Survival stories
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Alex hiked into the woods when an electro-magnetic pulse crushes her to the ground. Desperate to figure out what's happening, Alex meets up with Tom, a young soldier, and Ellie, a girl whose grandfather was killed by the EMP. For this improvised family and the others who are spared, it’s now a question of who can be trusted and who is no longer human.
The maze runner / James Dashner
When Thomas wakes up, the only thing he can remember is his first name. His memory is blank. But he's not alone. When the lift's doors open, Thomas finds himself surrounded by kids who welcome him to the Glade---a large, open expanse surrounded by stone walls. Thomas might be more important than he could ever guess. If only he could unlock the dark secrets buried within his mind. First of trilogy; followed by The scorch trials & The death cure
Wildfire run / by Dee Garretson
When an earthquake sets off a wildfire near Camp David, the President's son, Luke, must outwit the technology meant to protect him and save his friends and favorite Secret Service agent before the fire engulfs them all.
The wild / Christopher Golden & Tim Lebbon
Seventeen-year-old Jack London makes the arduous journey to the Yukon's gold fields in 1893, becoming increasingly uneasy about supernatural forces in the wilderness that seem to have taken a special interest in him. Followup: The sea wolves
Everyone over the age of 15 disappears. It's a terrifying new world. Sides are being chosen and war is imminent. Ellen's vote for a top ten YA series! First book in series, followed by Hunger, Lies, Plague, Fear (due out 4/3/12)
Among the hidden / Margaret Peterson Haddix
In a future where the Population Police enforce the law limiting a family to only two children, Luke has lived all his twelve years in isolation and fear on his family's farm, until another "third" convinces him that the government is wrong.
The eleventh plague / Jeff Hirsch
Twenty years after the start of the war that caused the Collapse, fifteen-year-old Stephen, his father, and grandfather travel post-Collapse America scavenging, but when his grandfather dies and his father decides to risk everything to save the lives of two strangers, Stephen's life is turned upside down.
Infinity : chronicles of Nick / Sherrilyn Kenyon
Fourteen-year-old sarcastic, street-savvy Nick is drawn into the world of the Dark-Hunters, but must hide his participation in the battle against werewolves, vampires, and zombies from his mother and high school principal. Series continues with: Invincible, Infamous
I could trap my own food and make my own clothes. I could find my way by the stars and make fire in the rain. Pap said he even figured I could whip somebody three times my size. He wasn't worried about me. Perhaps he should have been. When Moon’s dad dies unexpectedly, Moon will need all of his survival skills and more, especially when he has to escape from a boys' home.
In 1868, with his army officer father suddenly posted to India, and his mother mysteriously "unwell," fourteen-year-old Sherlock Holmes is sent to stay with his eccentric uncle and aunt in their vast house in Hampshire, where he uncovers his first murder and a diabolical villain. Followup: Rebel fire
Kensuke's kingdom / Michael Morpurgo
When Michael's parents lose their jobs, they buy a boat and decide to sail around the world with their son and their beloved dog. It's an ideal trip - until Michael is swept overboard. He's washed up on an island, where he struggles to survive. Then he discovers that he's not alone.
The day the blizzard started, no one knew that it was going to keep snowing for a week. That for those in its path, it would become not just a matter of keeping warm, but of staying alive. . . .
Life as we knew it / Susan Beth Pfeffer
Miranda’s disbelief turns to fear in a split second when a meteor knocks the moon closer to the earth. How should her family prepare for the future when worldwide tsunamis wipe out the coasts, earthquakes rock the continents, and volcanic ash blocks out the sun?
On an appointed day of every year, all sixteen-year-olds must select the faction to which they will devote the rest of their lives. For Beatrice, the decision is between staying with her family and being who she really is - she can't have both. So she makes a choice that surprises everyone, including herself. One of the hottest reads in recent years! sequel due out May 1, 2012 : Insurgent
Night of the howling dogs / Graham Salisbury
In 1975, eleven Boy Scouts, their leaders, and some new friends camping at Halape, Hawaii, find their survival skills put to the test when a massive earthquake strikes, followed by a tsunami.
In a future world where those between the ages of thirteen and eighteen can have their lives "unwound" and their body parts harvested for use by others, three teens go to extreme lengths to uphold their beliefs--and, perhaps, save their own lives.
The water wars / Cameron Stracher
In a world where water has become a precious resource, Vera and her brother befriend a boy who seems to have unlimited access to water and who suspiciously disappears, prompting a dangerous search challenged by pirates, a paramilitary group, and corporations.
Ashes, ashes / by Jo Treggiari
In a future Manhattan devastated by environmental catastrophes and epidemics, sixteen-year-old Lucy survives alone until vicious hounds target her and force her to join Aidan and his band, but soon they learn that she is the target of Sweepers, who kidnap and infect people with plague.
Janice VanCleave's volcanoes : mind-boggling experiments you can turn into science fair projects.
Janice VanCleave's Volcanoes includes 20 fun and simple experiments that allow you to discover the answers to these and other fascinating questions about volcanoes, plus dozens of additional suggestions for developing your own science fair projects.
In a post-apocalyptic eastern seaboard ravaged by disease and war with a manmade race of people called Partials, the chance at a future rests in the hands of Kira Walker, a sixteen-year-old medic in training