This page lists my books for younger readers, separated into two categories: Young Adult (age 16 is a good general guide, since they usually contain mature concepts) and All Ages (meaning, they’re appropriate for anyone — adults, too!).
However, readers should be forewarned that my personal belief is that children are usually far better equipped to handle “adult” issues than most of us so-called adults think they are, so the general difference between the two categories is mainly one of point-of-view. The “All Ages” books usually feature younger characters where the Young Adult books focus mostly on teenagers.
They are listed chronologically, with the newest at the top and oldest at the bottom (in each category).
Young Adult (16 and Up)
The Care and Feeding of Rubber Chickens: A Novel
Genre: Young adult | General fiction
Suggested Reading Level: 16 years and up
Part buddy story, part road trip adventure, and part ruminations on the difference between love and infatuation, the book offers up a vivid portrait of a young man who blunders into a thousand-mile quest to tell the girl of his dreams how he really feels.
Ebook:
Amazon | B&N | Smashwords
Paperback:
Audio:
Auidble.com | Amazon
President Jock, Vice President Geek
Genre: Young Adult
Suggested Reading Level: 15 years and up
It was a simple plan. She would help him pass algebra. He would help her win the student election. What could go wrong? The result is the story of two mixed up teenagers struggling to find themselves and the craziest student election ever to hit the halls of Rexton High.
“Carter’s writing is on target.” – Publishers Weekly
Ebook:
Amazon | Barnes and Noble | Smashwords
Paperback:
Audio:
Auidble.com | Amazon
The Last Great Getaway of the Water Balloon Boys
Genre: Young Adult
Suggested Reading Level: 15 years and up
Life spins on a wheel. The choices you make in the heat of the moment, during times of crisis, can forever alter the rest of your life. In THE LAST GREAT GETAWAY OF THE WATER BALLOON BOYS, two teenagers make the choice to steal their principal’s ‘67 Mustang and end up on a life-changing road trip.
The trip starts as a lark, to give Charlie Hill’s absent father a portrait Charlie drew, but it evolves into much more — an edgy coming-of-age tale where shy, sixteen-year-old Charlie and his more experienced friend, Jake Tucker, deal with issues like suicide, sex, drugs, and the meaning of friendship . . . before a crisis a thousand miles from home forces Charlie to make the ultimate choice of his life.
“Touching and impressive debut novel.”
– Publisher’s Weekly
Ebook:
Amazon | B&N | Kobo |Google Play
Hardcover:
Amazon | Indiebound
All Ages (Middle Grade, Children’s, Etc.)
The Dragon Lottery
Win the lottery? Congrats! You get to fight the dragon—to the death!
Each summer, the kingdom of Dunbury holds a lottery. The prize? The right to face the Black Dragon in a fight to the death.
Nobody ever returns.
Widespread hunger. Banned Books. Harsh royal decrees to keep the citizens in line. After nearly fifty years, the poor, downtrodden people in the isolated country between the mountains and the sea have lost all hope. Somehow, mysteriously, the cruel King Goodheart controls the dragon. And with the dragon, no one dares defy him.
Until thirteen-year-old Lucky Grayblock, the clumsy, gangly, decidedly unlucky assistant in the dusty old library, finally becomes eligible for the dragon lottery … and discovers one last chance to turn everyone’s luck around.
Ebook:
Amazon | B&N | Kobo | iBooks | Google Play
Paperback:
Amazon | Indiebound
The Castle on the Hill at the Edge of the World
If everybody would just leave Sam alone, she’d be perfectly happy hanging out in The Land Between, the undeveloped forest at the end of the street where she can pretend, at least for a little while, that life is much better than it really is. Then a strange boy moves in next door and all her problems get a lot worse.
Rob (or does he go by Bobby?) insists that his parents are prisoners in a mysterious castle in another world. Others claim the truth of his past is far more tragic. When her new friend vows to rescue his parents or die trying, Sam must make a fateful choice that will change both their lives forever — and reveal just how thin the line between imagination and hope can really be. [Learn more.]
Ebook:
Amazon | B&N | Kobo | iBooks | Google Play
Paperback:
Amazon | Indiebound
Wooden Bones
Genre: Fantasy
Suggested Reading Level: 9 years and up
Becoming a real boy was just the beginning. The untold story of Pinocchio, with a dark twist. Pino, as he’s come to be known after he became a real boy, has discovered that he has the power to bring puppets to life himself. [Learn more.]
A Tale of Two Giants
Genre: Fantasy
Suggested Reading Level: 9 years and up
They meet on a rainy night, penniless and alone, both of them without a friend in the world. He’s a giant, short for his kind, who doesn’t care about anyone or anything. She’s a stubborn girl who’s lost her mother — and is determined to get her back. Together they take on an empire.
Ebook:
Amazon | B&N | Smashwords
Paperback:
Drawing a Dark Way: A Fantasy Adventure
Suggested Reading Level: 9 years and up
Genre: Fantasy
When his sister is kidnapped by three black demon creatures with glowing white eyes and huge wings, Jason must pursue her into the dangerous world of Rymadoon to save her. It isn’t long before he discovers that in Rymadoon he’s not just great at drawing . . . He has the power to bring his drawings to life.
Electronic Edition:
Amazon | B&N | Smashwords
Paperback Edition: