Tales of
teenagers
in dangerous,
exciting
or mysterious circumstances,
who can’t
depend
on others
for help.

Adventure
Fiction
for
Young
Adults

Ghost Canoe by Will Hobbs
Nathan, fishing with the Makah in the Pacific Northwest, finds himself holding a vital clue to finding a Spanish treasure.

Alex Rider series by Anthony Horowitz
Sixteen-year-old Alex continues his uncle’s work with MI6, the British intelligence agency.

Night Journey by Kathryn Lasky
Rache persuades her great-grandmother to tell the story of her escape from czarist Russia.

The Arm of the Starfish by Madeleine L’Engle
A marine biology student reporting to his summer job off the coast of Portugal finds himself  at the center of a power struggle.

The Illyrian Adventure by Lloyd Alexander
In 1872, Vesper Holly researches an ancient legend and gets caught up in a dangerous rebellion.

Kingdom of the Golden Dragon by Isabel Allende
Alexander and his grandmother, a magazine writer, travel to the Himalayas to find a sacred statue before it is stolen by an outsider.

Crispin: the Cross of Lead by Avi
In medieval England, Crispin flees his village because he is falsely accused of murder.

Backwater by Joan Bauer
Ivy Breedlove treks into the mountain wilderness to interview a reclusive aunt about their family’s history.

Jumping the Nail by Eve Bunting
California teenagers dare each other to jump off dangerous cliffs into the ocean.

The Goats by Brock Cole
Howie and Laura are stripped and left on an island by their fellow campers.  They decide to survive on their own until Parent’s Weekend.

Flash Fire by Caroline Cooney
Danna and Hall are home alone when a California flash fire and looters threaten their home.

A Girl Named Disaster by Nancy Farmer
Nhamo struggles to escape drowning and
starvation on her journey to Zimbabwe.

Monkey Island by Paula Fox
Clay is forced to live on the streets of New York City when his mother disappears from their hotel room.

Shackleton’s Stowaway by Victoria McKernan
Based on the true story of an 18-year-old who stowed away on an expedition to the Antarctic.

The Blue Sword by Robin McKinley
Harry, bored with her life in a remote orange-growing colony, discovers magic in herself when she is kidnapped by a king.

A Killing Frost by John Marsden
Ellie and her friends, a small group of teenagers trying to survive in the Australian countryside, resist the invading enemies.

Bloody Jack by L.A. Meyer
A 13-year-old beggar girl from London disguises herself as a boy and connives her way onto a British warship looking for pirates.

Hatchet by Gary Paulsen
After a plane crash, 13-year-old Brian spends 54 days alone in the Alaskan wilderness.

Pirates! by Celia Rees
In 1722, Nancy leaves her family’s Jamaican plantation to escape an arranged marriage.  Her friend Minerva, a slave, goes with her and they become pirates who travel the world.

Holes by Louis Sachar
Stanley, whose family is cursed, is wrongfully sent to a correctional camp in the Texas desert, where he finds treasure and his first real friend.

Reef of Death by Paul Zindel
PC finds himself fighting an evil scientist and a sea monster while helping an Aboriginal girl search for her people’s treasure.