Wilma Tenderfoot, a ten-year-old orphan who lives at Cooper Island’s Lowside Institute for Woeful Children, dreams of escape and of becoming the apprentice of the world-famous detective Theodore P. Goodman, whose every case she follows devotedly in the newspaper.
Orphans
The Witch’s Revenge
Two months after she saved the Eye of Lornish, a large white stone that prevents the magical kingdom of Mor from being discovered, Morag is adjusting to life in the secret northern kingdom. But dark dreams trouble her, and a series of unsolved robberies proves that even with the protection of her friends—Shona the dragon, Bertie the dodo, and Aldiss the rat—Morag is still not safe.
The Lost Boys of Sudan
This book presents accounts of narrow escapes executed by oppressed individuals and groups while illuminating social issues and the historical background that led to wars in Sudan and the orphaned refugees known as the ‘Lost Boys’.
The Secret Prince: A Knightley Academy Book
Fourteen-year-old orphan Henry Grim’s schooling at the prestigious Knightley Academy continues, as he and some friends discover an old classroom filled with forgotten weapons which lead them into a dangerous adventure.
Nini
The Hangman in the Mirror
Françoise Laurent has never had an easy life. The only surviving child of a destitute washerwoman and wayward soldier, she must rely only on herself to get by. When her parents die suddenly from the smallpox ravishing New France, Françoise sees it as a chance to escape the life she thought she was trapped in.
Seizing her newfound opportunity, Françoise takes a job as an aide to the wife of a wealthy fur trader. The poverty-ridden world she knew transforms into a strange new world full of privilege and fine things — and of never having to beg for food. But Françoise’s relationships with the other servants in Madame Pommereau’s house are tenuous, and Madame Pommereau isn’t an easy woman to work for. When Françoise is caught stealing a pair of her mistress’s beautiful gloves, she faces a future even worse than she could have imagined: thrown in jail, she is sentenced to death by hanging. Once again, Françoise is left to her own devices to survive . . . Is she cunning enough to convince the prisoner in the cell beside her to become the hangman and marry her, which, by law, is the only thing that could save her life?
Featured in Volume VI, Issue 2 of WOW Review.
The Ogre of Oglefort
When the Hag of Dribble, an orphan boy, and a troll called Ulf are sent to rescue a princess from an ogre, it turns out to be far from the routine magical mission they expect.
Fallen Grace
In Victorian London, impoverished fifteen-year-old orphan Grace takes care of her older but mentally unfit sister Lily, and after enduring many harsh and painful experiences, the two become the victims of a fraud perpetrated by the wealthy owners of several funeral businesses.
Dragon Keeper
An orphan slave girl becomes a Dragon Keeper when she heroically comes to the aid of an aging dragon and both go on a dangerous journey across China to protect a mysterious stone vital to the dragon’s legacy.
Garden of the Purple Dragon
Ancient China. Han Dynasty. Ping has found peace in the shadow of the Tai Shan mountains where she struggles to rear Kai, the small purple dragon left in her care. But her past is chasing her. Who can she trust? Ping must find a place that is safe for Kai.