Europe

Materials from Europe

After the War

“Didn’t the gas ovens finish you all off?” is the response that meets Ruth Mendenberg when she returns to her village in Poland after the liberation of Buchenwald at the end of World War II. Her entire family wiped out in the Holocaust, the fifteen-year-old girl has nowhere to go. Members of the underground organization Brichah find her, and she joins them in their dangerous quest to smuggle illegal immigrants to Palestine. Ruth risks her life to help lead a group of children on a daring journey over half a continent and across the sea to Eretz Israel, using secret routes and forged documents — and sheer force of will.

A Dusk of Demons

When his father dies mysteriously and enemies set fire to Ben’s house, Ben and his stepsister, Patty, flee their homeland and embark on a perilous journey during which they face imprisonment, gypsies, and terrified countrymen seeking a sacrifice to save themselves from the Dark One.

The Lion Tamer’s Daughter and Other Stories

Four stories tell of ghostly doubles who reach out across time, space, and magical barriers to rescue and change others, including a girl who discovers she has a second self, living another life entirely.

The Silver Casket (Something Wickedly Weird)

SOMETHING WICKEDLY WEIRD IS HERE  The only thing worse than pirates are undead pirates. He might have survived the first two books, but Stanley Buggles has hardly found a quiet life in his home of Cramdon Rock. Now there are two more dead pirates out to find Stanely, and this time there’s an army with them. They want the precious key to the Silver Casket. Stanley doesn’t know what’s inside the Silver Casket, but he and his friends will do everything in their power to not find out.

Heroes of the Valley

Halli Sveinsson has grown up in the House of Svein, listening to the legends of the heroes as all his forefathers did. His is a peaceful society where the violence of the past has been outlawed and disputes are settled by the Council. But young Halli has never quite seemed to fit in with the others. For starters, he was not at all handsome or tall, like his attractive blond siblings. He’s stumpy and swarthy, with a quick mind and aptitude for getting in trouble. Bored with the everyday chores and sheep herding, he can’t help himself from playing practical jokes on everyone, from Eyjolf the old servant, to his brother and sister. But when he plays a trick on Ragnor of the House of Hakonsson, he goes too far, setting in motion a chain of events that will forever alter his destiny. Because of it, Halli will have to leave home and go on a hero’s quest. Along the way, he will encounter highway robbers, terrifying monsters, and a girl who may finally be his match. In the end, he will discover the truth about the legends, his family, and himself. Jonathan Stroud’s new novel is a hero’s saga and coming-of-age–as well as a surprising look at what bravery really means.

Mistik Lake

After Odella’s mother leaves her, her sisters, and their father in Manitoba and moves to Iceland with another man, she then dies there, and the family finally learns some of the many secrets that have haunted them for two generations.