This is why I more often than not read indie fantasy. It has exactly what you're talking about here. I'm currently doing final edits on one which I think has the same elements. It's out there! If you want indie fantasy recs I'll be happy to oblige.

I'd love some recommendations!

Maybe you should read some books for adults.

You had me until the woke culture part, but then again, I've never read much YA. If We Were Villains and Ninth House were pretty good though. You should maybe try Anne Rice, and I've heard good things about the Priory of the Orange Tree.

That's fair I suppose. I guess In the YA novels I current still like and also liked as a kid are because I like the power of a teenager. I think the youths (lol) are super passionate people and great protagonist for stories about change and uprisings. Often times they are written less stiffly there's a fun edge to them. Especially because they are teenagers or kids the stakes are about their future and how they want the world to change not remain the same.. And I know I'm 25 but just reading those books brings up a old feeling of passion i really like and relate to.

Awesome! Oh I thought of some trad fantasy that do good rep; Daughter of the Moon Goddess and Sanderson's Stormlight, Iron Widow, Xiran Jay Xhao, Legends and Lattes, Travis Baldree (sapphic Orc cosy fantasy)

Indie recs - I have read all of these and loved them;

The Skin, J.E. Hannaford - fantasy about a Selkie, excellent queer rep, great storyline.

Fire at her fingertips, Rebecca Crunden, queer short story, gorgeous. She also does some great demon/angel UF

Sisters at the edge of the World, Ailish Sinclair. Not so much queer rep but ND rep. 1st age Scottish historical fantasy.

Beautiful Undone, Melissa Polk: queer retelling of Edgar Alan Poe story

Borrowed Time, Russell Dean; time travel fantasy

The Thirteenth Hour, Trudie Skies - exceptional gaslamp fantasy. This is you all over I suspect.

Wrath of Olympus, EM Kkoulla. Alt history Roman fantasy.

The Magic Circle, Barry Ryerson: epic fantasy set in modern day times

Ascendant, Michael Miller - seriously tropey dragon story. Wonderful.

Bones to the Wind, Tatiana Obey - this has the dystopian you're looking for, with North African mythology inspired, queer rep and a thrilling storyline. An excellent debut.

Oh and Six of Crows, Leigh Bardugo is pretty good.

This may be super duper left field here but when I say " woke culture" I mean the subject matter of most YA books has heavily shifted from dystopian future and fantasy to more real things.. like school and conflicts with abusive parents and relationships. Which is more real world. Now there's more of a push to have heavy subject matter of representation of the marginalized. Which is wonderful and can be cool and is very much needed. I think the market has become over saturated and uncreative. Sometimes too serious and sometimes too sticky sweet. Just not my jam

Literally at the fault of Harry Potter. The whole market use to be just different bizarre fantasy novels all competing to be the next big thing. And I feel like when there was an influx and push for those books it was kinda fun. Yah you had your copy cats with witches or vampires to mirror twilight.. but there was a huge sense of being different and there where so many different Types of fantasy settings to be lost into. World building was a huge focus. High stakes with passionate characters. Who has unusual aspects of their respective worlds.

I could be looking in the wrong places but I logged into audible today and my first recommendation was looking for Alaska. How dated for one. And just not my jam. Then all the other books are teen romance or something idk. but I am in a weird limbo where I find adult books to generally be kind stiff. You can't be as free with adult protagonists sometimes because they are adults. There's not much room for lacking common sense. Or to make errors or to be seen as an underdog. And sometimes the head space is so serious and bleak feeling. I dunno I might be looking at the wrong books.

Thank you so much!

Also that's not my preferred escapism I guess. there's a bigger chance of coming across inappropriate adult content that I don't care to encounter. I don't generally like reading from the mind of an adult. I'm rooting for the people of like the future. Something so cool about I dunno a powerful generation. And there's something earnest about being young naïve but passionate. And more reason for dramatic growth. The weight of becoming adult or facing adult situations in the in between stages of no longer being a child and starting to become an young adult. It's a super specific feeling. The writing about having the weight on a young protagonist shoulders. They have opportunities to be more creative with there problem solving. Does love defeat all. Is it the power of friendship. Is it facing sacrifice for the first time in your life. Is it a silly situation where being young and simple minded immature aids to bring the one strong trait that rises above the hardships. Idk

Terry Pratchett?

Audible’s just going off what you have previously bought and/or clicked on. The algorithm won’t change until you start looking and buying other types of books.

