Young Adult Fiction

Poised with regal grace and pristine wealth, Angelette Arabella is the dutiful daughter of Valerius Arabella, a dictator who rules with an iron fist. 

When she stumbles upon a series of long-buried secrets that threaten to dismantle their carefully crafted lives, she faces a harrowing choice: expose the truth and risk everything or remain silent and let the lies continue. As tensions rise and loyalties shift, she must decide who to trust in a game where betrayal lurks around every corner.

Will Angelette have the courage to face the darkness, or will her fear silence her forever?

Scorpions Ascent is an action-packed young adult novel that blends Iron Age archaeology with the thrill of Indiana Jones adventure.

Tzakhi dreads being apprenticed to the smelting fires of King Solomon’s mines, but when his father is kidnapped, he has the opportunity to rescue him and demonstrate that he already has a different set of skills. 

Tzakhi’s father Nachshon is steward over the mines of the Arava, and Tzakhi’s older half brothers serve the fires. Tzakhi loves working with the animals of the caravansary at Tamar and learning desert craft from Captain Avi-dan, commander of the Tamar fortress. Tzakhi visits Scorpions’ Ascent, where he’d seen his older brother Salmah draw in a pack of wolves with his flute. He, too, draws in the pack with his shofar—a song his mother sang of an epic journey and wolves.

When his father is kidnapped for his metallurgical skill by Hadad, Tzakhi tracks the kidnappers. A Torah teacher known only as the Levite gives Tzakhi a sword and a blessing that the ancient hornet of Moses go before him.

Tzakhi finds the raiders’ camp at the suspected Mt. Sinai. Can Tzakhi use desert craft and the lessons he learned from Avi-dan and the Levite to cut them down?

Scorpions Ascent takes a thriller turn, showing readers how the imagination and faith of the young can carve out solutions.

A young girl must battle an evil force threatening the planet Althea’s healing powers while fighting for her own life.

A bubbly eighth grader’s life is transformed when she receives a diagnosis of leukemia. Something about Liv Silverstein’s illness makes the typical treatments ineffective, and her doctors recommend an unorthodox path forward. The only way to save Liv’s life is to transport her to the planet of healing, Althea. Desperate, Liv’s parents agree and Liv is whisked off by flying horses to a planet they never knew existed.

At first, Althea seems to be the realization of Liv’s childhood fantasies. Gifted with a wisecracking cat named Monticelli, Liv makes friends with mermaids and a half-elf boy, Caleb. When a mermaid becomes ill, Altheans realize their planet is suffering. A destructive purple mist washes over the land, polluting the water. Butterflies and plants are dying, and without its plants, Althea cannot heal the mermaid—or Liv.

Under the guidance of a wise elder named Dara, a reluctant Liv sets out to defend Althea, with the help of Monticelli and Caleb. After a challenging journey, they meet Emelina, a young girl possessed by the spirit of the evil Hadeon. Increasingly weakened by her untreated condition, Liv’s stamina threatens to expose the group to Emelina/Hadeon’s powers.

How will the trio, led by the fearless yet ailing Liv, survive this journey, defeat Hadeon, save Althea, and save Liv along the way?

In Skyboy, a young genius must confront his greatest weakness to survive.

Konstant is a brilliant 17-year-old immigrant whose pride and desire to rise to the top has exposed his blind spot - a failure to collaborate with others. When he wins a nationwide science fair sponsored by Metronome Logistics, the world’s most successful technology company, Konstant and five of his peers are invited to Metro-One, Metronome’s campus in New York City. 

An industrial accident strands them, along with the enigmatic CEO and his daughter, in an underground manufacturing facility. Forced to work together and use their prize-winning inventions to make it out alive, Konstant's greatest fear is realized when he discovers that someone among them is responsible for the attack.

Birds of Paradisum is an allegorical novel about one man's journey to faith and salvation, using the imagery of two competing airlines vying for their passengers' souls.    

The main character, Derek, must choose which airline he should fly to the island of Paradisum. The first choice is the large conglomerate airline that caters to every desire of its passengers, and it is headed by the mysterious CEO, Mr. Reinhard von Lux-Ferre. 

The other airline is a small operation with one gate agent, pilot, and plane. The two companies go head-to-head to secure Derek as a passenger. Along the way, Derek discovers dark secrets about the large airline and the island of Paradisum. But only he can decide which of the two airlines will deliver him to the island. 

