For centuries, mystical creatures of all description were gathered into a hidden refuge called Fablehaven to prevent their extinction. The sanctuary survives today as one of the last strongholds of true magic in a cynical world. Enchanting? Absolutely! Exciting? You bet. Safe? Well, actually, quite the opposite...

Kendra and her brother Seth have no idea that their grandfather is the current caretaker of Fablehaven. Inside the gated woods, ancient laws give relative order among greedy trolls, mischievous satyrs, plotting witches, spiteful imps, and jealous fairies. However, when the rules get broken, an arcane evil is unleashed, forcing Kendra and Seth to face the greatest challenge of their lives. To save her family, Fablehaven, and perhaps the world, Kendra must find the courage to do what she fears most.

The Chronicles of Chrestomanci, Volume 1 takes readers on a captivating journey through multiple parallel universes known as the Twelve Related Worlds. In these worlds, only an enchanter with nine lives is powerful enough to control the rampant misuse of magic and hold the prestigious title of Chrestomanci.

The Chant family is strong in magic, yet neither Christopher Chant nor Cat Chant can manage even the simplest of spells. Who could have dreamed that both Christopher and Cat were born with nine lives—or that they could lose them so quickly?

Join these characters as they navigate their mystical powers and uncover the secrets of their extraordinary abilities in a world where magic is both a gift and a curse.

Far away on Wilde Island, Princess Rosalind is born with a dragon claw where her ring finger should be. To hide this secret, the Queen forces her to wear gloves at all times until a cure can be found, so Rosalind can fulfill the prophecy to restore the family to their rightful throne.

But Rosalind’s flaw cannot be separated from her fate. When she is carried off by the dragon, everything she thought she knew falls apart. The dragon sees beauty in her talon where her mother saw only shame, and Rosalind finally understands what her mother has truly denied her.

Carey has written a stunning portrayal of the complex relationship between a mother and daughter in a lyrical novel sure to thrill readers who love fantasy—and those who don’t.

An epic battle between good and evil...Before he knew about the Roses, 16-year-old Jack lived an unremarkable life in the small Ohio town of Trinity. Only the medicine he has to take daily and the thick scar above his heart set him apart from the other high schoolers. Then one day Jack skips his medicine. Suddenly, he is stronger, fiercer, and more confident than ever before. And it feels great - until he loses control of his own strength and nearly kills another player during soccer team tryouts.

Soon, Jack learns the startling truth about himself: he is Weirlind, part of an underground society of magical people who live among us. At their helm sits the feuding houses of the Red Rose and the White Rose, whose power is determined by playing The Game - a magical tournament in which each house sponsors a warrior to fight to the death. The winning house rules the Weir.

As if his bizarre heritage isn't enough, Jack finds out that he's not just another member of Weirlind - he's one of the last of the warriors - at a time when both houses are scouting for a player.

It's been a year since Septimus Heap discovered his real family and true calling to be a wizard. As Apprentice to Extra Ordinary Wizard Marcia Overstrand, he is learning the fine arts of Conjurations, Charms, and other Magyk, while Jenna is adapting to life as the Princess and enjoying the freedom of the Castle.

But there is something sinister at work. Marcia is constantly trailed by a menacing Darke Shadow, and Septimus's brother Simon seems bent on a revenge no one understands. Why is the Darke Magyk still lingering?

Bringing fantasy to new heights, Angie Sage continues the journey of Septimus Heap with her trademark humor and all of the clever details readers have come to love.

High in the Transylvanian woods, at the castle Piscul Draculi, live five daughters and their doting father. It's an idyllic life for Jena, the second eldest, who spends her time exploring the mysterious forest with her constant companion, a most unusual frog. But best by far is the castle's hidden portal, known only to the sisters. Every Full Moon, they alone can pass through it into the enchanted world of the Other Kingdom. There they dance through the night with the fey creatures of this magical realm.

But their peace is shattered when Father falls ill and must go to the southern parts to recover, for that is when cousin Cezar arrives. Though he's there to help the girls survive the brutal winter, Jena suspects he has darker motives in store. Meanwhile, Jena's sister has fallen in love with a dangerous creature of the Other Kingdom--an impossible union it's up to Jena to stop.

When Cezar's grip of power begins to tighten, at stake is everything Jena loves: her home, her family, and the Other Kingdom she has come to cherish. To save her world, Jena will be tested in ways she can't imagine--tests of trust, strength, and true love.

