Secrets: The Hero Chronicles (Volume 1)

Secrets: The Hero Chronicles (Volume 1), by Tim Mettey, free

The Midwest lies in complete ruins after a catastrophic disaster kills tens of thousands and leaves hundreds of thousands injured. Nicholas Keller emerges out of the devastation as a shining light of hope for all. But his newfound fame comes with a price that his aunt will not let him pay. They flee into the shadows in order to protect his secret.

As Nicholas begins his sophomore year at his fifth school in five years, strange and unexpected things begin to happen. He soon tumbles into a web of doomed love, extraordinary talents and a secret past, which threatens the lives of everyone he cares about. It's up to Nicholas to confront the truth, even if it means his own death. 

101 Ways to Contribute

101 Ways to Contribute, non-fiction by Nathan Youssef, free (any amount donation)

A great book written by a teen, for teens, based upon his own experiences and his more-than-two years of blog posts. This book compiles 101 ways kids and teens can give back to their communities, and is currently offered for free download on the website, 101waystocontribute.com. The author is asking those who are able to give a $2 donation. All profits will go to the Elephant Nature Park, a home for rescued elephants in Northern Thailand. The book offers practical, helpful information for teens who want to get involved but don't know where to start. 

"I don't think kids realize how much we can do," says the author, Nathan Youssef, a 17-year-old high school senior from Durango, Colorado. "We can impact political campaigns. We can get issues into the media. We can influence environmental policy. We can draw attention to causes that matter. And most importantly, we can give our time and energy and help our neighbors. Huge donations get media attention, but writing to a soldier who is serving our country to sitting down to chat with someone of a different religious background matter. These things breed tolerance and help strengthen communities. We have the power to do that, and I wanted other kids to benefit from what I'd researched and learned." 

Perception

Perception, by Lee Strauss, free October 15-17, only

Seventeen year old Zoe Vanderveen is a GAP—a genetically altered person. She lives in the security of a walled city on prime water-front property along side other equally beautiful people with extended life spans.

Her brother Liam is missing.

Noah Brody is a natural who lives on the outside. He leads protests against the GAPs and detests the widening chasm they’ve created between those who have and those who don’t. He doesn’t like girls like Zoe and he has good reason not to like her specifically.

Zoe’s carefree life takes a traumatic turn. She’s in trouble and it turns out that Noah, the last guy on earth she should trust, is the only one who can help her.

PERCEPTION is a ( SF/mystery/romance) Young Adult novel that takes place in the not too distant future in a world changed by climate extremes, natural disasters and impending wars, and where scientific breakthroughs cause class divisions—both financially and philosophically. It explores the clash between faith and science and how differences can separate us as enemies or ally us together. And in some cases, even in the midst of betrayal and personal crisis, there’s room to fall in love. Recommended 15+

Zombies Don't Read: 5 Living Dead Stories

Zombies Don't Read: 5 Living Dead Stories, by Rusty Fischer, free

5 Living Dead Stories by Rusty Fischer: 

• Zombies Don't Swim 
• Zombies Don't Carve 
• Zombies Don't Kiss & Tell 
• Zombies Don't Study 
• Zombies Don't Sleep 

Sweet Blood of Mine

Sweet Blood of Mine, by John Corwin, free

From Mega Nerd to Super Stud.

Justin Case and women do not mix. Man boobs, a love of Kings and Castles, and being tight with the "nerd" crowd certainly don't win him any points either. After rescuing Katie, his crush, it turns out she might not be the girl he thought she was, while Elyssa, the school's Goth Girl, turns out to be more. Can high school get any more confusing? 

Determined to improve himself, he joins a gym and meets a sexy girl that just oozes a "come hither, Justin" vibe. Until she attacks him in the parking lot, and Justin realizes she's no ordinary girl but a being with supernatural speed and strength. After a narrow escape and an excruciating migraine headache, he wakes up with supernatural abilities all his own: speed, strength, and the ability to seduce every woman he sees. 

While that might sound like the perfect combo for any hormonal teen, Justin is a hopeless romantic who wants his first time to be special. Is that too much to ask for? But he doesn't know what he is or how to stop his carnal urges. One thing is clear: If he doesn't find answers there are other more sinister supernaturals who would like nothing better than to make him their eternal plaything and do far worse than kill him.

