In the first novel, The Golden Queen, the insectoid Dronons have slain the human queen Semarritte, thowing into chaos the ten thousand worlds over which she reigned. Desperate to save mankind, Lord Veriasse, her near-immortal consort, has created a new queen: Everynne, cloned from the dead original. Hotly pursued, Everynne falls in with cocky bodyguard Gallen O'Day; the pious Orick, an intelligent black bear; and the beautiful orphan Maggie Flynn.
With Gallen and the others newly sworn to her service, the young queen begins the great struggle against the aliens. Leaping from world to world via an ancient system of instantaneous transport gates, the heroes face terrible dangers and great wonders as they seek the heart of the dronon worlds, carrying the battle straight to the enemy.
In the second novel, Beyond the Gate, Maggie Flynn has become, by test of combat, the new Golden Queen. Gallen, Maggie, and Orick face an attack by Dronons on a planet where humans have achieved the pinnacle of genetic engineering. They must stop them while guarding the secret of Maggie's whereabouts, for she is only the Golden Queen until her champion, Gallen, is defeated by a Dronon challenger. In the midst of a slam-bang story, Farland raises and examines deep questions of humanity's definition and identity.
New to Sleepy Hollow, teens Aimee and Shane Lancaster find that upon theirarrival an ancient curse has been unleashed upon the town, tracing back to the town's famous legend, which just might be more truth than myth. Now an array of evil demons is after them, with the infamous Headless Horseman leading the pack.
The wild cats of the forest have lived in peace and harmony for many moons -- but a doom that will change everything is coming. Strange messages from their warrior ancestors speak of terrifying new prophecies, danger, and a mysterious destiny.
All the signs point to young warrior Brambleclaw as the cat with the fate of the forest in his paws. But why would the son of wicked cat Tigerstar be chosen to be a hero? And who are the other cats mentioned in the prophecy? All Brambleclaw knows for sure is that the strength and courage of the greatest warriors will be needed now, as the quest to save the Clans begins.
...and shake the forest to its roots.
Ten-year-old Arthur and his grandmother are doing just fine on their own -- except for that Grandpa has been missing in Africa for four years and a developer villain is evicting them from their own house. Things sour further when antique dealers haul away all of Grandpa's priceless African artifacts and books. Arthur is certain that his grandfather must have left some hidden message somewhere that will reverse their current downward spiral. He hopes to discover some way to enter the world of the beautiful, red-haired, blue-eyed African Princess Selenia that he saw in his grandfather's sketches; member of a tiny (less-than-an-inch-tall) tribe called the Minimoys that he suspects might live in Grandma's garden. But how, when Grandpa's attic has been stripped of clues?
Besson's story contains many of the elements of a good, suspenseful children's adventure, but it is often over told, employs an abundance of facile plot solutions, and loses threads and themes in a long, dizzying action-adventure sequence that abruptly ends as "to be continued." Still, it's hard to resist a likeable hero-protagonist, treasure maps, the promise of rubies, and a land of warring tiny people. Let the hype begin! The sequel Arthur and the Forbidden City is due in fall 2005, and Arthur, a computer-animated movie based on the books, is due out in 2006, with Madonna voicing the part of Princess Selenia. (Ages 8 to 12) --Karin Snelson
Alexander Cold knows all too well his grandmother Kate is never far from an adventure. When International Geographic commissions her to write an article about the first elephant-led safaris in Africa, they head -- with Nadia Santos and the magazine's photography crew -- to the blazing, red plains of Kenya. Days into the tour, a Catholic missionary approaches their camp in search of his companions who have mysteriously disappeared. Kate, Alexander, Nadia, and their team, agreeing to aid the rescue, enlist the help of a local pilot to lead them to the swampy forests of Ngoubé. There they discover a clan of Pygmies who unveil a harsh and surprising world of corruption, slavery, and poaching.
Alexander and Nadia, entrusting the magical strengths of Jaguar and Eagle, their totemic animal spirits, launch a spectacular and precarious struggle to restore freedom and return leadership to its rightful hands.
The final installment of Isabel Allende's celebrated trilogy of the journeys of Jaguar and Eagle soars with radiant settings, spirits, beings -- and the transformation of an extraordinary friendship.
A NOVEL IN THE WORLD FANTASY AWARD-WINNING MYTHAGO CYCLE
Ryhope Wood, Mythago Wood, is the great forest steeped in mystery, whose heart contains secrets that change all who come there.
Alex Bradley is a damaged and visionary child. Little does he know that the distorted creations of his mind are alive inside nearby Ryhope Wood. When the forest claims him, his father goes in pursuit, along with a scientific expedition looking for the secret of "mythago-genesis"...
