Fiction

Fiction genre

Danny, Who Fell in a Hole

Danny’s parents have always been a bit flaky, but this time they have gone too far! Their latest plan to follow their dreams means Danny and his older brother will spend six months in Banff (wherever that is) and six months in New York City. Furious, Danny runs out of the house and straight into a very, very large hole. When it appears that help is not on the way, Danny becomes a subterranean Robinson Crusoe, creating shelter (garbage bag and paper clips), cereal (coffee creamer, rainwater, granola bars, and a few rogue raisins), and a washroom (a hole in a hole).

Outside In

Lynn’s life is full — choir practice, school, shopping for the perfect jeans, and dealing with her free-spirited mother. Then one day her life is saved by a mysterious girl named Blossom, who introduces Lynn to her own world and family — both more bizarre, yet somehow more sane, than Lynn’s own. Blossom’s family is a small band of outcasts and eccentrics who live secretly in an ingenious bunker beneath a city reservoir.

Ting Ting

Like any other eight-year-old, Ting has lots to complain about: too much homework, boring lessons, having to live with her annoying cousin. And missing her parents, of course. She’s in China, they’re far away in Canada, and she wishes they would come home right away.

Anubis Speaks!

Anubis, the ancient Egyptian jackal-headed god of embalming, invites young readers to climb aboard his magic boat for a trip to the Land of the Dead. When the sun goes down, readers join Anubis as he and Ra, the sun god, fight the forces of chaos and destruction unleashed by the Evil One, a giant snake named Apophis. It’s a battle waged each night until sunrise when the forces of good prevail. During the journey, readers will meet gods, monsters, and pharaohs, learn the techniques of mummification, and help Ra conquer darkness and bring light to the world at dawn.

A Girl Called Problem

In 1967 Tanzania, when President Nyerere urges his people to work together as one extended family, the people of Litongo move to a new village which, to some, seems cursed, but where thirteen-year-old Shida, a healer, and her female cousins are allowed to attend school.

Hostage Three

Seventeen-year-old Amy, her father, and her stepmother becomes hostages when Somalian pirates seize their yacht, but although she builds a bond with one of her captors it becomes brutally clear that the price of life and its value are two very different things.

So Much for Democracy

Twelve-year-old Astrid has come to Ghana with her family in 1979 so that her father can help oversee Ghana’s first democratic election. Astrid and her brother, Gordo, were told it would be a great family adventure, but they soon find out that everything about Ghana is difficult—the heat, the food, the threat of disease, the soldiers on the roads, the schools. Gordo fits in more easily than Astrid, who is often left to look after her baby sister, Piper, as their mother begins to fall apart under the strain of living in Ghana. When the government is overthrown, Gordo comes down with malaria and a soldier threatens her family.

Featured in Volume VII, Issue 1 of WOW Review.

Hello, Moon!

The boy asks the moon if it enjoys some of his favorite activities–and they share in some, like pretending to be pirates, together. But then the boy starts to think big. Can the moon see the city? Can the moon see the whole wide world? What are the moon’s friends like? Soon the boy grows tired, says good night to the moon, and falls asleep.

Through the Woods

Journey through the woods in this sinister, compellingly spooky collection that features four brand-new stories and one phenomenally popular tale in print for the first time. These are fairy tales gone seriously wrong, where you can travel to “Our Neighbor’s House”—though coming back might be a problem. Or find yourself a young bride in a house that holds a terrible secret in “A Lady’s Hands Are Cold.” You might try to figure out what is haunting “My Friend Janna,” or discover that your brother’s fiancée may not be what she seems in “The Nesting Place.” And of course you must revisit the horror of “His Face All Red,” the breakout webcomic hit that has been gorgeously translated to the printed page.

The Missing Chancleta and Other Top-Secret Cases/La Chancleta Perdida y Otros Casos Secretos

Flaca’s chancleta, or flip flop, has gone missing! She prepares to investigate the theft: “Pencil and notepad: in hand. Straw hat for disguise: on. Magnifying glass: Check.” She interviews each of her family members, all of whom are suspects. Oddly, their stories check out, so Flaca will have to dig deeper to find the culprit.