This post was last updated on March 13th, 2025 at 02:31 pm
These 9 excellent fantasy books for 13 year olds are waiting to take the reader on a Welsh adventure they’ll never forget. Best of all, every one of these novels is either set entirely in Wales, or most of the story takes place there. Many of these are also suitable fantasy books for 6th graders. This is Year 7 in Cymru (Wales). So, several are also perfect as middle grade fantasy books.
What’s the best way to choose the best fantasy books for 13 year olds? One way is consulting a done-for-you list just like this one. These classic books for 13 year olds are not only all set in Wales, but each one falls within the appropriate reading level. Here, you’ll find a book to suit almost every taste. They range from fantasy adventure romance books, action adventure romance books, sci fi books for tweens, and short YA fantasy books.
Turning 13 is a significant point in a person’s life. They’re crossing the divide between childhood and being a young adult, and their reading material reflects this. As a new teenager, they’re exploring more mature themes and situations. However, there’s still discernment regarding material considered too mature or only appropriate for older teens or adults.
You might be book shopping for your teen, or you may be a teen yourself. In either case, I’d love your feedback about which of these books you’ve read. Are there any that you think should be added to the list? Also, I’ve included some short stories for 13 year olds. Celtic Tales and The Four Branches of the Mabinogi feature traditional stories from Welsh mythology.
This post is all about fantasy books for 13 year olds that are set in Wales.
Fantasy Books for 13 Year Olds
Fantasy Romance Books for 13 Year Olds: Celtic Tales: Fairy Tales and Stories of Enchantment by Kate Forrester
From the blurb: Perilous quests, true love, and animals that talk. The traditional stories of Ireland, Scotland, Brittany, and Wales transport us to the fantastical world of Celtic folklore.
This Celtic mythology book features 16 stories that were translated and transcribed by folklorists in the late 19th and 20th centuries. They focus on themes such as Tricksters, The Sea, Quests, and Romance and mythological creatures. These timeless tales brim with wit and magic. Each one is brought to life with elegant silhouette art in this special illustrated edition.
Celtic Tales is an extraordinary collection that conjures forgotten realms and rare magical creatures in vivid prose. Discover delightfully entertaining tales such as Master and Man, The Soul Cages, The Red-Etin, and The Witch of Lok Island.
The Seeing Stone (The Arthur Trilogy #1) by Kevin Crossley-Holland
From the blurb: Arthurian legend comes to life in the first novel in this remarkable, award-winning saga. Thirteen-year-old Arthur de Caldicot lives on a manor, desperately waiting for the moment he can become a knight. One day his father’s friend Merlin gives him a shining black stone—a seeing stone—that shows him visions of his namesake, King Arthur. The legendary dragons, battles, and swordplay that young Arthur witnesses seem a world away from his own life. And yet, there is something definitely joining the Arthurs together. It will be Arthur de Caldicot’s destiny to discover how his path is intertwined with a king’s. For the past is not the only thing the seeing stone can see.
Midnight for Charlie Bone (Children of the Red King #1) by Jenny Nimmo
From the blurb: A magical fantasy that is fast-paced and easy to read. Charlie Bone has a special gift—he can hear people in photographs talking. The fabulous powers of the Red King were passed down through his descendants after turning up quite unexpectedly in someone who had no idea where they came from. This is what happened to Charlie Bone and to some of the children he met behind the grim, gray walls of Bloor’s Academy. Charlie Bone has discovered an unusual gift-he can hear people in photographs talking! His scheming aunts decide to send him to Bloor Academy. It’s a school for geniuses, where he uses his gifts to discover the truth despite all the dangers that lie ahead.
Longbow Girl (Karma, bloodlines and unfinished business) by Linda Davies
From the blurb: Merry Owen lives in a farmhouse in the shadow of the Black Castle, the wild Welsh home of her family’s arch-enemies, the de Courcys, and their son, James. Merry and James defy their families’ ancient feud and fall in love. But the past runs through Merry like blood. And when it catches up with her, it sweeps her back to a terrifying world. She has only her wit and her longbow as weapons. She must decide if she is ready to spill that blood.
Awards for Longbow Girl: Winner of the Mal Peet Children’s Book of the Year Award. USBBY Outstanding International Book 2017 and a Bank Street CBC Best Children’s Book of the Year 2017. Also a Texas Lone Star Reading List 2017, Historical Association Young Quills Award Nominee. It was also shortlisted for the Books Council of Wales Tir na n-Og Awards.
