Since their mother’s death, Carter and Sadie have become near strangers. While Sadie has lived with her grandparents in London, her brother has traveled the world with their father, the brilliant Egyptologist, Dr. Julius Kane.

One night, Dr. Kane brings the siblings together for a “research experiment” at the British Museum, where he hopes to set things right for his family. Instead, he unleashes the Egyptian god Set, who banishes him to oblivion and forces the children to flee for their lives.

Soon, Sadie and Carter discover that the gods of Egypt are waking, and the worst of them–Set–has his sights on the Kanes. To stop him, the siblings embark on a dangerous journey across the globe–a quest that brings them ever closer to the truth about their family, and their links to a secret order that has existed since the time of the pharaohs.

If your kids are fans of Rick Riordan’s Percy Jackson & The Olympians series, they’ll be delighted to know that The Red Pyramid, the first book in his new series, The Kane Chronicles, has been released and is now available at bookstores across the country.

How do you create an epic adventure? Start with the three Ms: mystery, myth and magic. Then, throw in some heroes with special talents who fight monsters in action-packed sequences to save friends and family. Homer knew how to do it. So did J.K. Rowling.

And so too does veteran junior fiction author Rick Riordan, who has followed up his excellent and mega-successful Percy Jackson series with the equally wonderful The Red Pyramid, the first book in his new franchise The Kane Chronicles.

In the Texan author’s first series, demigod Percy Jackson (his dad was sea god Poseidon) found out that the Olympic gods were alive and well in Manhattan. Together with his friends Annabeth, the daughter of Athena, the goddess of wisdom, and Grover, a satyr, Jackson raced to save Olympus - located above the Empire State building - from the evil Titan lord Kronos.

Riordan helps the reader keep track of what’s going on with each narrator, and with the intricacies of the vast Egyptian pantheon, by structuring the book as a digital recording between the two siblings; half of it is told from Carter’s perspective and the other from Sadie’s. This often results in hilarious dialogue such as, “A goddess named Nut? Is her last name Case?” Riordan’s understanding of what his reader will find funny comes from years as a middle-school teacher, and it’s this levity that keeps The Red Pyramid from becoming tediously mired in a barrage of mythological data.

Instead, the reader is enthralled as Carter and Sadie leap from one electrifying moment to another. First they’re battling in London, then it’s off to Paris to find secret texts, then it’s on to Memphis, Tenn., to find the god Thoth. The reader barely has time to draw a breath before you’re at the final battle. But since it’s only the first book in the series, Riordan has left plenty of room for the next instalment. At the end of The Red Pyramid, Carter and Sadie leave a transcript of the digital recording they made in a school locker in the hopes that others with their type of power will come forward to take up a new story line with new deities.

According to the Disney Book Group’s media advisory email, “The Kane Chronicles [is] a new fantasy bringing ancient Egyptian mythology to life in a vivid, modern-day setting. In the debut novel of the series, The Red Pyramid, siblings Carter and Sadie Kane discover that they are descendants of great Egyptian magicians and the only ones who can set events right when a magical accident unleashes Egyptian gods into the modern world.”

To learn more, read or listen to the first chapter of The Red Pyramid on Rick Riordan’s Web site.

Book 2: Coming spring 2011

Book 3: Coming spring 2012

Media Reviews

Gr 4-9-Riordan takes the elements that made the “Percy Jackson” books (Hyperion) so popular and ratchets them up a notch. Carter, 14, and Sadie, 12, have grown up apart. He has traveled all over the world with his Egyptologist father, Dr. Julius Kane, while Sadie has lived in London with her grandparents. Their mother passed away under mysterious circumstances, so when their father arrives in London and wants to take them both on a private tour of the British Museum, all is not necessarily what it seems. The evening ends with the apparent destruction of the Rosetta Stone, the disappearance of Dr. Kane, and the kidnapping of Carter and Sadie. More insidiously, it leads to the release of five Egyptian gods, including Set, who is their mortal enemy. Carter and Sadie discover the secrets of their family heritage and their ability to work magic as they realize that their task will be to save humanity from Set, who is building a destructive red pyramid inside Camelback Mountain in Phoenix. The text is presented as the transcript of an audio recording done by both children. Riordan creates two distinct and realistic voices for the siblings. He has a winning formula, but this book goes beyond the formulaic to present a truly original take on Egyptian mythology. His trademark humor is here in abundance, and there are numerous passages that will cause readers to double over with laughter. The humor never takes away from the story or from the overall tone. A must-have book, and in multiple copies. - School Library Journal Review

