Young Teen Short Stories

Whether or not you believe in fate, or luck, or love at first sight, every romance has to start somewhere. Meet Cute is an anthology of original short stories featuring tales of "how they first met" from some of today's most popular YA authors.

Fall into a world of wonder as it feels like you are standing right beside the character. From sprinting away from hoards of green-glowing skeletons to a simple kiss that could sweep you off your feet. Feel the goosebumps on your arms as you hear the deafening sound of doom walking towards you. This short story collection offers a variety of unknown worlds to humankind.

A young prince, heir to the Tiego throne is approached by a sorcerer. The odd fellow presents the prince with a solution to his dilemma but for what seems like a measly price. Has anyone ever known life to be so convenient? Is Prince Majes truly willing to relinquish his title for love?

The disparate lives of a preteen boy, a mafia kingpin and a crooked bar owner intersect in this thrilling drama. The story is perceived from the vantage point of an aerial being who simply observes as the lives of mortals unfold. Though rendered homeless, do Marco and his mother find redemption? What tethers the misunderstood Roger to those slums, and will he find what he seeks? “Do humans truly get what love is, amidst the rage, war, and greed...or is life simply chaos?”

In this magic inspired short tale, Anthony struggles with family drama as ancient magical forces and traditions resurface. Before long, the ignorant and overwhelmed lad finds himself at the mercy of a pair of sorcerer bounty-hunters. Will Anthony finally get the acceptance that he desperately seeks from his parents? Or will he chart his own path and see the different personalities in his life for who they are?

In this short story fiction, you’re entreated to the life of a one dollar bill, Todd. Todd falls for a higher denomination, a bill that’s as sassy as him. However, in a world more uncertain than ours, with his movements constrained by his human carrier, will Todd ever escape his form of slavery, let alone sail off with his new love?

Abby never expected life to be easy. The daughter of a father she's never met and a mother who works three jobs just to get by, she walks herself to her middle school in Chicago, fixes her own dinners, and keeps herself company. Despite all the disadvantages stacked against her, however, Abby manages to keep a smile on and even dedicates her time to helping others who have even less than her. But one July day, something happens in the city that causes a mass panic while she's out grocery shopping, and Abby's life is forever changed.

A teenage girl struggles to survive coming of age in an abusive home in the rural American West. Niki is a 14-year-old girl with a horrific secret and a bottomless rage threatening to destroy her.

Looking to get in out of a brutally cold night, Daniel enters the club, Smoke. What he discovers within will force him to make his greatest decision.

Before their fight to save the realm from mad tyrants and toxic mist, Bleak, Henri and Swinton led separate lives. Delve into the secrets, the triumphs and tragedies of their earlier years, and the defining moments that made these much-loved characters who they are.

Return to the world of Mortal Engines in this new book of short stories about the rebellious young aviatrix, Anna Fang. In a dangerous future world where gigantic, motorized cities attack and devour each other, London hunts where no other predator dares. But Anna Fang - pilot, adventurer, spy - isn't afraid. The three stories show gripping, moving, exciting moments in Anna Fang's life: her childhood as a slave aboard the moving city Arkangel, a showdown against a robotic Stalker that is terrifyingly out of control, and her free life as an intelligence agent for the Anti-Traction league....

Before he became an archmage to topple an empire, before he met the legendary Eradicator Xal, Saghir was born a free ratkin, living on the streets of Gateway, a perilous desert city at the edge of the Blasted Lands. Each month, the free laborers must pay their tithe in coin, or blood. Every ratkin in Saghir's tribe searches for something of value, lest their whole people be enslaved. Ruthless Corax, carnivorous scarabs, and worse infest the city. There are countless ways for a rat to die, and all it takes is one mistake. There are no second chances.

You're going to fall in love with My True Love Gave to Me: Twelve Holiday Stories by twelve bestselling young adult writers, edited by the international bestselling Stephanie Perkins. Whether you celebrate Christmas or Hanukkah, Winter Solstice or Kwanzaa, there's something here for everyone. So curl up by the fireplace and get cozy. You have twelve reasons this season to stay indoors and fall in love.

Rolana and her father escape a higher dimension in order to free themselves from an oppressive regime. However, no sooner would their new life come to a start, the pair would be separated. The telepathic teen is instantly flung into the deep end, as all alone, she now has to figure out how to live and blend amongst humans.

Horror fans will get their thrills in this collection–from werewolves to vampires to zombies–all the time-worn horror baddies are there. But so are predators of a distinctly American variety–the horrors of empire, of intimate partner violence, of dispossession. And so too the monsters of Rogers’ imagination, that draw upon long-told Cherokee stories–of Deer Woman, fantastical sea creatures, and more.

This modern, groundbreaking YA anthology explores the complexity and beauty of interracial and LGBTQ+ relationships where differences are front and center. When people ask me what this anthology is about, I'm often tempted to give them the complicated answer: It's about race and about how being different from the person you love can matter but how it can also not matter, and it's about Chinese pirate ghosts, black girl vigilantes, colonial India, a flower festival, a garden of poisons, and so, so much else.

Rosie wants to impress Mitch, so she agrees to use her mother’s million-dollar teleportation machine to break them into a rare sea creature aquarium at midnight. The plan is to see the world’s only captive sea monster, and then get out of there. That is until Mitch reveals his true agenda, and drags Rosie along for the ride.

This reissue of the 1919 classic combines the immortal stories from Homer's Iliad and Odyssey into one glorious saga of heroism and magical adventure. Beloved by generations, Padraic Colum's masterful retelling of these epic adventures is remarkably fresh, consistently spellbinding, and unmatched for its richness and poetry.

Fans of the YA fantasy series The Network Series can now explore the world of Alkarra with this enthralling new short-story collection. The compilation includes 10 never-before-heard adventures gleaned from events throughout The Network Series. Short stories from The Network Series offers tales from many beloved characters, including Mildred, Marten, Derek, Angelina, Hazel, Camille, and Merrick.

Leo Tolstoy is widely regarded as one of the greatest of all novelists for such works as War and Peace and Anna Karenina. He also wrote a number of outstanding short stories. This is one of his best.