Adventure and Spy (YA)

If you like your books with lots of action then this is the list for you: this is a selection of spy, action, adventure and survival stories from our YA (young adult) collections.

Updated June 19, 2024
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The electric kingdom
Arnold, David
Paper Book
A genre-smashing story of survival, hope and love amid a ravaged earth. A deadly flu has swept the globe, leaving a shell of the world that once was. Among the survivors are eighteen-year-old Nico and her dog, who are on a journey devised by Nico's father to find a mythical portal; a...
The cruelty
Bergstrom, Scott
Paper Book
A groundbreaking YA thriller following a diplomat's daughter from New York to Europe's criminal underworld in search of her kidnapped father.The Cruelty is the first book from a groundbreaking new YA voice: an utterly compelling thriller.When Gwendolyn Bloom realizes that her father has been...
I'd tell you I love you, but then I'd have to kill you
Carter, Ally.
Paper Book
Step into Cammie Morgan's world of intrigue in the first book of the beloved New York Times bestselling Gallagher Girls series Cammie Morgan is a student at the Gallagher Academy for Exceptional Young Women, a fairly typical all-girls school -- that is, if every school...
Blitzkrieg
Falkner, Brian
Paper Book
An intriguing and thought-provoking WWII novel inspired by real events from the international award-winning author Brian Falkner! In Nazi-ruled Germany, Joe St. George is forced to watch as the country is divided around him by fear and hate. Joe thinks he and his family are safe, but when his...

New Zealand author

Foul lady fortune
Gong, Chloe
Paper Book
Assassin. Immortal. Spy.From the #1 New York Times bestselling author of These Violent Delights comes the first book in a captivating new duology following an ill-matched pair of spies posing as a married couple to investigate a series of brutal murders...

New Zealand author

Stormbreaker
Horowitz, Anthony
Paper Book
The first book in the number one bestselling Alex Rider series. In the first book in the number one bestselling Alex Rider series by Anthony Horowitz, fourteen-year-old Alex is forcibly recruited into MI6. Armed with secret gadgets, he is sent to investigate Herod Sayle, a man...
Stars and Smoke
Lu, Marie
Paper Book
An Instant New York Times bestseller! *This paperback edition features a bonus scene and a full-color tip-in with swoony Winter and Sydney art!* He's a secret. She's an agent. This mission might just be impossible. ...
The recruit
Muchamore, Robert.
Paper Book
A young foster child gets inducted into an elite group of underage spies in this gripping first book in the young adult CHERUB series perfect for graduates of City Spies and Spy School. Following the death of his mother, eleven-year-old James Choke gets separated from his half...
The call
Ó'Guilin, Peadar
Paper Book
You have three minutes to save your life . . .THREE MINUTESYou wake up alone in a horrible land. A horn sounds. The Call has begun.TWO MINUTESThe Sidhe are close. They're the most beautiful and terrible people you've ever seen. And they've seen you.ONE MINUTENessa...
The loop
Oliver, Ben (Science fiction writer)
Paper Book
"A script-ready story with blockbuster potential." -- Kirkus (Starred Review)Life inside The Loop--the futuristic death row for teens under eighteen--is one long repetitive purgatory. But when news of the encroaching chaos in the outside world reaches the inmates and disorder begins to strike...
War girls
Onyebuchi, Tochi
Paper Book
Two sisters are torn apart by war and must fight their way back to each other in a futuristic, Black Panther-inspired Nigeria. The year is 2172. Climate change and nuclear disasters have rendered much of earth unlivable. Only the lucky ones have escaped to space colonies in the...
Hawk
Patterson, James
Paper Book
Maximum Ride lost her fight to save the world. But from the ashes of the old world, a phoenix has risen... she calls herself Hawk. Hawk doesn't know her real name. She doesn't know who her parents were, or where they went. The only thing she remembers is that they told to...
Hatchet
Paulsen, Gary
Paper Book
There was a wild crashing sound, a ripping of metal, and the plane blew through the trees, out over the water and down, down to slam into the lake . . . Brian is a city boy. Not used to living rough. Until his plane crash-lands in the Canadian wilderness. All he has is a...
The Rosewood hunt
Reed, Mackenzie
Paper Book
Irresistible intrigue, captivating suspense, a swoony friends-to-rivals-to-lovers romance, and heartbreaking betrayal drive this thrilling debut novel that is perfect for fans of The Inheritance Games and Knives Out. Lily Rosewood has lived with her grandmother since her dad...
Siege
Ryan, Chris
Paper Book
From the bestselling author of STRIKE BACK, Chris Ryan returns with a new action-packed series. Tough enough? Smart enough? Max will require all his skills just to stay alive as a Special Forces Cadet...
I must betray you
Sepetys, Ruta
Paper Book
Trapped by an evil dictatorship, will Cristian be forced to betray his family or will he risk everything he loves to resist? A powerful, heart-breaking thriller based on real events. *Winner of the Yoto Carnegie Shadowers' Choice Medal for Writing 2023*
Dry
Shusterman, Neal
Paper Book
"The authors do not hold back." --Booklist (starred review) "The palpable desperation that pervades the plot...feels true, giving it a chilling air of inevitability." --Publishers Weekly (starred review) "The Shustermans challenge readers." --School Library...
The outlaws Scarlett & Browne : being an account of their daring exploits and audacious crimes
Stroud, Jonathan
Paper Book
Clementine. Book one
Walden, Tillie
Paper Book
A 2022 Junior Library Guild Selection! Book Riot "12 Best Graphic Novels and Comics of 2022" List IGN "Best Comic Book Series or Graphic Novel of 2022" Nominee "Tillie Walden is the future. Her boldly authentic voice brings new heights to the world of The...
Bite risk
Wills, S. J. (Children's author)
Paper Book
When everyone's a vicious beast, it's hard to spot the monsters . . .  Beware of the Turned in the first book in a blockbuster teen horror for fans of Skulduggery Pleasant and Stranger Things. 'A riotously absorbing horror-comedy for readers of 12 and...
Fable
Young, Adrienne
Paper Book
NEW YORK TIMES BESTSELLING SERIES A REESE WITHERSPOON x HELLO SUNSHINE BOOK CLUB YA PICK Filled with all of the action, emotion, and lyrical writing that brought readers to Sky in the Deep, New York Times bestselling author Adrienne Young...
When we are invisible
Zorn, Claire
Paper Book
Instinct has kept us alive so far. It's like a compass and I tune in to the needle often- trust/don't trust, run/stay . . . I can't read the needle right now. The warmth of the room is clouding my judgment. In the midst of a nuclear winter, Lucy, Fin and Max flee the chaos of...

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