Carpenter, Nora Shalaway, ed. Onward: 16 Climate Fiction Short Stories to Inspire Hope. Addl. Creators Erin Entrada Kelly, Gloria Muñoz, et al. Charlesbridge, 02/2026. 332pp. Fiction. Trade $19.99. 978-1-62354-653-3. GRADES 9–12. HIGH ADDITIONAL.
How might climate change affect how people live? These sixteen short stories demonstrate many different ways that climate change could impact life on Earth, especially with less water or higher temperatures. Each author presents a fully separate story; each story explores its own time period, location, climate, and how humans have been impacted, through the lens of teen experiences. Some could happen today, while others feel to be much further into the future due to more advanced climate impacts. Each teen protagonist lives through a different future that readers can only hope will never happen—vigilante actions to keep water within a state/community, small groups hunting the landscape for life-giving water, living in a protected bubble with breathable air and no living plants or animals, endangered animals going extinct through malicious acts, and a wide array of other events. Thought-provoking, gripping, and sometimes very worrying, these stories are best read one at time, then discussed with others.
Joshua Rees—Daly City Public Library