Love is a dangerous angel... Francesca Lia Block's luminous saga of interwoven lives will send the senses into wild overdrive. These post-modern fairy tales chronicle the thin line between fear and desire, pain and pleasure, cutting loose and holding on in a world where everyone is vulnerable to the most beautiful and dangerous angel of all: love.

When a dragon storms the castle, what should a (virgin) princess do? Why, turn to her studies, of course! But nothing practical-minded Princess Andromeda of Acadia finds gives a definitive solution. The only Traditional answer, though, is soothing the marauding dragon by a virgin sacrifice.

Things are going fairly smoothly with the lottery—except for the women chosen, of course—until Princess Andromeda herself is picked! But facing down the dragon doesn't go quite as planned, and now, with the help of her Champion, Sir George, Andromeda searches for the dragon's lair.

But even—especially—in the Five Hundred Kingdoms, bucking Tradition isn't easy. It takes the strongest of wills, knowledge, quick wits, and a refusal to give up, no matter what happens along the way...

I can't go back in the house. I'm restless, prickling all over. The wind hits me like slaps from huge invisible hands. But it's not the wind that worries me. It's something else, beyond the storm...

Sapphire and her brother Conor can't forget their adventures in Ingo, the mysterious world beneath the sea. They long to see their Mer friends once more. But a crisis is brewing far below the ocean's surface, where Saldowr, the wisest of the Mer, guards the Tide Knot. And soon both Sapphire and Conor will be drawn into Ingo's troubled waters.

John Crowley's masterful Little, Big is the epic story of Smoky Barnable, an anonymous young man who travels by foot from the City to a place called Edgewood—not found on any map—to marry Daily Alice Drinkawater, as was prophesied. It is the story of four generations of a singular family, living in a house that is many houses on the magical border of an otherworld. It is a story of fantastic love and heartrending loss; of impossible things and unshakable destinies; and of the great Tale that envelops us all. It is a wonder.

Sky stepped out into the sunshine, blinking, still holding the bottle, and a black man, robed like the others, took him by the arm and whispered, 'God be praised, it has found you!'

Everything changes for Sky when he finds a perfume bottle that whisks him away to the city of Giglia, an ancient city similar to Florence. This may be the beautiful City of Flowers, but things that seem beautiful might also be deadly.

As a new Stravagante - someone who can travel through space and time with the help of a talisman - Sky finds himself caught up in a deadly feud between Giglia's two ruling families. Now, the Stravaganti must do all they can to avoid further bloodshed as politics, conspiracy, and espionage unfold.

Este libro es el desenlace a la trilogía de Memorias de Idhún. Tras la última batalla contra Ashran y los sheks, muchas cosas parecen haber cambiado en Idhún. Sin embargo, los Oráculos hablan de nuevo, y sus voces no son, ni mucho menos, tranquilizadoras.

Algo está a punto de suceder, algo que puede cambiar para siempre el destino de dos mundos... algo que, tal vez, ni siquiera los héroes de la profecía sean capaces de afrontar...

It surprises no one that the charming but wayward Vadinho dos Guimaraes—a gambler notorious for never winning—dies during Carnival. His long-suffering widow Dona Flor devotes herself to her cooking school and her friends, who urge her to remarry.

She is soon drawn to a kind pharmacist who is everything Vadinho was not, and is altogether happy to marry him. But after her wedding, she finds herself dreaming about her first husband’s amorous attentions; and one evening, Vadinho himself appears by her bed, as lusty as ever, to claim his marital rights.

Wizard of the Crow is a magisterial comic novel by the exiled Kenyan novelist, playwright, poet, and literary critic, Ngũgĩ wa Thiong'o. This landmark of postcolonial African literature is set in the fictional 'Free Republic of Aburĩria'.

In this dazzling masterpiece, Ngũgĩ wa Thiong'o attempts to sum up Africa of the twentieth century within the context of two thousand years of world history. The novel is a grand tapestry of the battle for control over the souls of the Aburĩrian people, depicted with corrosive humor and sharp observation.

The story features a host of vivid characters, including His High Mighty Excellency, the eponymous Wizard—an avatar of folklore and wisdom, the corrupt Christian Ministry, and the nefarious Global Bank. By weaving the stories of both the powerful and the ordinary into a kaleidoscopic mosaic, Wizard of the Crow reveals the endlessly surprising complexity of humanity.

Informed by richly enigmatic traditional African storytelling, this novel is the crowning achievement in Ngũgĩ wa Thiong'o’s career thus far.

