In the late twenty-first century, dramatic climate change has made life in Ireland almost impossible, and soon Tir na n’Og is faced with a refugee problem, partly because of a warlord who is a member of the Liddy family.
Intermediate (ages 9-14)
Material appropriate for intermediate age groups
Something Very Sorry
During a hospital stay after a serious traffic accident, nine-year-old Rose worries about her own injuries and the condition of her father and younger sister and comes to terms with her mother’s death.
The Last Of The High Kings
Traveling to the land of eternal youth was the only way J.J. Liddy could stop time from leaking from his world to T’ir na n’Og. But fifteen years after returning from the land of the faeries, J.J. wonders if that long-ago visit is responsible for the strange things now happening to those around him. Why does his daughter Jenny roam barefoot through the wilds, when she should be in school? When did the mysterious white goat begin to patrol the hillside?
The Shamer’s Daughter (The Shamer Chronicles)
After her mother, a Shamer, is summoned to Dunark for a mission, ten-year-old Dina is forced to use her own special powers as she is caught up in an adventure of political intrigue and survival.
The Shamer’s Signet
When eleven-year-old Dina, who recently inherited her mother’s gift of perceiving secret shames through eye contact, is kidnapped and forced to shame enemies of the evil Valdracu, her fifteen-year-old brother Davin rides to her aid.
The Golden Carp, And Other Tales From Vietnam
A collection of ancient tales of courage, translated faithfully to the Vietnamese oral tradition, features stories of prowling panthers, brocaded mandarins, hawking merchants, and fairy spirits.
Escaping The Tiger
When you’re so skinny people call you Skeleton Boy, how do you find strength for the fight of your life? Twelve-year-old Vonlai knows that soldiers who guard the Mekong River shoot at anything that moves, but in oppressive Communist Laos, there’s nothing left for him, his spirited sister, Dalah, and his desperate parents. Their only hope is a refugee camp in Thailand—on the other side of the river. When they reach the camp, their struggles are far from over. Na Pho is a forgotten place where life consists of squalid huts, stifling heat, and rationed food. Still, Vonlai tries to carry on as if everything is normal. He pays attention in school, a dusty barrack overcrowded with kids too hungry to learn. And, to forget his empty stomach, he plays soccer in a field full of rocks.
Blue Jasmine
When twelve-year-old Seema moves to Iowa City with her parents and younger sister, she leaves friends and family behind in her native India but gradually begins to feel at home in her new country.
The Maldonado Miracle
A twelve-year-old Jose Maldonado used to dream of becoming a fine artist. Now all he worries about is survival. Since his mother died and his father left for work in the U.S., he’s been on his own in Mexico. But when at last it’s time to reunite with his father in the U.S., everything goes wrong.
How the Soldier Repairs the Gramophone
A boy who experiences the Bosnian War and finds the secret to survival in language and stories is bound to dazzle a whole new readership. Aleksandar Krsmanovic, Grandpa Slavko’s stories endow life in Višegrad with a kaleidoscopic brilliance. Neighbors, friends, and family past and present take on a mythic quality; the River Drina courses through town like the pulse of life itself. So when his grandfather dies suddenly, Aleksandar promises to carry on the tradition.