Best Fantasy Books Subgenre Reading Challenge discussion

I've got this book on Kindle and I'm getting through it fast. No prologues in this one. :) Of course the idea of an antique shop can sound boring for teens, but the idea of only stocking objects that have some sort of unusual story or fantastical/haunted background is something that intrigues me. The objects and their stories leak out slowly in random places so that they're spread out naturally instead of clumped into one big narrative, which gives us an anchor back to the shop when Roger and Daisy leave the real world.

The idea of Utopia being a place that could potentially heal Daisy's chronically ill father is new to me - is this something you have seen? I never thought of Utopia that way before, but in a perfect world, of course you'd be able to cure all diseases. I think my favorite part so far is the idea that a fantastical world could be buried beneath children's toys. I wish I could experience that. And being drawn into a supposedly Utopian society by a scent from a cherished memory
works well specifically to draw people into a Utopian world trap.

Aside from YA fantasy, so far this book could also be classified as portal fantasy or crossworlds fantasy - the former if this other world is also in a different time period, the latter if we've only traveled to another world and not another time. We'll see as this story goes on what other fantasy subgenres it could be categorized as.

*This thread is dedicated to all Strange Luck discussions, and spoilers are allowed. Discussions won't be broken down by chapter, so comment as you go.*

Well written. I love YA and fantasy, so you've won my interest!

J.S. wrote: "Well written. I love YA and fantasy, so you've won my interest!"

Awesome! If you read it, definitely comment on this thread again and share your thoughts! :)

I finished this one and wrote a review on Goodreads. Here's my assessment of whether it fits the subgenre:

YA fantasy subgenre:

- suits approximately 12-18 year old age range: yes, the range is wide of who can enjoy this book and, like most YA books, it can easily be enjoyed and appreciated by those above that age range.
- character transformation: there are a few ways this happens, including Daisy's acceptance and interest in fantasy and magic, which enables her to go on this whole adventure; relationship transformation between her and Roger when she hasn't really seen him that way before; maturing to realize her own world is really very small and there's a lot more out there and many more possibilities if she's willing to see them.

Common thematic elements include:
- emotional potency: there is the lack of understanding between the father and Daisy on the subject of her future, which causes difficult feelings between the two - feelings most teens can relate to. Roger and Daisy's love interest includes both friendship and romantic feelings that grow stronger as the book goes on. There's also Daisy's fear of losing her father if she can't bring him to a Utopian place that can cure his heart problems.
- first experiences: of course there's Daisy's first time accepting magic and fantasy into her logical self. Then there are the feelings Daisy develops for Roger, feelings she's never had before (first love). Daisy realizes her place in the store and therefore in her family for the first time, as before she only saw it as her father's dreams for her, something she didn't really understand.

YA fantasy can also employ a lot of other subgenres within it, and I think coming-of-age was one we saw here. Daisy is deciding whether to go away to college and pursue a whole other career path, leaving her father high and dry but following her own dreams. She is caught between her feelings of responsibility to him and her need to grow and develop into the woman she will become.

This could also be considered crossworlds fantasy since Daisy and Roger cross into another world but not another time. This other world parallels their own and deals heavily in the good vs. evil theme. The philosophical standpoint of the novel could potentially be a message of looking at yourself through the perspective of what you're truly capable of as opposed to constantly viewing yourself through the eyes of others and what they don't think you're capable of, or rather, when it comes to teens, what you think they think you're are and aren't capable of.