Phantastes is a captivating 19th-century fairy tale by George MacDonald. This story is a profound spiritual journey of a young man named Anodos who is drawn into a magical realm known as Fairy Land. As he embarks on this dreamlike adventure, Anodos encounters mystical creatures, faces perilous challenges, and learns invaluable lessons about self-surrender and spiritual growth.

The narrative is rich with allegorical elements, representing the spiritual world or our own world unveiled in its full depth and meaning. Anodos' quest is not only about external adventures but an introspective journey that leads to the ultimate surrender of the self. This surrender, though hard-won, brings about a ripple of joy and profound insight.

Throughout his journey, Anodos meets a beautiful White Lady, who becomes an embodiment of his spiritual aspirations. His encounters with various beings, from nurturing spirits to irritating goblins, challenge his perceptions and compel him to grow. The tale is imbued with moments of introspection, temptation, and redemption, all culminating in a transformative experience for Anodos.

Phantastes is a work that resonates with the reader, offering a glimpse into the symbolic world of dreams and the spiritual quest that lies at the heart of human existence.

In the ancient Scottish ballad Tam Lin, headstrong Janet defies Tam Lin to walk in her own land of Carterhaugh... and then must battle the Queen of Faery for possession of her lover’s body and soul.

In this version of Tam Lin, Janet is a college student, "Carterhaugh" is Carter Hall at the university where her father teaches, and Tam Lin is a boy named Thomas Lane. The book is set against the backdrop of the early 1970s and is imbued with wit, poetry, romance, and magic.

WHO DO YOU WANT TO BE?

Everybody at Seiyo Elementary thinks that stylish and super cool Amu has it all. But nobody knows the real Amu, a shy girl who wishes she had the courage to truly be herself.

Changing Amu’s life is going to take more than wishes and dreams–it’s going to take a little magic! One morning, Amu finds a surprise in her bed: three strange little eggs. Each egg contains a Guardian Character, an angel-like being who can give her the power to be someone new.

With the help of her Guardian Characters, Amu is about to discover that her true self is even more amazing than she ever dreamed.

Welcome to Foo. Fourteen-year-old Leven Thumps (a.k.a. "Lev") lives a wretched life in Burnt Culvert, Oklahoma. But his life is about to change and his destiny be fulfilled as he learns about a secret gateway that bridges two worlds — the real world and Foo, a place created at the beginning of time in the folds of the mind that makes it possible for mankind to dream and hope, aspire and imagine.

But Foo is in chaos, and three transplants from that dreamworld have been sent to retrieve Lev, who alone has the power to save Foo. Enter Clover, a wisecracking, foot-high sidekick; Winter, a girl with a special power of her own; and Geth, the rightful heir to Foo. Their mission: to convince Lev that he has the power to save Foo.

Can this unique band of travelers help Lev overcome his doubt? Will Lev find the gateway in time? Or will Sabine and his dark shadows find the gateway first and destroy mankind?

After pitched battle, The White—the avatars of the Five Gods—have briefly turned back the vicious invaders. And now, the priestess Auraya is sent on an urgent mission to reconcile with the powerful, outcast Dreamweavers, for their magical healing abilities may be the key to saving the land.

But as a deadly plague devastates their allies and old adversaries resurface, a dreadful surprise may ruin the chance for peace. For Auraya's terrible discovery will force her into a desperate choice—one whose consequences will change the world forever.

One of Gabriel García Márquez's most intricate and ambitious works, The Autumn of the Patriarch is a brilliant tale of a Caribbean tyrant and the corruption of power. From charity to deceit, benevolence to violence, and fear of God to extreme cruelty, the dictator of The Autumn of the Patriarch embodies the best and the worst of human nature.

Gabriel García Márquez, the renowned master of magical realism, vividly portrays the dying tyrant caught in the prison of his own dictatorship. Employing an innovative, dreamlike style, and overflowing with symbolic descriptions, the novel transports the reader to a world that is at once fanciful and vividly real.

Kafka on the Shore is a compelling odyssey driven by two remarkable characters. The first is a teenage boy named Kafka Tamura, who runs away from home to escape a dark oedipal prophecy and to search for his long-missing mother and sister. The second is an aging simpleton known as Nakata, who never recovered from a wartime affliction and finds himself drawn to Kafka for reasons he cannot understand.

