Young Teen Short Stories

Originally published in The New Haven Review, this story features a young married couple who struggle through the rough landscape of Southern Illinois in the late 1950s. They argue over the purchase of a five-dollar-a-month Sears and Roebuck kitchen table, but it ends up saving lives.

Evoking Beyoncé’s Lemonade for a teen audience, these authors who are truly Octavia Butler’s heirs have woven worlds to create a stunning narrative that puts Black women and gender-nonconforming individuals at its center. A Phoenix First Must Burn will take you on a journey from folktales retold to futuristic societies and everything in between. Filled with stories of love and betrayal, strength and resistance, this collection contains an array of complex and true-to-life characters through which you cannot help but see yourself reflected.

Humans are mostly made of water. Tessa is mostly made of molten iron. The petite firefighter had always grown up fearful of her abilities, and went through life harboring this deep secret. Until her encounter with a strange man, Tessa wasn’t sure what kind of freak she was...Begrudgingly; she begins her quest for self discovery. Will Tessa ever know freedom, or will she know happiness instead, or are the two synonymous or inseparable?

What does "being a guy" actually mean? Some of the most talented writers are about to show you. In this diverse and original collection of short stories, ten well-known writers, including Mo Willems, Walter Dean Myers, Ron Koertge, Rene Saldaña, Jr., David Levithan, and David Lubar, share their stories about the trials and tribulations of being a guy. Sometimes funny, sometimes sad, and always honest, each story portrays the reality of being an everyday guy who gets a few life lessons and still manages to come out on top.

Envie is a Cajun / French word that translates to want or desire in English. Pronounced ahn-vee, this retelling of the legend of the Miranda Guitar is tinged with envie. Miranda became famous even though very few people know her name. She is a Troubadour. Miranda plays the guitar and sings. She is happy her brother, Beau, does not mind the recognition that comes with being her conduit. Beau LaLonde is the first to understand there is more to the guitar than a box with six strings. He understands the LaLonde legacy will live on through the guitar.

It's the most wonderful time of year...or is it? Christmas Eve is a night of mystery and magic, but not always in ways we expect. Things lurk in the shadows, and they're not the least bit jolly or merry. Let's just say some presents are better left unopened. 'Tis the season to be screaming along with our 13 tales of holiday horrors. Ghosts. Monsters. Demons. And more! This Christmas, be careful what you wish for....

After pushing away the woman he loves, he tries desperately to forget the love he feels for her, but when Lisbeth is in danger, he can't stay away any longer. In order to save the woman he loves, can he hold true to his promise to stay by her side, despite his overwhelming feelings for her?

Before Jak became a hero, a horrible secret surrounded her birth. Witness the beginning of that secret as we follow her father while he searches for his wife, and finds more than he could possibly imagine.

Prepare to be entranced by "Paranormal POV presents: Aliens, Witches, & Ghosts, Oh My!"—an enchanting compilation of short stories that will transport you to the captivating crossroads of the supernatural and the unknown. Dive into a realm where the ordinary collides head-on with the extraordinary, and where the unexplained transforms into the thrillingly suspenseful action and adventure.

In the kingdom of Adania, everyone knows what Princess Alyrra did to earn the court's contempt, her mother's disdain, and her brother's hatred. She betrayed her own. Yet, the truth hides another story - one of honor and honesty, of a princess gambling her own life for another's. It's a tale of courage, consequences, and a choice that can never be undone.

Grab your family, friends, or even your dog and gather around for a fun game of trivia! This book is great for kids and has the ultimate list of fun categories from food all the way to children's movies!

Jem Carstairs and Tessa Gray are finally united after waiting over a century to be together, but they become aware a dark threat is looming over a child of the Shadow Market: a lost Herondale, from a line of Herondales who have used the Market to hide from their fellow Nephilim. Now is the time for the lost Herondale to be discovered. Jem and Tessa have to find him before his enemies can.

"Where did she go? Behind those trees? Is she still hiding there, just as the river twists and turns, down below the grassy bank? I’m sure I saw her just a moment ago, skipping between the tree trunks." Lady Deablin Armstrang's only friend is a magical nymph that appears to her between tree trunks of Ettrick Forest. Is she real or just the play of her imagination? When an unexpected visitor arrives in the forest Deablin must decide whether duty or friendship will win her hand.

Love at First Book is a sweet, romantic YA short story in verse. From across the coffee shop Lorelei catches a stanza of heart-stopping description of a boy with a book in his back pocket. And that might have been her last line if he didn't leave it behind with a poem tucked between the pages. A poem about a candy-striper with bright hair and an angel's voice who reads to hospital patients like Lorelei does.

I need answers only my father can provide. Separated from birth, we’ve only recently connected. Still, I have no one else to turn to. The Deltites are hunting me and they’re close now. We’ll fight our final battle soon. Needing more information, I force him to tell me a story about the beginning, my beginning. He sheds new light on my mom, on my grandfather Sicheii, and on how I started down this path. He spins a tale about love, a recent murder, and mysterious strangers who come to town looking for a medicine man, my grandfather.

In an apartment building in the Lower East Side of New York City, success is reserved for the Puerto Rican locos who are willing to do anything to make a buck. Everyone else remains stagnant, not daring to dream on the boss’ turf. Shortly after her 17th birthday, Yasmin knows that rescuing three pit bulls from a nightmarish life will upset their poor excuse for an owner. However, the teen never imagines saving the dogs will land her on the bad side of the worst people.

Stranded amidst a primitive civilization, Riley must navigate the challenges of being an outsider with knowledge that can either uplift or destroy. As the lines between the past and future blur, Riley's odyssey becomes not just a quest to return home but a journey of the heart, where true belonging and purpose are discovered in the most unexpected places.

Eleven-year-old Lady Wynn Hoppringle longs to be free from rules and duty of her family home at Smailholm Tower. Whilst out exploring on the wild moors, she comes across a big secret of the smallest kind, hidden beneath the prickly brambles. What will she find? And will she keep it a secret?

Jenny is the smallest of all the small girls in the world. She is afraid of foxes, the rabbits, the birds, and even the mice that roam the forbidden moor where she lives. When one day she falls down a mouse hole, she must find a way to be brave. Will she escape? Or remain the most afraid miniature girl there ever was?

Vicar Obadiah Demurral isn't satisfied running the affairs of his village, now he wants to control the world. And if his plan works, he will obtain a weapon so powerful, even God and his angels will fall down at his feet. Demurral will stop at nothing, and as a shadowmancer (a sorcerer who speaks to the dead), he even commands restless souls to do his bidding.