Young Teen Short Stories

A ship burns, sinking into the dark sea. There is only one survivor - a child hunted for the magic of her song. Hidden away on an isolated island, Lilette buries her magic deep, convinced it caused the deaths of those she loves. But she can’t run from who she is. And when her secret is revealed, the only thing that can save her is her song. It’s time to rise up and become what she was always meant to be. The most powerful witch ever born.

From a scary board game to an evil robot costume to a creepy ice sculpture, listen to this terrifying collection of horror for the ultimate fright! Check out these teens who go on these adventures of terror.

Richard just wanted a girlfriend - not the apocalypse. Richard Peak's senior year is looking painfully ordinary - fighting for position on the soccer team, his parents' constant arguing, a glaring lack of a girlfriend. He can't wait to graduate and join a soccer team overseas, preferably as far from home as possible. Then the president is assassinated and his life changes forever. As an alarming chain of nationwide terrorist attacks trigger a civil war, Richard finds himself on a dangerous journey for survival.

Curtis finds love in Iraq as he struggles to stay alive in a war he doesn't want to fight, and Letha discovers her own beauty in the love of her child. There is the "good daughter" who realizes that there's only one way to help her brother and her family. Other stories center on the daily drama of the Curl-E-Que beauty shop, or capture the slapstick side of passion.

In this companion story to Numbers Game, Chan Norwell comes from the perfect citizen family. His mother is chief of the city monitor force, his brother an all-star, and his sister a prodigy - which leaves little wiggle room for a nobody like Chan. He is determined to have his time in the spotlight at last. But he doesn't expect things to go so horribly wrong. Alone, dishonored, and humiliated, Chan can only see one way out.

Ruby James has finally made it. As an official Rater, she's reached upper class society and all that comes with it - a huge house in a guarded neighborhood, box seats, and an elite client list. She even has the perfect boyfriend to go with it, one she expects to marry as soon as her career settles. Then she uncovers a terrible secret. One her boss will do anything to protect.

Just One More is a collection of 29 award-winning short stories by middle grade children. These stories encompass a wide range of genres, inviting listeners to explore a wealth of important themes passionately crafted by these young writers - from a beautiful dragon called Ephyral giving up her freedom to save her entire species to a 15-year-old girl named Louisa Brixham dealing with her brother being accused of a crime she committed.

Jonathan is attracted to the ornate mirror from the first moment he sees it in the antique shop where he works after school. But there is something wrong with the mirror, something evil - as Jonathan will discover after he accidentally gets a trace of his blood on its surface in this disturbing tale of terror.

Siblings Alexina and Stephen are down on their luck this year and resign themselves to not having a Christmas dinner. But when their wealthy, gourmand uncle James invites himself to their house for Christmas, the pair scramble to lay out a sumptuous feast, including his favorite, Mince pie. But 10 minutes before the turkey is done, an unforeseeable disaster occurs that threatens to ruin everything.

In Aunt Cyrilla's Christmas Basket, Lucy Rose tries to talk her folksy Aunt Cyrilla out of bringing her big, bulgy, funny-looking basket to the city to deliver Christmas goodies to their relatives in the city. When their train is stranded during a snow storm, Aunt Cyrilla and her fellow passengers team up to provide a proper Christmas morning for the little ones in their care.

It's Christmas Eve in Ingleside and a family reunion is underway. Old Nanny looks on at all the merriment and is angry that no one has spoken a word about the recently deceased Miss Avis. Unable to bear it any longer Nanny creates a miniature holly wreath to bring to Miss Avis' grave. But shortly after she arrives, she hears footsteps approaching the grave.

Out on the prairie, the Joseph family is all astir with concealing their Christmas gifts for one another. But will Santa come this year? After all, the crops had failed this summer and they were on short commons. When their town neighbors, the Ralstons ask to take refuge overnight at the Joseph's on Christmas Eve, they make a shakedown bed in front of the fire. But what will become of the big bundle of gifts they carried in with them?

Clorinda laments being poor around Christmastime to her Aunt Emmy. Emmy remarks that some of the best presents aren't bought and paid for and declines to explain, only asking Clorinda to think it out. When she does this, Clorinda determines to give a little bit of herself in priceless presents to her loved ones near and far.

In Matthew Insists on Puffed Sleeves, Anne Shirley's guardian Marilla keeps Anne dressed in plain, dark clothes unlike the other girls her age. Matthew Cuthbert, Anne's kindred spirit and sometime benefactor, struggles to figure out how to solve this problem. He overcomes his shyness to ensure that a wonderful, unexpected present is waiting for Anne on Christmas day.

The Dreaded Summons and Other Misplaced Bills investigates seven unfortunate accounts piled together to make you laugh. The collection opens with Tina Teatree, who has a compulsion for weeding that soon digs up the root of her problem. The title story is "The Dreaded Summons", about an introvert and his friendship with a lost manatee. Other stories reveal the Breakfast Hunter, J.J. Whitweather, Shirley Short, and Fig B. Willingsbee.

Mary Wollstonecraft Shelley was an English romantic and gothic novelist who is most famous as the author of Frankenstein, or The Modern Prometheus. She was married to the notable Romantic poet Percy Bysshe Shelley. She also wrote a number of shorter "tales of the unnatural", of which "The Mortal Immortal", a story of a man who will not die, is the most famous.

Mary E. Wilkins Freeman is known primarily as a "feminist" and "local color" writer, for such classic tales as "The Revolt of Mother". She wrote very entertaining stories that included clear depictions of the pressures that often silenced or devalued women and their concerns. This famous story gets that message across but not without a bit of humor.

Edgar Allan Poe, American poet and master of the horror tale, is also credited by many with inventing the American mystery story. "The Gold Bug" is one of his most famous stories. It was first published in the Philadelphia Dollar Newspaper in June 1843, after Poe had won a competition held by the paper and received a prize of $100.

Ida Mitchell, a third-year student at the Clifton Academy, is spending the holidays at her boarding-house, unable to go home because her siblings have the measles. Another Ida Mitchell, who is a second-year student at Clifton is also spending the holidays away from home. When a fruit cake intended for Ida is accidentally delivered to the other Ida, third-year Ida can't bring herself to break the truth to second-year Ida, for whom the cake has brightened an otherwise difficult time.

Prissy's Uncle Richard and her father haven't exchanged words in eight years since a property dispute created hard feelings. When Prissy overhears Uncle Richard saying he has to travel for work on New Years' day, she resolves to sneak into his house and cook him a proper holiday dinner. Uncle Richard returns early and catches Prissy in the act. Can Prissy's kind gesture be the beginning of a reconciliation between the brothers?