Sometimes standalones don’t give the richness and depth of world building and characters that trilogies do. On the other hand, trilogies can sometimes suffer from boring middles because the story is being forced to stretch out across three books. What’s a book lover to do!?! Enter the perfect compromise. YA duologies. Every year, YA duologies become more and more common, and I gotta say, I’m not mad about it. I’ve fallen in love with the extra details and faster pace that YA duologies bring to the table. Whether you’re new to duologies, or looking for some new ones to get into, here are some I am happy to recommend.
The Wrath and the Dawn
By Renee Ahdieh
YA Fantasy
Every night, Khalid, the young Caliph of Khoraan, takes a new bride only to kill her in the morning. When sixteen-year-old Shahrzad’s dearest friend falls victim to Khalid, she vows vengeance and volunteers to be his next bride. Shahrzad is determined not only to stay alive, but to end the caliph’s reign of terror once and for all.
Night after night, Shahrzad beguiles Khalid, weaving stories that enchant, ensuring her survival, though she knows each dawn could be her last. But something she never expected begins to happen: Khalid is nothing like what she’d imagined him to be. Shahrzad comes to understand all is not as it seems. She resolves to uncover whatever secrets lurk and, despite her love, be ready to take Khalid’s life as retribution for the many lives he’s stolen.
Everless
By Sara Holland
YA Fantasy
In the kingdom of Sempera, time is currency—extracted from blood, bound to iron, and consumed to add time to one’s own lifespan. The rich aristocracy, like the Gerlings, tax the poor to extend their own lives. No one resents the Gerlings more than Jules Ember. A decade ago, she and her father were servants at Everless, the Gerlings’ palatial estate, until a fateful accident forced them to flee. When Jules discovers that her father is dying, she returns to Everless to earn more time for him before it’s too late. But going back to Everless brings more danger—and temptation—than Jules could have imagined. Soon she’s caught in a tangle of violent secrets and finds her heart torn between two people she thought she’d never see again.
Daughter of the Pirate King
By Tricia Levenseller
YA Fantasy
Sent on a mission to retrieve an ancient hidden map—the key to a legendary treasure trove—seventeen-year-old pirate captain Alosa deliberately allows herself to be captured by her enemies, giving her the perfect opportunity to search their ship.
More than a match for the ruthless pirate crew, Alosa has only one thing standing between her and the map: her captor, the unexpectedly clever and unfairly attractive first mate, Riden. But not to worry, for Alosa has a few tricks up her sleeve, and no lone pirate can stop the Daughter of the Pirate King.
Six of Crows
By Leigh Bardugo
YA Fantasy
Ketterdam: a bustling hub of international trade where anything can be had for the right price—and no one knows that better than criminal prodigy Kaz Brekker. Kaz is offered a chance at a deadly heist that could make him rich beyond his wildest dreams. But he can’t pull it off alone. A convict with a thirst for revenge. A sharpshooter who can’t walk away from a wager. A runaway with a privileged past. A spy known as the Wraith. A Heartrender using her magic to survive the slums. A thief with a gift for unlikely escapes. Kaz’s crew is the only thing that might stand between the world and destruction—if they don’t kill each other first.
Strange The Dreamer
By Laini Taylor
YA Fantasy
The dream chooses the dreamer, not the other way around—and Lazlo Strange, war orphan and junior librarian, has always feared that his dream chose poorly. Since he was five years old he’s been obsessed with the mythic lost city of Weep. When an opportunity presents itself, in the person of a hero called the Godslayer, and he has to seize his chance or lose his dream forever.
The answers to Lazlo’s many questions await in Weep, but so do more mysteries—including the blue-skinned goddess who appears in Lazlo’s dreams. How did he dream her before he knew she existed? And if all the gods are dead, why does she seem so real?
Flame in the Mist
By Renee Ahdieh
YA Fantasy
Mariko has always known she’d been raised for one purpose: to marry. Never mind her cunning or her skills as an accomplished alchemist. Since Mariko was not born a boy, her fate was sealed the moment she drew her first breath. So, at just seventeen years old, Mariko is sent to the imperial palace to meet her betrothed, for the very first time. But the journey is cut short when Mariko’s convoy is viciously attacked by the Black Clan, a dangerous group of bandits hired to kill Mariko.
Mariko narrowly escapes to the woods, where she plots her revenge. Dressed as a peasant boy, she sets out to infiltrate the Black Clan and hunt down those responsible for the target on her back. Once she’s within their ranks, though, Mariko finds for the first time she’s appreciated for her intellect and abilities. She even finds herself falling in love questioning everything she’s ever known about her family, her purpose, and her deepest desires.
The Evaporation of Sofi Snow
By Mary Weber
YA Science Fiction
In a system where Earth’s corporations rule in place of governments and the Delonese, a humanoid race, orbiting the moon are allies, her only constant has been her younger brother, Shilo. As an online gamer, Sofi battles in Earth’s Fantasy Fighting arena where Shilo competes in a mix of real and virtual blood sport. But when a bomb takes out a quarter of the arena, Sofi’s the only one who believes Shilo survived. She has dreams of him. And she’s convinced he’s been taken to the Delonese ice-planet.
For Miguel, Earth’s charming young playboy, the games are of a different sort. As Ambassador to the Delonese, his career has been built on trading secrets and seduction. Until the Fantasy Fight’s bomb goes off. Now he’s a target for blackmail.
Warcross
By Marie Lu
YA Science Fiction
For the millions who log in every day, Warcross isn’t just a game—it’s a way of life. The obsession started ten years ago and its fan base now spans the globe. Struggling to make ends meet, teenage hacker Emika Chen works as a bounty hunter, tracking down players who bet on the game illegally. Needing to make some quick cash, Emika takes a risk and hacks into the opening game of the international Warcross Championships— and become an overnight sensation.
Convinced she’s going to be arrested, Emika is shocked when instead she gets a call from the game’s creator, the elusive young billionaire Hideo Tanaka, with an irresistible offer. He needs a spy on the inside of this year’s tournament in order to uncover a security problem. With no time to lose, Emika’s thrust into a world of fame and fortune. But soon her investigation uncovers a sinister plot, with major consequences for the entire Warcross empire.
Starflight
By Melissa Landers
YA Science Fiction
Life in the outer realm is a lawless, dirty, hard existence, and Solara Brooks is hungry for it. She’s so desperate to reach the realm that she’s willing to indenture herself to Doran Spaulding, the boy who made her life miserable in high school, in exchange for passage aboard the spaceliner Zenith.
When a twist of fate lands them instead on the Banshee, a vessel of dubious repute, Doran learns he’s been framed on Earth for conspiracy. As he pursues a set of mysterious coordinates rumored to hold the key to clearing his name, he and Solara must get past their enmity to work together and evade those out for their arrest. But what Solara and Doran discover on the mysterious Planet X has the power to not only alter their lives, but the existence of everyone in the universe.
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