Steelheart

Sanderson's 2013 Reckoners opener drops you into a world where a mysterious event called Calamity has granted ordinary people extraordinary powers — and absolute corruption. David Charleston joins a group of normal humans hunting down these tyrannical Epics, with his sights set on Steelheart, the invincible ruler who killed his father. The plot moves at a sprint, the twists land hard, and Sanderson uses the superhero inversion to ask genuine questions about power and purpose. For families: no sexual content, made-up profanity keeps language mild, and violence — while frequent — stays mostly off-screen. Common Sense Media and Sanderson himself recommend it for ages twelve and up. The one honest caveat: characterization runs thinner here than in his adult work. But as an addictive YA opener, it absolutely delivers.