Youth Collection - Children with Disabilities

Channeling their own experiences, sixteen exceptional authors subvert mental health stereotypes in a powerful and uplifting collection of fiction.

This anthology explores disability in fictional tales told from the viewpoint of disabled characters, written by disabled creators. With stories in various genres about first loves, friendship, war, travel, and more, Unbroken offers today's teen readers a glimpse into the lives of disabled people in the past, present, and future.

At age twenty-one, partially-blind, lonely but spirited Annie Sullivan travels from Massachusetts to Alabama to try and teach six-year-old Helen Keller, deaf and blind since age two, self-discipline and communication skills

Blind sixteen-year-old Parker Grant navigates friendships and romantic relationships, including a run-in with a boy who previously broke her heart, while coping with her father's recent death.

Twelve-year-old Paul, who lives in the shadow of his football hero brother Erik, fights for the right to play soccer despite his near blindness and slowly begins to remember the incident that damaged his eyesight.

Libby is visually impaired but that doesn’t stop her being a keen photographer. The day that a boy gives her a secret note to deliver changes everything. Because soon after, the boy goes missing, and no one—except Libby and her new friend Kyle—thinks there is anything to worry about. Libby knows there’s no way her parents will let her get involved. But what if she’s the only person who can solve the mystery? What if one of Libby’s photos holds a clue?

High school sophomore Andromeda, an outcast because she studies the occult and has a hearing impairment and other disabilities, overcomes grief over terrible losses by enlisting others' help in her plan to save library books--and finds a kindred spirit along the way.

Seventeen-year-old Lilah, who wears hearing aids, returns to a summer camp for the Deaf and Blind as a counselor, eager to improve her ASL and find her place in the community, but she did not expect to also find romance along the way.

Steffi has been a selective mute for most of her life. Steffi's been silent for so long that she feels completely invisible. But Rhys, the new boy at school, sees her. He's deaf, and her knowledge of basic sign language means that she's assigned to help him acclimate. To Rhys, it doesn't matter that Steffi doesn't talk. As they find ways to communicate, Steffi discovers that she does have a voice, and that she's falling in love with the one person who makes her feel brave enough to use it.

After moving to Colorado, deaf seventeen-year-old Maya is forced to attend a hearing school, where she must navigate a new life and prove that her lack of hearing will not stop her from pursuing her dreams. Includes an interview with the author.

Near-future Australia is controlled by Organicore, a company that produces the "perfectly balanced" synthetic meals that have all but replaced wild food, but Piper McBride, sixteen, deaf, and cued white, begins to wonder if wild food is as dangerous as Organicore's propaganda says.

When Julia finds a slur about her best friend scrawled across the back of the Kingston School for the Deaf, she covers it up with a beautiful (albeit illegal) graffiti mural. Her supposed best friend snitches, the principal expels her, and her two mothers set Julia up with a one-way ticket to a "mainstream" school in the suburbs, where she's treated like an outcast as the only deaf student. The last thing she has left is her art, and not even Banksy himself could convince her to give that up.

Varsity tennis captain Ezra Faulkner was supposed to be homecoming king, but that was before--before his girlfriend cheated on him, before a car accident shattered his leg, and before he fell in love with unpredictable new girl Cassidy Thorpe.

When a school bus accident leaves sixteen-year-old Jessica an amputee, she returns to school with a prosthetic limb and her track team finds a wonderful way to help rekindle her dream of running again.

Born with cerebral palsy, Amy can't walk without a walker, talk without a voice box, or even fully control her facial expressions. Plagued by obsessive-compulsive disorder, Matthew is consumed with repeated thoughts, neurotic rituals, and crippling fear. When Amy decides to hire student aides to help her in her senior year at Coral Hills High School, these two teens are thrust into each other's lives.

Maisie is on her way to her first fancon and she can't wait to meet her idol, an action star who had an above-the-knee amputation, just like Maisie. But then she meets Ollie. Ollie is a cute volunteer working the show, and they geek out about nerd culture, just as much as Maisie does. After spending the day together, Maisie notices feelings for Ollie that she's never had before. Could Ollie feel the same way?

