Young Kid Fiction

Rise Up! breaks down the origins of racial injustice and its continued impact today, connecting dots between the past and present. By including contemporary examples ripped from headlines and actionable ways young people can help create a more inclusive world, sociologist Crystal Fleming shares the knowledge and values that unite all antiracists: compassion, solidarity, respect, and courage in the face of adversity.

Merilee leads a Very Ordered Existence: V.O.E. for short. She does not have time for Biswick O'Connor. She does not have time for Miss Veraleen Holliday. He with his annoying factoids and runny nose; she with her shining white shoes as big as sailboats. Both of them strangers who, like the hot desert wind that brings only bad news, blow into town and change everything.

Seventeen-year-old Hope Long's life revolves around her brother Jeremy. So when Jeremy is accused of killing the town's beloved baseball coach, Hope's world begins to unravel. Everyone is convinced Jeremy did it, and since he hasn't spoken a word in 9 years, he's unable to defend himself. Their lawyer instructs Hope to convince the jury that Jeremy is insane, but all her life Hope has known that Jeremy's just different than other people - better, even.

Every year, a new generation of genetically engineered kids is shipped out to meet their parents. Every spring, the residents of this town take down the snow they've stuck to their windows and put up flowers. Every morning Martin's family gathers around their television and votes for whatever matter of national importance the president has on the table. Today, it is the color of his drapes. It's business as usual under the protective dome of suburb HM1, but it is all about to come crashing down.

In the humdrum town of Moormouth, Walter Mortinson's unusual inventions cause nothing but trouble. After one of his contraptions throws the town into chaos, Walter's mother demands he cut the nonsense and join the family mortuary business. Far off on Flaster Isle, famed inventor Horace Flasterborn plans to take Walter under his wing. When a letter arrives by unusual means offering Walter an apprenticeship, he and the moody one-eyed girl next door run away and journey through a strange landscape of fish-people, giantess miners, and hypnotized honeybees.

When Odilia and her four sisters find a dead body in the swimming hole, they embark on a hero's journey to return the dead man to his family in Mexico. But returning home to Texas turns into an odyssey that would rival Homer's original tale. With the supernatural aid of ghostly La Llorona via a magical earring, Odilia and her little sisters travel a road of tribulation to their long-lost grandmother's house.

Through funny stories, Scripture, and a Speak Love Revolution challenge that could help you change the lives of every person you see, tweet, or message for the better, Annie F. Downs explores the difference you can make when you speak love to others, to God, and to yourself.

The drug Holy Fire is the best high around, ignoring the cat-piss smell, the violent episodes, and the complete organ failure. North City’s hero is gone. His sidekick must stop the emergence of this new drug alone. Fifteen-year-old Maxwell has served the crime fighter Harry for years. Well-trained with guns and his fists, Maxwell is a very effective sidekick. Now, an old enemy has returned, pushing Holy Fire like candy.

Rocked by back-to-back family deaths, eight-year-old Gavin Scott is yanked from his happy life in upstate New York and plopped down onto Planet New Hampshire. It's the 1960s - bullies are merciless, and he must outsmart them at every turn. But with a knack for pranks, Gavin learns that running with a wild crowd has its drawbacks. Refusing to roll on his buddies for a crime he didn't commit, Gavin takes the heat, and the punishment is harsh.

Twelve-year-old Lowen Grover is still reeling from the shooting death of his best friend, Abe, when he stumbles across an article about a small town giving away homes for just one dollar. It seems like the perfect escape from Flintlock and all of the awful memories associated with the city - and to his surprise, his mum, dad, and older brother are all onboard. Only his sister, Anneth, is reluctant to leave her friends and the familiarity (and amenities!) of Flintlock, but with the rest of the family anxious to do what’s best for grief-stricken Lowen, her protests fall on deaf ears. But is the Dollar Program too good to be true?

