Top Ten Tuesday: MG/YA Books Set Outside US

Top Ten Tuesday is a fun weekly feature hosted by The Broke and the Bookish. Every week, we get a topic to have fun with and this week’s topic is Ten Books Set Outside The US!

For my list, I include standalone as well as series. Here we go!

1. Dangerous Girls by Abigail Haas | GOODREADS
   setting: Aruba
   Dangerous Girl is a rare YA psychological thriller that shows the dark side of being trapped outside your native country. Emphasis was made on the difference in legal system between the MC’s origin country and Aruba.
   My review here.

   “Any one of us could be made to look a monster, with selective readings of our history.”

2. Shades of London series by Maureen Johnson | GOODREADS
   setting: England
   Shades of London, a paranormal urban fantasy from prolific author Maureen Johnson, follows an American teenager named Rory in her journey to London. She somehow became entangled in the murder cases mimicking Jack the Ripper.

   “Fear can’t hurt you,” she said. “When it washes over you, give it no power. It’s a snake with no venom. Remember that. That knowledge can save you.”

3. The Demon’s Lexicon series by Sarah Rees Brennan | GOODREADS
   setting: England
   I gushed and gushed about my love for this book and its characters, and I’m about to do it again. The Demon’s Lexicon series follow a group of teenagers in their quest against evil magicians led by Black Arthur. It has demons, diverse cast, and a very peculiar sense of humor which I LOVED.

   “He only shot one person,” Nick remarked. “But the night is young.”
   “Forgive him, he has no manners.”
   “I get by on good looks,” Nick said.

4. The Infernal Devices series by Cassandra Clare | GOODREADS
   setting: England
   The Infernal Devices is a very popular series by Cassandra Clare. It’s about the Shadowhunters, people gifted the power by the angels to fight demons. While The Mortal Instruments – Clare’s other popular series – primarily set in modern New York, TID took place in 19th century London.

   “Must you go? I was rather hoping you’d stay and be a ministering angel, but if you must go, you must.”
   “I’ll stay,” Will said a bit crossly, and threw himself down in the armchair Tessa had just vacated. “I can minister angelically.”

5. The Ring of Solomon by Jonathan Stroud (prequel to Bartimaeus trilogy) | GOODREADS
   setting: alternate Jerusalem
   The Ring of Solomon was published after the trilogy, but it was set prior to the events in The Amulet of Samarkand. As a matter of fact, it was set way before The Amulet of Samarkand, in 950 BCE. It also has different location with the original trilogy, at alternate Jerusalem instead of England. Readers familiar with Bartimaeus will soon feel at home with the djinni’s copious amount of sarcastic footnotes and narcissistic remarks, otherwise it might feel overwhelming.

   “The Evasive Cartwheel ™ © etc., Bartimaeus of Uruk, circa. 2800 B.C.E. Often imitated, never surpassed. As famously memorialized in the New Kingdom tomb paintings of Ramses III— you can just see me in the background of The Dedication of the Royal Family before Ra, wheeling out of sight behind the pharaoh.”

6. Guardian of the Dead by Karen Healey | GOODREADS
   setting: New Zealand
   I’ve talked about this book in some of my recommendation posts, particularly my Diverse Books Recommendation as part of FBCYA. Guardian of the Dead is a particular favorite of mine because the setting plays a big role in the book. Healey took her time researching Māori culture and mythology and the story itself was heavily influenced by the local culture.

   “There wasn’t any food or heat, but we had light, and places to sit, and a complete lack of frightening murderers, and that turned out to be enough for now.”

7. Leviathan series by Scott Westerfeld (alternate World War I) | GOODREADS
   setting: alternate Austro-Hungarian, Ottoman Empire, England, Switzerland, and some others
   Leviathan is a YA steampunk series written by Scott Westerfeld and it was set in many places in the world since it was basically an alternate World War I story. It has two great protagonists, Deryn – a British girl disguise as a boy so she could become an airman – and Alek, the heir of Austro-Hungarian throne, and a great setting. I believe it was the first YA I read that was partially set in Ottoman Empire.

   “Barking hard work, being a boy.”

8. Anna and the French Kiss by Stephanie Perkins | GOODREADS
   setting: Paris
   This very popular book would probably end up in many Top Ten Tuesday list, and for a good reason too. Say what you want about the romance, but the setting will totally pull you in. I mean, a boarding school in Paris?! Who wouldn’t?

   “Soap?”
   “School of America in Paris” he explains. “SOAP”.
   Nice. My father sent me here to be cleansed.”

9. Daughter of Smoke and Bone by Laini Taylor | GOODREADS
   setting: Prague and Morocco
   I never did finish this series, but I really liked the first book. Karou is an art student in Prague, at least that’s what her friends think, but she hides a big secret that end up making her caught up in the middle of a war that was out of this world.

   “Once upon a time, an angel and a devil fell in love.

   It did not end well.”

10. The Gathering by Kelley Armstrong | GOODREADS
    setting: Canada
    Another series I didn’t get to finish. To be honest, I feel rather conflicted about this one. I liked the setting and the premise, but the execution left something to be desired.

    “Rafe didn’t just flirt-he charmed girls right up to the point where they fell for him, then he changed his mind. I called him a player with attention deficit disorder.”

That’s all for now. Have you read any of these books? What do you think about them?

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Windie
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