Sea Dweller

Sea Dweller, by Melanie Atkinson, free

Aylen has been considered an outcast on the secluded island of Vairda her entire life.  It doesn’t help that her parents forbid her to acknowledge any island traditions and refuse to tell her anything about the mysterious mainland they left behind before she was born. Meanwhile, her only friend, Sai, is suddenly distancing himself because his parents don’t approve of the time he spends with “that girl who isn’t a native.” 

Aylen wants more than just the life of an outsider and she’s determined to figure out how to get it, even if it means defying her parents or spying on her best friend. But the night she finds a strange jewel that gives her the ability to breathe underwater, Aylen thinks she may have found a way to leave the island for good. As she learns to use the jewel, however, Aylen uncovers the nightmarish secrets about her parents’ pasts and the dangers which made them leave the mainland in the first place. And it turns out those dangers may have found their way to the island. With the help of her jewel, Aylen is the only person who can protect her family and the entire island nation from the biggest threat they have ever known.

Colt O'Brien Sees The Light

Colt O'Brien Sees the Light, by George Matthew Cole, free

Colt O’Brien doesn’t think that he has to prove anything. He is the most savvy computer technician at Highline High in Burien, Washington. When a PC needs fixing, Colt is called in to save the day. The short, energetic senior, with his bright, colorful attire and cocky attitude, knows that he is the best. He expects the respect that is showered upon him by peers and teachers. School will soon be over and freedom beckons. No more girl friend to tell him what to do. No more schoolwork to bore him to death. Colt is cruising through senior year, but his life is about to be turned upside down. Two freshman nerds start a computer class that will put Highline High on the map and challenge Colt’s credibility. Three women will show him the meaning of love. One will show him the meaning of hate. And, his hidden psychic powers will emerge when he least expects them to. Hang on Colt.

Tempo Thompson And Deadly Mountain

Tempo Thompson And Deadly Mountain, by Justin Black, free for a limited time

The eleven-year-old, curly-haired, eye-brow raising Tempo Thompson moves to Sabrise, Michigan after leaving from the town he has known all his life. But in the shadowy streets of Sabrise lies a darker history to be discovered. The curious Tempo discovers a magical world that is inhabited by genies and gypsies. However, these magical beings are different from what Tempo has known them to be, which is for the better. With help of his genie, he embarks in this magical world learning its wonders and its dangers; dangers of mass murders and kidnappings in his genie's home. Along the way, Tempo is drawn into his friends' troubles, which at a point puts his life in peril. 

The Puppet Queen: A Tale of the Sleeping Beauty

The Puppet Queen: A Tale of the Sleeping Beauty, by Mira Zamin, free

After Selene's homeland falls to the Pari curse, she is forced to must contest for the throne by her insidious fiancé. When rivalries threaten to plunge the country into civil war, Selene must fight through magic and malice—her family's fate hangs in the balance. The Puppet Queen is a young adult fantasy retelling of Sleeping Beauty infused with the folklore of the Middle East 

Run, run, run as fast as you can—and that is exactly what Selene does when she discovers that the curse set on her family and emirate, destining them to eternal slumber, is solely her fault. But pasts are not so easily left behind.

On Selene’s eighteenth birthday, her emirate falls to the enchantment and her jilted fiancé, the conniving Lord Gwydion drags her home. While Selene clashes with her fiancé, the ailing Queen of Ghalain summons the emirs to contest for the throne. Each emir has a claim, but the crown holds special meaning for Selene: as queen, she would have the leverage necessary to oblige the Pari to lift the curse.

In Ghalain’s capital, Selene stumbles into the labyrinthine mire that is court intrigue. When political rivalries threaten to plunge the country into civil war, Selene must fight through magic and malice to emerge victorious. Her family’s fate swings in the balance. 

Sarah Smiles

Sarah Smiles, by Seanpaul Thomas, free

It's Nineteen ninety one and eleven year old Paul and his family have just moved to the climatic sunshine paradise of Cyprus with his father's work as an army sergeant with the Royal Engineers.

