Sci-Fi & Fantasy Found Family Books

Looking for the best-found family books in the Sci-Fi & fantasy genres? Look no further! These books will have you wanting to join up with these misfit families and falling in love with their banter and love for one another.

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One of my favorite fantasy book tropes has to be found family. Finding sci-fi and fantasy found-family books always just makes my heart happy.  This seems to be a pretty common opinion as well, especially in the BookTube community. Everyone seems to love a good found-family, so I wanted to share a few of my favorites for you to try out if you are looking for a new book to dive into.  Some of these will be adult fantasy, some will be YA, but all of them will be amazing. 

The Best Found Family Books in Fantasy & Sci-Fi

There are quite a few books with the found family trope that get talked about quite frequently. The popular ones are, of course, Lord of the Rings, Six of Crows, and even the Wheel of Time.  I wanted to talk about some found-families that people aren’t talking about as frequently though. Some of these books are pretty popular, but some others here are underrated fantasy books that I think need more love!

Kings of the Wyld

One of my favorite books, and one I will never stop talking about, is Kings of the Wyld by Nicholas Eames. This book has almost every one of my favorite fantasy book tropes. It is an epic quest fantasy with reluctant heroes who are set out to save the daughter of one of their band members. 

These rockstar-like mercenaries were once the most famous band in the world, but now they are retired, old men. Through their time together you really see how this group of guys becomes quite the found-family. 

These guys are rough around the edges, but they do love each other and it shows beautifully. 

The Poppy War

Another one of my favorite adult fantasy books. The Poppy War has this fantastic group of misfits that become this strange and dangerous found-family. This doesn’t really appear until about halfway through the book, and then on into book two. But it is one of my favorite parts of the series. 

Something about a group of misfits all working together for a common goal just touches me like no other. 

Don’t go in thinking this is a wholesome and cute story though. This is a dark and violent adult fantasy that does not shy away from the atrocities of war. 

The City We Became

It is no secret that NK Jemisin is one of my all-time favorite fantasy authors. That woman can weave a story and have me feeling all the feels. 

In the City We Became, cities are people. Well, they have people who are their avatars. And New York City, the city has multiple avatars representing each Burrow. These avatars must find each other, come together, and try to save the city. 

There are so many fantastic characters in this one. Everyone is so different and represents their burrow so well. This group of people who would never get along, come together beautifully and make one lovely found-family. 

The House in the Cerulean Sea

It was actually hard for me not to put Under the Whispering Door and House in the Cerulean Sea on this list. Both of these TJ Klune books had a very prominent found-family feel. House in the Cerulean Sea just barely squeaks out as my favorite of the two though. 

In this book, we follow Linus, who is basically a social worker for magical orphans. He has to go do a month-long “home visit” to a very special magical orphanage with some very special kids. This book is just wholesome and so sweet. 

The children make this book for me. As a parent myself, I just love seeing the parental relationships here and how they develop and blossom. 

The Final Empire

The first book in the Mistborn series, The Final Empire by Brandon Sanderson sets up quite the fantastic misfit found-family. 

This heist fantasy is perfect for anyone who wants to read about a rag-tag group of misfits trying to take down an evil empire. We have so many amazing characters here and this theme follows through to all of the books in the series. 

Sanderson really is a master of his craft. If you are looking for a place to start with reading the Cosmere, this is a good starting point. It is also a great book for people who want to transition from reading mainly YA fantasy to reading more adult fantasy. 

The Disasters

The Disasters by MK England is a super underrated book. This is a YA sci-fi but leans more to the older end of the YA spectrum. 

We follow a group of kids as they are on a ship about to be sent home from this elite space academy… ON THEIR FIRST DAY. Things don’t go as planned though. The school is attacked and everyone is murdered. These kids manage to escape but now they are on the run! 

This book has fantastic representation and is a really fun standalone sci-fi with a true group of misfits who come to view each other as family. 

Fireborne

Another underrated book on this list is Fireborne by Rosario Munda. This is another YA fantasy but it also leans very much to the older side of the spectrum. 

It is pretty much a gender-swapped Anastasia retelling with a bloody revolution and dragons! The main cast of characters in this book makes up a dysfunctional found family. They don’t always get along, but they do always seem to love and respect one another. 

If you aren’t really a YA fantasy reader, that’s okay! Pick this one up anyway.  I have many friends who pretty much exclusively read adult fantasy, and even they loved this book! 

Still on the fence? Check out my full review. 

I am a sucker for a fantasy found-family book, and it seems many people would agree with me here. If you have read any of these, let me know what you think! 

also, be sure to let me know what your favorite fantasy or sci-fi found family is so I can make sure to add it to my TBR as well!