For fans of A Snicker of Magic and The Miscalculations of Lightning Girl comes a suspenseful dark fantasy duology, perfect for middle school readers that love stories of magic and sisterhood with a dash of danger. Maren's life has finally gone back to normal. Her sister, Hallie, is doing much better, she's still allowed to work in her family's dream shop, and there's been no sign of Obscura, the evil nightmare thief. But when Lishta, Maren's grandmother, finds an ad for a sleepaway camp designed for dreamers, alarm bells start to ring. Lishta's never heard of the camp directors, and she's worried and wants to investigate. Maren and Hallie pose as campers with Lishta taking a job as the lunch lady. Almost right away something seems off. Campers all wake up humming the same song, a whole bunk of girls does their hair the exact same way, and everyone seems to have had the same dream. And things go from bad to worse when Maren discovers most of the camp population has been sleepwalking. As the girls investigate the camp, Maren and Hallie discover a nefarious plot that could affect the entire world. Maren will have to figure out who's really behind the camp and stop them from turning more dreamers in sleepwalking zombies, before it's too late. Pick up the Nightmare Thief duology if you are looking for: Suspenseful stories of magical realism for kids with a side of danger Gifts for 11 year old girls, 13 year old girls, and any young reader 11-14 that loves fantasy Books that explore bullying, family ties, and feature strong female characters Books for 4th graders, and any classroom with grades 3-8

The Hazel Wood meets The Astonishing Color of After in this dreamy, atmospheric novel that follows sixteen-year-old Eli as she tries to remember what truly happened the night her mother disappeared off a frozen fjord in Norway under the Northern Lights. Never whistle at the Northern Lights, the legend goes, or they'll sweep down from the sky and carry you away. Sixteen-year-old Eline Davis knows it's true. She was there ten years ago, on a frozen fjord in Svalbard, Norway, the night her mother whistled at the lights and then vanished. Now, Eli lives an ordinary life with her dad on Cape Cod. But when the Northern Lights are visible over the Cape for just one night, she can't resist the possibility of seeing her mother again. So she whistles--and it works. Her mother appears, with snowy hair, frosty fingertips and a hazy story of where she's been all these years. And she doesn't return alone. Along with Eli's mother's reappearance come strange, impossible things. Narwhals swimming in Cape Cod Bay, meteorites landing in Eli's yard, and three shadowy princesses with ominous messages. It's all too much, too fast, and Eli pushes her mother away. She disappears again--but this time, she leaves behind a note that will send Eli on a journey across continents, to the northern tip of the world: Find me where I left you.

A New York Times bestseller! Soar into a breathtaking world of heroes and unicorns as you’ve never seen them before in this “unexpected, suspenseful, and heartwarming” (Kirkus Reviews) middle grade debut perfect for fans of the Percy Jackson and Eragon series! Skandar Smith has always yearned to leave the Mainland and escape to the secretive Island, where wild unicorns roam free. He’s spent years studying for his Hatchery exam, the annual test that selects a handful of Mainlander thirteen-year-olds to train to become unicorn riders. But on the day of Skandar’s exam, things go horribly wrong, and his hopes are shattered…until a mysterious figure knocks on his door at midnight, bearing a message: the Island is in peril and Skandar must answer its call. Skandar is thrust into a world of epic sky battles, dangerous clashes with wild unicorns, and rumors of a shadowy villain amassing a unicorn army. And the closer Skandar grows to his newfound friends and community of riders, the harder it becomes to keep his secrets—especially when he discovers their lives may all be in graver danger than he ever imagined.

A group of monumentally powerful teens must face an ancient, soul-eating foe in this second book of The Star Shards Chronicles. A cataclysmic explosion has given earthly teens astronomical powers—when the star Mentarsus-H went supernova at their conceptions, the teens absorbed the shattered soul of the star and inherited unimaginable abilities. Now the Star Shards have become like gods, drunk on their own power—and ripe for manipulation by The Bringer, a creature who would turn them against one another and transform the planet into his own personal feeding ground. But who is more dangerous: The Bringer or the Star Shards? Acclaimed author Neal Shusterman presents “a story which is grippingly unexpected” (The Bookwatch) that sets the stage for the riveting conclusion to The Star Shards trilogy. Originally published by Tor Fantasy in 1999.

Autumn Reiniger wants something special for her 21st birthday. And she expects it. Daddy's already bought her a sports car, an apartment, and admission to the private college where she parties away her weekends. In her most thrilling present yet, Autumn is treated to a 'crime spree weekend' in the California wilderness.