The Four Branches of the Mabinogi by Siân Lewis
From the blurb: The Four Branches of the Mabinogi are the oldest and most famous legends in Wales. First written down around 800 years ago, they were being told for many years before that. They captivated audiences with their unique mix of magic, romance, and adventure. They conjure a world of giants, wizards, and enchantments where families wage war, and some people can even transform into animals!
“Everyone (leastways everyone from the isle of the mighty) should be familiar with these old tales; they are great. This is the English language version (it might read better in Welsh if you can manage it, but perfectly good stories in English). The tales have been suitably tailored (redacted) for a young audience and are beautifully illustrated. I have spent months looking for an illustrated version of these tales suitable for children (or old children that like pictures with their stories) and could not believe that there were not multiple versions out there to choose from. Now I have one, I am so pleased that it is such a good book. Now I can send them to my friends with children. I might send one of the adult variants as well (there are dozens of those to choose from with no nice pictures).” —Amazon Reviewer
The Twelve Dancers by William Mayne
From the blurb: An entire Welsh village is involved in the search for an ancient cup which was lost many years ago. Marlene and her friends at the village school suddenly become very important because they discover that the search depends on the open-air dance they perform every year. Are they to support their parents, or should they stay loyal to Plow Jones, who is a friend of theirs but who will take away Commons Wood from the village if he finds the cup first?
And even after they have decided this there is a great deal to be done. There is a siege with a scarlet battering ram while the Lord of the Manor fires a cannon from his roof. But this isn’t only the story of a lost cup. It is also the story of Marlene and her mother. They are so poor that they wonder whether they will have bacon to eat on Saturday.
Bitter Sixteen (The Bitter Sixteen Trilogy Book 1) by Stefan Mohamed
From the blurb: “Happy birthday, Stanly. We hope you like your present…”
Cynical, solitary Stanly Bird is a fairly typical teenager—unless you count the fact that his best friend is a talking beagle named Daryl, and that he gained the powers of flight and telekinesis when he turned sixteen.
Unfortunately, his rural Welsh hometown is not exactly crying out for its very own superhero. London is calling—but what Stanly finds there is a good deal weirder and more terrifying than anything he could have imagined. Perhaps he should have stayed in Wales…
Winner of the Dylan Thomas Prize for new writers. Also a Times Children’s Book of the Week and a Guardian Top Teen Read of 2015.
Mad Dog Moonlight by Pauline Fisk
From the blurb: Mad Dog Moonlight is only a young boy when he is picked up by the police on a lonely Welsh mountain road with a baby in his arms and nothing from his past except the memory of the name his mother gave him, and a silver-topped walking cane upon which is engraved a secret word. Fostered by a local family, the Lewises, Mad Dog is renamed ‘Ryan’, but he struggles to accept this most ordinary of names and families. He longs to find the answer to who he is and what happened to his parents—and so sets off on an extraordinary adventure to uncover the lost secrets in his life. From the streets of Aberystwyth to the lonely hillocks of Plynlimon Mountain, Mad Dog encounters hidden adversaries and unexpected allies in a thrilling journey to discover just who he really is.
Dark Fantasy Books for 13 Year Olds: The Blue Book of Nebo by Manon Steffan Ros
From the blurb: Prize-winner in three categories of the 2019 Wales Book of the Year Award. The Blue Book of Nebo paints a spellbinding and eerie picture of society’s collapse and the relationships that persist after everything as we know it disappears. After nuclear disaster, Rowenna and her young son are among the rare survivors in rural north-west Wales. Left alone in their isolated hillside cottage after others have died or abandoned the towns and villages, they must learn new skills in order to remain alive. With no electricity or modern technology they must return to the old ways of living off the land, developing new personal resources.
While they become more skilled and stronger, the relationship between mother and son changes in subtle ways, as Dylan must take on adult responsibilities, especially once his baby sister Mona arrives. Despite their close understanding, mother and son have their own secrets, which emerge as, in turn, they jot down their thoughts and memories in a found notebook. As each reflects on their old life and the events since the disaster, which has brought normal, twenty-first-century life to an end, The Blue Book of Nebo becomes a collective confidante, representing the future of their people and a new history to live by.
Lake Caerwych, the first book of the Copper & Cobalt Trilogy, is another fantasy book that’s appropriate for a young teen. You may also enjoy this article on how to choose an unputdownable YA series.
This post was all about fantasy books for 13 year olds that are set in Wales.
Leave a Reply