*Starred Review* Since their mother’s death, six years ago, 12-year-old Sadie Kane has lived in London with her maternal grandparents while her older brother, 14-year-old Carter, has traveled the world with their father, a renowned African American Egyptologist. In London on Christmas Eve for a rare evening together, Carter and Sadie accompany their dad to the British Museum, where he blows up the Rosetta Stone in summoning an Egyptian god. Unleashed, the vengeful god overpowers and entombs him, but Sadie and Carter escape. Initially determined to rescue their father, their mission expands to include understanding their hidden magical powers as the descendants of the pharaohs and taking on the ancient forces bent on destroying mankind. The first-person narrative shifts between Carter and Sadie, giving the novel an intriguing dual perspective made more complex by their biracial heritage and the tension between the siblings, who barely know each other at the story’s beginning. The first volume in the Kane Chronicles, this fantasy adventure delivers what fans loved about the Percy Jackson and the Olympians series: young protagonists with previously unsuspected magical powers, a riveting story marked by headlong adventure, a complex background rooted in ancient mythology, and wry, witty twenty-first-century narration. The last pages contain a clever twist that will leave readers secretly longing to open their lockers at the start of school. - Booklist Review

The pace never flags as the narrative cuts between cautious Carter and intrepid Sadie. Riordan knows what kids like and delivers it well… - The Washington Post

Riordan fans young and old will eat this new book up. The Red Pyramid is in almost every way an improvement over its predecessors, deeper and more emotionally resonant, and with an underlying moral and philosophical semi-seriousness…None of which takes away from the thrills…The Red Pyramid is wholly satisfying while also setting the table for what promises to be a rip-roaring saga… - The New York Times

This fun, if formulaic, start to the Kane Chronicles series opens with a signature Riordan move: an explosion. Siblings Carter and Sadie have been living apart since their mother’s mysterious death. On Christmas Eve, archeologist Julius Kane and son Carter, 14, show up in England for one of their two days a year with Sadie. Julius ushers his children to the British Museum, where he blows up the Rosetta Stone, unleashing five Egyptian gods and causing his own disappearance. The kids’ Uncle Amos whisks them to a Brooklyn mansion, where he reveals that the Kanes descend from powerful Egyptian magicians. Swap Egyptian mythology for Percy Jackson’s Greek gods and you’ve got the best part of this-an ancient history lesson seamlessly unfurled in a rip-roaring adventure. Told in alternating chapters by Carter and Sadie, the novel begins with a warning that the book is a “transcript of a digital recording,” a distracting gimmick, and the attempts to make Sadie sound English by dropping in British slang are intermittent. Despite those flaws, Riordan delivers another funny yarn with kids in the lead and animal sidekicks that nearly steal the show. Ages 9-12. - Publishers Weekly

NICE GIRLS DON’T HAVE FANGS is the first installment of a funny, smart, and sexy new romantic series by a debut author introduces Jane Jameson, an out-of-work, small-town librarian who is turned into a vampire.

Maybe it was the Shenanigans gift certificate that put her over the edge.  When children’s librarian and self-professed nice girl Jane Jameson is fired by her beastly boss and handed twenty-five dollars in potato skins instead of a severance check, she goes on a bender that’s sure to become Half Moon Hollow legend.  On her way home, she’s mistaken for a deer, shot, and left for dead.  And thanks to the mysterious stranger she met while chugging neon-colored cocktails, she wakes up with a decidedly unladylike thirst for blood.

Jane is now the latest recipient of a gift basket from the Newly Undead Welcoming Committee, and her life-after-lifestyle is taking some getting used to.  Her recently deceased favorite aunt is now her ghostly roommate.  She has to fake breathing and endure daytime hours to avoid coming out of the coffin to her family.  She’s forced to forgo her favorite down-home Southern cooking for bags of O negative.  Her relationship with her sexy, mercurial vampire sire keeps running hot and cold.  And if all that wasn’t enough, it looks like someone in Half Moon Hollow is trying to frame her for a series of vampire murders.  What’s a nice undead girl to do?

