Alyssha promised her father she wouldn't return to Bandor, and for six years she has kept that promise. But the hit-and-run victim she found dying on a Granville street was a man she met in that other world, and his family won't know what happened to him unless she goes back to tell them. She really has no choice, has she?And the other dead man, the body lying in a willow grove near the road to Bandor Gan... Finding him there was just a terrible coincidence, wasn't it?Alyssha fervently hopes so. Yes, six years ago Bandor had troubles – cruel and repressive laws, workers exploited in the city's woolen mills and the northern mines. Growing pains of the budding industrial revolution. Some people were angry, ready to fight. But these problems seem smaller and easier to solve, somehow, than the problems she's left behind. Bandor is cleaner, kinder, more peaceful, more right, than the frantic world she inherited in 21st Century America.Anyway, the problems aren't hers to solve. There's so much country here that these troubles don't touch. She'll go to the nomadic village where her friends are, where she was happy all those years ago. She'll study with the old kura, learning to be a teacher, a healer. Her life will mean more, here among these cheerful, pleasant people, than it would mean in Granville. She'll find her home here, and she'll be content.And, as in a fairy tale, there'll be a happy ending. She and Kardl loved each other back then, when they were children. Now they're grown up, and the daydreams that sustained her in Granville will come true at last. Kardl will be here, waiting for her, as she's waited all these years for him…Won't he?

At the end of Dark Tide, Book 3 in the Waterfire Saga, Astrid leaves her mermaid friends to confront her ancestor, Orfeo, the evil force behind the rise of the monster Abbadon. Orfeo possesses one of the six talismans that the merls need in order to keep the monster locked up forever. But without the ability to songcast, how will Astrid be able to defeat the most powerful mage in history? Meanwhile, Serafina and her Black Fins train goblin troops for battle against her uncle Vallerio's death riders. Will Sera ever see her beloved home--and her beloved Mahdi--again, or will the Volneros take over the mer realms while Orfeo takes on the gods themselves? Nothing less than the fate of the underwater world is at stake in this breathtaking finale. Praise for Deep Blue"A richly imagined novel. Themes of conquering fear and believing in oneself are woven throughout, along with an acknowledgment of humans' environmental impact on the sea and its inhabitants. Despite the high stakes and a few frightening moments, the story is never over serious; it's just right for readers who have grown up with, but aged out of, The Little Mermaid and the Disney Fairies franchise." - Publishers Weekly "A fantastic addition to the genre of mermaids, this book will also appeal to readers of action and those who appreciate usurped leaders taking back their kingdom. It starts with a common enough concept: a royal girl who is worried about her betrothal and about love. Donnelly then adds layers of complexity to the tale and weaves her story into that of Atlantis. Friendship, trust, and responsibility are major themes as Sera struggles to grasp that she is really her kingdom's only hope. Quick-witted, loveable characters and a well-planned fantasy world make this an all-encompassing book. Readers will eagerly await future volumes and the answers they will provide." - VOYA"Best-selling Donnelly (Revolution, 2010) builds an alluring mermaid civilization and history, filled with painterly descriptions of Sera's underwater palace and its unearthly architecture, her sumptuous wardrobe, and the menagerie of half-human, half-marine animal denizens. There's also plenty of romantic tension with handsome mermen, strife between merls (that's girl mermaids) from rival regions, and some powerful female friendships amid the fast-paced plot, filled with wondrous magic." - Booklist

After saving his clan from saber-toothed tigers, Lug the caveboy has become a hero. The only problem: between the nightmares and his sudden skittishness around animals, he doesn't feel like much of a hero. But now he and his friends, Stony and Echo, have even bigger problems. A giant glacier is rolling toward their village faster than any ordinary mass of ice should move and it's on course to crush the whole settlement! Maybe Blast, the mysterious northern boy who lives on the glacier, can help Lug's clan. Or maybe it will be up to Lug to save the day again, whether he's ready to or not.

The Code Busters are excited for their class field trip to Angel Island, known as the Ellis Island of the West. One of Mika's ancestors passed through the island's immigration station in the early twentieth century, and Mika thinks he may have left behind some secret messages . . . plus a very special box. But as the Code Busters search for hints from the past, they get caught up in an even bigger secret.Can you crack the code? Test your brain with the Code Busters to see if you have the right stuff to be an ace detective. Answers are in the back, in case you get stuck.