Synopsis: Ordinary kids are introduced to an extraordinary galaxy full of pirates, monkeys, and other colorful creatures—both human and otherwise—in this first book of this “absolutely action-packed” (School Library Journal) fantasy-adventure trilogy.
 
On the night Emma Garton’s supposedly boring parents are kidnapped, she is forced to face the truth that they’ve been lying to her about many things. The most important of which? They aren’t even from planet Earth.
 
To find her mom and dad, Emma and her best friend, Herbie, must leave Earth and enter the Strands—the waterways of space, where huge galleons ply the intergalactic seas. But a journey through the constellations won’t be easy—not with every scoundrel in the galaxy determined to find them.
 
In this interstellar adventure, YALSA Alex Award–winning author Zoë Ferraris transports readers to a vast magical universe filled with fantastical creatures, merciless villains, and fearless heroes.


Praise for THE GALAXY PIRATES: HUNT FOR THE PYXIS

"[A]bsolutely action-packed. This first book in a trilogy will keep kids reading in order to find out what happens next." –School Library Journal
 
"This book will have an audience and will appeal to younger fans of Dave Barry's Peter and the Starcatchers." —Booklist

Synopsis: Shawna and Thea are working together on a math project for their eighth-grade class. But the numbers don't add up, and they make a startling discovery—the secret room in the basement of Thea's house, an old Vermont inn. The code on the walls makes the girls—and everyone in town—wonder why there was a secret room. Was it part of the Underground Railroad, or perhaps something less, well, heroic? Discovering the truth is harder than they would have thought, especially when the truth is not what you want to hear. This new novel is written for young adults age 10 and up. But readers of every age will enjoy this engrossing tale American history, friendship, family ties, nature, community. These are some of the themes that Beth Kanell explores in this beautifully written and ever-so-timely novel. The Secret Room is at once a superb, young-adult suspense story, and one of the best, and most realistic, literary mystery novels I've ever read. At its heart are two wonderful young friends and not-so-amateur detectives, Thea and Shawna. What they learn about themselves, their community, and their state and country, past and present, will astonish and delight you. The Secret Room is a masterwork in which every sentence is lovingly crafted and written straight from the heart. --Howard Frank Mosher, novelist, author of Disappearances; Where the Rivers Flow North; A Stranger in the Kingdom; Walking to Gatlinburg; and more.

Synopsis: A ghost ship comes from nowhere. Anyone who goes on board never comes back. Can Mr. Blood stop it before it kills again?

Synopsis: A demon from the marsh is stealing children. Can Mr. Blood stop it? Or will Mary and Edgar be the next victims?

Synopsis: Fifteen-year-old Jim Hay believes that war is a glorious adventure and cannot wait for his turn to fight. But as his father marches off to battle in August 1914, Jim must be content to record his thoughts and dreams in his journal. All too quickly, however, Jim’s life begins to unravel. His father is killed in action, his mother suffers a breakdown, and when Jim does at last join up, it is as much to find refuge as it is to seek glory. In the trenches of France, his romantic views of war are dispelled, and his longing for adventure is replaced by a basic need to survive.

Synopsis: Before her plane even touches down in Newfoundland, Cheryl is already plotting her escape. The unwilling spectator of her father’s morbid fascination with “dying cultures,” Cheryl has seen more than her fair share of towns so depressing they could haunt your dreams. His decision to study the defunct east-coast fishing industry is Cheryl’s breaking point—this city girl is more determined than ever to get back where she belongs. Will Cheryl’s cold, goth exterior and her refusal to embrace a new life cut her off from those who love her?

Synopsis: Fiery-haired, witch-eyed Zaara Theroux has all but resigned herself to the dull life of an Asterian princess when her engagement is suddenly interrupted by the elusive Jay Sattler, who has an irresistible proposition for her: he’ll show her the world – the good, the bad, the beautiful – and free her from her royal captivity, if she promises to open her mind. Suddenly, Zaara’s quiet, boring life is shattered and she is thrown into a world where not everything is as it seems: where dragons soar and breathe fire; where people like her are gifted with affinities for water, fire, earth, or air; where a rebellion is rising, seeking a justice that involves destroying her perfect world and everything she has been raised with…including the love of her life. As Zaara joins the rebellion, she learns more than she had intended about the strange and tangled history of the world she lives in and the role she herself has to play, as keeper of the rare fifth element, in preserving that balance between order and chaos in the mythical land of Asteira.