Fiction Survival Stories

After suffering a tragic loss, 11-year-old Ollie only finds solace in books. So when she happens upon a crazed woman at the river threatening to throw a book into the water, Ollie doesn't think—she just acts, stealing the book and running away. As she begins to read the slender volume, Ollie discovers a chilling story about a girl named Beth, the two brothers who both loved her, and a peculiar deal made with "the smiling man", a sinister specter who grants your most tightly held wish, but only for the ultimate price.

In the series debut The Testing, sixteen-year-old Cia Vale was chosen by the United Commonwealth government as one of the best and brightest graduates of all the colonies—a promising leader in the effort to revitalize postwar civilization. In Independent Study, Cia is a freshman at the University in Tosu City with her hometown sweetheart, Tomas. Though the government has tried to erase her memory of the brutal horrors of The Testing, Cia remembers.

Maximum Ride and her faithful friends stand ready to face the two greatest threats that humankind has ever known, now combining forces in an unbeatable plot to destroy life as we know it once and for all. And this time, the enemy truly can't be stopped. The danger mounts just as Dylan has worked his way into Max's heart—but then Fang unexpectedly returns to the flock. An explosive confrontation between the two boys grows into a battle to win Max's heart, and the entire world hangs in the balance.

It's a night like any other on board the Icarus. Then, catastrophe strikes: the massive luxury spaceliner is yanked out of hyperspace and plummets into the nearest planet. Lilac LaRoux and Tarver Merendsen survive. And they seem to be alone. Lilac is the daughter of the richest man in the universe. Tarver comes from nothing, a young war hero who learned long ago that girls like Lilac are more trouble than they're worth. But with only each other to rely on, Lilac and Tarver must work together, making a tortuous journey across the eerie, deserted terrain to seek help.

Alex Sawyer has escaped his underground nightmare to discover the whole world has become a prison, and Alfred Furnace is its master. Monsters rule the streets, leaving nothing but murder in their wake. Those who do not die become slaves to Furnace's reign of cruelty. Alex is a monster too. He is the only one who can stop Furnace but in doing so he could destroy everything. Is he the executed or the executioner? Who will die? All Alex knows is that one way or another, it all ends now.

The apocalypse continues! And Trace Taylor doesn't know what she should do. A war between worlds seems inevitable, and Liberapolis is not prepared to fend off monster attacks, let alone the end of the world. With Ex just as clueless as she is, the redhead decides to confide with her best friend, Elizabeth Evergreen. Will the two young women be enough to stave off an alien invasion?

Twelve-year-old Jolene spends every day she can at the library watching her favorite livestream: The Desert Aviator, where twelve-year-old "Addie Earhart" shares her adventures flying an ultralight plane over the desert. While watching this daring girl fly through the sky, Jolene can dream of what it would be like to fly with her, far away from her own troubled home life where her mother struggles with a narcotic addiction. And Addie, who is grieving the loss of her father, finds solace in her online conversations with Jolene, her biggest - and only - fan.

On the morning of Henry Ludd's thirteenth birthday, the power goes out. No phones, no news, and planes are literally falling out of the sky. Henry's father was away from the family farm and he has not returned. It's worrisome as people descend into lawlessness. Four months later, the electricity still hasn't come back. While Henry's family is protected in their walled compound with wind turbines fueling their electricity, the rest of their area has suffered. Henry's father still hasn’t been found.

Lilac's birthright makes her the Queen of Renovia, and a forced marriage made her the Queen of Montrice. But being a ruler does not mean making the rules. For Lilac, taking the throne means giving up the opportunity to be with love of her life, the kingdom's assassin, Caledon Holt. Worse, Cal is forced to leave the castle when a horrific set of magical attacks threatens Lilac's sovereignty. Now Cal and Lilac will have to battle dark forces separately, even though being together is the only thing that's ever saved them.

Emily has always excelled at sports, and her athletic abilities have given her confidence on and off the courts. So when she starts to drag during her middle-school volleyball season, she assumes it must be the flu. But after a particularly intense game, she finds herself riding in the back of an ambulance, a paramedic telling her that her life will never be the same. Adjusting to life with type 1 diabetes isn’t easy. Emily is desperate to prove that she’s just as strong and capable as ever, so she jumps at the opportunity to go on a backcountry ski trip with her dad.

