Celebrate Short Story Month With Free YA Short Stories Online

May 4, 2020 |

Did you know that May is short story month? As someone who enjoys a good short story but doesn’t carve out time to read them, May is a reminder to add good shorts to my life. It only seems worthwhile to showcase some free YA short stories online, in hopes that others who, like me, want to read more YA short stories can do so.

These free YA short stories online range in genre, in author, and in length. Some are super short, while others are much longer. These are all legally available, so nothing shady here — you can read them and pass them along as your heart desires. I’ve stuck to short stories, as opposed to novellas, and I’ve tried to not include too many stories tied into novels. We’ve written a lot here about the wealth of YA anthologies. The bulk of YA anthologies are short stories, so of course, those would make for some great reading this month as well.

In addition to the free YA short stories online below, I’ve included some other resources for discovering great YA short stories. They might not be free online, but they’re worth seeking out at your favorite library.

Free YA Short Stories Online

Viewfinders

This collection of 10 YA short stories are written by some of the best Asian American authors out there, including Malinda Lo, Samira Ahmed, David Yoon, and more. The premise of the Viewfinders stories is a really neat one: as the New York Times has gone through their archival images, they’ve found some that deserve to have stories about them told. So they picked ten authors and asked them each to write a YA story about one of those images. All ten stories are available for free.

Foreshadow

The incredible brainchild of YA superstars Emily XR Pan and Nova Ren Suma, this digital anthology ran from January until December 2019 and featured YA short stories from both new and established YA authors. Three stories published each month, all of which can be accessed on the website. Authors of these free online YA short stories include Tehlor Kay Meija, Sara Farizan, Mark Oshiro, Nina LaCour, Saundra Mitchell, Courtney Summers, and so many more. It’s a treasure trove!

VCFA’s Hunger Mountain Journal

The Vermont College of Fine Arts has a strong children’s literature MFA program, so that they have a journal of great free YA short stories online isn’t a surprise. Some by YA authors you might know include “Do Not Go Gently” by Mindy McGinnis, “Honey and Cold Stars” by Amy Rose Capetta, “Love at First Book: A Story In Verse” by Sarah Tregay, “The Bus” by Maggie Lehrman, and Jenny Hubbard’s “A Sister’s Story“.

“Fourteen Shakes The Baby” by Susann Cokal

One of the big challenges of collecting YA short stories online is that it’s not always clear if it’s intended to be YA if it’s not published as a YA short story on a platform dedicated to YA. Electric Literature offers up a wide array of short stories, but doesn’t necessarily label them. I’ve included Cokal’s here because it features a 14-year-old protagonist, and Cokal is well-known for her YA titles.

“Of Roses and Kings” by Melissa Marr

Looking for a twist on Alice in Wonderland? Marr’s take is dark and twisted and allows Alice to become The Red Queen.

“Burned Away” by Kristen Simmons

From the description: “When rumors of an uprising in Metaltown’s factories hits Bakerstown, sixteen-year-old wannabe reporter Caris knows she’s found the story that will finally prove her worth to the Journal.” Simmons has written a few YA books, so she knows this readership well.

“Off The Trail” by Diana Urban

You have to provide your email address for access to this one, for the author’s mailing list. From the description: “When 17-year-old Kayla jogs the trail next to the lake where a girl recently drowned, someone—or something—veers her off-course. Will she escape from the woods, or get tangled in a web of horror?”

“Dragons of Tomorrow” by Kathleen Baldwin

I read the first book in the Stranje House series a long, long time ago and enjoyed it quite a bit, so I’m eager to revisit Baldwin’s work with her short story. From the description: “After the collapse of civilization Nora and her family live a quiet life in the Midwestern Plains until a great fiery god of the sky descends and makes her an irresistible offer—an offer that will take her away from those she loves forever.”

“Daydreamer” and “Punishment” by Alex London

Both of these short stories are part of the “Proxy” world. I tried not to include a lot of tie-in/world-built stories, but I’m making an exception. You do not need to be a member of London’s Patreon to access these.

“Ratspeak” by Sarah Porter

Porter is the author of Vassa In The Night. From the description: “Ratspeak is the the shrill and sly language of the rats of New York City’s subway. When a curious boy is granted his wish to speak and understand the secret language of the rats, he brings a curse upon his home.”

“irl” by Catey Miller

Long time YA writer and blogger/enthusiast Catey Miller has a freebie in Lunchtime.

“Kingmaker” by Lindsay Smith

From the description: “Vera is a spy for the Barstadt Empire, a powerful country with a rigid class structure and a seedy underbelly. Her mission is to weed out the corruption that holds this society together, but for Vera it’s not political, it’s personal. And her next mission is anything but routine, as long as she’s not blinded by revenge and can see that in the shadows of Barstadt City, things are seldom what they seem.” Smith has written a number of YA books you might be familiar with.

“The Girl In The Machine” by Beth Revis

From the description: “Franklin can travel through time–but his abilities are limited. He can only go into his own past, never further back and never the future. Then Heather shows up. She says she’s met the future him–and she can help him access his full potential in time travel, going anywhere in history or the future. But there’s something ominous about her time machine…”

If you want more, Beth Revis has more short stories available for free here, many of which tie into her YA series books.

“Trigger” by Courtney Alameda

From the description: “Micheline Helsing is a tetrachromat – a girl who sees the auras of the undead in a prismatic spectrum. Now she’s facing one of her most challenging ghost hunts ever. Lock, stock, and lens, she’s in for one hell of a ride.” Alameda is writing some seriously scary YA right now, and this is a great taste of her style.

“The Wives of Azhar” by Roshani Chokshi

If you need some lush fantasy, you will do well with this one!

“The Star Maiden” by Roshani Chokshi

Even more lush fantasy for your eyes! The first lines of this are so good: “A star maiden is not an actual star.
If you split her open, you will find neither crumbled moons nor milky pearls.
A star maiden is a sliver of heaven made flesh.
She is an orphaned moonbeam clinging to one possession only:
A dress.”

