Book picks similar to
Pilot Down, Presumed Dead by Marjorie Phleger
fiction
e-fiction
rvo-reviewed
coffy-books
The Icebound Land / Oakleaf Bearers
John Flanagan - 2008
But Halt has sworn to rescue his apprentice, and he is joined by Horace as he travels by land through Gallica towards Skandia. Can Horace's swordfighting skills keep them safe on their journey? Will they be in time to rescue Will from a life of slavery? OAKLEAF BEARERS Skandia is being threatened by a massive invasion force of Temujai, the riders from the Eastern Steppes who are renowned for their fierceness in battle. Halt, Will, Horace and Evanlyn must work together with the Skandians if they are to defeat the invaders - but will the Oberjarl accept the help of his sworn enemies from Araluen? Are Will, Halt, Evanlyn and Horace destined to return home to Araluen? Read the full story of their adventures in Gallica and Skandia in this special edition of the third and fourth Ranger's Apprentice books.
The Girl Who Circumnavigated Fairyland in a Ship of Her Own Making
Catherynne M. Valente - 2011
One day, September is met at her kitchen window by a Green Wind (taking the form of a gentleman in a green jacket), who invites her on an adventure, implying that her help is needed in Fairyland. The new Marquess is unpredictable and fickle, and also not much older than September. Only September can retrieve a talisman the Marquess wants from the enchanted woods, and if she doesn’t . . . then the Marquess will make life impossible for the inhabitants of Fairyland. September is already making new friends, including a book-loving Wyvern and a mysterious boy named Saturday. With exquisite illustrations by acclaimed artist Ana Juan, Fairyland lives up to the sensation it created when the author first posted it online. For readers of all ages who love the charm of Alice in Wonderland and the soul of The Golden Compass, here is a reading experience unto itself: unforgettable, and so very beautiful.
Storm Runners
Roland Smith - 2010
Anywhere bad weather strikes, they are not far behind. Chase is learning more on the road than he ever would just sitting in a classroom. But when the hurricane of the century hits, he will be tested in ways he never could have imagined.
Jayhawker
Patricia Beatty - 1991
After his father is killed, Lije goes undercover among the proslavery bushwhackers. Swept into a grisly raid, Lije unexpectedly stands face-to-face with his father's killer -- but is vengeance as simple as he once thought?
I Will Breathe
Regina Puckett - 2005
It has been eight hundred years since The Great War. There are small groups of people scattered in isolated pockets around the world, but most are too suspicious of each other for any intimacy. If they don’t stop hiding, and learn to help each other, there won’t be anyone left on earth.Liberty has grown up in this post-apocalyptic world. Her home is an airship built by her adopted father. Since his death, each day is just another day trying to survive in a hostile environment. That is until her father's dying friend asks if she’ll take custody of a small, child-like robot.The last thing Liberty needs is another responsibility. Surprisingly, once the endearing robot is aboard Airus, she discovers there is more to life than just living, and loving someone can be as easy as breathing.Reviewed By Emily-Jane Hills Orford for Readers’ Favorite“Have you ever wondered what the world would be like in eight hundred years time? Have you wondered what humanity would be like after an Armageddon or apocalyptic disaster? Would the human race even exist? And what in what manner would those surviving humans thrive?In I Will Breathe, Regina Puckett has written a story that reveals a futuristic look at life on a planet ravaged by war. As the main character, Liberty, struggles to survive and continue with the trading life that she learned from her adopted father, the possibility of a civilized human race once again existing evolves. The entire story makes you really think about 'what if?'. And it makes the reader hopeful that all will not be lost in the future. An interesting read.”
The Day Joanie Frankenhauser Became a Boy
Francess Lin Lantz - 2005
But how long can she keep pretending? And even if she could keep her identity secret, would she want to? Being a boy is no walk in the park! Francess Lantz seamlessly weaves great sports action, a compelling family drama, and Joanie's secret stories about SuperKid into a funny, thought-provoking novel about friendship and self-discovery.
When I Crossed No-Bob
Margaret McMullan - 2007
So when Addy’s mama abandons her on the afternoon of Mr. Frank Russell’s wedding celebration, nobody is very surprised. A reluctant Mr. Frank and his new wife take Addy in, and Addy does everything she can to prove that at least one O’Donnell has promise. But one day, Addy witnesses a terrible event that brings her old world crashing into the new.As she finds herself being pulled back into No-Bob and the grips of her O’Donnell kin, Addy is faced with the biggest decision of her life. Can she somehow find the courage to do what’s right, even if it means betraying one of her own?
Hugh Glass, Mountain Man
Robert M. McClung - 1990
A fictionalized biography of the legendary hero of the Old West, who as a fur trapper in 1823, survived an attack by a grizzly bear.
The Hill of the Red Fox
Allan Campbell McLean - 1955
Soviet spies are feared and secrets traded. And people disappear. Thirteen-year-old Alasdair lives in London and knows nothing of that world. He can't wait to begin his long summer holiday on the Isle of Skye, away from his mother and aunt.But things don't go quite as planned. On the journey, a stranger gives him a mysterious note before jumping from the train. Even worse, he immediately suspects the sinister Murdo Beaton, the man with whom he's staying. Gradually adjusting to life on the small farm, Alasdair is unprepared for the web of danger and espionage that begins to unfold around him.(Ages 10-13)
Go Tell It to Mrs. Golightly
Catherine Cookson - 1977
A blind girl who is sent to stay with her grandfather stumbles upon a kidnapping in their small town.
