Visionary Young Adult Book List

Are you tired of reading the same thing in young adult? Want to branch out into something new and exciting? Want to push the boundaries of young adult literature? Check out this book list....



1) "Outview" by Brandt Legg

There is a secret so powerful that, once known, the world will never be the same. For centuries they have died to protect it. Nate found it. They know he did. Across time and dimension they are after him . . .

Four years ago, his father died. Two years ago, Nate's mother locked his brother in a mental institution. One year ago, horrific visions began to torture him. Now, a clandestine group, wielding overwhelming power, wants him silenced. Nate is only sixteen.

Nothing is what it appears and the tragedies of his life are all connected to the secret, a secret so unimaginable that it will decide whether our modern society becomes a utopian or dystopian world.

Nate embarks on a breathless quest to save his brother and unravel the mystery of their father's death. His desperate flight takes a stunning turn when, along with three school friends, he encounters mystics who teach forgotten skills and lost wisdom and reveal an extraordinary destiny.

A fantasy thriller, set in present day Oregon and California, will appeal to more than young adult fans. Outview, the first book of the Inner Movement trilogy, combines mystics, metaphysical magic, psychics and reincarnation to push this new age conspiracy beyond the realm of the Celestine Prophecy and the Alchemist.



2) "Marking Time" by April White
Seventeen-year-old tagger Saira Elian can handle anything...a mother who mysteriously disappears, a stranger who stalks her around London, and even the noble English Grandmother who kicked Saira and her mother out of the family. But when an old graffiti tag in a tube station transports Saira to the 19th Century and she comes face-to-face with Jack the Ripper, she realizes she needs help after all. Saira meets Archer, a charming student who helps her blend in as much as a tall, modern American teen can in Victorian England. He reveals the existence of the Immortals: Time, Nature, Fate, War and Death, and explains to Saira that it is possible to move between centuries – if you are a Descendant of Time. Saira finds unexpected friendships at a boarding school for Immortal Descendants and a complicated love with a young man from the past. But time is running out for her mother, and Saira must embrace her new identity as she hides from Archer a devastating secret about his future that may cost him his life.



3) "The Last Book in the Universe" by Rodman Philbrick
This fast-paced action novel is set in a future where the world has been almost destroyed. Like the award-winning novel Freak the Mighty, this is Philbrick at his very best.

It's the story of an epileptic teenager nicknamed Spaz, who begins the heroic fight to bring human intelligence back to the planet. In a world where most people are plugged into brain-drain entertainment systems, Spaz is the rare human being who can see life as it really is. When he meets an old man called Ryter, he begins to learn about Earth and its past. With Ryter as his companion, Spaz sets off an unlikely quest to save his dying sister -- and in the process, perhaps the world.

4) "I Thirst" by Gina Marinello-Sweeney

When Rebecca receives a mysterious note from an unknown source, she has no idea how it will change her life. Twenty-year-old Rebecca Veritas is used to being different, but has never felt extraordinary. She is a Dreamer, living in a world of poetry intermixed with the antics of her unique family and eccentric best friend Adriana. When she meets Peter, a young student from Canada who seems somehow to understand her from the start, her perception changes. With "Intermission", the single word in that mysterious note, as inspiration, the two writers embark on an incredible journey to a new world in the form of a story that will ultimately parallel their own lives. Yet, as the story progresses, events remain ever more shrouded in mystery. When unexpected circumstances in the real world throw their lives in disarray, it will be up to Rebecca to find the true meaning of "Intermission" before the curtain closes on the final act. I THIRST received the 2013 YATR Literary Award for Best Prologue.



5) "Beyond Infinity" by Charles Ames Fischer

When high school senior Matthew 'MatheMatt' Forsythe discovers a weird computer and a secret door at school, a series of events unfolds where he and his friends solve one mathematical puzzle after another. After finding a teleportal, Matt and his friend Kelsie travel to a strange world where numbers are actually alive! There they meet the mad scientist Maglio and the ghostly Fifty-Seven and discover that some of the numbers are mysteriously disappearing. They must race against time to find the significant numbers Sixty-One and Three Hundred Thirteen. But why are the numbers disappearing? And what is so important about the number eight?



6) "The Zoo: an Allegorical Adventure" by Stephen Black
The Zoo is a story about a boy and his grandfather who travel to the remains of a destroyed city to learn about the comical array of characters that led to its decline and fall. At the core, it's a social critique that mirrors the changes taking place in our society and culture, where the book's primary characters (zoo animals) reflect the role politicians and general citizens play in influencing our society's evolutionary path.

The Zoo is a story filled with suspense, comic relief, and keen insights into human behavior. In a tone and style reminiscent of Animal Farm, this book is sure to delight readers of all ages.

The book was designed as a fast paced read with each chapter picking up steam like a locomotive, so that each chapter reads faster than the prior chapter.