Fantasy

Mary of Shadows
Jeffrey Aaron Miller
“You will lose friends and family, you will lose everyone you’ve ever cared about.” In the thrilling sequel to Mary of the Aether, Mary Lanham finds herself under relentless assault by her enemies, the Lookers. Her powers will be tested to the breaking point, as the Lookers wage a campaign of terror in the tiny town of Chesset, Arkansas. Mary may have found a new ally in the mysterious old woman, Vera, but who is Vera and what does she really want? On top of everything, the worst person in the world is moving to town to spend the summer at Kristen’s house.
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Tales of a 10th Grade Vampire Hunter
Bill Blume
For Gidion Keep, hunting vampires is easy. It’s high school that might kill him. Hunting vampires is a Keep family tradition. Dad quit the business over a decade ago when Mom was killed, so Grandpa has been teaching Gidion -in secret- to take up the hunt. As Gidion closes in on the local coven, he discovers their plans to kill one of his teachers and a girl from another school. One of his best friends might be the key to finding the vampires’ lair... if he can be trusted. To complicate matters - the vampires know they're being hunted and they're determined to kill Gidion and everyone he's protecting, no matter what it takes. Tales of a 10th Grade Vampire Hunter delivers a fast-paced thriller with a young hero whose deadliest weapon isn't a wooden stake but his wits and a lot of luck.
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Of Beast and Beauty
Stacey Jay
In the beginning was the darkness, and in the darkness was a girl, and in the girl was a secret... In the domed city of Yuan, the blind Princess Isra, a Smooth Skin, is raised to be a human sacrifice whose death will ensure her city’s vitality. In the desert outside Yuan, Gem, a mutant beast, fights to save his people, the Monstrous, from starvation. Neither dreams that together, they could return balance to both their worlds. Isra wants to help the city’s Banished people, second-class citizens despised for possessing Monstrous traits. But after she enlists the aid of her prisoner, Gem, who has been captured while trying to steal Yuan’s enchanted roses, she begins to care for him, and to question everything she has been brought up to believe. As secrets are revealed and Isra’s sight, which vanished during her childhood, returned, Isra will have to choose between duty to her people and the beast she has come to love.
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Leaf & the Long Ice
D.W. Murray, Jo Marshall
Leaf is an impish, stick creature called a Twig. He lives in an old forest at the foot of an ancient volcano capped by a vast glacier ~ the Long Ice. Leaf entertains his mischievous, younger, twin brothers with stories about the rare beasts that still survive on the Long Ice even though it shrinks more and more as the seasons grow hotter. One afternoon, the twins run away to play in the vanishing ice and snow. They hitch a ride on a giant moth, befriend a snowshoe bunny, and stumble upon a hermit's creepy cave. Mistaking the hermit's odd pets for a cave beast's meal, the twins rescue them all. When a bold mountain goat kid leaps into the expedition, a mighty eagle called Slayer attacks! Panicked, the Twig twins and their terrified companions rush into the glacier's icy tunnels, and are soon bewildered by a maze of melting blue tubes. Yet all is not lost, for with the help of a courageous pika, Leaf and the grumpy hermit join forces to find the twins. But in a dreadful turn of events, it is the snow beasts of the Long Ice that will decide their fate. In the Twig Stories adventure novels young Twigs are thrust upon dangerous paths. Still, they discover their world has unexpected help. In the midst of disappearing habitats, beavers build mighty dams to control floods and quench wildfires. Bark beetles are fought. Rare trees are saved from extinction. Glaciers may shrink, but their precious water is not lost. Now Twigs must learn a lesson from the eruption of a volcano ~ incredible adaption is possible, so Leaf and his loyal Twig friends stick together and battle to survive. Royalties are shared with nature conservancy nonprofits protecting wildlife and forests. Twig Stories are illustrated by D.W. Murray, a Disney artist. His credits include Mulan, Tarzan, Lilo & Stitch, Brother Bear, and Curious George. He is a recipient of the New York Society of Illustrators Gallery and the 2004 Gold Aurora Award.Praise for Leaf & the Long Ice ~"Excellent storytelling combined with accurate science make this book a must-read for children interested in nature and stories of adventure."Sarah Boon, PhD, Alberta Water and Environmental ScienceUniversity of Lethbridge"The theme of environmental change is woven into the narrative as a backdrop to a story of adventure, danger, camaraderie, and kindness. Readers of all ages will relate to the magic that draws Buddy and Burba to the snow in the first place, and will be reminded of our connection to Earth's changing cryosphere."Dr. Gwenn Flowers, Canada Research Chair in GlaciologySimon Fraser University"Leaf & the Long Ice is a must-have in your library. Rich fictional characters, vivid word imagery, evocative sensorial language, and layered science content... Jo Marshall gives us a great age-appropriate teaching tool that helps lay a foundation for students in fostering a nature care-taker's ethic."Clay Heilman, Environmental EducatorNature Vision
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Emospherica (The Destiny of Jasmine Blade, #1)
K J Madsen
Jasmine Blade has tightly bottled her emotions for 18 years, but when one chance encounter with a wanna-be rock star ends up in a whirlwind journey across the globe, everything changes. With the invention of 'Emosphere's', Jasmine now has the power to control the emotions of others. Her destiny is to prove to the Council of Carriers, Framers and Readers that Emospherica is a phenomenon capable of controlling the masses - but at what cost? Her unfolding destiny is both dangerous and risky, especially when she has to put absolute trust in others. But Jasmine is determined to remain tenacious and tough until the end - whether it is in jubilant victory or gut wrenching defeat. She is fast learning why emotional warfare is a dangerous game, and that sometimes love doesn't conquer all, no matter what rock star you fall for.