Fresh off of a victorious treasure hunt and rescue mission in South America, Addison Cooke just can't seem to steer clear of rogue bandits, pesky booby traps, and secret treasure troves. Addison's aunt and uncle, on the other hand, are none too happy about their habit of attracting kidnappers. When they become pawns in a dangerous gang's plan to steal the most prized possession of the notorious Mongolian leader Genghis Khan, Addison and his friends find themselves once again caught in the middle of a multi-million-dollar international heist.

Seventeen-year-old Amy joins her parents as frozen cargo aboard the vast spaceship Godspeed and expects to awaken on a new planet, 300 years in the future. Never could she have known that her frozen slumber would come to an end 50 years too soon and that she would be thrust into the brave new world of a spaceship that lives by its own rules.

Rick Dial was the best quarterback Putnam Hills High School had ever seen. But when a car accident left him crippled, Rick's life as he knew it ended. He disavowed his triumphant past. He ignored his girlfriend. He disappeared into his bedroom—and into the glowing video screen. But Rick's uncanny gaming skills have attracted attention. Dangerous attention. Government agents have uncovered a potentially devastating cyber-threat: A Russian genius has created a digital reality called the Realm.

In the year 2043, with the nation destroyed by war, 17-year-old Kress and her conspiracy of friends embark on a dangerous cross-country mission to locate and recruit other Emergents, the name given to teenagers who have begun to exhibit strange evolutionary abilities. Not all Emergents are ready to accept who and what they are, however, and some have even started using their abilities for selfish or evil ends. Now Kress has to figure out who is friend and who is foe as she risks everything to expose the government’s lies and take down the tyrannical President Krug once and for all.

Simon, Michael, and Lily are playing on a multiplayer server when a strange lightning storm hits their town. In the middle of an intense game, a bolt of lightning strikes, sucking the three friends into the game! They discover that they've been transformed into their Minecraft characters. They try to escape, but they are trapped in the Overworld.

Jonathan Grisby is the newest arrival at the Slabhenge Reformatory School for Troubled Boys - an ancient, crumbling fortress of gray stone rising up from the ocean. It is dark, damp, and dismal. And it is just the place Jonathan figures he deserves. Because Jonathan has done something terrible. And he's willing to accept whatever punishment he has coming. Just as he's getting used to his new situation, however, a freak accident leaves the troubled boys of Slabhenge without any adult supervision.

Shif has a happy life, unfamiliar with the horrors of his country's regime. He is one of the smartest boys in school, and feels safe and loved in the home he shares with his mother and little sister, right next door to his best friend. But the day that soldiers arrive at his door, Shif knows that he will never be safe again - his only choice is to run. Facing both unthinkable cruelty and boundless kindness, Shif bravely makes his way towards a future he can barely imagine. Refugee 87 is a story of friendship, kindness, hardship, survival, and - above all - hope.

Cade is settling into a new boarding school, contemplating his future, when he finds himself transported to another realm. He soon discovers their new world is populated with lost remnants from the past: prehistoric creatures, ancient relics, and, stranger still - people. Overwhelmed by his new surroundings, Cade has little time to adjust, for soon he and his fellow classmates are forced to become contenders in a brutal game, controlled by mysterious overlords.

Teens across the globe have developed incredible powers known as Legacies. Although they were meant to use these abilities to help the world, dark forces have been working against them from the shadows. Six and Sam Goode used to be part of a covert group that investigated suspicious incidents surrounding these Human Garde. Then they discovered they could no longer trust who they were working for and quit. But they’ll still do whatever it takes to protect these teens.

Cog looks like a normal 12-year-old boy. But his name is short for “cognitive development”, and he was built to learn. After an accident leaves him damaged, Cog wakes up in an unknown lab - and Gina, the scientist who created and cared for him, is nowhere to be found. Surrounded by scientists who want to study him and remove his brain, Cog recruits four robot accomplices for a mission to find her. Cog, ADA, Proto, Trashbot, and Car’s journey will likely involve much cognitive development in the form of mistakes, but Cog is willing to risk everything to find his way back to Gina.