The words “pandemic” and “epidemic” are a scary part of our current reality.  A pandemic is a disease that is present across a country or the world.  An epidemic is the outbreak of a disease that spreads rapidly and hits a lot of people at once.  Long before our current pandemic of Covid-19, there were epidemics that effectives countries and continents—think of plagues and large scale flu outbreaks.Young adult authors have written a lot of novels about epidemics that actually happened and imagined epidemics and pandemics in different time periods, societies, and planets.  Here are just a few of the ones that we have found.  Please let us know if you have others! Contact us at e.pendergrass@vanderbilt.edu

A Death-Struck Year Makiia Lucier

The Eleventh Plague Jeff Hirsch

Fever, 1793 Laurie Halse Anderson

The Last Dog on Earth Daniel Ehrenhaft

Plague Michael Grant

At the Sign of the Sugared Plum Mary Hooper

The Way We Fall Megan Crewe

Chasing Secrets Gennifer Choldenko

Deadly Julie Chibbaro

The Plague Joanne Dahme

The Goodbye Season Marian Hale

Agnes at the End of the World Kelly McWilliams

The Treatment Suzanne Young

Pandemic Yvonne Ventresca

A Matter of Days Amber Kizer

The Program Suzanne Young

Conversion Katherine Howe

Love is the Drug Alaya Dawn Johnson

The Fear Charlie Higson

The Sacrifice Charlie Higson

Plague 99 Jean Ure

Virals Kathy Reichs

Peeps  Scott Westerfield

Seizure  Kathy Reichs

Fever Year: The Killer Flue of 1918 Don Brown

Breath Donna Jo Napoli

The Plague Tales Anne Benson

The House on Hound Hill Maggie Prince

Hero of Lesser Causes Julie Johnston

The Heaven Shop Deborah Ellis

Footprints at the Window Phyllis Reynolds Naylor

The Cure Sonia Levitin

Masque of the Red Death Bethany Griffin

Dance of the Red Death Bethany Griffin

I Am Rembrandts’ Daughter Lynn Cullen

The Sunbird Elizabeth E. Wein

All Fall Down Susan Geason

Suicide Notes from Dead Girls  Lynn Weingarten

Survive the Night Danielle Vega

Quarantine: The Loners Lex Thomas

Quarantine: A Love Story Katie Cicatelli-Kuc

Light Years Emily Ziff Griffin

Delirium Lauren Oliver