Three confused children are brought together then, with little training, sent off to save three worlds that were held in perfect balance until a cataclysmic disruption in the space-time continuum threatened their existence, which is just what their enemy desires.
Stuff. My head’s full of it. I don’t even know where most of it comes from. I just seem to pick it up, like my brain emits a special sort of tractor beam that locks on to pointless information. But in the face of my problems, all the extra stuff is proving useless. What problems? you ask. I shall tell you. Problem 1: The invasion of my home. Dad’s new girlfriend moved in, and, even worse, she brought along her daughter, who has no sense of humor and no taste in music. Problem 2: My girlfriend, Delfine. Her brother would break both my arms if I broke up with her. Problem 3: The new girl at school. Stunning. Gorgeous. Willowy. My Destiny (but see Problem 2). Problem 4: My comic strip. At first it was cool to anonymously author the strip in the school paper, but now that everyone suspects who they are in the strip, I run the risk of getting my legs broken in addition to my arms (see above). Clearly, I need to plan The Great Escape! Part hilarious musings, part graphic novel, stuff is the quirky exposé of a fourteen-year-old boy who, let’s face it, could use a little help.
In the time of the Han Dynasty in ancient China, a young orphan struggles with her new responsibility. Ping has survived her days as a slave at Huangling Palace, but new challenges await her in the desolate mountains of Tai Shan. The aged dragon Danzi is gone, and now it is up to Ping to take care of the baby dragon, Kai. She does her best, but food is scarce, and she must be constantly on the lookout for her enemies. Things seem to get better when fate leads her back to the Imperial Palace, to the Garden of the Purple Dragon. Yet even within these hallowed walls, Ping and Kai are not as safe as they believe. This story of adventure, action, friendship, and loyalty will have readers cheering for Ping and the young dragon as they embark on their journey of faith and courage.
Justin’s place as the first high school freshman in twenty years to make the varsity baseball team is at risk when his math grades plummet while he is trying to cope with the abuse of a young billy goat he sold and a visit from his estranged father to Lost Goat Lane.
In 1941, bombs drop from the night skies of London, demolishing the apartment Nick Freestone lives in with his mother. Deciding the situation in England is too unstable, Nick’s mother sends him to live with his father in Burma, hoping he will be safer living on the family’s teak plantation. But as soon as Nick arrives, trouble erupts in this remote Burmese elephant village. Japanese soldiers invade, and Nick’s father is taken prisoner. Nick is stranded on the plantation, forced to work as a servant to the new rulers. As life in the village grows more dangerous for Nick and his young friend, Mya, they plan their daring escape. Setting off on elephant back, they will risk their lives to save Nick’s father and Mya’s brother from a Japanese POW camp. In this thrilling journey through the jungles of Burma, Roland Smith explores the far-reaching effects of World War II, while introducing readers to the fascinating world of wild timber elephants and their mahouts.
The once-great traction city of London is now just a radioactive wreck, a ruin haunted by electrical discharges and the dashed hopes of the people who once called it home – people like Tom Natsworthy. Twenty years after he fled, intending never to return, he discovers that something stirs in the remains of the old city.
Tom and his daughter, Wren, aren’t the only people interested in London. The desperate armies of the Traction Cities and the Green Storm are also closing in, certain that whatever is taking shape within the city holds the key to victory in their never-ending war.
But it may be too late. Even as Tom and Wren hurry to uncover the mystery of London, Hester Shaw – estranged from her husband and her daughter – tracks the resurrected Stalker Fang, who has found another way to end the war and all life on the planet once and for all.
Fishing. This is it, the big time. Mikey’s 13, a deckhand working on a charter boat in Hawaii. Working for the best skipper anywhere, his stepdad, Bill. Before Bill came along, it was just Mikey and his mom. Now they’re a real family, and Mikey has a little brother. He can’t believe how lucky he is. And now he’s learning from the best, even though he’s only 13. Because Bill believes in him. And Mikey won’t let him down. He loves fishing and being out on the boat. But some seas, some fish, and some charter clients are a lot tougher to handle than Mikey ever imagined. Take Ernie and Cal—they chartered Bill’s boat for three days and they’re out for the adventure of their lives. Now it’s up to Mikey and Bill to deliver it.
It was all meant to be just a game, but now Grace is missing and may not even be alive. During an elaborate game of hide-and-seek on the beach, twelve-year-old sisters Annie and Grace are caught in the rising tide, and Grace seems to have been swept away. In the midst of this, fourteen-year-old Kip is also in the wrong place at the wrong time. Finding Grace’s abandoned back-pack sets off a chain of events that lands Kip under police surveillance. As the search for Grace intensifies, suspicions grow. But can Kip piece everything together and clear his name before it’s too late for Grace? Told in Kip’s and Annie’s alternating voices, this spellbinding mystery looks at the choices young people make-and their consequences.
A tale of the transformative power of stories. Eight-year-old Tomas hates reading. He would much rather be clambering around his beloved mountains. But when his mother forces him to visit the library, he can’t help but listen to the enchanting tales the librarian spins as she sits on a lifelike wooden unicorn. When war comes to their village, it is Tomas’s newfound love of books that helps save the library’s holdings from destruction. Set against a backdrop of encroaching war, the book is an eloquent reminder of the power of storytelling to alter our lives.
Sisters with nothing in common? That’s Mado and Patty.
Studious and responsible, 15-year-old Mado is the family brain. Patty, on the other hand, is a carefree 20-year-old party girl who lives on her own and has plenty of boyfriends. The two are following divergent paths . . . until their parents die in a car accident and a family court judge reluctantly appoints Patty as her sister’s guardian.
Now these two improbable siblings face the challenges of growing up together—but it’s Mado who quickly assumes the big sister’s role. And it’s not a role she particularly wants—especially after Patty announces that she’s several months pregnant. . . .
Anne-Laure Bondoux writes with insight, humor, and poignancy about the bonds between sisters—and the challenges of everyday life.
See the review at WOW Review, Volume 3, Issue 2