“Friends ‘Til The End” by Bethany Neal

From the description: “In “Friends ’Til the End,” death isn’t the end for Emily Winstead, not even close. She died with a wrong to make right, and she’s been given a second chance to set things straight. The only problem: her memories are hazy, she doesn’t know who to trust or even why she’s back, but she does know something about how she died broke the course of fate and it’s her ghostly mission to mend it.” I cannot wait to read this ghost story!

“Crave” and “The H8TE” by Lilliam Rivera

These are both scary stories! There’s another Rivera short story that likely fits for YA readers called “Trizas/Fragments.”

“Heads Will Roll” by Lish McBride

From the description: “Lena’s not your typical animal trainer. And when she and her unicorn partner, Steve, decide to enter a fight, it’s definitely not your typical fight….”

“Slayers: The Making Of A Mentor” by CJ Hill

From the description: “Before dragon eggs landed on American soil. Before a Slayer camp existed. And before Tori discovered her powers . . . there was an island. Lush forests, jutting peaks, and sloping hills covered St. Helena—the single most remote island in the Atlantic. And it is here where Dr. B grew up, working each summer on the Overdrake plantation alongside his brother. All was well until the day something was discovered on the plantation and things went horribly wrong.”

“On The Corner of Iris and Hartz” by LC Rosen

This Twitter-shared short story is a real treat. From the description: “So what if you’d just broken up with your boyfriend, but then you got quarantined together? And there was only one bed? If you’ve been wondering that, too, good news! I wrote a thing.”

“The Stranger” by Anna Banks

From the description: “The Syrena don’t trust many humans. Rachel is one of them. The story of how Galen met her—and how they bonded—is both exciting and heartbreaking.”

“Ghost Town” by Malinda Lo

From the description: “On Halloween night, two teens visit a small town’s most notorious haunted house.”

“One True Love” by Malinda Lo

From the description: ““One True Love” is a fairy tale-like story that begins with a prophecy and a stepmother, as many fairy tales do. It soon twists and turns into something else, and asks: What if the prophecy didn’t mean what everyone thought it meant?”

You can also read Malinda Lo’s “The Cure”.

“We Have Always Lived In Mars” by Cecil Castellucci

Castellucci is one of my favorite writers, so I can’t wait to read this story. From the description: “Nina, one of the few descendants of human colony on Mars that was abandoned by Earth, is surprised to discover that she can breathe the toxic atmosphere of the Martian surface. The crew, thinking that their attempts at terraforming and breeding for Martian adaptability have finally payed off, rejoice at the prospect of a brighter future. But Nina’s about to unlock the mystery of the disaster that stranded them on Mars… and nothing will ever be the same.”

“A Mindreader’s Guide to Surviving Your First Year at the All-Girls Superhero Academy” by Jenn Reese

The award for best short story title goes to this one!

“Do Not Touch” by Prudence Chen

From the description: “Lane doesn’t understand why people have such a hard time following directions. All these paintings are clearly marked “DO NOT TOUCH” for a reason.”

“The Five Days of Justice Merriwell” by Stephanie Burgiss

From the author’s website: “A sixteen-year-old girl finds the fate of her country in her hands, with terrifying magic and danger on every side.”

“The Scent of Laila Thorinson” by Jeune Ji

A downside to some of the journals which publish short YA stories is they don’t offer a good, snappy description. But this one captured my attention immediately: it has something to do with a Secret Santa.

“Car 393” by Kip Wilson

Wilson’s debut verse novel hit shelves in 2019, so what a delight to see there’s a short story told in verse from her, too.

“Sweet Sixteen” by Kat Howard

What a great opener: “Her entire life, Star had known that on her sixteenth birthday, she would choose to be a Tiffany.” Howard writes fantastical, magical stories and this one is no different.

“After Illume” by Emily Skrutski

Another short story you can read from the Defy the Dark anthology. For all of the spooky, things-that-happen-in-the-dark reading delight.

“How to Ruin Your Senior Year, In 10 Days, In 3 Simple Steps, As Told by Judith Sloan” and “Tequila” by Lauren Gonzalez

YA readers who want humor should do well with both of these stories hosted over at YARN.

“Defying Definition” by Shaun David Hutchinson and “Happiness Goes On” by Adam Silvera

Both of these are short nonfiction works, republished online from my own anthology, (Don’t) Call Me Crazy. Both explore mental illness, specifically depression, and what it does and does not mean when one has depression.

Obviously, this is not a comprehensive list, and chances are there are many, many more wonderful YA short stories online for free. If you know of any others, do drop a link to them in the comments for even more opportunity to celebrate the short story.

Middle Grade Chills

October 9, 2019 |

It’s that time of year again – when there’s a huge run on anything remotely spooky, and all the children’s books at the library that mention pumpkins or ghosts shiver in anticipation (or dread?) of their imminent checkout. Even before fall officially began, though, I’d been receiving requests for middle grade scary story collections. Alvin Schwartz’s trilogy is the gold standard, of course, but what’s a 10 year old to do when she’s already read them each a dozen times? Is there anything out there that’s just as creepy?

Well, maybe. Below are some recommended choices for the middle grade reader who can’t get enough scary stories, ranging from the classic stand-bys to some new 2019 collections. These are specifically collections of short stories, some original to the author, some retold from folklore and legend. Some are a bit tamer than Schwartz’s books (particularly compared to the ones with the original illustrations by Stephen Gammell), but all provide a good amount of creep.

Out to Get You: 13 Tales of Weirdness and Woe by Josh Allen

Get ready for a collection of thirteen short stories that will chill your bones, tingle your spine, and scare your pants off. Debut author Josh Allen masterfully concocts horror in the most innocent places, like R.L. Stine meets a modern Edgar Allan Poe. A stray kitten turns into a threatening follower. The street sign down the block starts taunting you. Even your own shadow is out to get you!

The everyday world is full of sinister secrets and these page-turning stories show that there’s darkness even where you least expect it. Readers will sleep with one eye open . . .

