When seventeen-year-old Harry Fogg undertakes a race against time to win a wager with a member of his famous father’s club, he puts to good use the recklessness and fascination with all things mechanical that have caused him trouble in Victorian England.
Intermediate (ages 9-14)
Material appropriate for intermediate age groups
The Curse Of Deadman’s Forest
According to prophecy, a trip through the magical portal near the Dover, England, orphanage where Ian and Theo live will bring them to the third Oracle, a child with extraordinary healing powers to help defeat a great evil, but it will also lead to Ian’s death.
Foundling (Monster Blood Tattoo, Book 1)
Meet Rossamünda foundling, a boy with a girls name who is about to begin a dangerous life in the service of the Emperor of the Half-Continent. What starts as a simple journey becomes a dangerous and complicated set of battles and decisions. Humans, monsters, unearthly creatures . . . who among these can Rossamünd trust? D. M. Cornish has created an entirely original world, grounded in his own deft, classically influenced illustrations. Foundling is a magic-laced, Dickensian adventure that will transport the reader.
No Such Thing As Dragons
Dragons don’t exist–or do they? Ansel is a mute boy whose master, Brock, is a dragon slayer. Brock has shining armor and the scars to prove his heroic stories. Ansel suspects there are no such things as dragons. So what is the man-eating monster that haunts the crags of Dragon Mountain?In this powerfully breathtaking adventure, master storyteller Philip Reeve explores a world that will have readers on the edge of their seats.
The Ghost Of Crutchfield Hall
In the nineteenth century, ten-year-old Florence Crutchfield leaves a London orphanage to live with her great-uncle, great-aunt, and sickly cousin James, but she soon realizes the home has another resident, who means to do her and James harm.
Stowaway Slaves
Decimus Rex and Olu Umbika have managed to do what no one else has ever doneÑflee the clutches of Slavious Doom. As expected, the overlord is furious, demands their immediate capture, and sends out a search party to find them. From the wild dogs running riot in the sewers, to the soldiers scouring the towns above, it seems only a matter of time before the boys are caught.
Ghoul Strike!
To finance the search for her lost parents, 12-year-old Alannah Malarra uses her psychic powers to hunt demons. With the help of her “business associate,” professional thief Wortley Flint, she snags ghouls and robs them of their illicit riches. Sure, it’s a mercenary existence, but a girl’s got to pay the rent. What Alannah doesn’t realize is that the petty ghosts she’s so good at snaring are just a small part of a big conflict, dating back centuries. The evil Gargoyle hordes from the Dark Dimension are at war with the army from on High, and only Alannah holds the key to victory!
Havoc
Getting into the sinister comic-book world of MALICE is just the beginning. Getting out of it is much, much harder — as it surviving while you make your attempt. Part novel, part comic book, all thrill — welcome to MALICE.
Ice Claw
High in the freezing French Pyrenees, Max Gordon’s race to win an X-treme sports challenge has become a race to survive. He witnesses the last moments of a mysterious Basque monk, who screams a cryptic clue before plummeting to his death. The clue? A prophecy that foretells a cataclysmic ecological event that will kill millions of people across Europe. Max is desperate to find a solution, but instead he’s accused of causing the monk’s death, and the hunt is on to find him. How can Max prove his innocence when nobody will trust him . . . and he can trust no one?
Pies and Prejudice
Four girls, and their mothers, continue their mother-daughter book club via videoconference between Massachusetts and England, reading Jane Austen’s “Pride and Prejudice,” and try to put friendship before romance.