As their paths converge, Haruki Murakami weaves a tale where the extraordinary is commonplace. Conversations with cats, spectral figures doling out prophecies, a forest that shelters soldiers seemingly untouched by time, and unexplained phenomena like fish falling from the sky are all part of the journey. The narrative also involves a brutal murder, the mystery of which is as obscure as the motivations driving the characters.

Throughout this metaphysical reality, the destinies of Kafka and Nakata become increasingly intertwined. With each step they take, the veil over their fates lifts, revealing the inexorable pull of destiny and the possibility of redemption. Murakami masterfully crafts a world that challenges our understanding of the boundaries between the physical and the spiritual, the real and the unreal, leaving readers with a profound sense of the surreal depths of the human psyche.

From the bestselling author of P.S. I Love You and Love, Rosie, Cecelia Ahern, comes an enchanting novel that leads you to wonder if Not Seeing is believing! Readers and critics alike adore Cecelia Ahern for her lighthearted yet insightful stories about modern women and their often unusual situations. In If You Could See Me Now, she takes that theme a step further, offering us a heroine who is entirely believable, and the new man in her life who is, well, slightly less so.

Elizabeth Egan's life runs on order: Both her home and her emotions are arranged just so, with little room for spontaneity. It's how she counteracts the chaos of her family—an alcoholic mother who left when she was young, an emotionally distant father, and a free-spirited sister, who seems to be following in their mother's footsteps, leaving her own six-year-old son, Luke, in Elizabeth's care.

When Ivan, Luke's mysterious new grown-up friend, enters the picture, Elizabeth doesnt know quite what to make of him. With his penchant for adventure and colorful take on things large and small, Ivan opens Elizabeth's eyes to a whole new way of living. But is it for real? Is Ivan for real? If You Could See Me Now is a love story with heart—and just a touch of magic.

In the deft hands of Neil Gaiman, magic is no mere illusion, and anything is possible. In Smoke and Mirrors, Gaiman's first book of short stories, his imagination and supreme artistry transform a mundane world into a place of terrible wonders. Imagine a place where an old woman can purchase the Holy Grail at a thrift store, where assassins advertise their services in the Yellow Pages under Pest Control, and where a frightened young boy must barter for his life with a mean-spirited troll living beneath a bridge by the railroad tracks.

Explore a new reality, obscured by smoke and darkness, yet brilliantly tangible, in this extraordinary collection of short works by a master prestidigitator. It will dazzle your senses, touch your heart, and haunt your dreams.

Ah, Christmas! Gemma Doyle is looking forward to a holiday from Spence Academy, spending time with her friends in the city, attending ritzy balls, and tending to her ailing father. As she prepares to ring in the New Year, 1896, a handsome young man, Lord Denby, has set his sights on Gemma, or so it seems. Yet amidst the distractions of London, Gemma's visions intensify—visions of three girls dressed in white, to whom something horrific has happened, something only the realms can explain.

The lure is strong, and before long, Gemma, Felicity, and Ann are turning flowers into butterflies in the enchanted world of the realms that Gemma alone can bring them to. To the girls' great joy, their beloved Pippa is there as well, eager to complete their circle of friendship. But all is not well in the realms—or out. The mysterious Kartik has reappeared, telling Gemma she must find the Temple and bind the magic, else great disaster will befall her. Gemma's willing to do his intrusive bidding, despite the dangers it brings, for it means she will meet up with her mother's greatest friend—and now her foe, Circe.

Until Circe is destroyed, Gemma cannot live out her destiny. But finding Circe proves a most perilous task.

In this exceptionally well-crafted tale, Coriander tells the story of her childhood in seventeenth-century London, and of her discovery that she has inherited magical powers from her mother, who was a fairy princess. However, her mother's sudden death brings on a dark time for Coriander. After mourning her beloved mother and dealing with the disappearance of her father and the wrath of her evil stepmother, Coriander finds herself locked in a chest with no hope of escape and no will to survive. But when a bright light beckons to her, it is then that Coriander's journey truly begins.

Beautifully written, this magical and luminous story is destined to become a children's classic.

All high school freshman Airi Hoshina ever wanted was to someday live in a cozy home with a loving husband, and find joy in the little things in life. As a result, she makes it her daily mission to get to school on time because school legend has it that the longer one's non-tardy streak is, the better boyfriend one will find. But just when her daily routine is working like clockwork, an occurrence of fairy tale proportions threatens to disrupt her grand plan.

