Neal Shusterman books

Neal Shusterman is an award-winning American author of YA and middle grade fiction, best known for the Unwind Dystology, Arc of a Scythe, and the National Book Award-winning Challenger Deep.

Anthologies

Title Published Buy on Amazon
From One Experience to Another 1997 Buy
Big City Cool: Short Stories About Urban Youth 2002 Buy
Twice Told 2006 Buy
Dreams and Visions 2006 Buy
Bites: Scary Stories to Sink Your Teeth Into / Bones: Terrifying Tales to Haunt Your Dreams 2009 Buy
Other Worlds 2013 Buy
Violent Ends 2015 Buy
Scary Out There 2016 Buy
Future Hopes 2025 Buy

Antsy Bonano Reading Order

Title Published Buy on Amazon
The Schwa Was Here 2004 Buy
Antsy Does Time 2008 Buy
Ship Out of Luck 2013 Buy

Arc of a Scythe Reading Order

Title Published Buy on Amazon
Rising Thunder 2026 N/A
Scythe 2016 Buy
Жнец 2016 N/A
Nimbo 2018 N/A
Thunderhead 2018 Buy
The Toll 2019 Buy
Zvon 2019 N/A
Kosení 2022 N/A
Gleanings: Stories from the Arc of a Scythe 2022 Buy

Children’s

Title Published Buy on Amazon
Piggyback Ninja 1994 Buy

Dark Fusion Reading Order

Title Published Buy on Amazon
Dread Locks 2005 Buy
Red Rider’s Hood 2005 Buy
Duckling Ugly 2006 Buy

Darkness Creeping Reading Order

Title Published Buy on Amazon
Darkness Creeping 1993 Buy
Darkness Creeping II 1995 Buy

Graphic Novels

Title Published Buy on Amazon
Courage to Dream 2022 Buy

Mindquakes Reading Order

Title Published Buy on Amazon
Mindquakes 1996 Buy
Mindstorms 1996 Buy
Mindtwisters 1997 Buy
Mindbenders 2000 Buy

Non-Fiction

Title Published Buy on Amazon
It’s Ok to Say No to Cigarettes and Alcohol 1988 Buy
Kid Heroes 1991 Buy

Shadow Club Reading Order

Title Published Buy on Amazon
The Shadow Club 1988 Buy
The Shadow Club Rising 2002 Buy

Short Stories/Novellas

Title Published Buy on Amazon
The Dirt on Our Shoes 2013 Buy
Resurrection Bay 2013 Buy

Short Story Collections

Title Published Buy on Amazon
MindWorks: An Uncanny Compendium of Short Fiction 2025 Buy

Skinjacker Reading Order

Title Published Buy on Amazon
Everlost 2006 Buy
Everwild 2009 Buy
Everfound 2011 Buy

Standalone Novels

Title Published Buy on Amazon
Dissidents 1989 Buy
Chasing Forgiveness / What Daddy Did 1991 Buy
The Eyes of Kid Midas 1992 Buy
Speeding Bullet 1992 Buy
The Dark Side of Nowhere 1996 Buy
Downsiders 1999 Buy
Full Tilt 2003 Buy
Bruiser 2010 Buy
Challenger Deep 2015 Buy
Chasing Forgiveness 2015 Buy
Dry 2018 Buy
Game Changer 2021 Buy
Roxy 2021 Buy
Break to You 2024 Buy
All Better Now 2025 Buy

Star Shards Chronicles Reading Order

Title Published Buy on Amazon
Scorpion Shards 1995 Buy
Thief of Souls 1999 Buy
Shattered Sky 2002 Buy

The Accelerati Trilogy Reading Order

Title Published Buy on Amazon
Strych Tesli 2014 N/A
Edison’s Alley 2015 Buy
Hawking’s Hallway 2016 Buy
Tesla’s Attic 2014 Buy

The N.O.A.H. Files Reading Order

Title Published Buy on Amazon
I Am the Walrus 2023 Buy
Shock the Monkey 2024 Buy
The Dog Days Are Over 2025 N/A

The X-Files: Young Adult Reading Order

Title Published Buy on Amazon
Bad Sign 1996 Buy
Our Town 1997 Buy
Fresh Bones 1997 Buy
Control 1997 Buy
Hungry Ghosts 1998 Buy
Howlers 1998 Buy
Dark Matter 1999 Buy
Grotesque 1999 Buy
Regeneration 1999 Buy
Miracle Man 2000 Buy
Empathy 1997 Buy
Eve 1997 Buy
The Calusari 1997 Buy
The Host 1997 Buy
Quarantine 1999 Buy
Haunted 2000 Buy

Unwind Dystology Reading Order

Title Published Buy on Amazon
Unwind 2007 Buy
UnStrung 2012 Buy
UnWholly 2012 Buy
UnSouled 2013 Buy
Conexión 2014 N/A
UnBound: Stories from the Unwind World 2016 N/A
UnDivided 2014 Buy
UnBound 2015 Buy

Neal Shusterman has been writing for young readers since the late 1980s, building a catalog of over 90 books that ranges from horror anthologies to award-winning literary fiction. His Unwind Dystology imagines a future where unwanted teenagers can be “unwound” — their body parts harvested for organ donation — and became a landmark of YA dystopian fiction.

The Arc of a Scythe series, beginning with Scythe (2016), is set in a future where disease, war, and death have been conquered, and a class of appointed Scythes must cull the population to prevent overgrowth. Shusterman also won the National Book Award for Challenger Deep (2015), a novel inspired by his son’s experience with mental illness. His range extends to horror (Dark Fusion, Darkness Creeping), humor (the Antsy Bonano books), and even X-Files tie-in novels. He remains one of the most versatile authors in young adult fiction.

Frequently Asked Questions

How many books has Neal Shusterman written?

Neal Shusterman has written 91 books across nineteen series.

What was Neal Shusterman's first book?

Neal Shusterman’s first book is It’s Ok to Say No to Cigarettes and Alcohol, published in 1988.

What awards has Neal Shusterman won?

Neal Shusterman won the National Book Award for Young People’s Literature for Challenger Deep (2015) and the Michael L. Printz Honor for Scythe (2016). His work spans multiple decades and genres.

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