Think Max Ride, Avatar the Last Air Bender, that sort of thing. There is nothing I like more than characters that can explore the great open air.

---

Work

7. I know a day job might not seem the most exciting thing to write about but if JK Rowling can make kids desperate to go to school, surely we can work some magic on the mundane chore of the office.

---

Pokey Flats

8. Ok, hear me out here. I’m thinking Friends. But with power. Wouldn’t that show be so much better as a fantasy, where Chandler controls fire and Rachel is a ghost? I’m seeing some real potential here.

---

The Jurassic Era

9. It is a travesty that I can only recall one novel (Time Riders, excellent read by the way) featuring dinosaurs. They are basically dragons but were actually real 🦕

---

Forgotten Buildings

10. Abandoned, crumbling buildings, lost cities that are more vines than walls and boarded up eerie museums? Urg the potential is just killing me.

---

Lets Compare Notes

So there you have it! 10 settings I absolutely would love to see in YA! Got any recommendations or a list of your own? Drop me a message in the comments section, and I will be back Thursday with a review for Uprooted, because I have a major review backlog going on.