Young Readers Fiction

There are zero reasons for Theo Ripley to look forward to his family vacation. Not only are he, sister Laura, and nature-obsessed Dad going to Big Bend, the least popular National Park, but once there, the family will be camping. And Theo is an indoor animal. It doesn’t help that this will be the first vacation they’re taking since Mom passed away. Then, Theo’s dad hits him with a whopper of a surprise: the whole trip is just a trick to introduce his secret new girlfriend.

Even and Odd are sisters who share magic. Lately, though, it seems like that’s the only thing they have in common. Odd doesn’t like magic, and Even practices it every chance she gets, dreaming of the day she’ll be ready to be a hero. When the hidden border between the mundane world the sisters live in and the magical land they were born in shuts abruptly, the girls are trapped, unable to return home. With the help of a unicorn named Jeremy, they discover a wizard is diverting magic from the border to bolster her own power.

Thief of Babes is a classic fantasy of a farmwife sworn to rescue her husband from the elves under the hill. Clarisse was left by Yves on their farm in New York's Hudson Valley during the Indian Wars. When he finally returns, he is a broken man, easily captured by the trickster elves. His wife makes a bargain with their queen to steal a human infant and replace them with a changeling for a night with her husband.

Constance Sutton’s marriage to Thomas was one, just like many at the time, arranged by her father, and even though he was a good man to her, there was something missing. She spent her time sewing or singing, and after a few performances across Devonshire, she was invited to sing for the duke’s birthday party, something she found to be a great honor.

The space rock is just the latest thing to land, uninvited, in Vega Lucero’s road-stop hometown. But when she discovers how much a chunk of the meteorite might be worth, she realizes it’s exactly the treasure she’s been hoping to find—and maybe a way to convince her mom not to sell the family store to big city developers to help pay for her grandpa Tata's medical expenses.

Meet Erik Sheepflattener. Each member of his modern-day Viking-heritage family has a motto to live by. His parents have Family and Pride. His sisters have Conquer and Win. His grandfather has Turnip. But Erik is developing a motto he can truly believe in: Avoid Stuff. Mostly, Erik’s fierce family ignores or discounts him, especially when he tries to say no. But while spending the summer with his rough-and-tumble cousins and older sister Brunhilde in Minnesota, axe-wielding Bru gets the idea to name and Conquer all of Erik’s fears.

The boy loves to be naked. He romps around his house naked and wild and free. Until he romps into his parents' closet and is inspired to get dressed. First he tries on his dad's clothes, but they don't fit well. Then he tries on his mom's clothes, and wow! The boy looks great. He looks through his mom's jewelry and makeup and tries that on, too. When he's discovered by his mother and father, the whole family (including the dog!) get in on the fun, and they all get dressed together.

It’s the longest day of the year, and eighteen-year-old Brandy Bailey has just received the worst news of her life: She’s been accepted to a top nursing school, making her mother overwhelmingly proud. The thing is, Brandy wants to be an artist. She knows all the risks of chasing her dream. She’s heard them from her mother over and over. On top of that, Brandy’s annoying classmate from high school, the startlingly handsome Ben Nolan, is catching his far-fetched dream of being an actor.

There are infinite universes in which Elise never dies. Her best friend, Anna, never has to mourn her or choose between the weight of her grief and the weight of her ambition. Her cousin, Liam, never has to lose another loved one or fight to find purpose in a life that already doesn’t feel like his own. But Liam and Anna do not get to choose the universe in which they live. Across multiple worlds, their paths collide as they wrestle with what it takes to save someone else and how to face love and loss on a quantum scale.

Barney and Hattie Frank are 12-year-old twins who play football together on the school team. The team is trying to win the County Cup. Hattie is the better player but Barney thinks he can see where the school team is going wrong. So, when a TV talent show is looking for a new manager to help a failing Premiership team to start scoring again, Barney's sure he knows the answer. Maybe, to demonstrate his skills, he could train Hattie to be a top goal scorer.

Lisa Harrison can't believe her luck when she lands an internship with The Rage, New York's hottest music magazine. She's even more amazed when she's assigned to shadow the magazine's star reporter. It's a fantastic break, but things get complicated fast. Is any story worth her self-respect?

Jason can't believe his luck when he opens the letter from his high school's wealthy alum Harmon Holt telling him he'll be interning on a movie set in LA. Even better, it's with one of his favorite horror-movie directors. But it turns out the road to the big time is paved with lots of small-time work. Can Jason check his pride and be part of the team?

In a central African animal sanctuary, young Akimbo sees the carcass of a mother elephant rotting in the sun. Hearing that his ranger father rarely catches these killers, Akimbo hatches a secret plan to apprehend these villains himself. But are the dangers too daunting for this aspiring hero?

Strange things are happening in Cutter Gap and everybody is convinced that Christy is cursed. After all, who can explain Bob Allens' mysterious accident on his way to bring Christy to Cutter Gap? Or the lightning strike that sent a tree through the school window? Will fear and superstition triumph? Will Christy be driven out of Cutter Gap forever? Or will Christy overcome and win the hearts of the mountain people?

When Ruby Mae, Bessie, and Clara discover gold in Dead Man's Creek, they form an exclusive group, "The Princess Club". Christy watches in dismay as Cutter Gap is torn apart by greed and envy. Can she find a way to heal the bitter divisions caused by a handful of gold?

Christy Huddleston's dream is to teach poor mountain children. Join Christy as she crosses from the familiar world of parties and pretty things to the different world of Cutter Gap, located in the heart of the Smoky Mountains. There she meets the doctor who needs her help to save a life and the handsome minister who helps her face the challenges of teaching and loving the mountain people.

In a new adventure, it's Christmas in Strawberry Park, and the guinea pigs are decorating the hutch and rocking around their broccoli Christmas tree. But when Henrietta's mother is called to investigate the mystery of missing Inca gold, the furry friends find themselves on their way to...Peru!

Coby returns to school for fourth grade determined to stay out of trouble and away from Fleshbots. However, the Fleshbots have different plans! When Coby and his best friend Antoine end up back in the underground tunnels of Marley Elementary they discover a hex bolt that will change their lives forever. They soon find that the Fleshbot problem in Marley is far worse than they ever imagined! This story is a fast paced follow up that will have the reader dying to find out what happens next!

Headstrong and independent, Christy is determined to change the lives of the children in Cutter Gap. Yet it seems that anything new and strange poses a threat to the mountain people, who are proud of their way of life. Evidently, Christy has angered someone enough to cause a string of mysterious pranks. The handsome minister fears that the pranks will turn dangerous. Unfortunately, he doesn't realize how right his fears are.

Uh-oh! Neal has a problem. He's turned into a bug...again. Eric and Julie hope someone in Droon can help. Princess Keeah thinks there might be a cure in the CIty in the Clouds. Too bad the friends only have one day before the city disappears.