Thirteen eerie full-page illustrations by award-winning artist Sarah J. Coleman accompany the tales in this frightful mashup that reads like a contemporary Scary Stories to Tell in the Dark.

Scariest Stories Ever Told by Roberta Simpson Brown

This spooky collection of haunting stories from the “Queen of Cold Blooded Tales,” Roberta Simpson Brown, may well be the scariest stories ever told. These chilling tales are filled with familiar themes to make anyone feel safe – the grouchy old teacher, a family telling one another ghost stories in an old cabin, well meaning yet clueless parents – but jam packed with enough ghouls, ghosts, and menacing spirits to give anyone the chills. The Scariest Stories Ever Told includes over 13 contemporary tales featuring children tackling (and sometimes getting tackled by) their fears. Meet sinister characters like the stick man, the shadows and the feathered thing. Take a peek at the haunted well, check out the school locker portal to the “other side” and buck up your courage to visit the creepy costume party. Children will love seeing characters their age confront sinister creatures and work up the courage to explore supernatural occurrences in everyday life. No one is safe when the “Queen of Cold Blooded Tales” is around so be advised to make sure the lights are on and the doors are locked before opening this book. These stories about cemeteries, full moons, and scary farmhouses will teach readers the importance of courage, resourcefulness and responsibility.

A Banquet for Hungry Ghosts: A Collection of Deliciously Frightening Tales by Ying Chang Compestine

According to Chinese tradition, those who die hungry or unjustly come back to haunt the living. Some are appeased with food. But not all ghosts are successfully mollified. In this chilling collection of stories, Ying Chang Compestine takes readers on a journey through time and across different parts of China. From the building of the Great Wall in 200 BCE to the modern day of iPods, hungry ghosts continue to torment those who wronged them.

At once a window into the history and culture of China and an ode to Chinese cuisine, this assortment of frightening tales—complete with historical notes and delectable recipes—will both scare and satiate!

The Wrong Train by Jeremy DeQuidt

Light the candles and shut the door, The Wrong Train is a deliciously creepy and scarily good collection of scary stories, complete with terrifying illustrations from Dave Shelton. Perfect for fans of Patrick Ness, R.L. Stine, and Emily Carroll. Imagine you’ve just managed to catch your train and you realize it’s the wrong one. You’d be annoyed of course, but not scared . . . Yet. Imagine you get off the wrong train at the next station hoping to catch one back the way you came. But the station is empty. Again, you’d be annoyed, but not scared . . . Yet. Imagine someone comes to the station, a stranger who starts to tell you stories to help pass the time. But these aren’t any old stories–they’re nightmares that come with a price to pay. And you want them to stop. Scared yet? You will be.

The Donkey Lady Fights La Llorona and Other Stories by Xavier Garza

Margarito is eleven years old now and he’s way past believing in Grandpa Ventura’s ghost stories, but he loves listening to them anyway. One evening on his way home from his grandfather’s, Margarito finds himself alone in the gathering dusk, crossing a narrow bridge. Suddenly, a woman in white floats towards him and calls, “Come to me, child … come to me!” He frantically hides in the shallow river, but soon sees a pair of yellow, glowing eyes swimming towards him. Before long, the Donkey Lady and La Llorona are circling each other, fighting to claim poor Margarito as their next victim!

Popular storyteller Xavier Garza returns with another collection of eerie tales full of creepy creatures from Latin American lore. There are duendes, bald, green-skinned brutes with sharp teeth; thunderbirds, giant pterodactyl-like things that discharge electricity from their wings during thunderstorms; and blood-sucking beasts that drain every single drop of blood from their victims’ bodies!

Set in contemporary times, Garza’s young protagonists deal with much more than just the supernatural: there are chupacabras and drug dealers, witches and bullies, a jealous cousin and the devil. Accompanied by the author’s dramatic black and white illustrations, the short, blood-curdling stories in this bilingual collection for ages 8 – 12 are sure to bewitch a whole new generation of young people.

Edgar Allen Poe’s Tales of Mystery and Madness illustrated by Gris Grimly

A sweet little cat drives a man to insanity and murder…. The grim death known as the plague roams a masquerade ball dressed in red….

A dwarf seeks his final revenge on his captors….

A sister calls to her beloved twin from beyond the grave….

Prepare yourself. You are about to enter a world where you will be shocked, terrified, and, though you’ll be too scared to admit it at first, secretly thrilled. Here are four tales — “The Black Cat, The Masque of the Red Death, Hop-Frog, ” and “The Fall of the House of Usher” — by the master of the macabre, Edgar Allan Poe. The original tales have been ever so slightly dismembered — but, of course, Poe understood dismemberment very well. And he would shriek in ghoulish delight at Gris Grimly’s gruesomely delectable illustrations that adorn every page. So prepare yourself. And keep the lights on.

Ghost: Thirteen Haunting Tales to Tell by Illustratus

A finger against the inside of a mirror… a wood where the trees look back… a basement door blocked by a brick wall so thick, it stifles the screams from below … This original collection of chilling poems and tales contains the only true ghost stories in existence (as the book itself will tell you)—13 eerie encounters perfect for sharing…if you dare. Accompanied by striking illustrations and building to a truly spine-tingling conclusion, this haunting book will consume the imagination and keep readers of every age up long past their bedtimes.

Fearsome Creatures of the Lumberwoods: 20 Chilling Tales from the Wilderness by Hal Johnson

Just for kids, twenty bone-chilling tales about the most dangerous fantastical beasts in American folklore. Meet the Snoligoster, who feeds on the shadows of its victims. The Hodag, like a spiny-backed bull-horned rhinoceros. The Hoop Snake, which can chase prey at speeds of up to 60 miles per hour and then, with one sting of its tail, cause it to turn purple, swell up, and die.

Illustrated throughout, including eight drawings printed with glow-in-the-dark ink, Fearsome Creatures of the Lumberwoods is for every young reader who loves a good scare. The book was originally published in 1910 by William Thomas Cox and is now inspiringly retold by Hal Johnson, author of Immortal Lycanthropes. The creatures are all scales and claws, razor-sharp teeth and stealth, camouflage and single-minded nastiness. Straight out of the era of Paul Bunyan, they speak to an earlier time in American history, when the woods were indeed dark and deep and filled with mystery. The tone is smart and quirky. The illustrations have a sinewy, retro field-guide look. Read them around a campfire, if you dare.

