5 Fantasy Novels That Aren’t About the Chosen One

The Rest of Us Just Live Here, by Patrick Ness
Mikey isn’t the chosen one, but he is surrounded by them. And while the indie kids at school are busy fighting weird blue lights and saving the day, Mikey’s just trying to survive high school, conquer his OCD, and maybe ask out the girl he likes. Because sometimes, ordinary life is hard enough. For all those times you’ve wondered what’s going on in Ravenclaw while Harry’s off fighting Voldemort, The Rest of Us Just Live Here shows you the ins and outs of being a background character—even when your best friend is kind of magic.

A Shadow Bright and Burning, by Jessica Cluess
In a world where female witches are put to death, Henrietta Howel can burst into flames. It’s a secret she has kept well hidden, until her best friend is threatened and she’s forced to reveal her power. To her surprise, she’s not executed: she’s taken to London to be trained as a rare female sorcerer. What’s more, all of London believes her to be the key to fighting the Ancients, the fulfillment of an old prophecy. The problem? Henriett Howel is not a sorcerer. She’s a magician, and everything society believes about her is a lie.

The Rithmatist, by Brandon Sanderson
Joel wants nothing more than to be a rithmatist, one of the chalk magicians who fight the Wild Chalklings threatening to take over the world. But Joel missed his chance to be chosen, so instead of learning to practice magic like the other students at the academy, Joel stays on as a charity case. Undaunted by his sheer normalcy, Joel focuses his energy on studying how magic works—which turns out to be a good thing when other students start being attacked and Joel’s knowledge becomes key in the investigation. Now, he just has to keep himself from being killed long enough to solve the mystery.

Carry On, by Rainbow Rowell
Simon Snow is absolutely the worst Chosen One in the history of Chosen Ones. His magic rarely works, and when it does, it works too well. He’s supposed to be fighting the magic-eating monster who’s threatening the world, but he’s having a hard time keeping his mind off his evil, vampiric roommate, Baz. To be honest, it’s starting to look like Simon, at worst, might be responsible for some of the problems he’s trying to solve, and at best, is less of a wizard than everyone thought he was. Now if he could just stop thinking about Baz long enough to care.

The Impostor Queen, by Sarah Fine
Chosen long ago to succeed the Valtia, the current queen and wielder of powerful magic, Elli lives in the temple, waiting for the day when the queen dies and her magic takes root in Elli. Except that when the queen dies, nothing happens. Elli is powerless. Forced to leave, she winds up in the outlands, half dead, where she’s taken in by a group of thieves and taught that everything she thought she knew is wrong—including the details of that prophecy that said she would be the chosen one.