In India, a girl who excels at Bharatanatyam dance refuses to give up after losing a leg in an accident.

Effie Galanos' goals for her senior year include her navigating her way through her high school that is not really wheelchair-friendly, getting into the perfect college, and getting her crush Wilder to accompany her to the prom--but by spring she is beginning to see herself entirely differently.

Seventeen-year-olds Daisy, a talented violinist with cerebral palsy, and Noah, a great cellist with severe anxiety, plan to use the holiday concert to land a Julliard audition, but when they are chosen to play a duet, they worry their differences will sink their chances.

In a near-future society that claims to have gotten rid of all monstrous people, a creature emerges from a painting seventeen-year-old Jam's mother created, a hunter from another world seeking a real-life monster.

Steffi has been a selective mute for most of her life. Steffi's been silent for so long that she feels completely invisible. But Rhys, the new boy at school, sees her. He's deaf, and her knowledge of basic sign language means that she's assigned to help him acclimate. To Rhys, it doesn't matter that Steffi doesn't talk. As they find ways to communicate, Steffi discovers that she does have a voice, and that she's falling in love with the one person who makes her feel brave enough to use it.

The moment Spencer meets Hope the summer before seventh grade, it's . . . something at first sight. After years of being outshone by his older brother and teased because of his Tourette syndrome, Spencer finally feels like he belongs. But as Hope and Spencer get older and life gets messier, the clear label of "friend" gets messier, too.

Verónica, a Peruvian-American teen with hip dysplasia, auditions to become a mermaid at a Central Florida theme park in the summer before her senior year, all while figuring out her first real boyfriend and how to feel safe in her own body.

After an incident leads to her suspension, eighteen-year-old Brynn's high school persona that hides her secret disability (Ehlers-Danlos syndrome) is shattered, and she begins embracing her true self on her journey to self-acceptance.

As if her parents' divorce and sister's departure for college weren't bad enough, fourteen-year-old Ricky Bloom has just been diagnosed with a life-changing chronic illness. Her days consist of cursing everyone out, skipping school--which has become a nightmare--daydreaming about her crush, Julio, and trying to keep her parents from realizing just how bad things are. But she can't keep her ruse up forever.

Ellie Haycock juggles her life between high school, where she excels in speech and debate, and frequent hospital visits due to her VATER syndrome. When a hospital stay introduces her to Ryan and a new group of friends, Ellie finds herself challenged by Ryan's optimism and begins to reconsider her outlook on life, hoping for something extraordinary amidst the complexities of her condition.

Tania, a girl with Postural Orthostatic Tachycardia Syndrome (or POTS), trains as a Musketeer, finding sisterhood and friendship. But she also finds secrets, ones that could help her save France—and maybe even solve the mystery of her father’s murder.

If being the most popular fanfiction writer in the Extraordinaries fandom was a superpower, Nick Bell would be a hero. Instead he's just a fanboy with ADHD, posting online. After a chance encounter with Shadow Star, Nova City's mightiest hero (and Nick's biggest crush), he sets out to make himself extraordinary. See Also: Flash Fire; Heat Wave

Tilly Twomley, who has ADHD, seeks a fresh start interning for her sister's startup in Europe, unsure of her future. Oliver Clark, who has autism, is focused on design and enjoys a structured life until a chaotic encounter with Tilly disrupts his plans. Despite their differences, their neurodiverse connection blossoms over the summer, challenging their perspectives on life's unpredictability as they navigate newfound feelings for each other.

Despite his overwhelming fear of interacting with people, Christopher, a mathematically-gifted, autistic fifteen-year-old boy, decides to investigate the murder of a neighbor's dog and uncovers secret information about his mother.

Fourteen-year-old Nathaniel Clark, who has Asperger's Syndrome, tries to prove that he is a genius by writing songs for his rock band, so that he can become a member of the Aldus Institute, the premier organization for the gifted.

January 29, 2035. That's the day the comet is scheduled to hit-the big one. Denise and her mother and sister, Iris, might be able to be on a generation ship, scheduled to leave Earth behind to colonize new worlds after the comet hits. But everyone on the ship has been chosen because of their usefulness. Denise is autistic and fears that she'll never be allowed to stay. Can she obtain a spot before the ship takes flight?