Terrifying Tales to Tell at Night selected by Stephen Jones

The stories in this book are scary. Real scary! After reading these horrible tales and staring at the creepy drawings, don’t complain that you couldn’t sleep or they started haunting your dreams—we warned you!

If you love ghosts and monsters and enjoy getting goosebumps, this spine-chilling book is for you! Inside, you will find a creature that lives in the dark and feeds on those who do not pay attention . . . a monster created by the descendant of Doctor Frankenstein . . . a haunted house at Halloween . . . a big cat that snacks on schoolteachers . . . a boy who is afraid of what will come down the chimney at Christmas . . . a school with very strange pupils . . . a decidedly odd zombie costume . . . a puzzle set by a ghost . . . a drawing that comes to life . . . and a babysitter who likes to play terrifying games . . . .

Compiled by award-winning horror editor Stephen Jones and featuring the authors Ramsey Campbell, R. Chetwynd-Hayes, Neil Gaiman, Charles L. Grant, Stephen King, Lisa Morton, Lynda E. Rucker, Robert Shearman, Michael Marshall Smith, and Manly Wade Wellman, this book is filled with nightmarish illustrations by acclaimed artist Randy Broecker. So, whether you’re reading this book alone or with friends, get ready to be afraid. Very afraid!

A World Full of Spooky Stories: 50 Tales to Make Your Spine Tingle by Angela McAllister

Get ready for Halloween with this child-friendly collection of spooky stories from all over the world.

Feel your pulse race and your skin tingle as you read about the fearsome witch Baba Yaga, the serpent woman from Spain, the rescue of Tam Lin from the bewitching Queen of the Fairies, how Father Death gets caught in the Enchanted Apple Tree, and the waterdwelling Bunyip from Australia. Make sure you have your candle ready as it’s sure to be a long night… This gorgeous gift book is the perfect anthology for Halloween, or any time you want to be spooked!

Features stories from Germany, Czechoslovakia, Russia, Africa, Brazil, Japan, Australia, India, UK, Canada, France, China, Ireland, Syria, Korea, Sweden, Egypt, Iceland, New Zealand, Arabia, Spain, Tibet, Iran, Greece.

The Dark-Thirty: Southern Tales of the Supernatural by Patricia C. McKissack

In that special half-hour of twilight—the dark-thirty—there are stories to be told. Mesmerizing and breathtakingly original, these tales are inspired by African American history and range from the time of slavery to the civil rights era. With her extraordinary gift for suspense, Patricia C. McKissack has created a heart-stopping collection of lasting value, a book not quickly forgotten.

Dancing With the Devil and Other Tales From Beyond by Rene Saldaña, Jr.

Joey is excited and nervous about the school dance because Marlen, the love of his life, has agreed to be his date. But Joey has heard rumors that she might be meeting someone else, and as he waits for her to show up he can’t help but worry the gossip may be true. Sure enough, a suave, well-dressed stranger asks Marlen to dance before Joey can even get to her. And soon the handsome couple is burning up the dance floor literally!

In this collection of stories based on Mexican-American lore, author and educator Rene Saldaña, Jr. spins age-old tales with a contemporary twist. Lauro and Miguel run for their lives with La Llorona’s cold breath on their necks after being caught smoking cigarettes down by the river. There’s Felipe, who s so determined to win back the Penitas Grand Master Marble Champion title that he’s willing to make a deal for a shooter with a supernatural edge. And when Louie’s leg swells up after he cuts his toe playing with a knife, he can’t help but wonder if his mom’s warning could be true. Are his guts really going to spill out of his wound because he cut himself doing something stupid?

Set in the author’s native South Texas, these are the stories parents have told their children for generations to discourage bad behavior and encourage kids to stay close to home. But Saldaña breathes new life into these traditional tales with contemporary settings, issues and conflicts that are sure to resonate with today’s youth.

Short and Shivery: Thirty Chilling Tales by Robert D. San Souci

Short & Shivery invites you into the world of hair-raising tales chock-full of chills. The thirty stories in this book have been carefully selected from international ghost lore and skillfully retold with ghastly details and strong, shuddery endings. Come inside and meet the young miller’s daughter in “The Robber Bridegroom,” who may have discovered too late that she has been betrothed to a madman; the dancing skeleton who returns from the dead to haunt the friend who betrayed him in life; the Golem, who tires of serving his greedy master and suddenly turns evil; and the many other intriguing characters in stories from the Brothers Grimm, Washington Irving, and other world-famous authors. But before you settle down in your cozy reading chair, make sure all the lights are on!

[San Souci has a ton of scary story collections; this is just one of them.]

Scream and Scream Again!: Spooky Stories from Mystery Writers of America presented by RL Stine

R.L. Stine—the godfather of Goosebumps—and some of the most popular authors today bring an unrivaled mastery of all things fearsome, frightening, and fantabulous to this terrifying anthology of all-new scary short stories.

Scream and Scream Again! is full of twists and turns, dark corners, and devilish revenge. Collected in conjunction with the Mystery Writers of America, this set includes works from New York Times bestselling authors telling tales of wicked ice-cream trucks, time-travelling heroes, witches and warlocks, and of course, haunted houses.

Read it if you dare! With twenty never-before-published scary stories from some of the most popular authors today—including Chris Grabenstein, Wendy Corsi Staub, Heather Graham, Peter Lerangis, R.L. Stine, Bruce Hale, Emmy Laybourne, Steve Hockensmith, Lisa Morton, Ray Daniel, Beth Fantaskey, Phil Mathews, Carter Wilson, Doug Levin, Jeff Soloway, Joseph S. Walker, Alison McMahan, Daniel Palmer, Tonya Hurley, and Stephen Ross—it’s sure to leave readers screaming for more.

