A wealthy patron is sponsoring a series of art exhibitions, and Hal Spacejock has been employed to transport valuable pieces from one venue to the next. The only question is which of them will last longest ... Hal or the artworks? Views: 53
Will this dangerous quest lead the outcast Orphan King toward an ancient secret--or to certain destruction?Posing as a beggar, Thomas escapes Magnus after fifteen men, who are calling themselves the Priests of the Holy Grail, arrive and take control of the castle through wondrous acts and apparent miracles. With the help of his longtime friend Gervaise, Thomas sets out on a journey that leads him to the ancient Holy Land. Unaware that Katherine and Hawkwood are watching over him, Thomas is tested in his beliefs and comes face to face with the ancient power that the Merlins and Druids have long been searching for.Enter the world of Merlin's Immortals, where ancient secrets and evil conspiracies take you on a breathless adventure of discovery, intrigue, and hidden knowledge. From the Trade Paperback edition. Views: 53
Wendy Anderson and Hakiam Powell are at opposite ends of the spectrum--the social spectrum, the financial spectrum, the opportunity spectrum, you name it. Wendy lives in an all-white suburb of Philadelphia, where she's always felt like the only chip in the cookie. Her dad, who fought his way out of the ghetto, doesn't want her mingling with "those people." In fact, all Wendy's life, her father has told her how terrible "those people" are. He even objects to Wendy's plan to attend a historically black college. But Wendy feels that her race is more than just the color of her skin, and she takes a job tutoring at an inner-city community center to get a more diverse perspective on life.Hakiam has never lived in one place for more than a couple of years. When he aged out of foster care in Ohio, he hopped a bus to Philly to start over, but now he's broke, stuck taking care of his cousin's premature baby for no pay, and finding it harder than ever to stay out of trouble. When... Views: 53
A vacation house has a terrifying past—one that only the children know about Jason, his little sister, Sally, and his parents plan to spend the summer in the perfect seaside vacation home. But as soon as Jason steps onto the porch, icy air grips him, and he feels the stare of an invisible being. Although he can't explain it, he knows that in this house, children are not welcome. Jason soon meets Steve, a friendly kid who teases him about the so-called haunted house and the witch who used to live there. Jason tries to ignore him, but he's pretty sure there's truth to the spooky tale. Especially when he meets the pale figure of a child in the house . . . Views: 53
From award-winning author Sarah Prineas comes a brand-new digital short story! This original 50-page short story will enchant fans of the Magic Thief series. Thief-turned-wizard Connwaer has earned the reputation as one of the greatest magisters of the age, but not everyone believes in his abilities. When Verent, a young apprentice from neighboring Danivelle, comes to Wellmet to ask for Conn's help with his city's magical problems, he is less than impressed with Conn. Will Verent be able to overcome his misgivings about Conn in order to help his town? And with Conn's help, will Verent become a proper wizard?Includes a special sneak peek at the first chapter of The Magic Thief: Home, the fourth installment in the Magic Thief series! Views: 53
Daniel and Nora, two young lovers from feuding families, must use their forbidden love to stop the awesome evil that stalks Nora and her family. Views: 53
From Publishers WeeklyThe combination of her own desperate wishes and a dead writer's fantasy propel the nine-year-old heroine into a dream worldAor does it? Ages 8-12. Copyright 1999 Reed Business Information, Inc. From School Library JournalGrade 4-7. Wishes can come true, temporarily at least. Nine-year-old Theo desperately wants to be out of her gray, loveless existence and into the middle of a large and happy family like the ones she reads about in her wonderful library books. Often neglected by her young and immature mother, she is still reluctant to leave their Vancouver apartment and go to live with her aunt in Victoria. On the ferry trip, Theo makes a wish on the new moon and is amazed when it comes true. She wakes up as part of the perfect family, with nurturing and always happy parents and four caring siblings. Now she doesn't have to dance for money on the street or worry that her mother doesn't want her. But of course, it is too