Book picks similar to
The Castle of No Return by R.G. Austin
fantasy
gamebooks
game-books
childrens-lit
Coraline
Neil Gaiman - 2002
Thirteen of the doors open and close. The fourteenth is locked, and on the other side is only a brick wall, until the day Coraline unlocks the door to find a passage to another flat in another house just like her own. Only it's different. At first, things seem marvelous in the other flat. The food is better. The toy box is filled with wind-up angels that flutter around the bedroom, books whose pictures writhe and crawl and shimmer, little dinosaur skulls that chatter their teeth. But there's another mother, and another father, and they want Coraline to stay with them and be their little girl. They want to change her and never let her go. Other children are trapped there as well, lost souls behind the mirrors. Coraline is their only hope of rescue. She will have to fight with all her wits and all the tools she can find if she is to save the lost children, her ordinary life, and herself. Critically acclaimed and award-winning author Neil Gaiman will delight readers with his first novel for all ages.
The Summoning
Mark Lukens - 2014
a supernatural mystery.Edrington, Oregon - a town with a horrifying past. A town with dark secrets. A town where a woman has summoned something terrifying.Three hundred and fifty miles south, Ryan wakes up in a motel room with a bag of stolen money, bullet hole scars on his chest, and no memory of his past - his only clue is a scrap of paper in his wallet with an Edrington address scrawled on it.Plagued by nightmares of a tortured man who seems to be forcing his way from the dream world into our world, Ryan journeys north to the small Oregon town where the answers are waiting for him.
Dinotopia: Journey to Chandara
James Gurney - 2007
R. R. Tolkien." -People magazineThe fourth book in James Gurney's best-selling Dinotopia series transports readers to an enthralling world of art, science, exploration, and invention, where humans and dinosaurs live peacefully together.Dinotopia GuideReturn to James Gurney's Dinotopia A Travelers Guide Characters Locales Dinotopia Map Dinotopia Dinosaurs Dinotopian Games Sample Pages About James Gurney James Gurney's Art James Gurney Video EndorsementsTour Schedule James Gurney's BlogIn the spirit of Marco Polo and Gulliver's Travels, Dinotopia: Journey to Chandara recounts the journal entries and adventures of explorer Arthur Denison and dinosaur Bix as they explore the exotic eastern realm of James Gurney's Dinotopia.* A visual masterpiece featuring more than 100 works of breathtaking new art, Dinotopia: Journey to Chandara joins the original Dinotopia: A Land Apart from Time and Gurney's two other series creations, Dinotopia: The World Beneath and Dinotopia: First Flight, in exploring a fully rendered world, complete with its own language, geographic locations and history, and confluence of cultures and characters.* The original Dinotopia: A Land Apart from Time achieved New York Times best-seller status, translated in 18 languages in more than 30 countries and inspiring an Emmy Award-winning television miniseries.* Gurney is the recipient of seven Chesley Awards from the Association of Fantasy Artists, two Hugo Awards from the World Science Fiction Convention, and Best of Show from the Art Director's Club.
Whales on Stilts
M.T. Anderson - 2005
But her dad–a normal-enough seeming guy–just so happens to work for an evil genius who plans to unleash an army of extremely cranky, stilt-walking, laser-beam-eyed whales upon the world. Lucky for Lily, her two best friends are anything but average. Both of them are famous for their adventures. Jasper Dash, Boy Technonaut, invents gadgets; Katie Mulligan spends her spare time fighting off zombies and were-goats. Surely they'll know what to do. And if they don't? then it will be up to Lily–average, everyday Lily–to come up with a plan.With this crazy comic ride of a novel, M. T. Anderson launches a riotous and wonderfully weird new series for listeners who like their thrilling tales with tongue firmly in cheek.
Lunch Lady and the Cyborg Substitute
Jarrett J. Krosoczka - 2009
. . and lunch!Hector, Terrence, and Dee have always wondered about their school lunch lady. What does she do when she isn’t dishing out the daily special? Where does she live? Does she have a lot of cats at home? Little do they know, Lunch Lady doesn’t just serve sloppy joes—she serves justice! Whatever danger lies ahead, it’s no match for LUNCH LADY!
The Maze of Bones
Rick Riordan - 2008
When their beloved aunt--matriarch of the world's most powerful family--dies, orphaned siblings Amy and Dan Cahill compete with less honorable Cahill descendants in a race around the world to find cryptic clues to a mysterious fortune.Book includes game cards which the reader may use to play an online version of the treasure hunt.
School of Fear
Gitty Daneshvari - 1999
Theodore Bartholomew is petrified of dying. Lulu Punchalower is scared of confined spaces. Garrison Feldman is terrified of deep water. With very few options left, the parents of these four twelve year-olds send them to the highly elusive and exclusive School of Fear to help them overcome their phobias. But when their peculiar teacher, Mrs. Wellington, and her unconventional teaching methods turn out to be more frightening than even their fears, the foursome realize that this just may be the scariest summer of their lives.
The Candy Shop War
Brandon Mull - 2007
However, the gray-haired, grandmotherly Mrs. White is not an ordinary candy maker. Her confections have magical side effects. Purposefully, she invites the kids on a special mission to retrieve a hidden talisman under Mt. Diablo Elementary School.
