Cat is finally living a life of luxury–and so bored she’s going out of her mind. But then she and her friends are kidnapped and forced to work on a ship bound for the New World. With a mystery to solve and survival at stake, Cat must use her wits to save herself and her friends.
England (UK)
Here Be Monsters! (The Ratbridge Chronicles)
Welcome to Ratbridge. But beware — for there is skulduggery afoot. Young Arthur has fallen foul of the appalling outlaw, Snatcher, and is trapped alone in the town with every way home sealed. Meanwhile Snatcher and his men are working tirelessly in secret on a fiendish and dastardly plan to take over — and destroy — the entire town. With the help of Willbury Nibble, QC; some friendly boxtrolls and cabbageheads; Marjorie the frustrated inventor; and the rats and pirates from the Ratbridge Nautical Laundry, can Arthur thwart Snatcher’s evil plans — and find his way home?
In Control, Ms. Wiz?
It all seemed so simple. To stop the local library from being closed down, Ms. Wiz sprinkles her special powder over a few books to bring them to life. But soon the greediest man in the world, some Flopsy Bunnies, and a very royal couple are on the loose. Jack and Podge are worried–this time, is Ms. Wiz really in control?
The Ruby In The Smoke: A Sally Lockhart Mystery (Sally Lockhart)
“BEWARE THE SEVEN blessings . . . ” When she first utters these words, 16-year-old Sally Lockhart doesn’t know their meaning. But when an employee of her late father hears them, he dies of fear. Thus begins Sally’s terrifying journey into the seamy underworld of Victorian London, in search of clues to her father’s mysterious death.
Raiders’ Ransom
In 22nd-century Great Britain, where climate change has caused vast flooding, the piratical Reavers kidnap the Prime Minister’s daughter and thirteen-year-old Lilly Melkun, an English fisher-girl, takes her seacat on a daring rescue attempt, with a mysterious talking jewel from a past computer age tucked in her belt as ransom.
The Brothers Story
Teenage twins Kit and Christy have grown up amid grinding poverty in their Essex village. As Christy has been “simple” from birth, Kit is literally his brother’s keeper. But the latest hardships visited upon their country home by the Great Frost of 1683–84 bring Kit to frustration and despair, and he abandons Christy to make his way to London, seeking to better himself. There he finds work as an apprentice to a struggling artist and tries to take his mind off what he has left behind. But the time comes when he can no longer ignore the problem of his brother. A fascinating portrait of a young person struggling to balance family and freedom, The Brothers Story is also a frank depiction of Restoration London in its bawdy, raucous glory.
Malice
Fans Luke, Seth, and Kady have read all about the sinister world in which the villainous Tall Jake resides, but they learn more about it than they ever wanted when they are suddenly pulled into the pages of their comic book.
Exposure
Carnegie Medalist Mal Peet takes a searing look at the world of soccer and pop-celebrity culture — and the lives of three street kids caught in its glare. When a black South American soccer star signs on to a team in the country’s racist south, headlines blare. And when he falls for the sensual Desmerelda, a stunning white pop singer and daughter of a wealthy politician, their sudden and controversial marriage propels the pair to center stage, where they burn in the media spotlight. But celebrity attracts enemies; some very close to home. And its dazzle reaches into the city’s hidden corners, exposing a life of grit and desperation the glitterati could never imagine. When a girl is found murdered, reporter Paul Faustino is caught between worlds as he witnesses the power of the media in making — and breaking — lives. Inspired by Shakespeare’s OTHELLO, this modern tragedy of desire and betrayal, incisively and compassionately told, is a truly enthralling work of crossover fiction.
Lockdown
Furnace Penitentiary: the world’s most secure prison for young offenders, buried a mile beneath the earth’s surface. Convicted of a murder he didn’t commit, sentenced to life without parole, “new fish” Alex Sawyer knows he has two choices: find a way out, or resign himself to a death behind bars, in the darkness at the bottom of the world. Except in Furnace, death is the least of his worries. Soon Alex discovers that the prison is a place of pure evil, where inhuman creatures in gas masks stalk the corridors at night, where giants in black suits drag screaming inmates into the shadows, where deformed beasts can be heard howling from the blood-drenched tunnels below. And behind everything is the mysterious, all-powerful warden, a man as cruel and dangerous as the devil himself, whose unthinkable acts have consequences that stretch far beyond the walls of the prison. Together with a bunch of inmates—some innocent kids who have been framed, others cold-blooded killers—Alex plans an escape. But as he starts to uncover the truth about Furnace’s deeper, darker purpose, Alex’s actions grow ever more dangerous, and he must risk everything to expose this nightmare that’s hidden from the eyes of the world.
Face Value
Two lifetimes. Two rising stars. One common danger. As a daughter starts her rise in the glamorous London fashion scene, she begins to uncover secrets and clues about the mother she never knew — a beautiful teenage model who became a victim in the high stakes, high pressure world where international fashionistas and mobsters intersect. The fast cars, flashy parties, and easy money can be so enticing. But in a world where everybody is taken at face value, there is always a high price to pay for such fleeting fame.