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 Libraries Youth team at Wellington City Libraries
Drag items up and down to your preferred order then select the "Save Order" button.
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...
Where'd you go, Bernadette
Semple, Maria.
Paper Book
A misanthropic matriarch leaves her eccentric family in crisis when she mysteriously disappears in this "whip-smart and divinely funny" novel that inspired the movie starring Cate Blanchett (New York Times). Bernadette Fox is notorious. To her Microsoft-guru husband, she's...
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...
Illuminae
Kaufman, Amie
Paper Book
"It certainly filled the Battlestar Galactica-shaped hole in my heart." --Victoria Aveyard, bestselling author of The Red Queen   Read the New York Times bestselling blockbuster that critics are calling "out-of-this-world awesome." The first in...
Asylum
Roux, Madeleine
Paper Book
* Big Mouth galley mailing * Teacher and librarian blog post at thepageturn.com (by editor)
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 invention of Hugo Cabret [preloaded audiobook]
Selznick, Brian.
Stand-alone player
Orphan, clock keeper and thief, Hugo lives in the walls of a busy Paris train station, where his survival depends on secrets and anonymity. When his world suddenly interlocks, like the gears of the clocks he keeps, with an eccentric, bookish girl and a bitter old man who runs a toy booth in the...
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...
The arrival
Tan, Shaun.
Paper Book
A truly remarkable work of art that is already one of the most talked-about books of the season. "A masterpiece." -- Jeff Kinney, author of The Diary of a Wimpy Kid series "Tan's lovingly laid out and masterfully rendered tale about the immigrant experience is a documentary magically told....
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...
La historia interminable
Ende, Michael
Paper Book
While reading a strange book, a lonely boy named Bastian learns that the kingdom of Fantastica is in serious danger. Now a character in the book, he must travel to the mysterious land to give the Childlike Empress a new name. Accompanied by the brave warrior Atreyu, Bastian must face dragons, giants...
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--Princess...

Library staff! You can create and contribute to lists. Contact your catalog administrator or log in here.