Fiction Survival Stories

Hunter Garrity just wants to be left alone. He's learned the hard way that his unusual abilities come at a price. And he can't seem to afford any allies. He's up to his neck in hostiles - his grandfather, who's spoiling for a fight; the Merrick brothers, who think he ratted them out; and scheming psycho Calla, who wants to use him as bait. Then there's Kate Sullivan. She's the new girl at school. She's not hostile. She's bold. Funny. Hot. But she's got an agenda, too.

Lyra and Will, the two ordinary children whose extraordinary adventures begin in The Golden Compass and The Subtle Knife, are in unspeakable danger. With help from Iorek Byrnison the armored bear and two tiny Gallivespian spies, they must journey to a dank and gray-lit world where no living soul has ever gone.

Ever since her ex-boyfriend spread lies about her, Becca Chandler is suddenly getting all the guys - the ones she doesn't want. Then she saves Chris Merrick from a beating in the school parking lot. Chris is different. Way different: He can control water - just like his brothers can control fire, wind, and earth. They're powerful. Dangerous. Marked for death. And now that she knows the truth, so is Becca.

This timely and powerful novel tells the story of three different children seeking refuge. Josef is a Jewish boy living in 1930s Nazi Germany. With the threat of concentration camps looming, he and his family board a ship bound for the other side of the world. Isabel is a Cuban girl in 1994. With riots and unrest plaguing her country, she and her family set out on a raft, hoping to find safety in America. Mahmoud is a Syrian boy in 2015. With his homeland torn apart by violence and destruction, he and his family begin a long trek toward Europe.

Seventeen-year-old Cardinal has escaped the virus that ravaged his town, leaving its victims alive but without their memories. Choosing to remain in the quarantined zone, he cares for a group of orphaned kids in a mountain camp with the help of the former brutal school bully, now transformed by the virus into his best friend. But then a strong-willed and mysterious young woman appears, and the closed-off world Cardinal has created begins to crumble.

Fiona doesn't remember going to sleep. But when she opens her eyes, she discovers her entire world has been altered - her house is abandoned and broken, and the entire neighborhood is barren and dead. Even stranger is the tattoo on her right wrist - a black oval with five marks on either side - that she doesn't remember getting but somehow knows she must cover at any cost. And she's right.

When a planet-destroying Delver suddenly appears in the sky of Detritus and vanishes just as suddenly, FM knows that the last free human society got lucky. Her Skyward Flight companion, Spensa, figured out how to draw this Delver away, but it won’t be so easy next time. The forces of the Galactic Superiority will be back - and if the Defiant Defense Force can’t figure out a way to escape the planet, humanity’s destruction is only a matter of time.

The courageous groups of teens made their way home in a post-apocalyptic adventure story of survival after an EMP had virtually shut down modern technology across North America. What they find there after their long, dangerous journeys leaves them stunned. Their reunion begins in a hail of gunfire and only gets worse from there. The teens are shocked to learn that their town is under siege and their families, friends, and neighbors are being held hostage and some used as slaves.

One choice can transform you - or it can destroy you. But every choice has consequences, and as unrest surges in the factions all around her, Tris Prior must continue trying to save those she loves - and herself - while grappling with haunting questions of grief and forgiveness, identity and loyalty, politics and love.

Peace has been restored to the Overworld after an epic griefer battle. Lily, Simon, and Michael are glad to have a break from fighting, and even from their attempts to escape the game and return to their normal lives. But then two new players are zapped onto the server, and no one's sure who's responsible for trapping them. With Mr. Anarchy and the other griefers in prison, anyone could be a suspect, and tempers flare as the townspeople's suspicions turn inward.

Sam Gribley is terribly unhappy living in New York City with his family, so he runs away to the Catskill Mountains to live in the woods - all by himself. With only a penknife, a ball of cord, 40 dollars, and some flint and steel, he intends to survive on his own. Sam learns about courage, danger, and independence during his year in the wilderness, a year that changes his life forever.

Life for Roz and the animals on their island is perfect. But when mysterious, dangerous waters surround the island, the animals are forced inland to fight over dwindling resources. Roz calms and organizes the animals, but the poison tide takes a terrible toll on the island. So the wild robot sets out across the ocean, determined to stop the poison tide. During her journey, Roz encounters amazing geological formations and incredible creatures, and she sees the devastation caused by the toxic waters. Can the wild robot save the ocean and her island and everything she loves?

Newbery Award-winner Gary Paulsen's best-known book comes to audio in this breathless, heart-gripping drama about a boy pitted against the wilderness with only a hatchet and a will to live. On his way to visit his recently divorced father in the Canadian mountains, thirteen-year-old Brian Robeson is the only survivor when the single-engine plane crashes. His body battered, his clothes in shreds, Brian must now stay alive in the boundless Canadian wilderness.

Scotty and his friends Pete and Jason are among the last seven kids at their high school waiting to get picked up that day, and they soon realize that no one is coming for them. Still, it doesn't seem so bad to spend the night at school, especially when distractingly hot Krista and Julie are sleeping just down the hall. But then the power goes out, then the heat. The pipes freeze, and the roof shudders. As the days add up, the snow piles higher, and the empty halls grow colder and darker, the mounting pressure forces a devastating decision.

WICKED has taken everything from Thomas: his life, his memories, and now his only friends — the Gladers. But it's finally over. The trials are complete, after one final test. What WICKED doesn't know is that Thomas remembers far more than they think. And it's enough to prove that he can't believe a word of what they say. Thomas beat the Maze. He survived the Scorch. He'll risk anything to save his friends. But the truth might be what ends it all. The time for lies is over.

With every day that passes, Dust is more afraid of what he will become. His powers are growing far beyond what he can predict, and he is reluctant to tell his make-shift family that he isn't sure when - or if - it will ever stop. His goal is to get to Portland, Oregon, and find his aunt and uncle. Ideally he would get there alone, because he's far too much of a danger to the people around him, but they aren't willing to give up on him, and an old enemy isn't far behind.

It was supposed to be a fun camping trip. Tom and Kevin had been looking forward to it all summer. Kevin had never camped before, and Tom couldn't wait to show his friend how to fish and survive in the wilderness. But when the long-dormant volcano erupts, their fun trip vanishes, replaced by a mad dash for survival. Tom and Kevin have to use their smarts to outrun the lava spilling madly from the volcano's peak.

Journeying into the unknown is a scary prospect, but together Guy and Summer can navigate any challenge. The two castaways strike out in this curious, blocky world, searching for a way home. As they cross the Overworld—traversing frozen wastelands and scorching deserts—the pair makes an exciting discovery: a community populated by villagers!

EMP: Equipping Modern Patriots is a harrowing story of survival after the destruction of the electric grid and nearly every electronic device in the country. Jonathan Hollerman paints a vivid and disturbing picture of society falling apart after an Electromagnetic Pulse attack against our nation.

The graphic, coming-of-age tale of a modern Eskimo lad and his consuming vision quest and harrowing struggle for survival. Troubled by changes in his Alaskan village, 14-year-old Russell Suskitt seeks the counsel of the village elder - and only dog team owner. After his training in the ancient arts of hunting with bow and lance, handling sled dogs, and surviving arctic dangers, Russell embarks upon his lonely search for Eskimo manhood.