On the way to school one morning, Airi loses her mirror—one that had been passed down to her through generations—and suddenly finds herself in a bizarre situation. Never in her wildest dreams did she expect Aram, a little boy from a magical kingdom, to have emerged from the mirror in the short time it took her to track it down!

The nine stories in Kelly Link's second collection are the spitting image of those in her acclaimed debut, Stranger Things Happen: effervescent blends of quirky humor and pathos that transform stock themes of genre fiction into the stuff of delicate lyrical fantasy.

In "Stone Animals," a house's haunting takes the unusual form of hordes of rabbits that camp out nightly on the front lawn. This proves just one of several benign but inexplicable phenomena that begin to pull apart the family that's just moved into the house.

The title story beautifully captures the unpredictable potential of teenage lives through its account of a group of adolescent school friends whose experiences subtly parallel events in a surreal TV fantasy series.

Zombies serve as the focus for a young man's anxieties about his future in "Some Zombie Contingency Plans" and offer suggestive counterpoint to the lives of two convenience store clerks who serve them in "The Hortlak."

Not only does Link find fresh perspectives from which to explore familiar premises, she also forges ingenious connections between disparate images and narrative approaches to suggest a convincing alternate logic that shapes the worlds of her highly original fantasies.

When Rohan became the new prince of the Desert, ruler of the kingdom granted to his family for as long as the Long Sands spewed fire, he took the crown with two goals in mind. First and foremost, he sought to bring permanent peace to his world of divided princedoms. And, in a land where dragon-slaying was a proof of manhood, Rohan was the sole champion of the dragons, fighting desperately to preserve the last remaining lords of the sky and with them a secret which might be the salvation of his people.

Sioned, the Sunrunner witch who was fated by Fire to be Rohan’s bride, had mastered the magic of sunlight and moonglow, catching hints of a yet to be formed pattern which could irrevocably affect the destinies of Sunrunners and ordinary mortals alike. Yet caught in the machinations of the Lady of Goddess Keep, and of Prince Rohan and his sworn enemy, the treacherously cunning High Prince, could Sioned alter this crucial pattern to protect her lord from the menace of a war that threatened to set the land ablaze?

Princess Lissla Lissar reaches womanhood, and it becomes evident to the entire kingdom that she mirrors the beauty of her late mother, the queen. This resemblance, however, forces her to flee from her father's lust and madness.

In the pain and horror of her flight, she forgets who she is and what she flees from, remembering only the love and loyalty of her dog, Ash, who accompanies her.

A chance encounter on the road leads to a job in another king's kennels, where the prince finds himself falling in love with the new kennel maid. One day, he tells her of a princess named Lissla Lissar, who had a dog named Ash.

Thus begins Lissar’s profound journey away from treachery and pain, towards trust, love, and healing.

To Green Angel Tower is the third book in Tad Williams' epic fantasy series, Memory, Sorrow, and Thorn. As the evil minions of the undead Sithi Storm King prepare for the kingdom-shattering culmination of their dark sorceries, King Elias is drawn ever deeper into their nightmarish, spell-spun world.

Meanwhile, the loyal allies of Prince Josua desperately struggle to rally their forces at the Stone of Farewell. With time running out, the remaining members of the now devastated League of the Scroll have gathered there to unravel mysteries from the forgotten past in an attempt to find something to strike down their unslayable foe.

Whether or not they are successful, the call of battle will lead the valiant followers of Josua Lackhand on a memorable trek to the haunted halls of Asu'a itself - the Sithi's greatest stronghold.

Alice's Adventures in Wonderland, commonly known as Alice in Wonderland, is an 1865 English children's novel by Lewis Carroll. A young girl named Alice falls through a rabbit hole into a fantasy world of anthropomorphic creatures. It is seen as an example of the literary nonsense genre.

One of the best-known works of Victorian literature, its narrative, structure, characters, and imagery have had a huge influence on popular culture and literature, especially in the fantasy genre. Alice lives an ordinary life, until the day she follows the White Rabbit down, down, down a rabbit hole. She suddenly finds herself in an enchanted world, surrounded by zany creatures like the Mad Hatter, the Duchess, and the Cheshire Cat. Alice is delighted to find that nothing in Wonderland is the least bit ordinary.

In a land threatened by treacherous war and beset by demons, royal dowager Ista, released from the curse of madness and manipulated by an untrustworthy god, is plunged into a desperate struggle to preserve the endangered souls of a realm.

