7 Great YA Fantasy Duologies

The Girl From Everywhere and The Ship Beyond Time, by Heidi Heilig
Pirates! Time travel! Romance! Diversity! Magical maps! Heilig’s incredibly cool debut series has it all, taking readers to gorgeous, fascinating times and places and developing complex relationships between Hawaii native Nyx and both her bipolar father, Slate, and her tempting fellow sailor, Kash. When Slate sees the opportunity to travel back to a time and place before his wife died, nothing will stop him from pursuing it—not even the possibility that doing so could erase his daughter’s very existence. Can Nyx turn against the only family she has left when it’s a matter of her own life and death?

The Wrath and the Dawn and The Rose and the Dagger, by Renée Ahdieh
Sensuous and sumptuous, Ahdieh’s tale of love and revenge begins with Shazi volunteering herself as the new wife of the murderous caliph of Khorasan, known for sentencing each of his brides to death before dawn. She’s there to bring him down after her cousin was a victim, but what follows instead is her discovery that Khalid is a deeply complicated man whose motivation for these deaths is nothing like what she imagined.

Ivory and Bone and Obsidian and Stars, by Julie Eshbaugh
In a sea of fantasies that almost universally range in feel from medieval to modern, Eshbaugh’s debut duo floored me with its unique, awesome, masterfully done prehistoric setting. Seventeen-year-old Kol needs a mate, especially as he prepares to become High Elder of his clan, but there are no options…until Mya’s clan arrives. But when her old enemy arrives and a battle between their people breaks out, Kol must decipher the truth about their history and intentions to ensure the safety of his clan, and his heart. For the sequel, the perspective switches over to Mya as she and Kol face down a future her own family threatens to take away.

Six of Crows and Crooked Kingdom by Leigh Bardugo
If you haven’t yet availed yourself of the world’s most charismatic antihero, allow me to introduce you to Kaz Brekker, and the merry band of gifted criminals who join him on the heist of a lifetime. But, of course, things don’t quite go exactly according to plan. Betrayal and revenge are never far behind the crew, and with feelings old and new flaring between its different members, they’ve never had so much to lose.

The Star-Touched Queen and A Crown of Wishes, by Roshani Chokshi
Chokshi’s New York Times–bestselling companion duology is a lush, fantastical, romantic reimagining of Indian folklore and mythology. It begins with Maya, who knows death is in her stars, but could never have predicted the form it would take or the love and home she would find in it. The second book stars Maya’s sister, Gauri, and Vikram, who have no reason to trust each other but would do well to if they want to win the magical competition that will earn them the wish they each desperately need.

Akata Witch and Akata Warrior, by Nnedi Okorafor
Sunny is a twelve-year-old American-born Nigerian with albinism who never quite seems to fit in. Then she discovers she has magical powers, and it turns out she’s not alone: for once, there’s a group she belongs to without question. But when her training sets her and her new friends on a dangerous quest, Sunny’s brilliant new life might be ripped right out from under her.

The Crown’s Game and The Crown’s Fate, by Evelyn Skye
Only one magician can win the competition to become the Tsar’s enchanter—the Crown’s Game—but Vika and Nikolai are prepared to duel to death for the honor…or at least they’d better be, because they have no choice. But when admiration and feelings surface between them, the mortal contest becomes impossible to fight. How can either truly dream of victory when it means losing the other for good? But how can they give up when doing so means their own end?