Teen Magical Realism

When seven-year-old Jamie falls down a very long hill, he finds himself trapped in a world of strange creatures, harsh landscapes, and near-perpetual darkness. Lost and confused, Jamie is desperate to get home. The nightmares, fears, and all manner of what-ifs that inhabit this shadow world are unfamiliar to him - all except one: the Lairdbalor, Jamie's personal nightmare, once relegated to his dreams. In this fantastical land, however, the Lairdbalor and all the fears and nightmares of children are very real.

A year ago, Boy, the son of Frankenstein's monster, had never even met a human. Now he's living with his human "family", the descendants of Dr. Frankenstein, in Switzerland. That is until the maniacal genius Dr. Moreau, long-ago banished to a remote island for his crimes against humanity, asks for Boy's help.

In a world of violence and injustice, freedom is both a prize and a curse. Bensin is desperate to provide for himself and his sister Ellie, but survival isn’t his only concern: he needs money to rescue Coach Steene from slavery. When two rival street gangs express interest in Bensin’s martial arts skills, he sees a chance to save his father figure at last … if he’s willing to pay the price.

My name is Juliet Wildfire Stone, and I barely escaped my sleepy Arizona town alive after a Seeker tried to murder me. There are three others like me—Chosen hybrids—each with different abilities. I must find them, because an alien race is plotting to enslave the world, and only the Chosen can stop them. We must fulfill our destiny... or run. As the Alpha, only I can lead the others, but how can I trust these people I've never met? No matter, because I'll do anything to stop the enemy... even if it kills me.

It's been two years since Sam broke up with the only other eligible gay guy in his high school, so to say he's been going through a romantic drought is the understatement of the decade. When Meg, his ex-Catholic-turned-Wiccan best friend, suggests performing a love spell, Sam is just desperate enough to try. He crafts a list of 10 traits he wants in a boyfriend and burns it in a cemetery at midnight on Friday the 13th.

Bensin, a teenage slave and martial artist, is desperate to see his little sister freed. But only victory in the Krillonian Empire's most prestigious tournament will allow him to secretly arrange for Ellie's escape. Dangerous people are closing in on her, however, and Bensin is running out of time. With his one hope fading quickly away, how can Bensin save Ellie from a life of slavery and abuse?

They survived the first wave of werewolves, but Zev knows it’s only the beginning. When a rogue werewolf shows up with news as to why the second attack doesn’t come, Zev has to decide whether or not to trust this enemy to help him defend the town against a threat that has even Zev’s vampire masters afraid. A threat that could affect the entire town. With the dark voices getting louder, Zev is forced to risk everything to save the one who is bringing back his humanity. But what if he is too late and her heart is already claimed by another?

Leaked secrets. High stakes. An impossible choice. Pellucid Rose discovered just how menacing Secret Magic can be when it comes to protecting the secret someone sealed involving her. But when soldiers of the Empire of Glass, Harpoc’s greatest enemy, kidnap her, she learns that she can’t escape unless she breaks the secret that practically strangled Harpoc - it’s an impossible choice. Meanwhile, the Empire of Glass leaks more of the sealed confidences of the Empire of Secrets making an already tenuous situation even more fragile.

Master storyteller David Almond presents a beautiful collection of short fiction interwoven with pieces that illuminate the inspiration behind the stories. May Malone is said to have a monster in her house, but what Norman finds there may just be the angel he needs. Joe Quinn's house is noisy with poltergeists, or could it be Davie's raging causing the disturbance?

Enslaved teen martial artist Bensin is just one victory away from freedom—or one mistake away from disaster. But when a bitter rival frames him for a crime he didn’t commit, his fate is sealed with ruthless efficiency: a lifetime as a gladiator, forced to fight and bleed to entertain a bloodthirsty audience. Every day pushes Bensin to his limits as he struggles to survive in an environment designed to break him. The brutal system strips men of their identity, but Bensin refuses to be just another pawn in its deadly game. Defiance, however, comes at a high price.

Harriet Adu knows that her brother’s death is her fault. I mean, it’s not actually her fault, but it still kinda is, isn’t it? She would do anything to live in a world where she could take back what she said that morning. Then a strange girl shows up at Harriet’s high school—a girl who loves the same weird books Harriet does, who doesn’t vibe with anyone at school the same way Harriet does—and that different world suddenly seems possible. The girl speaks of a place underneath the subways of New York, where people like them can go and find a home.

One mistake and those I love could die. Hiding behind my brother and his friends has made it easy to keep my secrets, but since Merith came to Arda only months ago, my life has been wrecked. My father exposed, my brother obsessed...and now, because I let myself care about someone who is practically a stranger to me, I've been revealed as what I truly am. This curse's hold over me is irrevocable, my life more entwined in it than I can manage on my own.

Abandoned by her parents the day she was born and raised by her Sensei, Fin, Sparrow has grown up bitter and doubtful of her identity. Forced to train beside the elite “Anomalies” - a secret society of superhuman fugitives on a mission to rescue a war-torn world from the Reformed Global Militia - Sparrow fights her own powers, desperately wishing she could live like a normal teenager. But her rebellious streak comes to a screeching halt when Fin transfers her to a new school (which just happens to be a cabin in the woods) to train alongside the best of the best.

The lines between Light and Dark blur when Alder and Lily assume their crowns as the new King and Queen of the Fae Kingdom. The goal of their reign is to fulfill Gideon’s wishes of uniting the fairy Kingdoms, but something sinister stands in their way. Determined to find Bennett and retrieve the stolen book, Lily’s attention strays from her duties, making her rely on her sisters more than ever before.

Sante was a baby when she was washed ashore in a sea-chest laden with treasure. It seems she is the sole survivor of the tragic sinking of a ship carrying migrants and refugees. Her people. Fourteen years on she's a member of Mama Rose's unique and dazzling circus. But, from their watery grave, the unquiet dead are calling Sante to avenge them: A bamboo flute. A golden bangle. A ripening mango which must not fall.

Hailey Firestone's world shatters when she becomes ensnared in a treacherous love triangle in the crime-ridden streets of Fairview City. First, there’s Ash Blackthorn, the dashing heir to a notorious crime syndicate, whose dangerous allure pulls Hailey into a thrilling but perilous game. His roguish charm hides a world of violence that she finds hard to resist. Then there’s Kai Clearwater, rumored to be the estranged son of Ash's family’s fiercest rivals. His intentions are cloaked in mystery—will he be her savior or her downfall?

Sure, jumping through books into the world's most beautiful libraries to protect humans from mystical creatures is awesome. No one knows that better than Gia Kearns, but she could do without the part where people are always trying to kill her. Oh, and the fact that she and Pop had to move away from her friends and life as she knew it.

It has been two years since Violet Eden walked away from the city, her friends, her future and most importantly, her soulmate, Lincoln. Part angel, part human, Violet is determined to stand by the promises she made to save the one she loves.

The gateways linking the great libraries of the world don’t require a library card, but they do harbor incredible dangers. And it’s not your normal bump-in-the-night kind. The threats Gia Kearns faces are the kind with sharp teeth and knifelike claws - the kind that includes an evil wizard hell-bent on taking her down.

Set in an ethereal bookstore where all of the employees are fictional characters who have yet to be written, and must live a purgatory-like existence tending to the literary canon until their author shows up to claim them, “Blank Paige” follows Paige—an intelligent young woman who is the only character to arrive in the Store without any knowledge of her genre or story. Paige’s appearance sends the world of the Bookstore into a tailspin—causing the characters to question how much free will they have over their own lives, and threatening to destroy the very fabric of imagination.