Young Adult Authors

“A stunning accomplishment. This story pierces the heart.” —Chicago Sun-Times RUN RUN RUN. That’s what twelve-year-old Annie loves to do. When she’s barefoot and running, she can hear her heart beating…thump-THUMP, thump-THUMP. It’s a rhythm that makes sense in a year when...

Mystery-book aficionado Birdie Lindberg has an overactive imagination. Raised in isolation and homeschooled by strict grandparents, she's cultivated a whimsical fantasy life in which she plays the heroic detective and every stranger is a suspect. But her solitary world expands when she takes a job the summer before college, working the graveyard shift at a historic Seattle hotel. In her new job, Birdie hopes to blossom from introverted dreamer to brave pioneer, and gregarious Daniel Aoki volunteers to be her guide.

Bakari is the first dragon rider in centuries, but he alone cannot subdue the growing tensions among the kingdoms around Alaris. He begins a quest to find more dragon riders - the only way to secure peace in the fractured lands around him. Roland Tyre seizes control of the Citadel and carefully plays both sides - but his immense charm and considerable wizard powers may prove useless against a deadly and hidden enemy.

A sweet and funny LGBTQ+ romance perfect for fans of Becky Albertalli and Julie Murphy, from the critically acclaimed author of Georgia Peaches and Other Forbidden Fruit! Piper Kitts is spending the summer living with her grandmother, training at the barn of a former Olympic horseback rider, and...

From the New York Times bestselling author of the Luxe series comes a lush, romantic novel about the love triangle that started Chicago’s infamous Great Fire. It’s 1871, and Emmeline Carter is poised to take Chicago’s high society by storm. Between her father’s sudden rise to wealth and...

This edge-of-your-seat Indigenous murder-mystery set in Costa Rica from Pura Belpré and Walter Dean Myers Award-winning author of Saints of the Household is perfect for fans of Firekeeper's Daughter and Patron Saints of Nothing. How far would you go to protect your land? To protect your family?...

Their lives were forever changed when a widow with seven children, married a widower with seven children. Three step sibling marriages are arranged to benefit from a dowry that was doubled by their filial unions. The way in which their lives intertwine is the grist for Twisted Trees. It is a story of one man's ambition to rise above the oppressive class system, where men were judged by their heritage and not their ability; where women often endured loveless marriages rather than face the stigma of divorce.

Runa’s journey comes full circle as she and her allies prepare to take on the Helix, the oppressive System controlling Pendomus. Armed with ancient knowledge, her emerging powers, and the strength of those she loves, she must confront Videus—the architect of destruction—before he reshapes her world into a nightmare of control and conformity.

After barely surviving the Helix’s ruthless control and escaping into the wilderness, Runa now faces an even greater challenge—surviving the desert of the Unknown Region, alone. Cut off from her friends, with only the enigmatic Caudex to guide her, she must navigate a brutal landscape where the very elements seem determined to consume her. But the sands whisper of secrets buried beneath their shifting tides—secrets that hold the key to Pendomus’s past and the war that is yet to come.

During the Nazi Occupation of Poland, Dr. Josef Mengele conducted sadistic experiments on twin children. Nathan Oberst barely survived the torture of the death camp, but had to watch his twin, Noah, die before his eyes. At that moment, Nathan witnessed the ancient evil behind Mengele that fed off the misery and deaths of the children. As the sole remaining survivor, it is up to Nathan to stop it.

With the rise of Varia d'Malvane comes the fall of the Mist Continent. Cavanos is overrun by the brutal rampage of the valkerax, led by its former crown princess. Vetris is gone. Helkyris is gone. As each mighty nation falls, the grip of the crown princess closes around the throat of the world. But Zera Y'shennria isn't out yet.

“Elana K. Arnold paints prose like a master. A fascinating journey through time, love, and forgiveness.” – A.S. King, Printz Award-winning author of Dig Award-winning author Elana K. Arnold returns with a boldly visionary, deeply felt story that crosses space and time to examine loss and...

For 135 years, the province of Xessus has been subject to a repressive regime, Riadsala’s Mercy. Xessans are not allowed to travel; they cannot learn history, geography, reading, writing, or how to fight. The best and bravest boys are taken for the king’s army, never to return. Laws are enforced by the magistrate, Xela.

Merlin the wizard is a good-looking, but very well-disguised woman. She's also ambitious and becomes Arthur's mentor, falling in love with him. It's reciprocated, and they elope, leaving the wizard's cave to Tertia, Unita, and Marlene (Merlin's apprentices and her sister). They start a detective agency, however bored with the lack of fifth century crime, they start up the Temporal Detective Agency and use Merlin's time portal to move from Camelot to the 21st century, where the cases are better.

In a world divided by extremes, where survival hangs by a thread, Runa has always known the rules: stay within the safety of the Helix, never venture into the deadly wilderness, and always obey the laws of the omnipresent System. But when a harrowing encounter with a nightmarish predator shatters her fragile reality, Runa finds herself thrust into a fight not just for her life—but for the very soul of her world.

Six children were conceived at the exact moment that the star Mentaras-H went supernova, and the explosion transformed their souls into living star fragments. Now the Star Shards face the ultimate battle - and the true purpose of their gifts will be revealed, for it is no accident they have these powers. Once despised for their "deformities", the Star Shards are now worshiped and feared as gods....

When a powerful viceroy arrives with a fleet of mechanical dragons and stops an attack on Anlei's village, the villagers see him as a godsend. They agree to give him their sacred, enchanted River Pearl in exchange for permanent protection - if he'll marry one of the village girls to solidify the alliance. Anlei is appalled when the viceroy selects her as a bride, but with the fate of her people at stake, she sees no choice but to consent. Anlei's noble plans are sent into a tailspin, however, when a young thief steals the River Pearl for himself.

Five hundred years ago, Jack made a deal with the devil. It's difficult for him to remember much about his mortal days. So he focuses on fulfilling his sentence as a Lantern - one of the watchmen who guard the portals to the Otherworld, a realm crawling with every nightmarish creature imaginable. Jack has spent centuries jumping from town to town, ensuring that nary a mortal - or not-so-mortal - soul slips past him. That is, until he meets beautiful Ember O'Dare. Seventeen, stubborn, and a natural-born witch, Ember feels a strong pull to the Otherworld. Undeterred by Jack's warnings, she crosses into the forbidden plane.

Blessed with a magic she doesn’t understand, Ukrah must find her way in a world that doesn’t always embrace her and her gifts. Accompanied by a talking bird and a strange young man who took her in, she must find the legendary dragon rider who saved the world from the Blight. Can Ukrah escape from those who would enslave her, or worse, and find the only person who can help her realize her destiny?

Before the massacre at Nariin, Enebish was one of the greatest warriors in the Sky King’s Imperial Army: a rare and dangerous Night Spinner, blessed with the ability to control the threads of darkness. Now, she is known as Enebish the Destroyer - a monster and murderer, banished to a monastery for losing control of her power and annihilating a merchant caravan. Guilt stricken and scarred, Enebish tries to be grateful for her sanctuary, until her adoptive sister, Imperial Army commander Ghoa, returns from the war front with a tantalizing offer.