Tales From Beyond the Brain by Jeff Szpirglas

Imagine walking home from school one day and seeing a brain on the side of the road, a brain that, it turns out, is looking for a new home. Or instead of paying attention to the teacher, you shoot a paper airplane across the room and accidentally rip a hole in the fabric of the universe. And what would you do if you discovered that your class reading group was actually recruiting kids with telekinetic powers? Tales from Beyond the Brain is a collection of thirteen spooky stories that are as outrageous as they are terrifying. It’s a throwback to the weird tales of yesteryear, in the vein of Tales from the Crypt and The Twilight Zone, but with contemporary characters and settings. Getting an education has never been more dangerous.

Dead Man’s Gold: And Other Stories by Paul Yee

These ten original ghost stories dramatize the history of Chinese immigration to North America — from the poor village men who first came searching for gold in the late 1850s to the new immigrants who arrived from Hong Kong in the wake of the Cultural Revolution. These stories describe the resilience and struggle of people trying to make new lives for themselves in a strange land. But these are also ghost stories, a popular narrative form in China. Though men and women seek their fortune in the New World, the links to China are strong.

Wherever they go, the Chinese immigrants are reminded of their home country — the curse of a friend betrayed, the ghost of a faithful spouse, the spirit of a dead parent. The tales describe the plights and dreams of men and women, rich and poor, greedy and good, young and old. Together, they tell the tumultuous story of 140 years of Chinese immigration to North America, creating a New World mythology of immigrant stories.

Novels-in-Stories

August 28, 2019 |

In the latest issue of Publishers Weekly’s Global Rights newsletter, I was thrilled to see that Traci Chee will have a new novel out next year, and that it’s historical fiction about Japenese-American teens in internment camps during World War II. According to PW and the publisher, it is a “novel-in-stories” told from the perspective of fourteen Nisei, or second-generation Japanese-American citizens. Not only is this topic in desperate need of further exploration, particularly in such times as these, I’m also fascinated by the whole idea of a novel-in-stories, which basically means the book is made up short stories that connect to each other in some way, working separately but telling a bigger story when taken as a whole. I read another book like this earlier in the year: Stronger, Faster, and More Beautiful by Arwen Elys Dayton, which I loved in equal parts for its fascinating sci fi storylines as well as the novel made up of short stories conceit. It was so fun to pick out how each story connected to the others, sort of like searching for easter eggs in a book.

This literary technique is also often called “linked short stories,” and there are a bunch in adult fiction that get lots of critical love and have become modern classics – think There There by Tommy Orange, A Visit From the Goon Squad by Jennifer Egan, and The Things They Carried by Tim O’Brien. In my search for books for teens that do this, I was pleasantly surprised to find a pretty good number across a pretty wide range of topics and genres. Some of them would be considered “old” by teens reading today (originally published in the 90s), but most are still in print and have been reprinted with fresher covers. The more recent ones, such as those by Sedgwick, include books I had heard of (award winners!) but hadn’t realized they were novels-in-stories. Are you a fan of this technique? I think it’s my new favorite.

One Death, Nine Stories edited by Marc Aronson and Charles R. Smith, Jr.

Nicholas, Kevin. Age 19. Died at York Hospital, July 19, 2012. Kev’s the first kid their age to die. And now, even though he’s dead, he’s not really gone. Even now his choices are touching the people he left behind. Rita Williams-Garcia follows one aimless teen as he finds a new life in his new job-at the mortuary. Ellen Hopkins reveals what two altar boys (and one altar girl) might get up to at the cemetery at night. Will Weaver turns a lens on Kevin’s sister as she collects his surprising effects-and makes good use of them. Here, in nine stories, we meet people who didn’t know Kevin, friends from his childhood, his ex-girlfriend, his best friend, all dealing with the fallout of his death. Being a teenager is a time for all kinds of firsts-first jobs, first loves, first good-byes, firsts that break your heart and awaken your soul. It’s an initiation of sorts, and it can be brutal. But on the other side of it is the rest of your life.

With stories by Chris Barton, Nora Raleigh Baskin, Marina Budhos, Ellen Hopkins, A.S. King, Torrey Maldonado, Charles R. Smith Jr., Will Weaver, and Rita Williams-Garcia.

Pick-Up Game: A Full Day of Full Court edited by Marc Aronson and Charles R. Smith, Jr.

It’s one steamy July day at the West 4th Street Court in NYC, otherwise known as The Cage. Hotshot ESPN is wooing the scouts, Boo is struggling to guard the weird new guy named Waco, a Spike Lee wannabe has video rolling, and virgin Irene is sizing up six-foot-eightand-a-half-inch Chester. Nine of YA literature’s top writers, including Walter Dean Myers, Rita Williams-Garcia, Adam Rapp, Joseph Bruchac, and Sharon Flake reveal how it all goes down in a searing collection of short stories, in which each one picks up where the previous one ends. Characters weave in and out of narratives, perspectives change, and emotions play out for a fluid and fast-paced ode to the game. Crackling with humor, grit, and streetball philosophy, and featuring poems and photographs by Charles R. Smith Jr., this anthology is a slam dunk.

What Hearts by Bruce Brooks

This searing collection of four interrelated stories offers a deft portrait of a young boy whose sharp intellect and uncanny ability for forgiveness help him survive when his mother’s emotional instability continually lets him down.

We Are Not Free by Traci Chee (forthcoming June 2020)

From New York Times best-selling and acclaimed author Traci Chee comes We Are Not Free, the collective account of a tight-knit group of young Nisei, second-generation Japanese American citizens, whose lives are irrevocably changed by the mass U.S. incarcerations of World War II.

Fourteen teens who have grown up together in Japantown, San Francisco. Fourteen teens who form a community and a family, as interconnected as they are conflicted. Fourteen teens whose lives are turned upside down when over 100,000 people of Japanese ancestry are removed from their homes and forced into desolate incarceration camps. In a world that seems determined to hate them, these young Nisei must rally together as racism and injustice threaten to pull them apart.