#1 NEW YORK TIMES BESTSELLER • ONE OF TIME MAGAZINE’S 100 BEST YA BOOKS OF ALL TIME The extraordinary, beloved novel about the ability of books to feed the soul even in the darkest of times. When Death has a story to tell, you listen. It is 1939. Nazi Germany. The country is holding its breath. Death has never been busier, and will become busier still. Liesel Meminger is a foster girl living outside of Munich, who scratches out a meager existence for herself by stealing when she encounters something she can’t resist–books. With the help of her accordion-playing foster father, she learns to read and shares her stolen books with her neighbors during bombing raids as well as with the Jewish man hidden in her basement. In superbly crafted writing that burns with intensity, award-winning author Markus Zusak, author of I Am the Messenger, has given us one of the most enduring stories of our time. “The kind of book that can be life-changing.” —The New York Times “Deserves a place on the same shelf with The Diary of a Young Girl by Anne Frank.” —USA Today DON’T MISS BRIDGE OF CLAY, MARKUS ZUSAK’S FIRST NOVEL SINCE THE BOOK THIEF.

A sneak peek at an electrifying tale of greed and power, magic and destiny, and one boy's courage at the heart of it all, from Jennifer A. Nielsen, the New York Times bestselling author of the Ascendance Trilogy. When Nic, a slave in the mines outside of Rome, is forced to enter a sealed cavern containing the lost treasures of Julius Caesar, he finds much more than gold and gemstones: He discovers an ancient bulla, an amulet that belonged to the great Caesar and is filled with a magic once reserved for the Gods -- magic some Romans would kill for. Now, with the deadly power of the bulla pulsing through his veins, Nic is determined to become free. But instead, he finds himself at the center of a ruthless conspiracy to overthrow the emperor and spark the Praetor War, a battle to destroy Rome from within. Traitors and spies lurk at every turn, each more desperate than the next to use Nic's newfound powers for their own dark purposes. In a quest to stop the rebellion, save Rome, and secure his own freedom, Nic must harness the magic within himself and defeat the empire's most powerful and savage leaders.

NPR BEST BOOK OF THE YEAR AMAZON BEST BOOK OF THE MONTH "This stunning tale of betrayal, trickery, and friendship takes the reader on a wild ride." —School Library Journal Ocean's Eleven meets The False Prince in this thrilling heist story for young readers, in which five kids with unusual talents are brought together to commit an impossible crime. Failure is unacceptable ... but success could be deadly. From the bestselling author of the Blackthorn Key series, this magic-infused fantasy brings together a ragtag group of kids to pull off a crime so difficult, countless adults have already tried and failed. Lured by the promise of more money than they've ever dreamed of, five young criminals are hired to steal a heavily guarded treasure from the most powerful sorcerer in the city. There's Callan the con artist, Meriel the expert at acrobatics (and knives!), Gareth the researcher, Lachlan who can obtain anything, and Foxtail, whose mysterious eyeless mask doesn't hinder her ability to climb walls like a spider. Though their shadowy backgrounds mean that they've never trusted anyone but themselves, the five must learn to rely on each other in order to get the job done. But as Callan has been warned most of his life, it's best to stay away from magic. It can turn on you at any moment, and make you think you're the one running the con game, when in reality you're the one being fooled. Faced with these unsurmountable odds, can the friends pull off this legendary heist, or has their luck finally run out?

'This is a pursuit thriller of the highest quality, reminiscent of the classic of the genre, Geoffrey Household's Rogue Male' Irish Independent 'Both an engrossing thriller and the story of a man struggling in the grip of historical events that he only partially understands' Sunday Times In the snow, death is not the coldest thing waiting for you... From out of the whiteness, a dark figure comes... December, 1930, Ukraine. After the horrors of war, Luka wants a quiet life with his family. His village has, so far, remained hidden from the advancing Soviet brutality - but everything changes the day a stranger arrives, pulling a sled bearing a terrible cargo: the bodies of two children. When the villagers' fear turns deadly, they think they have saved themselves. And then a little girl vanishes. Luka is the only man with the skills to find the stolen child in these frozen lands. And though his toughest enemy is the man he tracks through the harsh winter landscape, his strongest bond is a promise to his family back home...

For fans of A Snicker of Magic and The Miscalculations of Lightning Girl comes a suspenseful dark fantasy duology, perfect for middle school readers that love stories of magic and sisterhood with a dash of danger. Maren Partridge loves working in her family's dream shop where she can hand-craft any dream imaginable. The shop has only one rule. Dreams cannot be given to a person without their consent. Maren has no problem with this—until her sister, Hallie, has an accident that leaves her in a coma. Maren's certain she can cure Hallie with a few well-chosen dreams. And when no one is watching, she slips her a flying dream. But a strange new customer from the shop has been following Maren and knows what she did. Now she's laid the perfect trap to blackmail Maren into creating custom nightmares for a dark and terrible purpose. As Maren gets drawn further into the sinister scheme, she must make a choice: to protect her family or to protect the town from her family's magic. Pick up the first book in the Nightmare Thief duology if you are looking for: Suspenseful stories of magical realism for kids with a side of danger Gifts for 11 year old girls, 13 year old girls, and any young reader 11-14 that loves fantasy Books that explore bullying, family ties, and feature strong female characters Books for 4th graders, and any classroom with grades 3-8