A Christmas at Pasidian Palace
S.L. Morgan - 2016
With peace in their lands, Levi and Reece have been living a life of serenity and peace, raising their three young children at Oxley Manor. Everything seems perfect and well until Levi realizes something: a holiday he knows his wife as always loved on her home planet of Earth has never been celebrated in his realm. In fact, Reece hasn't had the privilege of enjoying her favorite holiday in over six years, and Levi vows to change that. But can he? With his sister's wedding at hand, his own daughter professing her love for another as well, and wanting to have a new holiday introduced to Pemdas...Levi is determined to find a way to make all of this work no matter the sacrifices he must make.
Dead Eye Hunt
Peter Meredith - 2019
Now, 150 years later, we live in over-crowded polluted cities, surrounded by vast radioactive wastelands. And no, we did not get all the zombies. They live among us, sometimes hiding in plain sight. Although the tattoos and piercings help them blend in, and the drugs help to contain their rage, they can never fully control their hunger. It’s endless. When they give in and people go missing and partially eaten corpses start turning up, the Dead-Eye hunters are called in to clean up the mess. Their job is to keep up the charade that we're safe. They do it for a price. In this world, money talks. Cash is king. Cole Younger knows that better than anyone, and he is hot on the trail of his next buck when he discovers that the tables have been turned. He’s not hunting Dead-Eyes, they are hunting him.
The Wishing Tree
Ruth Chew - 1980
tantalize a sister and brother into setting out upon ethereal adventures. (1980)Another out-of-print masterpiece by America's story-creating wizard of the 1970s & 1980s, Ruth Chew.
Bird & Sugar Boy
Sofie Laguna - 2006
I live with my dad who has a big tattoo that says Live to Ride. He is so strong he can lift up a car, but he can't tell me what he's thinking. Maybe he's thinking about my mother who shot through.Sugar Boy is my best friend. We hang around down at the river, in the bush tunnel, or beside the railway tracks riding our bikes fast enough to beat the train. There's only two of us, but we're the whole team.I don't know what would happen if I didn't have Sugar Boy . . .
The Merry Adventures of Robin Hood
Howard Pyle - 1883
Consisting of a series of episodes in the story of the English outlaw Robin Hood and his band of Merry Men, the novel compiles traditional material into a coherent narrative in a colorful, invented "old English" idiom that preserves some flavor of the ballads, and adapts it for children. The novel is notable for taking the subject of Robin Hood, which had been increasingly popular through the 19th century, in a new direction that influenced later writers, artists, and filmmakers through the next century.[1]Pyle had been submitting illustrated poems and fairy tales to New York publications since 1876, and had met with success. The Merry Adventures of Robin Hood was the first novel he attempted. He took his material from Middle Age ballads and wove them into a cohesive story, altering them for coherence and the tastes of his child audience. For example, he included "Robin Hood and the Curtal Friar" in the narrative order to reintroduce Friar Tuck. He needed a cooperative priest for the wedding of outlaw Allan a Dale (Pyle's spelling of the original Alan-a-Dale) to his sweetheart Ellen. In the original "A Gest of Robyn Hode", the life is saved of an anonymous wrestler who had won a bout but was likely to be murdered because he was a stranger. Pyle adapted it and gave the wrestler the identity of David of Doncaster, one of Robin's band in the story "Robin Hood and the Golden Arrow." In his novelistic treatment of the tales, Pyle thus developed several characters who had been mentioned in only one ballad, such as David of Doncaster or Arthur a Bland. Pyle's book continued the 19th-century trend of portraying Robin Hood as a heroic outlaw who robs the rich to feed the poor; this portrayal contrasts with the Robin Hood of the ballads, where the protagonist is an out-and-out crook, whose crimes are motivated by personal gain rather than politics or a desire to help others.[1] For instance, he modified the ballad "Robin Hood's Progress to Nottingham", changing it from Robin killing fourteen foresters for not honoring a bet to Robin defending himself against a band of armed robbers. Pyle has Robin kill only one man, who shoots at him first. Tales are changed in which Robin steals all that an ambushed traveler carried, such as "Robin Hood and the Bishop of Hereford", so that the victim keeps a third and another third is dedicated to the poor. Pyle did not have much concern for historical accuracy, but he renamed the queen-consort in the story "Robin Hood and Queen Katherine" as Eleanor (of Aquitaine). This made her compatible historically with King Richard the Lion-Hearted, with whom Robin eventually makes peace. The novel was first published by Scribner's in 1883, and met with immediate success,[1] ushering in a new era of Robin Hood stories. It helped solidify the image of a heroic Robin Hood, which had begun in earlier works such as Walter Scott's 1819 novel Ivanhoe. In Pyle's wake, Robin Hood has become a staunch philanthropist protecting innocents against increasingly aggressive villains.[1] Along with the publication of the Child Ballads by Francis James Child, which included most of the surviving Robin Hood ballads, Pyle's novel helped increase the popularity of the Robin Hood legend in the United States. The Merry Adventures also had an effect on subsequent children's literature. It helped move the Robin Hood legend out of the realm of penny dreadfuls and into the realm of respected children's books.[2] After Pyle, Robin Hood became an increasingly popular subject for children's books: Louis Rhead's Bold Robin Hood and His Outlaw Band (1912) and Paul Creswick's Robin Hood (1917), illustrated by Pyle's pupil N. C.