The second book in the series, NICE GIRLS DON’T DATE UNDEAD MEN carries on Jane’s story but this time instead of a bride, she’s an eternal bridesmaid, donning the ugliest bridesmaid’s dress in history at her best friend Zeb’s Titanic-themed wedding. 

You think being a vampire is hard, try being a human marrying into a werewolf pack.  Between a freaked-out groom-to-be, his hostile werewolf in-laws, and Zeb’s mother, hell-bent on seeing Jane walk the aisle with Zeb, Jane’s got the feeling she’s just rearranging the proverbial deck chairs.  While Jane is trying to master undead dating, she spends a lot of time referring between the bride and groom, not too mention their families, and trying to keep her bestfriend alive long enough to attend his own wedding.  All this leads Jane to question where exactly her relationship with her irresistibly sexy sire, Gabriel, is headed.  Mercurial, enigmatic, apparently commitment-phobic vampires are nothing if not hard to read.

The third book, NICE GIRLS DON’T LIVE FOREVER, continues Jane’s undead, unconventional romance with her sire, Gabriel.  Of course, nothing sucks the romance out of world travel like a boyfriend who may or may not have broken up with you in a hotel room in Brussels.  Gabriel has always been unpredictable, but the seductive, anonymous notes that await him at each stop of their international vacation, coupled with his evasive behavior over the past few months, finally push Jane onto the next flight home to Half Moon Hollow — alone, upset, and unsure whether Gabriel just ended their relationship without actually telling her.

Now the children’s-librarian-turned-vampire is reviving with plenty of Faux Type O, some TLC from her colorful friends and family, and her plans for a Brave New Jane.  Step One: Get her newly renovated occult bookstore off the ground.  Step Two: Support her best friend, Zeb, and his werewolf bride as they prepare for the impending birth of their baby…or litter.  Step Three: Figure out who’s been sending her threatening letters, and how her hostile pen pal is tied to Gabriel.  Meanwhile, Half Moon Hollow’s own Black Widow, Jane’s Grandma Ruthie, has met her match in her latest fiancé.  He smells like bad cheese and has a suspicious history of dead spouses.  But Jane’s biting her tongue.  After all, would a nice girl really think she has a future with a vampire?  Because for this nice girl, surviving a broken heart is suddenly becoming a matter of life and undeath….

REVIEWS

NICE GIRLS DON’T HAVE FANGS

“Hysterical laughs are the hallmark of this enchanting paranormal debut.  Jane’s snarky first-person narrative is as charming as it is hilarious, retaining enough humanity to connect instantly with readers.  Harper keeps the quips coming without overdoing the sarcasm, and her take on vampire lore will intrigue and entertain even the most jaded paranormal fan.” - Publishers Weekly

“Jane is smartly written and more than a librarian in name only.  Fellow pros will recognize the trivia-loving geekiness and the well-meaning sarcasm of someone who has long lived in the stacks.” - Booklist

“Jane is an everygirl with a wonderful sense of humor and quick sarcasm.  Add in the mystery and the romance and you have your next must-read novel!” - The Romantic Time

“This debut novel is very lovable.  The author has not only managed to create a new vampire type and make it her own but she has also managed to make it fresh and original.  Fun, witty and very tasty this looks like a series to watch.” - Amberkatze’s Book Blog

“The word that just keeps popping in my head is incredible.  That about sums it up.” Ruth Schaller, Books, Books and More Books Blog

NICE GIRLS DON’T DATE DEAD MEN

“Harper’s latest is just as fast-paced, mysterious, passionate and hilarious as the first!” - The Romantic Times

“NICE GIRLS DON’T DATE DEAD MEN is my favorite funny for this year.  A truly funny book with a great heroine adds up to a wonderful read.” - All About Romance

“With its quirky characters and the funny situations they get into, whether they be normal or paranormal, NICE GIRLS DON’T DATE DEAD MEN is an amazing novel, deserving of Romance Reviews Today’s coveted Perfect 10.” - Romance Reviews Today

“Molly Harper is a premier writer of paranormal romance with an abundance of sharp-edged humor.  Magically believable, imaginative and brilliantly witty, NICE GIRLS DON’T DATE DEAD MEN is an enchanting story of the paranormal.” - SingleTitles.com