Grace is autistic. She’s got a horse and a best friend who gets her, and that’s really all she needs. But then Grace kisses the cutest boy in school, throwing everything off balance. And now her home life is changing too, and Grace is struggling to make sense of her new world. When everything starts to fall apart, will Grace be able to fix it on her own?

Tilly Twomley, who has ADHD, seeks a fresh start interning for her sister's startup in Europe, unsure of her future. Oliver Clark, who has autism, is focused on design and enjoys a structured life until a chaotic encounter with Tilly disrupts his plans. Despite their differences, their neurodiverse connection blossoms over the summer, challenging their perspectives on life's unpredictability as they navigate newfound feelings for each other.

Struggling through his dyslexia to try to fulfill his girlfriend Fiorella's request for a letter revealing his secret self, eighteen-year-old Karl asks Fiorella's favorite author for help, and he agrees only if Karl will submit to a series of interviews, which prove helpful to both men.

I'm safe here. That's how Sadie feels, on a perfect summer day, wrapped in her girlfriend's arms. School is out, and even though she's been struggling to manage her chronic anxiety, Sadie is hopeful better times are ahead. Or at least, she thought she was safe. When her girlfriend reveals some unexpected news and the two witness a violent incident of police brutality unfold before them, Sadie's whole world is upended in an instant.

A dual-narrative romance that explores themes of mental health and self-acceptance follows the experiences of a teen filmmaker and an aspiring school paper editor who work together to upgrade and promote a struggling Chinese restaurant.

High school senior Alexandra faces an uncertain future compounded by her anxiety disorder. When her train journey home from a concert is interrupted by a mysterious event, a hologram from the future warns of an impending comet collision with Earth. To survive, people must pass through portals that have appeared worldwide, presenting Alexandra with a life-altering decision.

Can seventeen-year-old Jonah save his family restaurant from ruin, his mother from her sadness, and his danger-seeking girlfriend Vivi from herself?

When sixteen-year-old Lily Larkin's older sister, Alice, begins to struggle with her mental health, Lily attempts to keep everything together and perfect, despite her own growing anxiety.

Ariel grapples with her fear of her own mind and violent fantasies, driven by her desire to meet her parents' expectations and societal norms, until a summer job at a carnival leads her to new friends who help her discover her struggle with Obsessive Compulsive Disorder and find acceptance and support for her true self.

Seventeen-year-old Kendall, who suffers from obsessive-compulsive disorder, lives with her parents on a potato farm in a tiny community in Montana, where two teenagers go missing within months of each other, with no explanation.

Born with cerebral palsy, Amy can't walk without a walker, talk without a voice box, or even fully control her facial expressions. Plagued by obsessive-compulsive disorder, Matthew is consumed with repeated thoughts, neurotic rituals, and crippling fear. When Amy decides to hire student aides to help her in her senior year at Coral Hills High School, these two teens are thrust into each other's lives.

Star football player Bradley Graeme seemingly has it all together, managing his OCD and excelling academically, except when it comes to his ex-best friend Celine. Celine, known for her conspiracy theories, feels alienated from the popular crowd. Despite their strained relationship, they find themselves unexpectedly reunited in a survival course in the woods, forcing them to confront their past and perhaps rediscover their connection.

Aza Holmes, a high school student with obsessive-compulsive disorder, becomes focused on searching for a fugitive billionaire.

Adam Spencer Ross becomes infatuated with Robyn Plummer upon meeting her in their Young Adult OCD Support Group. Robyn, recently released from a resident psychiatric program, captivates Adam's attention. Determined to save her from her struggles, Adam questions whether it's Robyn who truly needs rescuing and whether they can have a normal relationship amidst their complex lives.

Graduating from their school's special education program, Quincy and Biddy are placed together in their first independent apartment and discover unexpected things they have in common in the face of past challenges and a harrowing trauma.

Wounded in Iraq while his Army unit is on convoy and treated for many months for traumatic brain injury, the first person Ben remembers from his earlier life is his autistic brother.