Pandora
Conner KressleyLouise Caiola - 2014
Supernaturally thrilling and engaging, this boxed set has it all: ghosts, vampires, mind-readers, shape-shifters, demons, faeries, werewolves, and more. For a limited time, you can enjoy books from today's New York Times, USA Today, Amazon and Barnes & Noble bestselling authors and many more. We have everything from titles that are slated for the big screen to stories from Pulitzer Prize and Bram Stoker Award Nominees! When purchased separately, these books cost over $50! But they are yours today for less than $1. Professionally formatted, no cliffhangers, and no short stories. Every selection in this rare, limited edition paranormal boxed set are full-length novels and novellas! A few are "First in Series," but we carefully selected only those which can still be enjoyed as a standalone! With: Riley J Ford, NY Times & USA Today Bestseller: INTO YOU Winter knows exactly what her friends are thinking, but there's a catch... Rebecca Hamilton, Amazon Bestselling & Film-Optioned Novelist: HER SWEETEST DOWNFALL Ophelia's initiation won't be complete until she kills the man she loves. Apryl Baker, Amazon Bestselling & Film-Optioned Novelist: THE AWAKENING Bones breaking and muscles tearing haunt Alexandria Reed. Carole Lanham, Amazon Bestselling Author & Bram Stoker Award Nominee: CLEOPATRA'S NEEDLE "There are monsters in this world. Sometimes I have fallen victim to them and sometimes I have been one." Thomas Sullivan, Pulitzer Prize Nominee: THE WATER WOLF An adventurer searching for links in a colossal subterranean network finds a dangerous churchyard where he encounters strange magic. Rainy Kaye, Amazon Bestselling Author: SUMMONED A reluctant genie criminal unravels the mystery of the paranormal bond controlling him. Conner Kressley, Amazon Bestselling Author: THE BREAKER'S CODE Cresta thinks everything is the end of the world. She might be right. Laura Howard: THE FORGOTTEN ONES Noree Cosper: A PRESCRIPTION FOR DELIRIUM Madness spreading like a virus and a revenge that's waited for over 500 years. Louise Caiola: WHAT TRULY KNOWS Some said Truly was born with a gift. Others, a curse. But it was the very thing meant to save her life. If it didn’t kill her first. Susan Stec: DEAD GIRLS NEVER SHUT UP Toni's grandmother is a psychopath. Her sister is a ghost. Her boyfriend is possessed. And she has no idea who she is. Kelly Anne Blount: SHADE The traumatic kidnapping of Abriana Vega, a Hispanic college student. Christi Goddard: FOUR IN THE MORNING When a smart-ass magical creature invades Kathleen’s life, a boy she hates turns up dead and her mother goes missing. Steven Katriel: THE PORTRAIT OF ALATIEL SALAZAR When Helena vanishes from his life, Gabriel journeys to the man responsible for her disappearance. DelSheree Gladden: INVISIBLE Being invisible won't hide Mason for long.
Lunch Walks Among Us
Jim Benton - 2003
Stein is not your average girl -- she's a mad scientist. She prefers poison ivy to daisies, and when Franny jumps rope, she uses her pet snake. The kids in Franny's class think she's weird, wacky, and just plain creepy. Tired of being stared at, Franny decides to attempt her most dangerous experiment yet -- she's going to fit in. but when a giant Monstrous Fiend attacks the class, everyone knows it's up to a mad scientist to save the day. But has Franny lost her creepy, crawly ways?
The Silence of Six
E.C. Myers - 2014
Fearing for his life and fighting to prove his own innocence, Max goes on the run with no one to trust and too many unanswered questions.Max must dust off his own hacking skills and maneuver the dangerous labyrinth of underground hacktivist networks, ever-shifting alliances, and virtual identities — all while hoping to find the truth behind the “Silence of Six” before it’s too late.
Providence
Caroline Kepnes - 2018
When Jon is finally ready to confess his feelings, he's suddenly kidnapped by his substitute teacher who is obsessed with H.P. Lovecraft and has a plot to save humanity.Mourning the disappearance of Jon and facing the reality he may never return, Chloe tries to navigate the rites of entering young adulthood and "fit in" with the popular crowd, but thoughts of Jon are never far away. When Jon finally escapes, he discovers he now has an uncontrollable power that endangers anyone he has intense feelings for. He runs away to protect Chloe and find the answers to his new identity—but he's soon being tracked by a detective who is fascinated by a series of vigilante killings that appear connected. Whisking us on a journey through New England and crashing these characters' lives together in the most unexpected ways, Kepnes explores the complex relationship between love and identity, unrequited passion and obsession, self-preservation and self-destruction, and how the lines are often blurred between the two.
The Scariest Stories You've Ever Heard, Part II
Katherine Burt - 1989
But here's a warning--the scream you hear may be your own!
Time at the Top
Edward Ormondroyd - 1963
It's stranger still when her uninformative note is found in the hallway of her apartment building, along with a black cat that no one has seen before. And it's strangest of all when she suddenly appears again, wearing clothes that are eighty years out of date, and tells a wild story about an old woman with a fly-away hat, an elevator that travels into the past, and a distressed family that only she can save. Who is going to believe such a tale? Certainly not her father. But Susan is determined to prove to him that it's all true. And she has other plans for him as well...Who, in fact, could believe such a tale? Even the author, who takes part in the story, has his doubts. But just as those doubts are all laid to rest, the mystery thickens once more. This time it's a double disappearance...