“Filled with humor, sexy vampires, a mystery, and a werewolf wedding this one held me enraptured.  If you love snarky vampires, bridezilla’s, horny ghosts, and sexy men then you will love Nice Girls Don’t Dead Men.” - Fallen Angels Review

“Molly Harper has given readers one of the funniest books of the year.” - Bitten By Books

NICE GIRLS DON’T LIVE FOREVER

“Harper’s latest is just as hilariously fun as the rest of the books in the series.  Jane Jameson is like the best friend you wish you had, but are content to read about.” - The Romantic Times

“This series has a wonderful mix of humor, romance, mystery, and small town flare.  Molly Harper gives us characters that everybody can relate to even though they involve vampires and werewolves.  NICE GIRLS DON’T LIVE FOREVER is the first must read of 2010.” - Bitten by Books

“NICE GIRLS DON’T LIVE FOREVER is an enjoyably compelling plus magically romantic tale.” - SingleTitles.com

“If you aren’t reading Molly Harper, you should be.  The Jane Jameson books are sheer fun, giggle, no; make that chortling, laugh-out-loud till you gasp for breath fun!” - Night Owl Reviews

Click here to visit Molly Harper’s website.  She is scheduled to release her new ”Naked Werewolf” series in 2011.

Click here to go to this innovative website for readers and writers alike!

From the news at Bookhaul.com:

First Bookhaul Idol to commence April 1st, 2011

Authors are invited to publish their completed work(s) to our first annual Bookhaul Idol competition which is scheduled to commence on April 1st, 2011.  Its easy to enter.  Post your work and add it to the competition, build up your fan base and have them rank you positively (highest rankings from the most fans, keeps you in the competition).  Please note, If you believe the designers of Bookhaul.com are missing a specific category in the competition, please feel free to send us a message indicating same and we will work towards a positive resolution of your request.  Good luck with making it to our top twenty in each category.

The novella “The Short Second Life of Bree Tanner” was originally going to be published in the The Twilight Saga: The Official Guide but the short novel was just too long.  Here is what Stephanie Meyer has to say “The Short Second Life of Bree Tanner is pretty much contained in the last week of the newborns’ existence before the big fight (between the Cullens and the vampire army) in the meadow in Eclipse,” Meyer says. “It’s the last week before Bree dies.”

Fans of The Twilight Saga will be enthralled by this riveting story of Bree Tanner, a character first introduced in Eclipse, and the darker side of the newborn vampire world she inhabits.  In another irresistible combination of danger, mystery, and romance, Stephenie Meyer tells the devastating story of Bree and the newborn army as they prepare to close in on Bella Swan and the Cullens, following their encounter to its unforgettable conclusion.

The Short Second Life of Bree Tanner is a novella told from the viewpoint of Bree, who happens to be a newborn vampire and a minor character who had a very short part in Eclipse.  I loved how you join the journey of Bree’s new life.  She has to always be on full alert but very early in the book she makes a friend, Diego.  Bree and Diego think of vampires, just like you and I thought of vampires before reading twilight; vampires burn in the sun and when the sun was out, vampires would be unconscious in their coffins.  However, Bree and Diego start becoming suspicious of these facts and start asking questions.

For me, the best scenes came towards the end, where Bree’s story meets up with what we know from Eclipse, the scene after the fight between the newborns.  I enjoyed the discussion between Carlisle, Esme and Jasper about Bree’s fate.  Through out the saga we have never experienced these characters interacting together, and the dynamics between them in this short scene makes an excellent drama and just shows the different personalities of the Cullen family.

My favorite character in this book is “Freaky Fred”.  He is such a fascinating character and he doesn’t talk much.  However, the progression of his relationship with Bree was nicely done – very subtle.  He has such an interesting power that is very different from the Vampiric powers we have been introduced to in the saga.  He causes revulsion which actually acts as a shield and repels other vampires and he helps to save Bree’s life, up until he leaves the new coven.

One of my favourite aspects of the Twilight novels was the supporting characters, who were so fascinating they always left me wanting to know more about them.  I’d love to read short stories, like this one, on characters such as Maria, Peter, Charlotte, Jane or for that fact any member of the Volturi, or the rest of the Cullen family.  And, of course, Fred… I hope he does meet the Cullens some day.