Stronger, Faster, and More Beautiful by Arwen Elys Dayton

Set in our world, spanning the near to distant futures, Stronger, Faster, and More Beautiful is a novel made up of six interconnected stories that ask how far we will go to remake ourselves into the perfect human specimens, and how hard that will push the definition of “human.”

This extraordinary work explores the amazing possibilities of genetic manipulation and life extension, as well as the ethical quandaries that will arise with these advances. The results range from the heavenly to the monstrous. Deeply thoughtful, poignant, horrifying, and action-packed, Arwen Elys Dayton’s Stronger, Faster, and More Beautiful is groundbreaking in both form and substance.

Kimberly’s review

Life is Funny by E. R. Frank

From the outside, they’re simply a group of urban teenagers. But from the inside, they’re some of the most complex people you’ll ever meet. There’s Eric, fiercely protective of his brother Mickey-but he has a secret that holds together his past and future. Sonia, struggling to live the life of a good Muslim girl in a foreign America. Gingerbread and Keisha, who fall in love despite themselves. Life Is Funny strips away the defenses of one group of teenagers living today, right now-and shows their unbearably real lives.

Whitechurch by Chris Lynch

In the sleepy town of Whitechurch, three friends reach a crossroads that will change their lives–and their relationships–forever. There’s Pauly, the troublemaker everyone is scared of–everyone including himself. Then there’s Lilly, Whitechurch’s sweetheart. Pauly’s her boyfriend, but Pauly’s best friend Oakley is the one she talks to . . . and what she really needs is someone who truly understands her. And finally there’s Oakley, the reliable one, the one who’s always there to pick up the pieces. Because he knows that if he ever stopped putting things back together, he might lose the two people he loves best. When one friend starts to go off-balance, how long can the ones who love him stay with him?

Set against the backdrop of the small town America nobody likes to talk about, Chris Lynch’s Whitechurch is a tautly written collection of stories about what happens when an intense triangular friendship begins to break apart.

145th Street by Walter Dean Myers

A salty, wrenchingly honest collection of stories set on one block of 145th Street. We get to know the oldest resident; the cop on the beat; fine Peaches and her girl, Squeezie; Monkeyman; and Benny, a fighter on the way to a knockout. We meet Angela, who starts having prophetic dreams after her father is killed; Kitty, whose love for Mack pulls him back from the brink; and Big Joe, who wants a bang-up funeral while he’s still around to enjoy it. Some of these stories are private, and some are the ones behind the headlines. In each one, characters jump off the page and pull readers right into the mix on 1-4-5.

A Long Way From Chicago by Richard Peck

Each summer Joey and his sister, Mary Alice—two city slickers from Chicago—visit Grandma Dowdel’s seemingly sleepy Illinois town. Soon enough, they find that it’s far from sleepy…and Grandma is far from your typical grandmother. From seeing their first corpse (and he isn’t resting easy) to helping Grandma trespass, catch the sheriff in his underwear, and feed the hungry—all in one day—Joey and Mary Alice have nine summers they’ll never forget!

Cures for Heartbreak by Margo Rabb

“If she dies, I’ll die,” are the words 15-year-old Mia Perlman writes in her journal the night her mother is diagnosed with cancer. Twelve days later, Mia’s mother is dead, and Mia, her older sister, and their father must find a way to live on in the face of sudden, unfathomable loss.

For Mia, this means getting through a funeral led by a rabbi who belongs in Las Vegas; dealing with a social worker who appears to have been educated at the local beauty academy; sharing “healthy heart” meals with her father, who seems to be seeing her for the first time; trying to relate to her sister, whose idea of fun is solving quadtratic equations; and developing a crush on Cancer Guy, who is actually kind of cute. But mostly it means carrying the image of her mother with her everywhere, because some kinds of love never die. Still, even in grief there is the chance for new beginnings.

Blue Skin of the Sea by Graham Salisbury

Eleven interlinked stories tell the tale of a boy coming of age in Kailua-Kona, a Hawaiian fishing village. Sonny Mendoza is a little different from the rest of the men in his family. Salisbury explores characters like Aunty Pearl, a full-blooded Hawaiian as regal as the queens of old; cool Jack, from L.A., who starts a gang and dares Sonny to be brave enough, cruel enough, to join; mysterious Melanie, who steals his heart; and Deeps, the shark hunter.

But the most memorable character is the sea itself: inviting, unpredictable, deadly. Mendoza men are brave men, but Sonny’s courage is of a different kind. Why can’t he love and trust the water as the men of his family are meant to do?

The Ghosts of Heaven by Marcus Sedgwick

A bold, genre-bending epic that chronicles madness, obsession, and creation, from the Paleolithic era through the Witch Hunts and into the space-bound future.

Four linked stories boldly chronicle madness, obsession, and creation through the ages. Beginning with the cave-drawings of a young girl on the brink of creating the earliest form of writing, Sedgwick traverses history, plunging into the seventeenth century witch hunts and a 1920s insane asylum where a mad poet’s obsession with spirals seems to be about to unhinge the world of the doctor trying to save him. Sedgwick moves beyond the boundaries of historical fiction and into the future in the book’s final section, set upon a spaceship voyaging to settle another world for the first time. Merging Sedgwick’s gift for suspense with science- and historical-fiction, Ghosts of Heaven is a tale is worthy of intense obsession.

Midwinterblood by Marcus Sedgwick

Have you ever had the feeling that you’ve lived another life? Been somewhere that has felt totally familiar, even though you’ve never been there before, or felt that you know someone well, even though you are meeting them for the first time? It happens.

In a novel comprising seven parts, each influenced by a moon – the flower moon, the harvest moon, the hunter’s moon, the blood moon – this is the story of Eric and Merle whose souls have been searching for each other since their untimely parting.