Three years have passed since the widowed Dowager Royina Ista found release from the curse of madness that kept her imprisoned in her family's castle of Valenda. Her newfound freedom is costly, bittersweet with memories, regrets, and guilty secrets — for she knows the truth of what brought her land to the brink of destruction.

Now, the road — escape — beckons. A simple pilgrimage, perhaps. Quite fitting for the Dowager Royina of all Chalion. Yet something else is free, too — something beyond deadly. To the north lies the vital border fortress of Porifors. Memories linger there as well, of wars and invasions and the mighty Golden General of Jokona. And someone, something, watches from across that border — humans, demons, gods.

Ista thinks her little party of pilgrims wanders at will. But whose? When Ista's retinue is unexpectedly set upon not long into its travels, a mysterious ally appears — a warrior nobleman who fights like a berserker. The temporary safety of her enigmatic champion's castle cannot ease Ista's mounting dread, however, when she finds his dark secrets are entangled with hers in a net of the gods' own weaving.

In her dreams, the threads are already drawing her to unforeseen chances, fateful meetings, fearsome choices. What the inscrutable gods commanded of her in the past brought her land to the brink of devastation. Now, once again, they have chosen Ista as their instrument. And again, for good or for ill, she must comply.

Dreaming of a city with flying horses was one thing... But coming face to face with someone she knew to be dead - that was something else again.

Georgia would love nothing more than to ride horses every day and avoid her annoying stepbrother at all costs. But she could never have guessed that a tiny, antique winged horse figurine would be the key to her escape to another world and another time.

When Georgia arrives in a sixteenth-century city called Remora, she is plunged into a dangerous and treacherous world of horse-racing, family honour and deadly rivalry. And there, as a new Stravagante, Georgia will have a dramatic and extraordinary role to play...

Reservation Blues is a captivating novel that weaves a powerful tale of Indians, rock ’n’ roll, and redemption. The story begins when legendary bluesman Robert Johnson mysteriously appears on the Spokane Indian Reservation with a magical guitar. This extraordinary gift is left to Thomas Builds-the-Fire, a storyteller whose life is irrevocably changed by this enchanted instrument.

Thomas forms an all-Indian Catholic band, Coyote Springs, alongside Victor Joseph on lead guitar and Junior Polatkin on drums. The band embarks on a magical journey that takes them from reservation bars to the bustling cities of Seattle and New York. Along the way, they encounter the depths of their own souls, confronting themes of poverty, pain, and loss, yet also finding moments of joy and laughter.

In this remarkable narrative, National Book Award winner Sherman Alexie masterfully navigates between comedy and tragedy, exploring the collision of cultures with a unique blend of Delta blues and Indian rock. This novel is an exploration of identity, friendship, and the transformative power of music.

The Dark Hills Divide introduces readers to Alexa Daley, who annually visits the town of Bridewell. Alexa is curious about what lies beyond the massive ramparts that surround the city and the walled roads that link Bridewell to nearby towns. Soon after town leader Thomas Warvold passes away, Alexa finds herself outside the walls, acquires a stone with remarkable powers, and discovers that she's meant to stop a potential war from occurring.

Inquisitive twelve-year-old Alexa Daley is spending another summer in the walled town of Bridewell. This year, she is set on solving the mystery of what lies beyond the walls. Legend says the walls were built to keep out an unnamed evil that lurks in the forests and The Dark Hills. But what exactly is it that the townspeople are so afraid of? As Alexa begins to unravel the truth, pushing beyond the protective barrier she's lived behind all her life, she discovers a strange and ancient enchantment and exposes a danger that could destroy everything she holds dear.

In the land of the Five Hundred Kingdoms, if you can't carry out your legendary role, life is no fairy tale.

Elena Klovis was supposed to be her kingdom's Cinderella—until fate left her with a completely inappropriate prince! So she set out to make a new life for herself. But breaking with "The Tradition" was no easy matter—until she got a little help from her own fairy godmother. Who promptly offered Elena a most unexpected job...

Now, instead of sleeping in the chimney, she has to deal with arrogant, stuffed-shirt princes who keep trying to rise above their place in the tale. And there's one in particular who needs to be dealt with...

Sometimes a fairy godmother's work is never done...

In this beautifully crafted novel, Ursula K. Le Guin writes of the proud cruelty of power, of how hard it is to grow up, and of how much harder still it is to find, in the world's darkness, gifts of light. Scattered among poor, desolate farms, the clans of the Uplands possess wondrous gifts: the ability—with a glance, a gesture, a word—to summon animals, bring forth fire, move the land. Fearsome gifts: They can twist a limb, chain a mind, inflict a wasting illness. The Uplanders live in constant fear that one family might unleash its gift against another.