This novella gave me a whole new perspective on the newborns, especially Bree, Diego, and Fred, and a whole new hatred for the Volturi and Victoria… definintly worth the read!! 

Editorial Reviews

Praise for The Twilight Saga:

“Meyer has, like one of her vampires, turned into something rare and more than merely human…. People do not want to just read Meyer’s books; they want to climb inside them and live there.” - Time

“Piles on the suspense and romance.” - USA Today

“A literary phenomenon.” - The New York Times

“[Stephenie Meyer is] the world’s most popular vampire novelist since Anne Rice.” - Entertainment Weekly

About the Author

Stephenie Meyer’s life changed dramatically in 2003.  The stay-at-home mother of three young sons woke-up from a dream featuring seemingly real characters that she could not get out of her head.  Meyer invented the plot during the day through swim lessons and potty training, then wrote it out late at night when the house was quiet.  Three months later she finished her first novel, Twilight.  Twilight was one of 2005’s most talked about novels and within weeks of its release the book debuted at #5 on The New York Times bestseller list.  Among its many accolades, Twilight was named an “ALA Top Ten Books for Young Adults,” an Amazon.com “Best Book of the Decade & So Far”, and a Publishers Weekly Best Book of the Year.  The highly-anticipated sequel, New Moon, was released in September 2006 and spent 31 weeks at the #1 position on The New York Times bestseller list.  Eclipse, the third book in Meyer’s saga, was released on August 7, 2007 and sold 150,000 copies its first day on-sale.  The book debuted at #1 bestseller lists across the country, including USA Today and The Wall Street Journal.  The fourth and final book, Breaking Dawn, was published on August 2, 2008, with a first printing of 3.2 million copies - the largest first printing in the publisher’s history.  Breaking Dawn sold 1.3 million copies its first day on-sale rocketing the title to #1 on bestseller lists nationwide.

Stephenie Meyer graduated from Brigham Young University with a degree in English Literature.  She lives in Arizona with her husband and sons.

Fiction:

The Butterfly Girls, by Anne Douglas

Summary: Rose, Martie and Alex grow up as firm friends in a co-operative housing development. Only Rose, a lawyer’s daughter, does not belong. When Alex and Martie train as nurses, they are glad to see Rose’s friendly face, even if she is a Sister, but what aspirations do they all have for the future? 

Where The Heart Is, by Annie Groves

Summary: A fabulous drama of the Campion family, struggling to stay together as World War Two rages over Liverpool. Lou Campion has joined the WAAFs, against the wishes of her parents and twin sister. Lou’s always been a rebel, but now finds that if she wants to succeed she’ll have to follow extremely strict rules. Can she do this or will it all end in deep disgrace? Tragedy haunts the other members of the family, as Katie’s plans for the future are dashed, Fran’s young husband is close to death, and Bella’s impossible passion has to remain a close secret. Yet even in the darkest hour there is hope. The Campions find that they have a hero in their midst and while their city is crumbling, their pride is intact.

Sizzling Sixteen, by Janet Evanovich

Summary:  This 16th Stephanie Plum adventure will wear the blockbuster crown for grand scale fun, it’s a surefire bet. Someone wants to kill Vinnie, but who? The list is long, and it’s up to Stephanie to whittle it down to one.

Non-Fiction:

Hungry Girl 1-2-3 : the easiest, most delicious, guilt-free recipes on the planet, by Lisa Lillien

Summary:  Are you HUNGRY? The number-one New York Times bestselling phenomenon is BACK—with even more yum-a-licious guilt-free recipes. This time, the EASIEST ones on the planet!  Hungry Girl’s recipes aren’t just delicious, they’re SUPER-SIMPLE, too. Hungry Girl 1-2-3 will help you make the worlds most delicious guilt-free appetizers, meals, snacks, desserts, etc., with practically no effort whatsoever! There are loads of crock-pot recipes, microwavable meals, and more. Some are such a cinch, you won’t even have to turn on the oven or stove!

The summer reading program is only $5.00 and it includes all of this.

Aug. 18: The big wind-up party; water slide, games,

There is even an online reading club where you can play games and more.  So join us at 3:15 pm on Wednesdays from July 7 to August 18.