On Paul's first day at school he is befriended by the dominant school bully Michael who takes young Paul under his sinister wing. Michael though only wants to hang out with Paul after school since they are neighbours and the only same age kids on their respective army estate and introduces Paul to the beautiful but wildly dangerous and adventurous world of the surrounding wasteland caves and valleys.

Things though take a turn for the worst when Michael bullies Paul into steeling some cigarettes from his dad's bar on the base and the two run off underneath a local bridge to try and smoke them. Here Michael is 'accidentally' urinated on from the top of the bridge by another young boy, Ben, who Michel and Paul chase into a local park to beat up for his prank.

Paul wants nothing to do with the savage beating, but has no choice in the matter with bully Michael over dominating him and forcing Paul to hit the boy too. The young boy though is finally saved by his older sister, Sarah, a pretty tomboy girl from Michael and Paul's class at school.

Paul is completely spellbound by Sarah and not only because of her pretty and athletic looks, but also her rough and tough no nonsense edged ways and handling of the bully Michael who, as of yet, has never been spoken to or stood up to before, the way Sarah stood up to him.

From here on in this incident sets off a series of events that brings the homely, well rounded Paul and the troubled young Sarah's worlds together and the two begin an unusual but adventurous and exciting friendship that will stay with them for the rest of their lives, as they both become a solid shoulder for each other to cry on while helping one another to confront their inner most fears and demons.

From the mystery of Sarah's Mother's sudden disappearance to the trials and tribulations of growing up on a British army base with Sarah's domestic abuse issues living in a broken home with her alcoholic father to Paul's school bullying from the borderline psychotic Michael, Summertime adventures on the gorgeous Cypriot beaches and bondoo wasteland valleys to haunted houses, dealing with growing up on the move and first teen romances. All the while dealing with that delicate yet rough transition into teenage-hood.

Daughter of the Sea

Daughter of the Sea, by Mira Zamin, free

Engaged against her will, Calista, a young Roman aristocrat, grapples with the annihilation of her world at the hands of her would-be husband. The violent aftermath uncovers a connection to the land of Atlantis and shatters Calista’s conception of family, the gods—and herself. 

Calista does not know why the sea sings in her veins—or why her parents have affianced her to the insidious Lord Avaritus. She watches, powerless, as he ruthlessly annihilates all she loves.

When Calista tries escape with the remnants of her family, a storm strikes their vessel and Calista is hurled overboard. She reemerges in Atlantis, summoned by the leaders of the undersea domain. The very fiber of her identity shudders after she learns that she is the daughter of Neptune—and not quite mortal. 

Despite the manipulation of Atlantis’s leaders and the romantic temptations of a pair of smirking grey eyes, Calista must find a way to return to Portus Tarrus to rescue her family and seek revenge against the man who destroyed everything she held dear. 

Inner City

Inner City, by Scott Norton, free

The cities have gated their walls. Those in rural areas have been reduced to savages. When Callen Carrus, a seven year old boy from the city, faces a personal crises and runs away, he's chased outside the city walls. What happens to him there sets him on a twelve year quest that leads to love and extraordinary adventure. The riddle of Callen's past will require him risking his life to solve. 

Free eBooks for Young Adults

This site lists FREE eBooks for Young Adults, featuring Smashwords books, and is hosted by Smashwords authors, but all books for (and about)(and by) Young Adults are welcome. The listings are updated weekly, (usually) on Mondays. Listings include genre and length.

Mind Games

Mind Games, a short story by Susan Kaye Quinn, free

Raf, a regular mindreader, is in love with Kira, the only girl in school who can't read minds. Raf struggles to keep his thoughts about her private, but secrets are something that only zeros like Kira can keep. As he works up the nerve to ask Kira to the mindware Games, his friends have other games in mind for him. (Mind Games is a short story prequel to the novel Open Minds.) 

Still a few Free eBooks for summer reading

This site lists FREE eBooks for Young Adults, featuring Smashwords books, and is hosted by Smashwords authors, but all books for (and about)(and by) Young Adults are welcome. The listings are updated weekly, (usually) on Mondays. Listings include genre and length.

Did you miss the July Sale at Smashwords? Well, don't panic too much; there are still a few books available that are normally priced free, at Smashwords.  On this site, regular weekly updates will resume on Monday, August 6th.  