Two young people, friends since childhood, decide not to use their gifts. One, a girl, refuses to bring animals to their death in the hunt. The other, a boy, wears a blindfold lest his eyes and his anger kill. Ursula K. Le Guin has delivered a story that captivates and draws the reader in. Fans of dark fantasy, such as Philip Pullman's The Golden Compass, will relish this new work.

Gifts is an excellent read for teens of all interests. Fans of fantasy will be particularly drawn to it, but the world is grounded enough in earthly reality that it should appeal even to those who usually avoid the fantastical. Thought-provoking and suspenseful, with a dollop of action and romance, this novel is indeed a gift to its readers.

Terry Pratchett's profoundly irreverent novels are consistent number one bestseller in England, where they have catapulted him into the highest echelons of parody next to Mark Twain, Kurt Vonnegut, Douglas Adams, and Carl Hiaasen. In this Discworld installment, Death comes to Mort with an offer he can't refuse -- especially since being, well, dead isn't compulsory.As Death's apprentice, he'll have free board and lodging, use of the company horse, and he won't need time off for family funerals. The position is everything Mort thought he'd ever wanted, until he discovers that this perfect job can be a killer on his love life.

Illywhacker is a dazzling comic narrative, from the lips of the 139-year-old Herbert Badgery, the 'illywhacker' or confidence trickster of the title. Overflowing with magic, jokes, and inventions, it is a story peopled with aviators, car salesmen, Chinamen, and impresarios. Peter Carey's novel is a contemporary classic.

Herbert Badgery is a vagabond and charlatan, aviator and car salesman, seducer and patriarch. He might very well be the embodiment of Australia's national character, especially in its fondness for tall stories and questionable history. As this charming scoundrel traverses the continent and a century's worth of outlandish encounters, one truth emerges: Herbert Badgery may in fact be the king of all con men.

Beloved, a profound piece of literature by Toni Morrison, delves into the harrowing journey of Sethe, an escaped slave who cannot escape the shadows of her past life at Sweet Home, a farm fraught with traumatic memories. Sethe's new life in Ohio is overshadowed by the haunting presence of her deceased baby, whose gravestone bears the single word, Beloved.

The arrival of a mysterious teenage girl, who calls herself Beloved, forces Sethe to confront her hidden secrets. Morrison's narrative seamlessly intertwines the stark realities of history with the spectral elements of legend, creating an unforgettable exploration of the American experience through the prism of slavery's enduring legacy.

SAKURA AND SYAORAN RETURN! But they're not the people you know. Sakura is the princess of Clow—and possessor of a mysterious, misunderstood power that promises to change the world. Syaoran is her childhood friend and leader of the archaeological dig that took his father's life. They reside in an alternate reality...where whatever you least expect can happen—and does.

When Sakura ventures to the dig site to declare her love for Syaoran, a puzzling symbol is uncovered—which triggers a remarkable quest. Now Syaoran embarks upon a desperate journey through other worlds—all in the name of saving Sakura.

Hannah thinks tonight's Passover Seder will be the same as always. But this year, she will be mysteriously transported into the past, where only she knows the unspeakable horrors that await.

Hannah resents the stories of her Jewish heritage until time travel places her in the middle of a small Jewish village in Nazi-occupied Poland. As she experiences the horrors of a concentration camp, she learns why she—and we—need to remember the past.

This critically acclaimed novel from the multi-award-winning author Jane Yolen adds much to understanding the effects of the Holocaust, which will reverberate throughout history, today and tomorrow. Readers will come away with a sense of tragic history that both disturbs and compels.

The Death and Life of Charlie St. Cloud tells the haunting story of a young man who narrowly survives a terrible car wreck that kills his little brother. Years later, the brothers’ bond remains so strong that it transcends the normal boundaries separating life and death. Charlie St. Cloud lives in a snug New England fishing village. By day he tends the lawns and monuments of the ancient cemetery where his younger brother, Sam, is buried. Graced with an extraordinary gift after surviving the accident, he can still see, talk, and even play catch with Sam’s spirit. But townsfolk whisper that Charlie has never recovered from his loss.