All you need to do is read 15 minutes per day and you get a weekly prize.  Your name is also entered into the draw bin for the grand prize which is on display at the library.  Safe to say, you’ll be lounging around!

TRACpac for iPhone is the fastest and easiest way to search the combined catalogue of over 150 libraries with holdings of nearly 3 million books, DVDs and other material. Access to your favorite books, CDs and DVDs just got a whole lot faster!

TRACpac for iPhone and iPod Touch includes these features:

•Search for books, CDs and DVDs by keyword, title, author or ISBN
•Check book reviews by other visitors
•Shortcuts to view the top 10 fiction and non-fiction books
•View book details such as jacket image, summary, published by and publication date
•Visit the TRACpac website

Patrons of a TRAC affiliated library can:

•Place holds on books, CDs, DVDs and other material for pick-up at your local library
•View hold details and cancel a hold
•Display your account barcode on iPhone or iPod Touch for easy check-out
•View any charges, fee and fines

Only two weeks ago, life was all too predictable.  But that was before I saw my first ghost.  Now, along with my supernatural friends Tori, Derek, and Simon, I’m on the run from the Edison Group, which genetically altered us as part of their sinister experiment.  We’re hiding in a safe house that might not be as safe as it seems.  We’ll be gone soon anyway, back to rescue those we’d left behind and to take out the Edison Group . . . or so we hope.

“After four nights on the run, I was finally safe, tucked into bed and enjoying the deep, dreamless sleep of the dead… until the dead decided they’d really rather have me awake.” 

Wow, what an opening!  The Reckoning is the final installment to Kelley Armstrong’s Darkest Powers Trilogy.  If you haven’t read The Summoning and The Awakening, I would advise you not to read this installment until you have.  The Darkest Powers’ world is constantly evolving and Armstrong doesn’t waste her time catching readers up to what they should already know, which I have to admit, is part of what I love about her writing.

I devoured this book.  Read it in one sitting even and I was glad to see The Reckoningtook us back to the eerie roots of The Summoning. To a place meant to be a sanctuary, but is eerily much more similar to a prison, where the do-gooders may pull a Judas, and the menaces make for the best allies.  While this series may have a red-herring or two, I was so caught up in these characters and their journey that I didn’t even notice them until I had read the last page.  In my mind, that is a testament to good writing, to see a flaw, and not register it or care because the story is just that good.

Chloe is equally impressive.  She has shown tremendous growth and has somehow avoided the Mary Sue pitfall.  It seems as though writers pen two types of heroines.  First there’s the uber sweet, oh so pretty girl, despairing over her shortcomings as a mortal, who somehow rises to the challenge and smites everyone, becoming the best superhuman ever and miraculously saves the day.  The other is the oh so snide and cynical girl, jaded by everything and everyone, who has a hard edge, but somehow softens and like her counterpart, rises to the occasion and saves the day.  Both types are cliché, neither apply to Chloe.

The character development in The Reckoning is fantastic! As usual, Kelley Armstrong’s characters are so layered and authentic that you miss them when they’re not around. Chloe, Derek and Tori all really grow and change throughout the course of this novel. Simon’s role is reduced quite a bit in The Reckoning, but this makes sense as the other characters powers continue to grow.

Chloe is a necromancer, but as she often admits, isn’t of much use unless there is a corpse nearby.  She is petite, but not overly pretty, or exceptionally smart.  The word that comes to mind is average.  And yet, Chloe doesn’t despair over things she lacks, nor does she turn into Chloe, Necromancer Goddess, though she is an extremely powerful necromancer.  Rather, Chloe does what she can, and admits, that sometimes the best she can do is keep out of the way, and let those with more suited gifts run the show.  Can we say refreshing?

I’m also enamored with Derek, who like his leading lady, avoids the stigma attached to leading men.  He is honest and frank, protective and insecure, yet confident in his abilities.  I appreciated the fact that Armstrong allowed him to lay into Chloe when she had made a mistake, and didn’t then force him to grovel as though honesty were a sin. 

But what ultimately garnered my attention is the stereotype that Armstrong herself manages to bypass with ease.  She can write and adult series, filled with some of the best steam I’ve read, and then turn around, write a book about supernatural teens, whose scenes together are so freaking sweet and endearing, that my stomach flips.  Kudos.