July sale of free eBooks at Smashwords

The month of July is pretty much the best month of 2012 to find Free eBooks for Young Adults (and any other eBooks, including books under the Coming of Age genre). That's because Smashwords is holding their annual Summer / Winter sale (the winter part is for our friends 'down under').  

Many authors have joined this sale, so there is a great selection and it's a great opportunity to fill up your reading device.  Smashwords' eBooks are available in all formats, for Kindle, Nook, Kobo, Android app for Tab or smartphone; it's all available for almost every book on Smashwords.  But, this is a limited time offer, and it ends on July 31st, and it ends on July 31st, so don't delay.

And one more thing... on Smashwords, there's no worry about region, or country, or location when you get these books for free.  Unlike Amazon, or Apple, or most of the others, you 'purchase' these free Smashwords books anywhere. 

On this site, regular weekly listings of free eBooks for Young Adults will resume in August, after this sale.  For now, enjoy your summer (or winter), and happy reading!

Watched

Watched, by Cindy M. Hogan, free

Change.

She longs for it.

A Murder. 

She will never be the same.

It takes more than a school trip to Washington, D.C. to change Christy’s life. It takes murder. 

A witness to the brutal slaying of a senator’s aide, Christy finds herself watched not only by the killers and the FBI, but also by two hot guys. 

She quickly discovers that if she can’t help the FBI, who want to protect her, it will cost her and her new friends their lives. 

Seaweed

Seaweed, by Elle Strauss, free

A teen swim athlete falls for a merboy, only to find out they have more in common, and more to fear, than she thought. 

Dori Seward can’t wait to get out of Eastcove, a sleepy fishing village on the border of New Brunswick and Maine. She bides her time by hanging out with friends, attending swim club, and holding her biggest competition, Colby–who wants more than just friendship, at arm’s length. 

Then Tor Riley comes to town and he has everything Dori dreams of in a boyfriend–looks, athleticism and mystery.

But Tor also has a tantalizing secret and Dori is determined to find out what it is. The truth is crazier than her wildest imaginations and more dangerous, too. Dori has new enemies, and they will do anything to get to her.

Her life, her dreams and her love for Tor are all weighing in the balance. Will Dori risk it all in order to have it all? 

The Heliand Train

The Heliand Train, by Brynne McKay, free

Heliand is a small city in the Commonwealth of Carolingia in the Inannan Empire, beloved by commuters and tourists wishing to escape the big city. It is connected to the nation’s sprawling capital, Gospel, by the fastest train on the Continent. Powered by steam and by magic, no one knows for sure how fast this train travels or who controls it, but it is part of the network of super-fast trains that keeps the Inannan Empire the most dominant in the region, firmly above the Sapphemus Consortium, its southern neighbor. 

Thirteen-year-old Jacklen Endervaar is a citizen of Carolingia and a resident of Heliand, but he spends most of his time on the train. He sells periodicals in three languages to commuters and foreigners alike, but his dream is to one day be the kind of engineer who operates the railway. 

Jacklen’s world is literally turned on its head when in an accident he falls under the wheels of a train. He’s seen other newsboys lose limbs and even their lives under the pounding wheels of the track, but by some miracle he escapes such a fate—but finds something quite unexpected that jars him from his comfortable dreams and sets him on a path quite different from the one he planned—one in which the world is far less clearly defined than Jacklen once thought, and one in which he must learn whom to trust before it’s too late.

Night Marchers

Night Marchers, by Courtney Nuckels & Rebecca Gober, free

“NEVER, EVER lock eyes with a Night Marcher!” Everyone in Hawaii has heard this warning, except for seventeen-year-old Emma Townsend that is. For most Hawaiians know that looking into the eyes of Night Marcher can strike a curse that will end in death or eternal servitude.

Even though her father, who is a paranormal investigator, solely raised Emma, she has little experience in the realm of the supernatural. When she is forced to move with her father to Hawaii, only months before her graduation, Emma finds that her world as she knows it, is shaken when she starts seeing the unexplainable: fire balls in the distance, beating drums in the middle of nowhere and strangers who vanish into thin air. Then one day when she has a run in with a procession of Night Marchers, ancient Hawaiian spirits wandering from their burial grounds to their locations of battles past, Emma has no choice but to believe that the unbelievable does exist. 

