Young Teen Short Stories

Fifteen-year-old Miriam's only dream is to become a Reaver, a magical threader of the spark. However, beyond the age of Initiation, her chances are all but gone...until she finds a powerful Reaver on her doorstep. Now, she must unveil the magical spark within her, only to learn that Logan, a four-stripe Reaver, has other plans for her and her family... Miriam's dreams are about to come true in the worst way possible.

When Harold Ross founded The New Yorker in 1925, he described it as a “comic weekly.” And although it has become much more than that, it has remained true in its irreverent heart to the founder’s description, publishing the most illustrious literary humorists of the modern era. This anthology gathers together, for the first time, the funniest work of more than seventy New Yorker contributors.

Higgens has the best job in the galaxy. Except for the fact that he’s technically a janitor on a galactic mining vessel. When he discovers an unknown alien species, his world gets turned upside down. He will have to find unlikely allies if he is going to save his new friend and help her build a new home. The Mimic and the Space Engineer boxed set contains the first three books in the Space Shifter Chronicles. If you like fast-paced space adventures with engaging, and quirky, characters, you will love Higgens, Mimic, and their adventures in space.

Eist has recovered from her last brush with death, and Fior is finally learning to fly. Everything should be peachy now, right? Unfortunately, the forces of evil are growing stronger, and there may be nothing standing in their way. Can Eist and her friends stop everything the Blight plans to unleash, or is their world doomed to fall into darkness?

Washington Irving was an American author of the early 19th century. He is best known for his short stories, with his two most famous being "The Legend of Sleepy Hollow" and "Rip van Winkle".

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.

A town is overrun by road weenies - a.k.a. joggers - who never smile. A girl thinks she's too old for Halloween...until she finds a special pair of gloves. A boy takes a shortcut to an unexpected place. A mummy takes his revenge, one little piece at a time.... These 35 tales ranging from the silly and offbeat to flat-out horrifying are just right for listening alone in the dark.

A comical collection of four classic tales written by America's favorite author. Read with rakish mastery by Carol Eason, the stories include "The Notorious Jumping Frog of Calaveras County", which concerns the controversial outcome of a frog jumping contest; "What Stumped the Blue Jay", regarding the plight of a particularly determined jay bird; "The Story of the Old Ram", where a group of miners gather to listen to a legendary tale; and "The Joke that Made Ed's Fortune", which concerns a devilish prank and its wry backfiring.

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.

Kipling was a British author and poet, born in India. He is best known for the many children's tales, his Indian spy novel Kim (1901), a number of poems, and many short stories. This gentle supernatural story is one of his best.

Willa Cather is considered to be one of the best chroniclers of pioneer life in the 20th century. She had a long and distinguished career writing essays, poems, short stories, and novels. This story is a powerful example of a frequent theme: the haunting, sometimes painful, contrast between city and country life.

Luckily for humanity, scientist Marie Curie applied her brilliant mind and indomitable spirit to expanding the frontiers of science, but what if she had instead drifted toward the darkness? At the cusp of between child- and adulthood, at the crossroads between science and superstition, a teen Marie Curie faces the factual and the fantastic in this fabulous collection of stories that inspire, delight, and ask the question: What if she had used her talents for diabolical purposes?

The story is a double play: is it the story of a woman going mad, or a woman possessed by something evil? We begin to suspect that the narrator’s apparently caring husband John may not be as caring as she thinks. Is he trying to control her? We know that Charlotte was much concerned with the emancipation of women and them achieving financial independence, so is the character of John an echo of this?

In A New Death: CJ's Story, you meet CJ, the 13-year-old nephew of the truck driver Josh from the novel A New Death. Find out what happens to Josh's family when the zombie apocalypse shambles into Savannah, Georgia! Will the young teenage CJ understand what is going on? Will he believe it? Will his family get out of the city alive, or will he fall to the zombie infection? This zombie apocalypse story is for anyone who is a fan of zombie games, movies, or graphic novels.

In Houston, NASA's mission to Mars brought "Astrokids" Cal and Leon together. Back in New York one year later, Cal is excited to show his boyfriend the city and finally introduce him to his best friend, Deb, but everything feels different, from the ads posted in Times Square to the location of Cal's favorite falafel cart. Deb has new friends, a new apartment - a new life - and Cal isn't sure of his place in it anymore. Though all Cal wanted a year ago was to come back to Brooklyn, he no longer feels like he belongs.

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.

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?

Mysterious Tales of Loss and Woe (& Other Jovial Stories): Twelve short stories that blend the bizarre and profound, meeting grumpy trolls, elusive ghosts, and cunning spies along the way. Follow characters who navigate real (and not-so-real) life situations where they must choose right from wrong, good or bad, and love over hate. Lilac & the Troll: Meet Lilac, a girl of eight, or ten, or twelve years old—she's not sure. She lives happily in the woods until she meets a Troll who introduces her to new ideas about herself.

Lucy has always known that she was different from the other kids in her home. Of course, it doesn’t help that she suffers from a recurring nightmare that wakes her up with a scream on her lips and sweat pouring down her back. The nightmare is driving her crazy. She’s too scared to sleep, she’s too tired to live, and she feels as though it’s never going to get better...until Daniel shows up, that is.

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.