Birds of Paradisum is geared toward youth and young-adult audiences, aiming to make them think about apologetic themes, the broad and narrow ways, and their salvation experience. Dealing with themes young people face when it comes to spirituality, such as popularity and pop culture, pantheistic and secularistic influences, and the allure of materialism, it also serves as a conversation starter for young Christians and their friends who have yet to become followers of Christ.

Ashton is finally free, living under the cloudy sky of the Hood Canal—without Wolfe, who is still in Augland carrying on the rebellion from the inside. At least that’s what Ashton thinks until Wolfe leads an attack at the Colony and kidnaps Jagatha.

Heartbroken and once again defeated by Augland, Ashton is forced to decide whether to accept the loss and keep her freedom, or fight against the tyranny of the Suits, even if it means going back into the dome of the Augland park she fought so hard to escape.

Ashton soon discovers that the levels of Augland 54’s treachery go far deeper than she ever imagined and the only way to fight it is to become another version of herself. But even with the façade, Ashton is afraid she is unsuitable to lead the rebellion. Can the workers, exhausted and unprotected, rise up against the augmented and idealized world of the Suits? All Ashton knows is that she refuses to lose anyone else. It’s time for the rise of the UnSuited.

Violet Clark is attending college in New York at one of the most prestigious art schools in the nation. As the oldest child, she should be the one who has it all together, who can help her sisters cope with the loss of their parents, and who should be able to move on from the tragedy that tore her family apart.

When Violet starts to struggle in her dance classes and a mysterious bouquet of roses arrives on her doorstep, it grows even harder to let go of her fears. Constantly looking over her shoulder, it’s clear someone is watching her, and she can’t figure out who. Soon, she’s not the only one receiving creepy notes and photos. Her sisters are in danger, too, and there is only one man she trusts to calm her nerves and help her solve the mystery.

So does the danger.

“Only the void is content to wait in peace.” 

Brightstar is the beginning of an epic space adventure that introduces readers to Nate, a boy desperate to escape the prison of an ordinary life made unbearable by his autism. When he is unexpectedly transported to another universe, Nate’s perceived disability is transformed into a near superpower. 

In the Aurora Galaxy, where his arrival has been prophesied for thousands of years, Nate finds the weight of expectations difficult to bear. After being greeted by an ancient ally, Nate begins gathering a misfit group of “odds” from every corner of the universe. Nate’s odyssey, which starts in the most prestigious school in civilization, will end battling monsters from the darkest imaginations of an ancient, captive Earth.
Coping with greater and greater adversity, Nate finds himself confronted by enemies who all seem to be connected in suspicious ways. In the end, Nate must stand before the Lightmaker Himself, who sent Nate to the Aurora Galaxy in the first place.

Brightstar is the beginning of a myth in the tradition of authors like C.S. Lewis, written to introduce young people to the most important stories and values of Western Civilization. Rich language and an epic story provide the backdrop for an exciting, yet thoughtful space fantasy.

In Discovering Ataraxia, Allie and her brother, S.J. - who has Autism Spectrum Disorder – are ushered into an alternate world, where they find two kingdoms on the brink of battle: the peace-loving Ataraxia and the hostile Malvelnia led by wily King Wendigo. 

Insights gained in this alt-universe will come in handy as Allie and S.J. face their own struggles in their new hometown of Lakeshores, North Carolina, where they come face to face with bullies, cliques, and adjustment pains every kid can relate to. As Allie and her brother get to know their new classmates, some become friends while others display hurtful behavior that is typical for tweens and teens who are figuring out how to express themselves and perceive others. These age groups are grappling with asserting their unique personalities, but insecurities often provoke ugly behavior that at its worst can be quite harmful to others. 

Discovering Ataraxia tells an entertaining story that teaches tweens and teens to see the importance of their choices. Current surveys of this age group reveal that the issues of bullying, body shaming, and thoughts of suicide are prevalent. This story seeks to highlight avenues of hope and light in a world often steeped in darkness, while inspiring young people to be strong and courageous individuals.

What if one accidental mistake could rewrite your future forever?

That’s the tragic dilemma two seemingly opposite, yet romantically bound teens – Genevieve and Steve – must answer if they want to explore their deep connection while saving the lives of those they love the most.

In the midst of grappling with her love’s mysterious disappearance, Genevieve’s perfect world is unexpectedly shattered when her family is blackmailed into revealing a dark secret.

But, this isn’t just any secret.

Set in the backdrop of charming and quaint Moncks Corner, South Carolina, Haunted By You is an intense romantic suspense that takes readers on a highly-entertaining psychological journey through whirlwind romance, real-life ghost stories, haunted pasts, and ultimate heartache with tragic consequences.

