A Collection of My Young Adult/Upper Middle Grade Stories

I am an author of primarily Young Adult/Upper Middle Grade fiction with a main focus on kids developing self-awareness through their relationships with other people, friends and horses. This is a collection of fictional short stories, poetry and a short, personal biography that fit into this category. I hope you enjoy this inspired collection so far! I invite you to subscribe at no charge to my Youtube channel, also where you can watch horse videos, and be notified of updates and opportunities!

Below, you will find the individual links to my Young Adult collection of works.

I get paid (by the Vocal.media platform) $0.06 cents for your unique read of each story - what that means is, for any device on which the story is read completely, I get paid, but only once per read/device. And in order to count as a complete read, the reader must remain on the page for the time allotted at the top (beneath the title), and scroll all the way to the end. Thank you for your efforts to support me! Each story here is about a 1- 15 minute read. Read one, any, or all! You can also leave a one time tip from $1-$20, or a recurring monthly pledge in support of my writing more stories like these! Just click on the buttons at the end of the story. These stories can each even be shared easily to your social media , or email.

This first piece is a short article about me and my own life entrenched in horses:

An Upper Middle Grade fictional story of two pre-teen best friends and a horse:

A Young Adult fictional short story of self-discovery upon reaching adulthood:

A micro-fiction story about a troubled kid breaking free with a race horse bound for slaughter:

A fictional story centered around a little boy and his imagination and the tooth fairy, and maybe a little magic:

A fictional story of a teenage babysitter coming to play an important role in dealing with a tragic life event of her charges:

The story of a young girl’s coming to grips with the death of a parent. This one made it to the final round of judging for a contest, but was beat out in the end:

A story about a young teenage girl growing up in a difficult world, but learning some important lessons that will guide her future choices:

A story about a girl and her choice for buying a horse at auction, and learning open-mindedness:

A story about a girl overcoming difficult family relations to follow the right path for herself:

A poem:

A poem:

KJ Aartila grew up in a small, rural community surrounded by animals and family. She, along with her husband and daughter, horses and other pets, now live on 40 acres in Northern Wisconsin, surrounded by forest and wildlife. She has spent her life reading about, writing about and working with animals, her goal always to be as reliable, trustworthy and honest as a horse, but her innate humaness keeps getting in the way. She remains determined to keep trying, though.

More to be added soon, including a full-length, Upper Middle Grade Novella about girls and horses and true friendship, dealing with bullies, diversity and anxiety. Watch my website keilaartila.com or Facebook page for updates!

Currently, I am working to expand my collection and develop my skills. Tell me, what is your favorite story or poem? Leave a comment in the section just below the article if you’re a member of the Vocal platform (it’s free to become a member - sign up here), or email, or DM me!