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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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
To her Microsoft-guru husband, Bernadette is a fearlessly opinionated partner; to fellow private-school mothers in Seattle, she's a disgrace; to design mavens, she's a revolutionary architect; and to 15-year-old Bee, she's a best friend and, simply, Mom. Bee has aced her report card and claimed her...
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
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!<...
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   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...

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