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Finnikin of the Rock
Melina Marchetta
2008 Printz Award Winner Melina Marchetta crafts an epic fantasy of ancient magic, exile, feudal intrigue, and romance that rivets from the first page.Finnikin was only a child during the five days of the unspeakable, when the royal family of Lumatere were brutally murdered, and an imposter seized the throne. Now a curse binds all who remain inside Lumatere’s walls, and those who escaped roam the surrounding lands as exiles, persecuted and despairing, dying by the thousands in fever camps. In a narrative crackling with the tension of an imminent storm, Finnikin, now on the cusp of manhood, is compelled to join forces with an arrogant and enigmatic young novice named Evanjalin, who claims that her dark dreams will lead the exiles to a surviving royal child and a way to pierce the cursed barrier and regain the land of Lumatere. But Evanjalin’s unpredictable behavior suggests that she is not what she seems — and the startling truth will test Finnikin’s
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Smash: Trial by Fire
Whap! Thud! Crash! An action-packed graphic novel simultaneously spoofs and pays tribute to superhero lore while inspiring a new generation of crimefighters.Ka-boom! Clobbered by fallout from a blast that kills the local superhero, Defender, Andrew Ryan suddenly has super strength and speed! And he can fly! Now it’s up to him to protect citizens from thieves, thugs, and fearsome villains. He dons a homemade costume to hide his true identity, and Smash is born! But fighting crime isn’t easy, especially when you’re in fifth grade. On top of evil robots and trigger-happy bank robbers, there’s homework, curfew, and the school bully to deal with. Not to mention the Magus, a fearsome villain who will stop at nothing to steal Smash’s superpowers for himself! Influenced by film, cartoons, and of course, classic comic books, this vivid escapade features a rib-tickling, high-energy storyline and the colorful, exaggerated figures of nostalgic comic-book art: a combo perfect for kids longing for a secret identity of their own.
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Contagion
Jack and his friends are in a race against time to save the remaining inhabitants of a postapocalyptic London from a nuclear bomb. Two years after London is struck by a devastating terrorist attack, it is cut off from the rest of the world, protected by a large force of soldiers (known as Choppers) while the rest of Britain believe that their ex-capital is a toxic, uninhabited wasteland. But that's not true. Jack and his friends know that the truth is very different--and incredible: the few remaining survivors in London are changing; developing strange, fantastic powers; evolving. And the Chopper force guarding London is treating the ruined city as its own experimental ground. Now, Jack's powers are growing. His friend Lucy-Anne's powers are developing too, and Nomad--that mysterious woman who started it all--is close by. But the Choppers have initiated their final safeguard--a huge nuclear bomb that will wipe out London, and everyone still within its boundaries. Jack and his friends must spread the news of the bomb and save everyone they can. Before that can happen, Jack must face his father, the deadly Reaper, in their final showdown.
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Black Spring
Alison Croggon
Inspired by the gothic classic Wuthering Heights, this stunning new fantasy from the author of the Books of Pellinor is a fiercely romantic tale of betrayal and vengeance.In a savage land sustained by wizardry and ruled by vendetta, Lina is the enchanting but willful daughter of a village lord. She and her childhood companion, Damek, have grown up privileged and spoiled, and they’re devoted to each other to the point of obsession. But Lina’s violet eyes betray her for a witch, and witches are not tolerated in a brutally patriarchal society. Her rank protects her from persecution, but it cannot protect her from tragedy and heartbreak. An innocent visitor stands witness to the devastation that ensues as destructive longing unleashes Lina’s wrath, and with it her forbidden power. Whether drawn by the romantic, the magical, or the gothic, readers will be irresistibly compelled by the passion of this tragic tale.
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The Crystal Ordeal (Legends of Leone)
M.G. Dekle
At a young age, Leone Verrat learned that her ability to cast simple magical enchantments was limited by a peculiar handicap. Unlike other sorcerers, her spells would not permanently consume the components necessary for magic, resulting in much weaker and shorter effects but returning the ingredients unscathed. Even though she earned barely passable grades in order to graduate from Blueroot Academy, a school specializing in magical studies, an unknown benefactor still saw fit to recommend her for Morgan's Ordeal, a test necessary for any respectable career.She is soon inextricably linked to her theatrical Ordeal partner, Falchion, as they must brave the dangers of the test together. They both quickly discover that the Ordeal is the least of their concerns when they find themselves in the middle of an ancient power struggle.The Crystal Ordeal follows Leone from her graduation day through a catastrophic magical mishap and its immediate consequences.This thrilling full-length novel begins the "Legends of Leone" Young Adult Fantasy series.