Brilliant books based on folklore

Corrupt monarchs. Forbidden magic. Illicit romance. This pacey YA fantasy is set in the world of cut-throat horse racing and steeped in Jewish folklore. Mikira's father is in prison; her family buried in debt. The only option to save them all from ruin is to enter the Illinir, a high-risk, high-reward cross-country horse race. Mikira recruits a crew of shady accomplices to help win the race. But each has their own reason for joining forces, and as alliances and romances deepen, Mikira needs to work out where everyone's true loyalties lie.

The magic in Cassandra Clare's first book for adults is inspired by Jewish tradition and mythology. Two outcasts find themselves at the centre of world-altering change. In Castellane, Kel is stolen to become Prince Conor Aurelian’s body-double. As his ‘Sword Catcher', Kel lives for one purpose: to die for Conor. Lin Caster is an Ashkar physician, part of a community ostracised for its rare magical abilities. But events pull her and Kel together and into the web of the mysterious Ragpicker King who rules Castellane’s criminal underworld. Together, they’ll discover an extraordinary conspiracy. But can forbidden love bring down a kingdom? 

These nineteen short stories by the author of Black Water Sister draw inspiration from Asian myth and folklore. An elderly ex-member of parliaments recalls a forbidden love with a jungle spirit. A teenage vampire struggles to find a good homework/eating people balance. A mischievous matriarch returns from the dead to disrupt her own funeral rites. And Chang E, the Chinese moon goddess, spins off into outer space.

A grimoire is a manual for invoking spirits, and in this poetry collection Robin Robertson calls up strange new forms based on Celtic folk tradition. There are tales of violence, madness and retribution, of second sight, witches, ghosts, selkies, changelings and doubles, all bound within a larger mythology, narrated by a doomed shape-changer – a man, beast or god – and all full of the same charged beauty as the Scottish landscape.

A queer retelling of a legendary Chinese ruler's rise to power. In a famine-stricken village on a dusty plain, a seer shows two children their fates. For a family’s eighth-born son, there’s greatness. For the second daughter, nothing. In 1345, China lies restless under harsh Mongol rule. And when a bandit raid wipes out their home, the two children must somehow survive. Zhu Chongba despairs and gives in. But the girl resolves to overcome her destiny. So she takes her dead brother's identity and begins her journey. Can Zhu escape what’s written in the stars, as rebellion sweeps the land? Or can she claim her brother’s greatness – and rise as high as she can dream? The sequel, He Who Drowned the World, is also out now. 

A dark and dangerous piece of West African-inspired fantasy YA. Forced to hide her magic by the tyrannical rule of a ruthless king, Zélie finds herself with a chance to bring magic back to her people and take down the oppressive monarchy. She must learn to harness her powers and outrun the crown prince, who is hell-bent on eradicating magic for good. But danger lurks around every corner, vengeful spirits wait in the waters and Zélie herself is struggling to come to terms with the strength of her magic. Can the help of a rogue princess help Zélie overcome her enemies – and herself?

Set in a magical ancient Britain, Lucy Holland's Sistersong is based upon the traditional folk ballad of 'The Two Sisters'. A tale of betrayal, love and death set among a dead king's warring family, this powerful novel tells the stories of three women, who all secretly long for what they can't have. As they search for love, healing and adventure, Riva, Keyne, and Sinne will shape the future of a nation for centuries to come.  

A high-born Nigerian goddess feels beaten down and unappreciated by her gregarious lover and longs to be truly seen. A young businesswoman attempts to make a great leap in her company, and an even greater one in her love life. A powerful Ghanaian spokeswoman is forced to decide whether to uphold her family's politics, or to be true to her heart. Bolu Babalola finds the most beautiful love stories from history and mythology and rewrites them with incredible new detail and vivacity.

This story of an increasingly sinister friendship between two little girls is inspired by Nigerian folklore. The mixed race daughter of an English father and a Nigerian mother, Jessamy Harrison feels alone wherever she goes, and other kids are wary of her terrified fits of screaming. When she is taken to her mother's family compound in Nigeria, she encounters Titiola, a ragged little girl her own age. It seems that at last Jess has found someone who will understand her. TillyTilly knows secrets both big and small. But, as she shows Jess just how easy it is to hurt those around her, Jess begins to realise that she doesn't know who TillyTilly is at all.