But inside Ryhope, Alex has created a hundred forms of the Trickster-all of them seeking their maker, and all of them deadly.
That's where Nick comes in. Orphaned and desperate, Nick joins a rugged band of thieves in hopes of a warm meal and a little protection. In exchange Nick must help them break into the lavish white castle rumored to belong to an old man named Jack. Legend says it's full of riches from Jack's quest up a magical beanstalk decades ago.
When Nick's dangerous mission leads him straight to Jack, he sees a chance to climb the famed beanstalk himself. But what Nick doesn't know is that things are different from when Jack made his climb. There are new foes at the top now. Ones with cruel weapons and foul plans -- plans that could destroy the world as Nick knows it. Will Nick come down the beanstalk a hero? Will he come down at all?
After the death of her beloved father, headstrong princess Thirrin Freer Strong-In-The-Arm becomes warrior queen of her homeland, Icemark, defending it from a formidable invader. Despite Thirrin's bravery and the support of Oskan, the Witch's son, the task proves more difficult than Thirrin ever dreamed. She must assemble a force to rival her opponent. And, in the chill winter of Icemark, she only has until spring to unite the strange beasts and frightening creatures who live just outside her country. Ultimately, it is Thirrin's vision and determination that will see her through to victory.
Harlan and Ainsley Banana are on a mission. An exciting, dangerous, once-in-a-lifetime quest for the perfect stepmom to cheer up their sad dad. Harlan and Ainsley bump into a wish-granting creature called a frongle (not ever to be confused with a fairy!), & they learn that their wish can come true if they solve a magical riddle. With a rainbow-colored creature named Zucchini Spacestation as their unreliable guide, the brother and sister head off. But help from unexpected allies --- such as a pair of purple martian twins -- might just make Harlan and Ainsley's wish come true after all!
But not all on the islands are content or at peace. Thorvald, the young son of Margaret, widow of the slain king and Eyvind's war leader, has always felt apart and at odds with all he knows. He learns upon his coming to manhood that he is not his father's son but that of the love that Margaret bore for the hated Somerled and that Somerled was not killed for his treachery but sent on a boat, adrift with little more than a knife and skein of water, doomed to the god's will. Thorvald is determined to find a boat and cast off to the West in a desperate bid to find a father he never knew...and to find out if he is made of the same stuff as the henious traitor.
The tragedy of this scheme would be horrific enough...if it were not for the fact that Creidhe, the winsome daughter of Eyvind and Nessa has loved Thorvald since birth and unbeknownst to him conspires to go along on this most perilous of quests.
What happens to them on their journey of discovery will ultimately change the lives of all they know and love...and will doom (or redeem) an entire people.
A wondrous journey through the realms of magic
They call him Lump. Ugly, misshapen -- more goblin than human child -- abandoned as an infant and taken in by a witch, he is nursed by a bear, tutored by a djinn; his only playmates are the creatures of the forest, whose language he learns to speak.
But when Lump inevitably stumbles into the human world, his innocence is no match for the depths of people's cruelty, which turns his heart to stone, and fuels a vengeance that places him and his witch mother in deadly peril. Yet these disasters also send Lump on a journey of self-discovery, to realms deep within the earth and far beyond mortal imagination.
In this stunning fantasy debut, Michael Gruber has created a world that is at once deceptively familiar and stunningly original, a world of cruelty, beauty, legend, truth, and above all, wonder. Readers will delight in the author's ingenious retelling of classic fairy tales and will marvel at the stunning new tale of a boy raised by a witch, a cat, a bear, and a demon.
It’s 1895, and after the suicide of her mother, 16-year-old Gemma Doyle is shipped off from the life she knows in India to Spence, a proper boarding school in England. Lonely, guilt-ridden, and prone to visions of the future that have an uncomfortable habit of coming true, Gemma’s reception there is a chilly one.
To make things worse, she’s been followed by a mysterious young Indian man, a man sent to watch her. But why? What is her destiny? And what will her entanglement with Spence’s most powerful girls—and their foray into the spiritual world—lead to?
“A delicious, elegant gothic.”—PW, Starred
“Shivery with both passion and terror.”—Kirkus Reviews
"Compulsively readable." --VOYA
A New York Times Bestseller
A Publishers Weekly Bestseller
A Book Sense Bestseller
BBYA (ALA/YALSA Best Book for Young Adults)
Iowa High School Book Award
Garden State Teen Book Award
Pennsylvania Young Reader’s Choice Award