So you’re looking for higher stakes but not overly serious in tone, like still with adult themes but with teenage MCs? Dystopian future, no ‘woke’ subject matter? Good worldbuilding, wilful lead?…try Mark Lawrence’s trilogies starting with The Broken Empire trilogy and if you like that, the rest of his trilogies.

Any time!

He wrote good omens? ! Interesting I'll have to check it out

Amongst many others.

I'll definitely check it out it looks super interesting!

Somethings else I guess to consider is the cultural mindset of today. I'm looking for big open worlds and plucky characters in a time where we are still in a very real pandemic and the escapism desired is real life stuff. Dealing and reading and connecting with more real scenarios. Or also the influx of fluff being the overall desire for the simpler things. I'm very open to seeing this differently. it also makes sense that the last like 15 years has been a market filled with fantasy and other worldly subjects and now it's time for a change as culture shifts and times get different

Hope you enjoy, it’s one of my fave series of all time and I don’t even really like teenage MCs

Edit: I should probably mention it’s not classified YA despite having a young MC & there are some trigger warnings too re: rape & suicide, just so you know.

So YA books are too “soft” but you also don’t want to encounter adult content? I’d be cautious about blaming everything on “woke” culture, you can still pick up books written over 100 years ago so you’re hardly limited to modern authors.

You sound pretty young so I get wanting to read books with young characters, maybe try Robin Hobb’s books? They (mostly) feature adolescent protagonists and are pretty accessible for a younger audience while still being somewhat mature-themed.

Try The Vorkosaigan Saga. Start with Warrior's Apprentice. Here we meet a guy as he washes out of the military academy due to breaking both legs during the entrance test. Then he takes over a mercenary company with nothing but wits and 4 helpers.

There still is on the adult side. The problem is that the YA side is more geared to simple and blunt. If you are willing to read older books most of epic and adventure fantasy used to be about the teen from nowhere that saved the world.

I don't think the word like woke is what I want to use. It's more about the YA shift from I guess metaphorically and symbolically and literally marginalized oppressed groups in a unfair fantasy or magical or futuristic world to defeat an unjust system or a greater evil . To literally being in this world and facing the oppression from your more realistic peers and looking inwards and self reflecting. And in a lot of these books the complexities of their oppression isn't like necessarily solvable or something to fight against it's more like a fact or a inner growth thing. It's given more cut and dry I guess? I dunno if not making sense anymore. I need a second to rethink haha

I guess I gotta grow up and check out some adult novels then.

I want gay magical beings with three collective brain cells and an unshakable desire to overcome. I dunno man I'm sorry guys

It's not growing up so much as sidestepping. The space that YA now fills used to be a part of the adult section. It's just that Potter showed how much money you could make explicitly marketing to teens. Since most American adults read at around the 6th grade level the normal level of complexity doesn't change across age groups. All you are changing is the trope set.

Being marginalized and dealing with abuse aren't new... Like, I assume you've heard of X-Men lol they're especially not new in young adult stuff, but I was also reading weird stuff as a kid, so perhaps you've read the random stuff from 10 years ago, and not just the hits that stood the test of time.

Honestly, it just sounds like you prefer edgy fantasy adventures over coming of age romances, which is just a genre preference.

I mean, you don't have to read whatever is the trendiest on the front shelf at the bookstore, you can still sort by genre and seek out what you love.

So has the coming of age story been relegated to young adult? Some of the most powerful literature I know has coming of age as a theme.

So honestly you should take your request to r/fantasy and r/printsf and r/suggestmeabook.

Publishing is a business and is subject to trends and the demands of the market. There is a wide range and variety of what you are looking for in older books, not all of them in realist settings from other Centuries. Although as a fan of historical adventure in particular, I think you are missing out.

The Deed of Paksenarrion has what you are looking for. I am currently loving the Lions of Al Rassan which has a character who matches your request learning to work with adults. It's an amazing book.

I agree that YA novels are too soft, but I blame the conservative pearlclutchers. I mean, have you seen what’s happening in Texas and Florida? Every time I pick up a queer YA book its full of bad jokes and I feel like I’m being preached at. Everyone wants to make sure the childrens’ feelings are never hurt, so they write about an imaginary rainbow fantasyland where nothing ever really goes wrong. And the MCs never struggle for longer than a nanosecond before everything is magically fixed.

OP, Anne Rice might have content you've said you don't want to engage with. I'd read descriptions or download free samples from Kindle to see. She has lots of books so you may or may not find something you'd like.