Fiction Survival Stories

Daniel Redmayne is fast asleep on the first night of a white water rafting trip when he's awoken by screams. The dam has failed. The river is surging, and their camp will be under water in a matter of moments. As the shrieking roar of the river rushes closer, the kids scramble to higher ground. They make it; their counselors do not. Now they're on their own, with barely any food or supplies, in the middle of the Montana wilderness. Do Daniel and his four classmates have what it takes to stay alive until they can get rescued?

Jackson is always eager to visit his aunt Sarah at her anthropological digs. This time she's in England, at Stonehenge, and Jackson's particularly excited to see the massive and mysterious stone formations in person. But then he sees a young man viciously attacked and witnesses a similar savage attack on his beloved aunt Sarah. A beast no one has ever seen before is on the prowl and Jackson must rush to stop it before it can kill again. Can he solve the mystery of the inhuman monster that is stalking the countryside - before it's too late?

Disaster has struck, and the Titanic is going down. What started as a thrilling voyage has turned into a fight for survival. For Paddy, Sophie, Juliana, and Alfie, every second counts in the race against death. All of their hiding and all of their seeking has come down to this: Can they save the people they love? Can they even save themselves? One cold, horrifying night will decide all of their fates.

Emily has always excelled at sports, and her athletic abilities have given her confidence on and off the courts. So when she starts to drag during her middle-school volleyball season, she assumes it must be the flu. But after a particularly intense game, she finds herself riding in the back of an ambulance, a paramedic telling her that her life will never be the same. Adjusting to life with type 1 diabetes isn’t easy. Emily is desperate to prove that she’s just as strong and capable as ever, so she jumps at the opportunity to go on a backcountry ski trip with her dad.

Erik Carlson's life is going great. He's just passed his Hunter Safety Course and is scheduled to make his first hunting trip with his best friend, Patrick, that very weekend. His plans are shattered by the news that his parents, who are Army Reservists, have been unexpectedly called for duty in Iraq. With almost no warning, Erik is shipped off to North Dakota to stay with grandparents he barely knows. Though his grandmother is warm and welcoming, his grandfather, Big Darrell, is cold, gruff, and distant.

Cade is settling into a new boarding school, contemplating his future, when he finds himself transported to another realm. He soon discovers their new world is populated with lost remnants from the past: prehistoric creatures, ancient relics, and, stranger still - people. Overwhelmed by his new surroundings, Cade has little time to adjust, for soon he and his fellow classmates are forced to become contenders in a brutal game, controlled by mysterious overlords.

At first, when a massive ice storm traps 14-year-old Hannah and her family in a remote cabin, it feels like a game to practice the survival skills she's been learning. That all changes when an accident leaves her mother desperately low on insulin. With no power and no way to contact the outside world, Hannah steals away with the four family dogs tied to an old dogsled. All she has to do is make it to the nearest cabin and find a working phone to save the day. But a wrong turn and worsening weather leave her in grave danger and saddled with an unexpected passenger.

While a cyber-attack crippled half the nation’s power grid, enemies of the United States launched an super EMP over the midwest sending the nation back to the stone age. For Raine Caldwell and her neighbors, it couldn't have come at a worse time. Deep into the coldest midwest winter on record, the nation is plunged into frigid darkness. Seeking Safety is a gripping tale of an ordinary group of people as they fight to survive after an EMP plunges the nation into frigid darkness. Would you have what it takes to survive the cold, dark, dangerous streets and make it to safety?

A curious cat plus a big fall leads to squashed confidence. How this cat bounces back will encourage readers everywhere to try, try again. Eye-catching art and crisp graphic paneling invite even the youngest of children to get back on their feet to explore the city alongside Tiptop Cat.

School Library Journal calls this moving tale by Myron Uhlberg a "remarkable homage to New Orleans". A Storm Called Katrina follows Louis Daniel, a 10-year-old boy from New Orleans’ Ninth Ward who loves to play the horn just like his idol, Louis Armstrong. The morning after the devastating hurricane rips through his neighborhood, Louis - with his beloved cornet in tow - must brave the rising flood waters and seek shelter with his family at the Superdome.

After camping in Rocky Mountain National Park, Jake and his friends travel to the Great Sand Dunes in southern Colorado. Exploring the heart of the dunes, they stumble upon something both unexpected and dangerous. Through more twists and turns, Jake’s friendships and integrity are tested by choices that will demand smarts and courage.

Even under the most normal circumstances, high school can be a painful and confusing time. Unfortunately, Lilianna’s circumstances are anything but normal. Only a few people know what caused her sudden change from model student to the withdrawn pessimist she has become, but her situation isn’t about to get any better. When people begin coming down with a quick-spreading illness that doctors are unable to treat, Lil’s worst fears are realized.

An exciting story about a precocious bear cub who doesn’t listen to his mother and almost ends up in the hands of the Big Bad Wolf! Fuzzy Wuzzy, his brothers, Bob and Hal, and sister, Sal, were told to stay in their lair while Mama Bear went fishing. But Fuzzy, bored, decides to explore the world. Ivan the Wolf could not have been happier to see him, given how hungry he is. Can Fuzzy escape Ivan’s clutches?

A contemporary My Side of the Mountain, Stranded is the story of a wilderness-hungry Black girl from Manhattan whose journey in the Adirondack mountains becomes a nail-biting story of courage, independence, and survival.

On the run, but divided. Nearly beaten, but not quite broken. Then come the gunshots in the distance. In the direction of Chloe and Daniel. Desperately hoping that they managed to escape with their lives, with Chip, Ellie and Lars by his side, Will must do all he can to get back to them. But with Will’s injured ankle, and Project Beta’s guards closing in, the odds are stacked against them.

Earth is quickly becoming an undead wasteland, that much is for sure. What isn't certain is the fate of her three children, as their desperate bid to find safety at their family cabin is cut off by the revelation of world-altering proportions. What seems like a lifetime ago, the secret battle to be the first superpower to perfect the perfect bioweapon has been corrupted into a scourge now headed straight for them. Suddenly Abby's past becomes just as unclear as her future.

A summer hike in the New Brunswick woods turns into a nightmare when Shawn and his friends find themselves trapped by a raging forest fire. Now their only chance for survival may be the legendary White Caves...but can they find them in time? Join Shawn, Petra, Craig, Tony, and Hobart the dog - the heroes of Chocolate River Rescue - in their newest wilderness adventure!

Twenty-two-year-old Beth Ann is content with her small-town life. That is, until the day America’s electric grid is destroyed by terrorists. What starts out as an inconvenience quickly becomes a catastrophe - not only do the lights stay off, but cars won’t run and phones are dead. The world screeches to a halt. Without communication and basic supplies like food and water, widespread confusion spirals into deadly chaos within days.

Lucy was just nine years old when a deadly virus swept the country, killing most of the population and turning them into zombies. For the past 11 years, she’s lived in seclusion with her Uncle Seamus, a prepper who was more than ready for the end of the world. But all of Lucy's skills are put to the test when Seamus disappears, leaving her to face the harsh winter on her own.

The Campground Kids get their feet wet on this oceanic adventure as they explore Acadia National Park. After their whale-watching expedition on the Unsinkable II, the family picks up Noah, Ethan’s smug cousin, as they head to Duck Harbor Campground. The next day, the group returns from an early morning hike to find the campground completely deserted! Noah uses his trusty amateur radio to signal for help only to find that a hurricane is bearing down on their location.