good to be true, and the magic doesn't last. While her real life isn't perfect like when she was "awake and dreaming," things are changing for the better and Theo is learning to be happy. Pearson deftly weaves fantasy and reality together into a charming novel much like Sylvia Cassedy did in Behind the Attic Wall (HarperCollins, 1983). Even minor characters are well developed, and this story is intriguing from start to finish. A mysterious ghost is carefully woven into the plot and into the resolution, but the focus of the book remains on Theo's very real concerns and emotions. As readers cheer for the child's happiness, they may also learn from her determination.?Leigh Ann Jones, Carroll Middle School, Southlake, TXCopyright 1997 Reed Business Information, Inc. Views: 53
This heartwarming tale of a Pony Express rider and his encounter with a father and his boy in a blizzard on the prairie is a beautiful Christmas tale by well-known author Sigmund Brouwer. Views: 53
When a flood kills eleven-year-old Andy Flynn's mother and stepfather, the only world he has ever known is gone and he is alone. Aunt Mona, whom he has never met, takes him to live with her in Halifax, on the opposite side of the country. During the flight, Aunt Mona tells him harshly that his father was not a war hero killed in battle, as Andy's mother led him to believe, but a no-good thief and drunk who is very much alive in Halifax. Andy is stunned, and as soon as they reach their destination, he runs away from his aunt to find his father. James Heneghan's remarkable gift for storytelling shines as strongly as ever in this moving and funny tale. Views: 53
Product DescriptionIn the great floating city of Sanctaphrax, blizzards howl through the streets as the Edgeworld descends into an endless winter. Quint, the son of a sky pirate, has just begun his training at the Knights Academy—training that involves heading out over the Edge on tethers to develop his flying skills. But when Quint breaks the rules and heads out to Open Sky on his own, he runs into the great sky leviathans known as cloud-eaters and must use all his skill and ingenuity if catastrophe is not to strike the Edgeworld. . . .From the Hardcover edition.Excerpt. © Reprinted by permission. All rights reserved.·chapter one·The School of Colour and LighT STudiesThe academic, in his grubby, paint-spattered robes of faded ‘viaduct’ blue, turned the crank lever with his free hand. The cog wheels in the rotating tower high above him chattered and squealed like angry ratbirds, and a shaft of light cut through the dusty air. The academic levelled the brush in his other hand and tilted his head to one side, his pale yellow eyes fixed on the youth before him.‘A little more to the left now, I think, Master Quint,’ he said, his voice soft but insinuating. ‘So the light catches you. Just so . . .’Quint did as he was told. The early morning light streaming in from the high tower window fell across his face, glinting on his cheekbones, the tips of his ears and nose and, with its rusting pipes and gauges, the battered armour he wore.‘Excellent, my young squire,’ the academic muttered approvingly. He dipped the tip of the hammelhornhair brush into the white paint on his palette and dabbed lightly at the tiny painting on the easel before him. ‘Now we must let the light work its magic,’ he murmured. The dabbing continued. ‘The highlights complete the picture, Master Quint. But I must insist that you hold still.’Quint tried to maintain the pose – but it wasn’t easy. The tower was small and airless, and the heady odours from the pigments, the pinewood oils and the thinning varnishes were combining to make his eyes water and his head ache. The rusty, ill-fitting armour chafed his neck, and his left leg had gone quite numb. Besides, he was dying to see the finished portrait. It was all he could do not to turn right round and inspect it for himself.‘The dawn light,’ clucked the academic. ‘There’s nothing like it for illuminating the subject . . .’ His pale yellow eyes darted back and forth over Quint’s features. ‘And what an illustrious subject we are, my young squire.’He chuckled, and Quint tried not to blush.‘The protégé of none other than the Most High Academe of Sanctaphrax . . .’ He turned away and began stabbing at the palette like a woodthrush after a spanglebug. ‘How lucky you are, Master Quint, not to have to scrabble about with the rest of us in the minor schools, but to be given a place at the most prestigious academy of them all. I wonder . . .’ The academic’s voice was laden with sudden spite. ‘I wonder what you actually did to deserve it?’The academic’s eyes were fixed on Quint’s face once more. They were so pale that there was almost no difference between the irises and the yellowish white that surrounded them. It was a mark of his trade, Quint told himself, trying not to shudder. Just as years of working as an Undertown rope-turner resulted in spatula-shaped fingers, and just as a slaughterer tanner from the Deepwoods ended up with skin the colour of blood, so, as the years passed, the eyes of Sanctaphrax portraitists were gradually bleached by the vapours of the thinning varnishes they used – and Ferule Gleet had been a portraitist for many, many years.‘I was the Most High Academe’s apprentice . . .’ Quint looked down, his cheeks blazing as he remembered the monstrous gloamglozer and the night of the terrible fire.‘Keep still!’ rasped Gleet, irritatedly dabbing at the portrait. ‘Ah, yes,’ he smiled thinly. ‘There was that fire at the Palace of Shadows, wasn’t there? Strange and dreadful business . . . How is the Most High Academe? Recovering well, I hope.’The pale yellow eyes bored into Quint’s once more.‘As well as can be expected,’ the youth replied, but the words rang hollow in his ears as he thought of his mentor lying in the gloomy bedchamber at the School of Mist.Linius Pallitax had suffered grievously at the hands of the terrible gloamglozer. He had almost been destroyed. Perhaps it would have been better if he had, for now he never left his bed, and his haunted eyes stared into the distance, seeing neither his faithful servant, Tweezel, nor Quint, his apprentice – nor even his own daughter, Maris, who sat beside him for so many hours, praying for him to recover.Ferule Gleet daubed at the tiny painting in silence for a moment.‘As well as can be expected, eh?’ he mused at last. ‘Doesn’t sound too good. You wouldn’t want anything to happen to him, my fine young squire. Not in your position.’‘My position?’ said Quint, trying not to move.‘You’re the High Academe’s protégé, aren’t you? Without him, you don’t expect that the Knights Academy would accept you into its hallowed halls, do you? Of course not!’ Ferule shook his head. ‘Sanctaphrax born and bred, that’s always been the rule. The rest of us have to get by at the minor academies as best we can.’He wiped his brush on a piece of rag, and turned the easel round.‘There,’ he announced.Quint found himself staring at the miniature painting of a young knight academic in gleaming armour, with deep indigo eyes and a smile on his face. Ferule Gleet of the School of Colour and Light Studies had done a fine job all right. Quint shivered.‘Is anything wrong?’ Ferule asked.‘It’s nothing,’ Quint said quietly.He had no intention of telling the pale-eyed academic about the memories the miniature painting had stirred – memories of the first time he’d had his portrait done.How young he’d been then. Four, maybe five years old; the youngest of six brothers. His father, Wind Jackal, had commissioned the mural of the whole family for the grand hall of their palace in the Western Quays. What happy days they’d been. But they hadn’t lasted, he thought bitterly. Within a year of the painting being completed, Turbot Smeal – his father’s treacherous quartermaster – had torched his master’s house. Quint’s mother and brothers had perished in the blaze, and with them, the painting itself had been destroyed.From the Hardcover edition. Views: 53
Forced into a neutral Estonian port for repairs during the chaos of the opening days of World War II, the Polish submarine, the “Eagle” and her crew are betrayed by their captain and captured by Nazi sympathizers. The crew, however, isn’t content to sit out the war. With help from unexpected sources—a naval attaché with the British Embassy and a courageous American reporter and her photographer sidekick—they overcome their captors, regain control of the “Eagle,” and escape. The German’s are convinced the “Eagle’s” crew has no stomach for a fight and will seek refuge in Sweden. But the Poles have something else in mind—join up with the British Fleet and continue fighting against their homeland’s Nazi conquerors. They face stiff odds. The “Eagle” has little food and water, few torpedoes, and no sea charts. And before she can rendezvous with the British somewhere in the North Sea, she must traverse the Baltic, which has become little more than a Nazi-controlled lake. This story is inspired by the exploits of the Polish submarine, “Orzel,” during the early weeks of World War II. Winston Churchill called her escape from the Nazis “an epic.” Views: 53