Will Hunter is used to being the New Kid; Harrisburg High School is his fifth new school in less than three years. By now, he knows not to be fooled by the bright pep rallies, the wholesome jocks, the innocent cheerleaders. He knows the evil lurking underneath. It's the same evil that took his dad eight years ago; the same evil he battles every day. Natalie Holand's life fell apart the night her sister, Emily, disappeared. No one believes her when she tells them what she saw: yellow and green eyes, glowing beneath the surface of the water in which Emily supposedly drowned.

Lupé might be the very last Guadalupe petrel alive, and he knows the best way to save his flock is to find the Islands of Life and a mate. The problem is the well-meaning man-flock that's decided to keep him safe...in a cage. But Lupé has hatched an escape plan all his own! Told in a "Disneyesque" style, A Wing and a Prayer will have you smiling and laughing as you're introduced to wonderful characters but also important themes, especially the environment.

The girls go on an overnight and share horror stories around the campfire. But it’s the one about Cropsy, the creepy old man who lives just outside the campgrounds and is known for torturing Lakeview campers, that hits closest to home. Especially when Chelsea leaves the group for a bathroom break in the woods and doesn’t return after 45 minutes. No sooner do her bunkmates go after her then do they realize they’ve completely lost their way and are now at the mercy of the evil Cropsy’s whims!

Michael Prasad knows he shouldn’t go out on the Mars surface alone. It’s dangerous. His parents have forbidden it. And the anxiety he feels almost every time he puts on a spacesuit makes it nearly impossible for him to leave the safety of the colony. But when his best friend, Lilith, suggests they sneak out one night, he can’t resist the chance to prove everyone - including himself - wrong.

Will Hunter’s had a rough few months. He just survived the battle of his life. He learned the devil was his father. And his newly demonic best friend Rudy is trapped under glass until Will can find a way to bring him back from the dark side. All Will wants is to lay low for a while with Natalie, the girl he loves, and focus on saving his friend. But Will never seems to get what he wants. In Seattle, Will encounters a dangerous new breed of female demon, faster and more deadly than anything he’s ever faced, and a mysterious, striking girl who arrives just in time to save his life.

Born into a village filled with hateful people, Zephyr grew up not knowing why he was so hated. With no friends and eventually no family, after the passing of his mother, Zephyr was forced to survive by himself as an outcast. Zephyr's only wish was to make his mother proud and force the village to recognize him - while surviving in a world filled with demons, paranormal abilities, love, hate, and undiscovered lands.

When a vicious murder rocks the Guilder Boarding School, Aria and her friends find themselves on shaky ground. When everyone has motive, everyone's a suspect. And thanks to a public brawl with the victim, Aria Wardell was seen to have more motive than most. While fending off accusations from both the students and the faculty alike, Aria struggles to find balance in her life amidst the shocking development of some new powers.

Quincy Walker is a hopeless romantic, so when she's kissed by a stranger in a dark theater, her rom-com obsessed imagination begins plotting the perfect movie-version ending to her senior year (which ends, like all great high school rom-coms, with the prom). With the help of her friends, Operation Mystery Kisser is born: a plan to set Quin up on dates with all the guys who were at the theater that night so she can discover who kissed her.

Jack is a teenager who knows how to survive, but he's also a boy who's born in the age of sail...and pirates! The Halifax waterfront bustles with these, and brutal British soldiers. Orphaned and independent, our teenage hero somehow manages to survive, only to come across privateer treasure, and a surprise future where he realizes he has power over the future, all in one explosive story!

Jack Cannon and his friends are stranded in the land of Pierrany. The looming threat of Kaylar’s evil has shadowed their time there, and the ominous signs of the malevolent sorcerer’s impending return all point to the same inevitable conclusion: Kaylar’s resurgence is certain, and he must be defeated if they are to save not only Pierrany but their own world as well. Their journey to victory continues to be thwarted by all manners of evil threatening to break them apart and weaken their defenses.