Into his carefully ordered life comes Tess Carroll, a captivating, adventuresome woman training for a solo sailing trip around the globe. Fate steers her boat into a treacherous storm that blows her back to harbor, to a charged encounter with Charlie, and to a surprise more overwhelming than the violent sea itself. Charlie and Tess discover a beautiful and uncommon connection that leads to a race against time and a desperate choice between death and life, between the past and the future, between holding on and letting go.

Luminous, soulful, and filled with unforgettable characters, The Death and Life of Charlie St. Cloud is one of those rare, wise books that reveal the mysteries of the unseen world around us, gently transforming the worst pain of loss into hope, healing, and even laughter. Suspenseful and deeply moving, its startling climax reminds us that sometimes tragedies can bring about miracles if we simply open our hearts.

Everyone has their rough nights, but things take a surreal turn when Angel, a young photographer, finds a group of drunken teenagers taunting a young troll in the courtyard of his apartment building. In Scandinavian mythology, trolls are known as wild beasts, but this one is just a small, wounded creature.

Angel decides to offer it a safe haven for the night. In the morning, he thinks he dreamed it all, but he finds the troll alive, well, and drinking from his toilet. What does one do with a troll in the city?

Angel begins researching frantically, searching the Internet, folklore, nature journals, and newspaper clippings. However, his research doesn't reveal that trolls exude pheromones with a profound aphrodisiac effect on those around them. As Angel's life changes beyond recognition, it becomes clear that the troll is familiar with his most forbidden feelings, possibly taking him across lines he never thought he'd cross.

A novel of sparkling originality, Troll is a wry, peculiar, and beguiling story of nature and man's relationship to wild things, and of the dark power of the wildness within ourselves.

A family with an ancient curse...

And the girl who will change their lives forever...

Tohru Honda was an orphan with no place to go until the mysterious Sohma family offered her a place to call home. Now her ordinary high school life is turned upside down as she's introduced to the Sohma's world of magical curses and family secrets.

Ghostly Riders

Karigan G'ladheon had been a Green Rider, one of the king of Sacoridia's elite magical messengers. Being a Green Rider was more perilous than Karigan had ever imagined, for rogue Eletians had cracked the magical D'Yer Wall which had protected Sacoridia for a thousand years from the evil influence of Blackveil Forest—the arboreal prison of Sacoridia's ancient enemy, Mornhaven the Black—and had brought the threat of dark magic into the land.

In the messenger service, she had been caught up in a world of deadly danger, and though she had defeated the Eletian, she had nonetheless been tainted by his wild magic. Exhausted in body and spirit, and determined to be the mistress of her own destiny, Karigan has returned to her home in Corsa.

But Karigan's determination was no match for the Rider's call. Ghostly hoofbeats echoed in the deep regions of her mind, and when she awoke to find herself on horseback halfway to Sacor City—in her nightgown—she finally gave in.

Back at court, Karigan found the Green Riders weakened and diminished. Rider magic was becoming unreliable, and she herself was having ghostly visions—visions of a strong woman with wild flowing hair and a blue and green tartan draped across her shoulder, pinned with a golden brooch.

This woman was no stranger to Karigan nor would she have been to any Green Rider, for she was Lil Ambriodhe, First Rider, and founder of the Green Rider corps. But why was she appearing to Karigan? And would Karigan be able to seek the help of a woman who had been dead for a thousand years?

Love in the Time of Cholera is a captivating saga that explores the depth of true love and the pain of unrequited affection. Florentino Ariza and Fermina Daza experience a passionate romance in their youth. However, the story takes a turn when Fermina decides to marry a wealthy doctor, leaving Florentino heartbroken.

Despite his heartache, Florentino remains a hopeless romantic. His career takes off, and he engages in numerous affairs, yet his love for Fermina remains untouched. The narrative unfolds over the span of decades, with Florentino's unyielding devotion to Fermina coming to a head when her husband passes away. After fifty years, nine months, and four days, Florentino redeclares his love for Fermina, promising a tale of enduring love that transcends time.

Candy lives in Chickentown USA: the most boring place in the world, her heart bursting for some clue as to what her future may hold. She is soon to find out: swept out of our world by a giant wave, she finds herself in another place entirely...The Abarat: a vast archipelago where every island is a different hour of the day, from the sunlit wonders of Three in the Afternoon, where dragons roam, to the dark terrors of the island of Midnight, ruled by Christopher Carrion.

Candy has a place in this extraordinary world: she has been brought here to help save the Abarat from the dark forces that are stirring at its heart. Forces older than time itself, and more evil than anything Candy has ever encountered.