Gimmicks in literature (YA)

Here at WCL we love authors who commit to the bit, so here's a selection of books where the author took a gimmick and ran with it.

In this list you'll find interactive books, less linear stories, the same story from multiple perspectives, narratives told through ephemera, and even an abridged version of a book that never existed.

Updated July 1, 2024
W
Wellington City LibrariesYouth team at Wellington City Libraries
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Romeo and/or Juliet : a chooseable-path adventure
North, Ryan
Paper Book
The New York Times bestseller from the author of How to Invent Everything and To Be or Not To Be Romeo loves Juliet. Or Rosaline. And Juliet loves Romeo. Or Viola. Or Orlando. It's Shakespeare as you've never played him before. In this choose...
Replica
Oliver, Lauren
Paper Book
From Lauren Oliver, New York Times bestselling author of Before I Fall and the Delirium trilogy, comes an epic, masterful novel that explores issues of individuality, identity, and humanity. Lyra's story begins in the Haven Institute, a clandestine research facility off the coast of...
Hometown Haunts: #LoveOzYA Horror Tales
Nwosu, Poppy
Paper Book
One bite of an apple from a family shrine unearths hungry ghosts. A poison garden unfurls a polite boy's deepest, darkest desires. Interfering with an Indigenous burial site unleashes ancestral revenge, to a metal soundtrack. An underground dance party during Covid threatens to turn lethal. And on...
Violent ends : a novel in seventeen points of view
Hutchinson, Shaun David
Paper Book
In a one-of-a-kind collaboration, seventeen of the most recognizable YA writers--including Shaun David Hutchinson, Neal and Brendan Shusterman, and Beth Revis--come together to share the viewpoints of a group of students affected by a school shooting. It took only twenty-two...
Where'd you go, Bernadette
Semple, Maria.
Paper Book
Bernadette Fox is notorious. To Elgie Branch, a Microsoft wunderkind, she's his hilarious, volatile, talented, troubled wife. To fellow mothers at the school gate, she's a menace. To design experts, she's a revolutionary architect. And to 15-year-old Bee, she is a best...
Illuminae
Kaufman, Amie
Paper Book
For fans of Marie Lu comes the first book in an epic series that bends the sci-fi genre into a new dimension.    "A truly beautiful novel that redefines the form." --Victoria Aveyard, bestselling author of Red Queen This morning, Kady...
Asylum
Roux, Madeleine
Paper Book
Madeleine Roux's New York Times bestselling Asylum is a thrilling and creepy photo-illustrated novel that Publishers Weekly called "a strong YA debut that reveals the enduring impact of buried trauma on a place." For sixteen-year-old Dan Crawford, the New...
The arrival
Tan, Shaun.
Paper Book
'The Arrival' is a long-awaited, textless graphic novel by the renowned Shaun Tan.
Bull
Elliott, David
Paper Book
Much like Lin-Manuel Miranda did in Hamilton, the New York Times best-selling author David Elliott turns a classic on its head in form and approach, updating the timeless story of Theseus and the Minotaur. A rough, rowdy, and darkly comedic young adult retelling in verse, which NPR called...
The wonderful O
Thurber, James
Paper Book
Black and Littlejack are bad men. Littlejack has a map that indicates the existence of a treasure on a far and lonely island. He needs a ship to get there. Black has a ship. So they team up and sail off on Black’s vessel, the Aeiu. “A weird uncanny name,” remarks Littlejack,...
The neverending story
Ende, Michael.
Paper Book
Read the book that inspired the classic coming-of-age film before it's back onscreen in select theaters this September! From award-winning German author Michael Ende, The Neverending Story is a classic tale of one boy and the book that magically comes to life. <...
The princess bride : an illustrated edition of S. Morgenstern's classic tale of true love and high adventure
Goldman, William
Paper Book
A beautifully illustrated hardcover gift edition of William Goldman's beloved story of Buttercup, Westley, and their fellow adventurers A tale of true love and high adventure, pirates, princesses, giants, miracles, fencing, and a frightening assortment of wild beasts--The Princess Bride is...
The invention of Hugo Cabret : a novel in words and pictures
Selznick, Brian.
Paper Book
Don't miss Selznick's other novels in words and pictures, Wonderstruck and The Marvels, which together with The Invention of Hugo Cabret, form an extraordinary thematic trilogy!2008 Caldecott Medal winnerThe groundbreaking debut novel from bookmaking pioneer, Brian Selznick!<...
Miss Peregrine's Home for Peculiar Children
Riggs, Ransom.
Paper Book
The #1 New York Times best-selling series An abandoned orphanage on a mysterious island holds the key to supernatural secrets in this unusual and original first book in the one-of-a-kind Miss Peregrine's Peculiar Children series A captivating blend of horror, dark...

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