All in all, a great non-ending to a series.  While there was certainly a conclusion to the trilogy, Armstrong has left Chloe’s story fairly open ended to allow for more adventures with Chloe and Co., and hopefully, we’ll see her again, in Women of the Otherworld or in The Gathering, the first book in a new-but-related series that’s being released next year.

Reviews

“There’s never a slow moment in their journey or a false line in Armstrong’s writing.”
— Charlaine Harris, author of Dead to the World

“Kelley Armstrong has created a gritty, realistic world both teen and adult readers will enjoy.  Edge-of-the-seat reading, with plenty of surprises. I want the next installment now!”
— Kim Harrison, author of White Witch, Black Curse

“Armstrong continues to captivate.  I’m hooked!”
— Melissa Marr, author of Wicked Lovely

About The Author

Kelley Armstrong has been telling stories since before she could write.  Her earliest written efforts were disastrous.  If asked for a story about girls and dolls, hers would invariably feature undead girls and evil dolls, much to her teachers’ dismay.  All efforts to make her produce “normal” stories failed.  Today, she continues to spin tales of ghosts, demons, and werewolves, while safely locked away in her basement writing dungeon.  She’s the author of the Darkest Powers young adult urban fantasy trilogy, the Women of the Otherworld paranormal suspense series, and the Nadia Stafford crime series.  She lives in southwestern Ontario, Canada, with her husband, kids, and far too many pets.  Click here to visit her official website.

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A Balloon For Isabel, by Deborah Underwood

Summary:  As graduation day approaches, Isabel tries to convince her teacher that she and Walter, both porcupines, should receive balloons on the big day just like the other children.    

Fancy Nancy and the Sensational Babysitter, by Jane O’Connor

Summary:  Nancy is excited about her new babysitter coming over and has the whole evening planned out. But things don’t turn out quite the way she expected. Her babysitter, Alex, is a teenager, but Alex is a boy, not a girl!  

Harry and the Dinosaurs United, by Ian Whybrow and Adrian Reynolds

Summary:  Harry’s football team are trying their best, but they just keep getting in each others way.  But, luckily, Harry soon learns the best trick of all . . . teamwork!  So together Harry, his friends and their mascotauruses win the best prize ever.

Mighty Mount Kilimanjaro, by Geronimo Stilton

Summary:  Outrageous daredevil Bruce Hyena is back, and he’s convinced Geronimo to accompany him on another totally extreme adventure–a climb to the top of Mount Kilimanjaro in Africa! Will Geronimo discover the secret to making it to the summit?

Persephone the Phony, by Joan Holub and Suzanne Williams

Summary:  Despite the warnings of her friends at Mount Olympus Academy, Persephone befriends bad-boy Hades, but following her mother’s advice to “go along to get along” complicates her relationships with all of them.

Athena The Brain, by Joan Holub and Suzanne Williams

Summary: Athena learns that she is a goddess when she is summoned to Mount Olympus by her father, Zeus, and she must quickly adjust to her new status, make friends with the other godboys and goddess girls, and catch up with all the studies she missed while attending mortal school.

Dark Fire, by Chris D’lacey

Summary: Bestselling author David Rain returns to help Lucy and the Pennykettle dragons try to find and destroy a drop of dark fire before it is discovered and used to birth a darkling, while in the Arctic, enshrouded in mist, hide dragons that have at last returned to Earth.

Coming Soon

Book 8 - The Emperor’s Code, by Gordon Korman

Summary:  As the race to find the 39 Clues builds to its explosive finish, Amy and Dan must explore an ancient culture and steal a Clue guarded by thousands of the world’s best-trained soldiers. It’s the most dangerous Clue search yet. As their enemies crowd in, Amy and Dan find themselves separated for the first time ever. The choice lies before them ndash; find the next Clue, or find their way back to each other.

JOIN ANYTIME TO PLAY FOR THE CHANCE TO WIN!  Be the first to find out where the next Clue is!  There are three messages hidden on the cover of Book 8: The Emperor’s Code.  Go to www.the39clues.com/theemperorscode for a blow up of the cover, enter the secret messages you find, and unlock a page from The Emperor’s Code that reveals the whereabouts of the next Clue.