Warring kingdoms, bloody feuds, and a boy’s battle for survival. Step back into the Dark Ages with this riveting epic adventure.In the wilds of Dark Age Britain, a bard abandons his son, Essa, in a village trapped between two feuding kingdoms. As the once-nomadic boy grows rooted in the life of the Wolf Folk, forging allegiances and young love, King Penda of Mercia threatens to attack, thrusting Essa into the violent and cunning world of the tribal rulers. Joined by unlikely friends, unsure of whom to trust — or even of who he is — Essa sets off on a dangerous journey, using his newfound intuitive gifts to guide them as a deadly battle brews. Will his desperate efforts to save his loved ones bring him closer to understanding why his father has never returned?
Historical Fiction
Historical Fiction genre
The Forty-Third War
A twelve-year-old boy learns about death and the conflicts that grip his Central American country when he’s pressed into military service and trained as a soldier.
Play to the Angel
In February 1938, in Vienna, twelve-year-old Greta Radky is devastated to learn that her mother plans to sell the family piano. Greta’s brother, a concert pianist, died the previous April, and her mother thinks of the piano as his. But Greta is an equally committed musician, and when she meets a mysterious piano teacher who agrees to work with her, she proves it. With his help the piano is saved, and inspired by his tiny angel doll, Greta practices furiously for her first recital. Then, on the day of the performance, the Nazis invade Austria. Suddenly Greta discovers her teacher’s secret and knows that his life is in danger. Having stood up to her mother, Greta must now confront the Nazis.
Peril on the Sea
It is the summer of 1588 and a pair of unlikely shipmates is traveling on the Vixen, a privateer that will soon be drafted to join a flotilla of English ships bound for a fiery clash with the Spanish Armada. Seventeen-year-old Sherwin is aboard to repay a debt he owes the ship’s roguish captain, Brandon Fletcher. Sixteen-year-old Katharine is sailing with them in a desperate bid to save her noble family’s fortune. The fight will be harrowing and bloody, and the unfolding tumult will challenge the character of both Sherwin and Katharine, who are about to discover the deeper meaning of strife and of honor. This fascinating tale affords an unusual view of one of the most important naval encounters in history, as a kindling romance between two young people takes place amidst a reluctant race to battle.
The King’s Rose
Life in the court of King Henry VIII is a complex game. When 15-year-old Catherine Howard catches the king’s eye, she quickly transforms from pawn to queen. But even luxury beyond imagination loses its luster as young Catherine finds her life–and her heart–threatened by the needs of an aging king and a family hungry for power. Will their agendas deliver Catherine to the same fate as her infamous cousin, Anne Boleyn–sacrificed at the altar of family ambition? Engaging historical fiction with a throbbing YA heartbeat, this thrilling novel will draw readers into the intrigues and dangers of the Tudor court.
Divine Wind
In 1946, in the northern Australian fishing town of Broome, Hart Penrose remembers. He remembers his parents his silent English mother and bluff Australian father. He remembers the storm that tore open is leg, and his sister Alice, whose exuberance and strength brought him out of despair. He remembers the racism and hatred that roiled Broome in the days before WW2, the unwarranted suspicions of the native Japanese that pulled the town apart. Most of all, he remembers Misty Sennosuke, the warm and beautiful girl next door, the girl he loved, the one he betrayed.
The Onlyhouse (Northern Lights Young Novels)
Red Cedar Award nominee, 1997 Life in her new neighborhood isn’t going to be easy for Croatian immigrant Lucy Vakovik. Her mother has saved enough to buy them an onlyhouse: a single detached home. But to Lucy’s friends, her mother says, “My sometime English is broking.” What’s a kid to do? Lucy’s got a fight ahead of her and important choices to make. But she knows she’s not a stereotype like some people think – she’s Lucy and that’s a good place to start.
Twist of Gold
A Cat Royal Adventure: Den of Thieves
TRAITORS, CAPTIVES, AND A PEOPLE’S REVOLUTION The third volume of the CAT ROYAL ADVENTURE series takes readers to Paris on a covert mission. The Theater Royal is closed for renovations, so Mr. Sheridan commissions Cat to act as his spy in revolutionary Paris. Disguised as a ballerina, Cat joins the revolution, only to find that it is up to her to save her friends when they are captured as traitors. Like the previous two books in the series, The Diamond of Drury Lane and Cat Among the Pigeons, Den of Thieves is filled with disguises, danger, drama, and, most of all, the irrepressible Cat Royal.
Hold My Hand and Run
When the beatings she receives from cruel Aunt Latimer get worse, Kazy decides to run away from home and take her little sister, Beth, with her. Although the country roads of seventeenth-century England are full of obvious and hidden dangers for two young girls, she has no choice–Beth has become a frightened shadow of her lively self. Kazy is determined to save her. The girls travel for a time with seemingly kind tinkers who soon betray them in exchange for reward money. Quick-thinking Kazy has the courage to keep going, but when Beth becomes seriously ill, Kazy faces disaster. She is desperate to do the right thing. But once you’ve run away, it’s impossible to go back…isn’t it?Margaret McAllister has created a thrilling tale that combines the suspense of The Perilous Gard with the kind of historical adventure loved by readers of The Midwife’s Apprentice. Filled with narrow escapes, hardships, and discomforts, this book also celebrates the joy of independence, the unexpected kindness of strangers, and the deep satisfaction that comes from relying on oneself.
