7 YA Books That Celebrate the Art of Storytelling

Grasshopper Jungle, by Andrew Smith
Aspiring historian Austin Szerba believes in slavishly detailing everything that happens in his adolescent life, from the day’s classes to his confusing attraction to both his girlfriend, Shann, and his best friend, Robby—so much so that his shelves are crammed with countless journals filled cover-to-cover with personal dramas. “I love how, whenever you tell a story,” Shann says, “you go backwards and forwards and tell me everything else that could possibly be happening in every direction, like an explosion.” And really, that’s the only way for Austin to apply his history-recording skills to exploring the who, what, where, when, and why of giant preying mantises taking over the world.

The Wrath and the Dawn, by Renee Ahdieh
Telling stories can save your life—literally. In this retelling of A Thousand and One Nights, the brave Shahrzad volunteers to marry Khalid, the fearsome Caliph of Khorasan, notorious for marrying a new girl every night and murdering her the next morning. Fueled by her hatred and by the memory of the friend the Caliph killed, Shazi becomes Khalid’s next bride…but she manages to save her neck, day after day, by spinning out tales he can’t bear not to know the ending of. But somewhere along the way, her vengeful agenda gets altered, and stories that began as defense become the glue that binds them together.

Feed, by M.T. Anderson
The prescient feed technology in Anderson’s early-2000s novel tells a story of its own, compiling data about its users from their movements, clothing and entertainment purchases, and telepathic chats with one another. With the feeds implanted in their brains, Titus and his friends can never get away from the corporations trying to reach them through faux-friendly digital personas. Until Titus meets Violet, who resists the feed and the control it signifies. But as Violet’s feed begins shutting down parts of her body and she loses her grasp on her own memories, she entrusts Titus with the virtual records of everything she can still remember. Unfortunately, the responsibility is too emotional for Titus, who only comes to appreciate his ability to remind Violet of who she is once she becomes too sick to value it.

User Unfriendly, by Vivian Vande Velde
Another novel that was ahead of its time, User Unfriendly follows a group of adventurers on a fantastical, Dungeons & Dragons–inspired campaign. The twist? It’s all inside their heads, thanks to immersive virtual reality software that hooks them right into their quest. The way Arvin and his friends pull characters from various stories—Robin Hood and Maid Marian, an elf, a wizard, a Native American—reflects the kind of communal storytelling you see in many role-playing games. But very few people can entirely control their stories, and soon the game begins causing glitches, starting with buggy characters but culminating in real-life death if they don’t complete their quest in time.

I Am Princess X, by Cherie Priest
Libby and May’s earnest adolescent collaboration—homemade comics about the dragon-slaying Princess X—is cut short with Libby’s untimely death. But years later, teenage May finds stickers, patches, and graffiti leading to an underground Internet fandom centered around Princess X…which also points toward the possibility of Libby being alive. Despite the mystery surrounding what happened to Libby, katana-wielding, Chucks-wearing Princess X is the true survivor, leaping from the hand-drawn page to the webcomic world for a second chance at life.

Far Traveler, by Rebecca Tingle
In another case of storytelling as a saving grace, Ælfwyn escapes the impossible dilemma of a loveless political marriage or life in a nunnery by choosing a third option: disguise herself as a boy, become a bard, and rename herself Widsith. Having lost her warrior mother, and unable to turn to her uncle (who wants to marry her off), Wyn has no choice but to forge this new life. She’s able to maintain her new identity by drawing on her favorite books to spin tales, which brings her to the court of King Wilfrid and draws her into the kind of political intrigue about which bards compose epic songs.

Mermaid in Chelsea Creek, by Michelle Tea
In the wrong town, stories can become worn-out if they’re repeated over and over—ruts created by toxic patterns, like the girls in Chelsea, Massachusetts, who play the self-destructive game of holding their breath until they pass out. But when Sophie Swankowski performs this dangerous ritual of trying to be anywhere but Chelsea, she has a vision of a mermaid. Though her mother banishes her to work at the local dump as a distraction, Sophie’s undeniable visions make up a new, fresh, shining story that may uncover the truth about her identity and give her town new hope.