Two teenage siblings find themselves desperate for answers when a mysterious relic reveals its age-old secrets and power. 

Tim and Martie Carson are the only ones who can save their family from a downward spiral fueled by their parent’s struggles with PTSD and depression. When they realize that an ancient relic discovered under mysterious circumstances holds the key to unlocking answers hidden in the past, the siblings embark on a race against time to learn the relic’s secrets while avoiding the Trackers, sinister shadowy figures doomed to haunt history and drawn to possess the relic for their own evil purposes.

Travel through history with the Carson family as they struggle to understand the relic’s secrets. In their race against time can they decipher the clues and piece together the puzzle containing the answers they desperately seek? Or will they be trapped forever by the evil forces relentlessly pursuing them?

Award winning storyteller Clark Burbidge presents the first book in a thrilling young-adult fantasy adventure, StarPassage: The Relic, a clue studded journey through time, space, and history that builds mystery and suspense with every page turned.

For anyone who has wondered about the experience of objects that make up their everyday lives—Wide Awake is passing them the mic. 

Wide Awake is a collection of interviews with the inanimate objects that make up our everyday. The objects belong to Madison, a 20-something girl who is living on her own, in a relationship, and battling mental illness for the first time. The story unfolds through Madison’s journal entries, and through the perspectives of the objects of her life.

“By employing a vivid bestiary of creature both mundane and monstrous, Nickerson crafts a fantastical series opener that leaves ample room for future installments.” —Publisher’s Weekly

“Fast, funny, and weird in the best way! The Salamander Stone has the extremely messed up teen angst you’re looking for.”—Travis Baldree, New York Times, USA Today and ABA Indie best-selling author of Legends & Lattes

Ellie Adair isn’t surprised when a vampire appears in the takeout window of her part-time job, and while she’s afraid of the flame salamander attacking her employer’s ice cream store, she’s come to expect these sudden monster attacks. They’ve been happening across the globe for nearly a year, to the point that local governments are beginning to fund towns that organize their own “monster-hunting” militias. 

But Ellie’s not concerned with the Beowulf Brigade’s newsletter or the push for vampires to integrate into society. She’s too busy searching for answers about her father's disappearance, her mother's battle with mental illness, her grandfather’s suddenly failing health, and the fact that—just weeks after turning sixteen—Ellie starts transforming into a lumbering, bloodthirsty beast. 

In a world where insurance companies offer supernatural creature coverage for monster attacks and restaurants offer hema, a blood substitute for vampires wanting to follow more sustainable diets, Ellie isn't sure which side she's on, but she knows that whatever is kidnapping teens from Errolton High School needs to be stopped. And maybe, with the help of her friends, her monstrous persona can make a difference.

The Salamander Stone is a tale of monsters, teen angst, and one girl's journey to heal her estranged relationship with her family—and herself. 

No matter how hard she tries, Ashton cannot keep her head down. Not after Sheva is dragged off a train in front of her.

Augland 54 is the Pacific Northwest’s most extravagant theme park. Those with Suits choose the body they want and live the life of their dreams…and those without Suits work for the Artificial Existence Center, or AEC. As long as the workers keep their heads down, Augland provides food and shelter from the post-war world outside its domed walls.

When Ashton is sent to the new Land of Legends park, she discovers that Augland is keeping secrets—inside and outside of its walls—and they’re more violent than she ever expected. So she decides to fight back. After all, if Augland is going to make her dress up as a red-headed warrior princess, then she’s more than willing to become one.

In a corporation-ruled world inhabited by the augmented bodies of the wealthy, securely cut off from the rest in life-extending pods, Ashton exposes the sham of corporate success and refuses to remain a cog in the machine. The only thing that matters now is freedom. 

Anne of Survivor follows the journey of a defiant young woman who refuses to compromise her identity, forging an unconventional path filled with unexpected allies, profound adventures, and a destiny intertwined with the fate of a kingdom.

Anne may not know exactly what she wants in life, but she knows who she is and is not willing to change that for anyone. Anne resides in post-war Ryland, where everything’s civilized. A lesser noble, she should be grateful to have garnered Duke Saben’s interest; it’s everything her family desired for her… and themselves. But Anne humiliates the duke’s son instead. 

Punished and told to heed her place in society, but feeling the pull to be herself, Anne trades societal comforts for adventures she’s sure are waiting. Creating a new family consisting of her crew, a prostitute, and mute boy with a donkey, Anne begins anew, leaving Saben’s sad-looking boy to her sister. But nothing and no one are as they seem, and her departure, as it turns out, can make or break a kingdom.