What’s in a Name by Ellen Wittlinger

As if the students of Scrub Harbor High don’t have enough to worry about: Christine is quickly losing her friend Georgie to Ricardo; Nelson can’t connect with Shaquanda; Adam’s role as the new kid is tougher than he thought; and O’Neill’s controversial poem has electrified the school while making life unbearable for his football-star brother, Quincy. But now a group of Scrub Harbor citizens are trying to change the town’s name to the “classier” Folly Bay, and their crusade has filtered down to their kids. Suddenly, the school is divided into the rich-kid “Follys” and the poorer “Scrubs,” with everyone else caught in the middle. How can you answer the question “Who am I?” when your town can’t even make tip its mind? Will anyone emerge from the battle intact?

In ten interlocking stories, Ellen Wittlinger addresses the rarely discussed issues of class and identity that inform so much of teenage life. “What’s in a Name” is a bold report from the cutting edge ofteenage concerns.

Fall Short Story Collections for Teens

August 14, 2019 |

Short story collections are hit and miss at my library. Sometimes readers can’t get enough, like the completists clamoring for every last bit of writing about a particular author-created world. Other times, despite the quality of the stories within, they languish on the shelf. I’m optimistic about this fall’s crop, though, which would have definitely intrigued teenage me. Three out of the five consist entirely of genre fiction stories, and it seems like fantasy and science fiction also make guest appearances in at least one of the others. The librarian in me is happy to see a collection of stories about Jewish kids by Jewish writers (we need more of these in teen lit), as well as the romance collection edited by Sangu Mandanna, which is deliberately diverse in its mission and curation.

I wonder if short story collections for teens are having a bit of a renaissance lately – I noticed these five titles because three of them all publish within a week of each other. Normally I see maybe one per month in my librarian duties. I’ve always felt short story collections are great as inspiration for budding teen writers. They can be a good way to get past a reading block, too: getting through one short story is much less daunting a task than reading an entire novel. Do you plan to pick any of these up for your library or personal reading?

Life is Short and Then You Die: Mystery Writers of America Presents First Encounters With Murder edited by Kelley Armstrong (September 10)

Mystery Writers of America’s first teen anthology, edited by #1 New York Times bestselling author Kelley Armstrong.

Adolescence is a time of “firsts.” First kiss. First love. First loss. First job. The first taste of adult responsibilities, and the first look at an independent life away from both the restrictions and the security of home. And in this case, a very different type of “first”: murder. This short story collection of murder mysteries adds a sinister spin to the joy and pain of firsts that have always been a major part of life, whether it be high school cliques who take the term “backstabbing” too seriously, stumbling upon a body on the way home from school, or receiving a Snapchat message that promises something deadly. Contributors include Barry Lyga, Caleb Roehrig, Emmy Laybourne, Jonathan Maberry, R.L. Stine, Rachel Vincent, Steven Hockensmith, Y.S. Lee, and more!

His Hideous Heart: 13 of Edgar Allan Poe’s Most Unsettling Tales Reimagined edited by Dahlia Adler (September 10)

Thirteen of YA’s most celebrated names reimagine Edgar Allan Poe’s most surprising, unsettling, and popular tales for a new generation.

Edgar Allan Poe may be a hundred and fifty years beyond this world, but the themes of his beloved works have much in common with modern young adult fiction. Whether the stories are familiar to readers or discovered for the first time, readers will revel in Edgar Allan Poe’s classic tales, and how they’ve been brought to life in 13 unique and unforgettable ways. Contributors include Kendare Blake (reimagining “Metzengerstein”), Rin Chupeco (“The Murders in the Rue Morge”), Lamar Giles (“The Oval Portrait”), Tessa Gratton (“Annabel Lee”), Tiffany D. Jackson (“The Cask of Amontillado”), Stephanie Kuehn (“The Tell-Tale Heart”), Emily Lloyd-Jones (“The Purloined Letter”), Hillary Monahan (“The Masque of the Red Death”), Marieke Nijkamp (“Hop-Frog”), Caleb Roehrig (“The Pit and the Pendulum”), and Fran Wilde (“The Fall of the House of Usher”).

It’s a Whole Spiel: Love, Latkes, and Other Jewish Stories edited by Katherine Lock and Laura Silverman (September 17)

Get ready to fall in love, experience heartbreak, and discover the true meaning of identity in this poignant collection of short stories about Jewish teens, including entries by David Levithan, Nova Ren Suma, and more!

A Jewish boy falls in love with a fellow counselor at summer camp. A group of Jewish friends take the trip of a lifetime. A girl meets her new boyfriend’s family over Shabbat dinner. Two best friends put their friendship to the test over the course of a Friday night. A Jewish girl feels pressure to date the only Jewish boy in her grade. Hilarious pranks and disaster ensue at a crush’s Hanukkah party. From stories of confronting their relationships with Judaism to rom-coms with a side of bagels and lox, It’s a Whole Spiel features one story after another that says yes, we are Jewish, but we are also queer, and disabled, and creative, and political, and adventurous, and anything we want to be. You will fall in love with this insightful, funny, and romantic Jewish anthology from a collection of diverse Jewish authors.

The End and Other Beginnings: Stories From the Future by Veronica Roth (October 1)

Bestselling Divergent and Carve the Mark author Veronica Roth delivers a stunning collection of novella-length stories set in the future, illustrated with startling black-and-white artwork.

No world is like the other. Within this masterful collection, each setting is more strange and wonderful than the last, brimming with new technologies and beings. And yet, for all the advances in these futuristic lands, the people still must confront deeply human problems. In these six stories, Veronica Roth reaches into the unknown and draws forth something startlingly familiar and profoundly beautiful. With tales of friendship and revenge, plus two new stories from the Carve the Mark universe, this collection has something for new and old fans alike. Each story begins with a hope for a better end, but always end with a better understanding of the beginning.

Color Outside the Lines: Stories About Love edited by Sangu Mandanna (November 12)

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. Honestly, though? I think the answer’s much simpler than that. Color Outside the Lines is a collection of stories about young, fierce, brilliantly hopeful people in love.” – Sangu Mandanna

Short Story Collections, Part Two: Middle Grade Edition

August 22, 2018 |

Back in February, I did a round-up of 2017 and 2018 short story collections for young adults. But middle grade authors are getting in on the action, too. Here are a few from the same two year span.

