The boy in the cathedral remembers nothing. The "giggler" torments him from the edge of the wood, just out of sight. His imagination is running wild, and as it does, all the things in it become reality, dangerous reality. Richard's son died years ago; the remains of his body were found on the edge of Ryhope Wood, unidentifiable, but there. When a woman comes out of the woods who knows where Alex is, but doesn't exactly, and has communicated with him, sort of, Richard is understandably confused. Does he dare hope to find the son he thought dead?
Grandmagister Juhg, head librarian of the Vault of All Known Knowledge, has undertaken a mission. He is trying to convince people who don't know how to read and have never seen a book in their lives to set up schools so that everybody can cherish books. Oh and another thing: they all fear books like the plague due to the goblinkin rebellion, a time during which everyone found with a book was either killed or enslaved.
Maximum Ride is destined to save the world. Max is constantly worried about her flock of mutant bird-kids as Erasers, including Max's younger brother, continually attack them. Erasers are kids that morph into wolves, and recently they've been given wings, so though they can't fly nearly as well as Max and her flock. The six kids have just escaped the School where one experiment after another was conducted on them. They are on their way to Washington to find their families, but the Erasers show up and Fang, a member of the flock, is seriously injured.
A pen named Murray, an empty diamond inkwell that emits splashing sounds, and a depressed Persian carpet are only a few of the things that lead Olivier to believe that his step-step-stepgramma is not an ordinary person. Then at his step-step-stepgramma's yard sale, a woman gives him a conch shell and through it, he hears a call for help from a friend. As he is trying to figure out what to do, a little girl gives him a stone, and a strange man sees and immediately starts chasing him. Of course, by this time, Olivier is extremely confused.
It all started with a cupcake. It was a normal, everyday cupcake, but it changed Jane's life forever. Her best friend suddenly gets a Little, or freshman tag-along, because she threw up on someone after eating the cupcake. Weird. Ally shows up at school the next day with dyed, cropped hair and a major personality change. Jane can't figure out what is going on, until Ally confides that a demon has control of her soul. Jane is determined to save her friend, but she might have to give up her own soul in the process. Can she save her friend? She has to try.
Jen's father has inherited an estate from his Great-Uncle Thaddeus and they are moving into the old, castle-like house on the property. Jen is thrilled; she can feel the strange vibes coming from the castle and knows something out of the ordinary is going to happen. When, against her father's wishes, Jen goes up the tower in the back yard, she finds a beautiful glass globe with a spout on the end and takes it back to her room, knowing instinctively that it is special. Odd things begin to happen. Dad has a girl friend, Moura, who Jen can tell does not love her Dad.
