Adventure

The Taker and the Keeper
Pat Perrin, Wim Coleman
Middle-schoolers Gregory Guest and Yolanda Torres have no intention of becoming heroes overnight. But as the only kids in Bainsboro who see that the world has gone horribly wrong, what choice do they have? Aided by their eccentric science teacher and Gregory's trusty red monocle, Gregory and Yolanda travel into the King Arthur legend to save today's real world from a legendary threat. As they ally themselves with the magician Merlin and his young apprentice to thwart the sorceress Morgan le Fay, these reluctant heroes must set whole worlds right again. The first book in the Red Monocle, The Taker and the Keeper will keep young readers up at night as they get swept away in this tightly-plotted adventure.
Book Details

The Silver Anklet
Mahtab Narsimhan
What if the only way to get rid of your worst enemy was to sacrifice your brother? When hyenas snatch Taras brother, Suraj, and two other children from the local fair in Morni, Tara and her newfound companions decide to rescue them on their own. Tara soon discovers that Zarku, her nemesis with the third eye, is back and intent on revenge. A deadly game of hide and seek ensues, and Tara and her companions must work together to survive. But it is soon clear that Zarku is only after Tara; the others are dispensable. Should Tara risk the lives of her friends? Or can she once again defeat Zarku and save her brother, armed only with belief in herself and a silver anklet?
Book Details

Cat O' Nine Tails
Julia Golding
In this fourth adventure Cat Royal becomes an unlikely recruit in the British Navy, takes passage to America and unravels a fiendish plot to do away with Lord Francis, heir to a dukedom.
Book Details

People of the Sword
Neil O'Donnell
PEOPLE OF THE SWORD combines myth, history, and conquest with music, sorcery and a touch of romance to impart the struggles of two vastly different cultures suddenly dependent on one another for survival. Confronted by a common enemy, the wizard Crarnock, the druids and knights of Tropal realize that only through cooperation can they defeat Crarnock's goblin army. The journey will test the resolve of both peoples as they realize that their collective bias and misunderstandings are as much a threat as Crarnock himself. For readers interested in history, mythology, culture change, and classic struggles between Good and Evil, PEOPLE OF THE SWORD is for you.
Book Details

Band of Acadians
John Skelton
In 1755, on the eve of the Seven Years' War, fifteen-year-old Nola and her Acadian parents face expulsion from Grand Pré by the British. Nola, her friends Hector and Jocelyne, Nola's grandfather, and a band of bold teenagers manage to flee by boat only to encounter challenges tougher than their wildest imaginings. Their destination is French-occupied Fort Louisbourg, but along the way hostile soldiers, a harsh environment, enigmatic Mi'kmaq, and superpowers at war turn their journey into a series of hair-raising adventures. As it turns out, the runaways' route to freedom may be rudimentary technology. Using raw gypsum, limestone, coal, and salt, they forge coal-oil fire bombs that keep their attackers at bay for a short time but not long enough to ensure their survival. Will the resourceful teenagers finally discover what it takes to prevail in a continent poised on the edge of irrevocable change?
Book Details

Outlaw: The Legend of Robin Hood
Artur Fujita, Sam Hart, Tony Lee
Fast-paced graphic storytelling and stunning full-color illustrations combine in an action-packed retelling of the heroic Robin Hood story.How did Robin of Loxley become Robin Hood? Why did he choose to fight injustice instead of robbing for his own gain? Expressive and gritty, this graphic novel whisks readers back to Crusades-era England, where the Sheriff of Nottingham rules with an iron fist, and in the haunted heart of Sherwood Forest, a defiant rogue — with the help of his men and the lovely Maid Marian — disguises himself to become an outlaw. Lively language and illustrations follow the legendary hero as he champions the poor and provokes a high-stakes vendetta in a gripping adventure sure to draw a new generation of readers.
Book Details

Day of the Assassins
Nick Hardcastle, Johnny O'Brien
The year: 1914The place: Sarajevo The mission: the assassination of Archduke Franz Ferdinand (ages 9-14)Jack Christie and his best friend, Angus, find themselves at the center of a momentous event that will shape history for decades to come. Their dilemma: Should they intervene? Their problem: Can they survive? Join Jack on a dangerous chase from the dockyards of England to the rain-sodden trenches of the First World War. Will he escape the evil authorities who believe in the mysterious Vigil Imperative?
Book Details

The Amberstone: Saving The Flame
P. K. Lecoq
With fascinating graphite illustrations, The Amberstone: Saving the Flame by new author P.K. Lecoq is a dramatic fantasy adventure that boasts dark whimsy and a message of perseverance. When thirteen-year-old Carrie is wrenched by a paralyzing magnetic force from her backyard into deep space and set down in a rock quarry on a distant planet, she is shaken and confused, but unhurt. In a dreamscape of mythic proportions, she stumbles upon the Amberstone and its imprisoned flame and vows to take it to the Great Wolf Spirit. It is a rigorous journey into the hinterlands of a strange world, but on the way she makes many friends, including Cristie and Ben. She meets Tilt, a pill-bug, and Cent, a camel cricket, and many other interesting characters. However, with only guidance from the flame, Carrie must make this astonishing and unforgettable adventure on her own.
Book Details

Looking For Marco Polo
Tim Jessell, Alan Armstrong
Newbery Honor–winning author Alan Armstrong’s latest book!Eleven-year-old Mark's anthropologist father has disappeared in the Gobi desert while tracing Marco Polo’s ancient route from Venice to China. His mother decides they must go to Venice to petition the agency that sent Mark’s father to send out a search party. Anxious about his father and upset about spending Christmas away from home, Mark gets a bad asthma attack in the middle of the night. That’s when Doc Hornaday, an old friend of Mark’s father, makes a house call, along with a massive black Tibetan mastiff called Boss. To distract Mark from his wheezing and to pass the long Venetian night, the Doc starts to spin for Mark the tale of Marco Polo. Doc describes Marco’s travels and the boy finds himself falling under the spell of the story that has transfixed the world for centuries. Marco’s journey bolsters Mark’s courage and whets his appetite for risk and adventure, and for exposure to life in all its immense and fascinating variety.
Book Details

Going Bovine
Libba Bray
Can Cameron find what he’s looking for?All 16-year-old Cameron wants is to get through high school—and life in general—with a minimum of effort. It’s not a lot to ask. But that’s before he’s given some bad news: he’s sick and he’s going to die. Which totally sucks. Hope arrives in the winged form of Dulcie, a loopy punk angel/possible hallucination with a bad sugar habit. She tells Cam there is a cure—if he’s willing to go in search of it. With the help of a death-obsessed, video-gaming dwarf and a yard gnome, Cam sets off on the mother of all road trips through a twisted America into the heart of what matters most.