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
Drag items up and down to your preferred order then select the "Save Order" button.
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...
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
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...
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 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!<...
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 neverending story
Ende, Michael.
Audiobook
In this classic fantasy novel from author Michael Ende, small and insignificant Bastian Balthazar Bux is nobody's idea of a hero, least of all his own. Then, through the pages of an ancient, mysterious book, he discovers the enchanted world of Fantastica, and only Bastian himself can save the fairy...
Miss Peregrine's Home for Peculiar Children
Riggs, Ransom.
Paper Book
The #1 New York Times best-selling series. A mysterious island. An abandoned orphanage.A strange collection of very curious photographs.It all waits to be discovered in Miss Peregrine's Home for Peculiar Children, an unforgettable novel that mixes fiction and...

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