Now Emma must go on the run with the help of a mysterious stranger, as they seek out how to free Emma from the curse of a Night Marcher, who will stop at nothing to get her soul.

Night Marchers #2, Redemption, is now available.

Rise of the Red Dragon

Rise of the Red Dragon, by Martin Rouillard, free

When Samuel Osmond sees two pairs of mysterious dice in a store for role-playing games, he thinks they’d be fun to show off at a cosplay event. He buys the white pair, leaving their black companions in the case. But when he casts the dice in his room that evening, he suddenly finds himself transported to a strange landscape, surrounded by scarred men in leather armor.

Samuel soon realizes that the dice have carried him back to ancient Britain, where the Briton army is at war with the Saxons. In this place, he has uncanny gifts, which he must use to put the rightful king on his throne. But darker forces are at work: back in his home world, someone has bought the black dice. Samuel must find the hidden enemy and undo his evil work before he unleashes a force from an even more ancient time.

Clockwise

Clockwise, by Elle Strauss, free

A teen time traveler accidentally takes her secret crush back in time. Awkward. 

Casey Donovan has issues: hair, height and uncontrollable trips to the 19th century! And now this --she’s accidentally taken Nate Mackenzie, the cutest boy in the school, back in time.

Protocol pressures her to tell their 1860 hosts that he is her brother and when Casey finds she has a handsome, wealthy (and unwanted) suitor, something changes in Nate. Are those romantic sparks or is it just “brotherly” protectiveness?

When they return to the present, things go back to the way they were before: Casey parked on the bottom of the rung of the social ladder and Nate perched high on the very the top. Except this time her heart is broken. Plus, her best friend is mad, her parents are split up, and her younger brother gets escorted home by the police. The only thing that could make life worse is if, by some strange twist of fate, she took Nate back to the past again.

Which of course, she does. 

The sequel, Clockwiser, is now available.

When Destiny Knocks

When Destiny Knocks, by Heather M. White, free

16 year old Karlie has had a pretty normal life... But when her Mom dies she is forced to move over 1,000 miles away to live with her Dad. That's when things start getting weird.

She can't explain the earthquakes that nobody else feels, or why she no longer sleeps. But most of all she doesn't know why she trusts Shane so much, even though his Dad wants her dead.

Suddenly, Karlie's normal life is turned upside down and she enters a world she never dreamed could really exist. This is the first book in the Destiny Series. The second book is When Destiny Strikes.

Legon Awakening: Book One in the Legon Series

Legon Awakening: Book One in the Legon Series, by Nicholas Taylor, free

Join Legon and his sister, Sasha, as they search to understand their true heritage and unravel the possibility of being part human and part elf. Surrounded by Elves, the newly introduced Iumenta race, Dragons and Humans, our heroes’ lives are filled with adventure and fantasy in their search for answers, as they begin a larger-than-life quest of discovery.  Legon Ascension: Book Two in the Legon Series is now available.

Legend of the Elementals, Book 1: Reintroduction

Legend of the Elementals, Book 1: Reintroduction, by Kyle Timmermeyer, free

Lost prisons of talent, open for all To the four Elementals, these forces recall: Wind, fire, water, stone Only to the chosen these powers are shown. Swiftness of wind, with wisdom to hear. Mystic talent of fire, to burn away fear. Agility of water, life’s joy to renew. Most resilient stone, to stand strong and true. For now the darkness has risen to fight Spring now forth as the power of light. 

Ryan, Erin, Kris, and Jason are heroes defined by the villain, unwitting assistants in a cataclysm brought about by an old man who calls himself... Devidis. The four modern, international teens awaken deep within a jungle canyon, a prison in the post-apocalyptic empire established by the despotic Devidis. Surrounded by danger, the four Elementals quickly embrace their new-found super-powered control of the elements—wind, fire, water and stone—under the guidance of Sensei, an imprisoned freedom fighter who believes that Devidis’ near omnipotence is a clear sign that the world is a persistent illusion in the mind of its evil emperor. And so the Elementals are forced to come of age in an increasingly hostile land. Though supernaturally capable, they are faced with a frightening possibility: are their hopes, goals, powers, friends, enemies, surroundings and selves... all an illusion?