Funny Girl: Funniest. Stories. Ever. edited by Betsy Bird

A collection of uproarious stories, rollicking comics, rib-tickling wit, and more, from 25 of today s funniest female writers for kids.

What could be funnier than family? Read stories about Ursula Brown’s grandmother driving her on a road trip to disaster, Lisa Brown’s little brother getting a Tic-Tac stuck up his nose, and Carmen Agra Deedy’s mom setting the bathtub on fire.

What could be funnier than friends? Pretty much nothing, as Rita Williams-Garcia shows two besties hatching a bird-brained scheme to get on to a TV talk show, and Deborah Underwood introduces a dynamic dog-and-cat duo teaming up on a pet advice column.

What could be funnier than YOU? Tell your future with Mad Libs, discover your Chinese Zodiac sign with Lenore Look, and learn the best tricks of the comedy trade from professional humorists like Adrianne Chalepah and Delaney Yeager.

With clever contributions from award-winning and bestselling authors including Cece Bell, Sophie Blackall, Libba Bray, Shannon Hale, Lisa Graff, and Raina Telgemeier, this anthology of funny girls will make you laugh until you cry. Or cry until you laugh. Or maybe you won’t cry at all. Either way, you’ll definitely laugh. Funny Girl isn t just an anthology: it’s a cause, a mission, a movement. Girls are funny. Now it’s time for the world to know it.

The Whirlpool by Laurel Croza

Charity takes small steps to escape her controlling father. Jasmine endures the rumors about her at school, even though no one really knows what happened last summer. The Oh! So Perfect Hair Dolly wishes for just the right child to take her home from the store. Nicola has a run-in with a classmate on her first day at a new school in the big city ― or is the classmate a wolf in disguise? A squirrel ruminates on the nature of life and death. Dani fights for her dream, in spite of her father’s insistence that her older brother should be the one to play hockey. Mike finds the kind of family he has longed for in his coworkers at the restaurant where he works.

In these seven stories by Laurel Croza (author of the award-winning picture books I Know Here and From There to Here), five teenagers, a doll and a squirrel break out of the expectations placed upon them. Featuring beautiful black-and-white illustrations by Kelsey Garrity-Riley.

The Wrong Train by Jeremy de Quidt

Imagine you’ve just managed to catch your train and you realize it’s the wrong one. You’d be annoyed of course, but not scared . . . Yet. Imagine you get off the wrong train at the next station hoping to catch one back the way you came. But the station is empty. Again, you’d be annoyed, but not scared . . . Yet. Imagine someone comes to the station, a stranger who starts to tell you stories to help pass the time. But these aren’t any old stories–they’re nightmares that come with a price to pay. And you want them to stop. Scared yet? You will be.

Us, in Progress: Short Stories About Young Latinos edited by Lulu Delacre

Acclaimed author and Pura Belpré Award honoree Lulu Delacre’s beautifully illustrated collection of twelve short stories is a groundbreaking look at the diverse Latinos who live in the United States.

In this book, you will meet many young Latinos living in the United States, from a young girl whose day at her father’s burrito truck surprises her to two sisters working together to change the older sister’s immigration status, and more.

Turn the pages to experience life through the eyes of these boys and girls whose families originally hail from many different countries; see their hardships, celebrate their victories, and come away with a better understanding of what it means to be Latino in the U.S. today.

Sit by Deborah Ellis

The seated child. With a single powerful image, Deborah Ellis draws our attention to nine children and the situations they find themselves in, often through no fault of their own. In each story, a child makes a decision and takes action, be that a tiny gesture or a life-altering choice.

Jafar is a child laborer in a chair factory and longs to go to school. Sue sits on a swing as she and her brother wait to have a supervised visit with their father at the children’s aid society. Gretchen considers the lives of concentration camp victims during a school tour of Auschwitz. Mike survives seventy-two days of solitary as a young offender. Barry squirms on a food court chair as his parents tell him that they are separating. Macie sits on a too-small time-out chair while her mother receives visitors for tea. Noosala crouches in a fetid, crowded apartment in Uzbekistan, waiting for an unscrupulous refugee smuggler to decide her fate.

These children find the courage to face their situations in ways large and small, in this eloquent collection from a master storyteller.

Totally Middle School: Tales of Friends, Family, and Fitting In edited by Betsy Groban

From literary masterminds Lois Lowry, Gary D. Schmidt, Linda Sue Park, Katherine Paterson, Karen Cushman, Gregory Maguire, and more comes a timeless and inspirational anthology about the sometimes-challenging, always-rewarding coming-of-age years: middle school.

With eleven short stories told in text messages, emails, formal letters, stories in verse, and even a mini graphic novel, Totally Middle School tackles a range of important subjects, from peer pressure, family issues, and cultural barriers to the unexpected saving grace of music, art, friendship, and reading.

Brimming with heart and humor, these poignant stories from bestselling and award-winning authors shine a light on the moments when everything is thrilling and terrifying at the same time–in a way it will never be again.

Flying Lessons and Other Stories edited by Ellen Oh

Whether it is basketball dreams, family fiascos, first crushes, or new neighborhoods, this bold anthology—written by the best children’s authors—celebrates the uniqueness and universality in all of us.

In a partnership with We Need Diverse Books, industry giants Kwame Alexander, Soman Chainani, Matt de la Peña, Tim Federle, Grace Lin, Meg Medina, Walter Dean Myers, Tim Tingle, and Jacqueline Woodson join newcomer Kelly J. Baptist in a story collection that is as humorous as it is heartfelt. This impressive group of authors has earned among them every major award in children’s publishing and popularity as New York Times bestsellers.

From these distinguished authors come ten distinct and vibrant stories.

Scream and Scream Again! edited by R. L. Stine

Scream and Scream Again! is full of twists and turns, dark corners, and devilish revenge. Collected in conjunction with the Mystery Writers of America, this set includes works from New York Timesbestselling authors telling tales of wicked ice-cream trucks, time-travelling heroes, witches and warlocks, and of course, haunted houses.