To counter it, the realm must call on its greatest heroes, its most courageous adventurers. Unfortunately, those great heroes, those brave adventurers, are all busy—being dead mostly.So it is left to Dannen Ateran, known in his youth as the Bloody Butcher but, more recently as the passed-out drunk at the table in the corner, to lead his companions against an army of the dead.They are not heroes.But perhaps they just might do.The Antiheroes is the first book in a new epic fantasy series by bestselling author Jacob Peppers. It is a tale of fast-paced action, swordfights, magic, and humor. Think you can't laugh at undead armies and battles of life and death? Come find out.

    She misses her old school, her old room, and most of all, her two best friends. And so far, everything at her new school has been a disaster.

    Ricky's an eighth grader with an amazing menagerie of animals that includes dogs, cats, rats, squirrels, rabbits, hamsters, gerbils, grouse, groundhogs, iguanas, budgies, and a three-foot-long alligator called Ollie. It's no wonder, then, that he's a big fan of his science teacher, Mr. Johnston, who has even more animals in his classroom, including Bogart, a pet boa constrictor. When vandals wreck Mr. Johnston's classroom, leading to Bogart's death, Ricky and his best friend Augie decide that it's up to them to put things right. Their plan is to surprise Mr. Johnston with a new snake with the financial help of every kid in the school. But keeping the plan a secret isn't easy when you're dealing with a six-foot boa! Ricky is a thoroughly engaging contemporary novel that will have particular resonance with boys. Walters looks at some pretty serious issues--including how to cope with the death of a parent, the nature of friendship, learning disabilities, and teen violence--but, as always, he has a light, quirky touch and a strong sense of plot. In an afterword, Walters explains his part in his latest fiction, which will delight readers interested in what inspires their favourite writers. (Ages 8 to 12) --Jeffrey Canton

     After fleeing from the Goblin King, the Svoda step through a new magical portal only to make a gruesome discovery: A devastated habitat, still smoldering, belongings strewn and ruined… but where are all the people? An investigation ensues to locate the missing persons. However, it is plagued by dead ends, unexplained and dangerous occurrences, as well as unwelcome guests from the Svoda’s magical past. Treasure hunters, called Stripers, who reveal a potentially fatal plot that affects everyone in the magical world. Colin Jacoby continues his quest as protector of the girl, Catrina Flummer, while Meghan discovers that this girl may be the key to ending this danger the Striper’s warn them about. She makes a decision that will change the relationship with her brother, forever, and finds out that sometimes, playing with fire is the only way to save lives.

    Lights live on the Northside of the Line, Darks live on the Southside. Hillside has been that way ever since the Line appeared naturally from the ground, much like a spring welling up from deep inside the earth. Now the Line controls the town, keeping Hillside separated, zapping those who come near it and killing those who dare cross it. But when Derby, a Northsider, finds a pile of bones stacked on the Line, he sets out to uncover the person's identity. While doing so, he befriends a Southside girl and soon begins to challenge the Line and the town's rules. And then, before he can turn back, Derby goes too far.

    Or will be, someday. His dad is doing time for the double murder of Little Red Riding Hood and her grandmother so everyone assumes crime is in Henry's blood. For years, he's kept a low profile in a Home for Wayward Wolves on the outskirts of Dust City--a gritty metropolis known for its black market, mind-altering dust. And the entire population of foxes, ravens, and hominids are hooked. But it's not just any dust the creatures of this grim underground are slinging and sniffing. It's fairydust.When a murder at the Home forces Henry to escape, he begins to suspect his dad may have been framed. With a daring she wolf named Fiona by his side, Henry travels into the dark alleyways and cavernous tunnels of Dust City. There, he'll come face to snout with legendary mobster Skinner and his Water Nixie henchmen to discover what really happened to his father in the woods that infamous night...and the shocking truth about fairydust.

    It includes learning experiences that provide opportunities for group dynamics as well as activities to challenge students' abilities in critical and creative thinking. Includes: story summary, about the author, preparing to read, cooperative-learning activities, vocabulary skills, chapter-by-chapter critical thinking questions, spotlight literary skills, creative thinking activities, glossary of literary terms, and post-reading activities.

    Despite fighting savagely to defend their homes, the elves are outmatched by vicious attacks from highly skilled battle mages. The elven clans must join forces to have any chance of survival against the ruthless king’s army.Meanwhile, a young half-elf is forced from the human world he has always known and travels into the Wildlands to seek out his elven kin. Along the way, he learns to draw on the magic within himself to craft weapons of tremendous power. When war arrives on his doorstep, he must choose whether to stand with the family he has always known or the elves who share his blood.

    But the windwalker sect is closed off to women. What's more, the flying predators are said to kill any woman attempting to bond them.Undeterred, Kiva attempts the perilous windwalker trials in secret. Should she survive, she will face an even greater challenge: bonding a raptor of her own. When signs of an ancient enemy appear upon the plains, she desires more than ever to protect her people. But the threat is closer than anyone realizes, and will soon bury them all in a tomb of sand and stone—unless she can stop it.

    She mothers everyoneher social work clients, her husband, her twenty-something daughters, and her reclusive sister who lives in the attic. Elsie is committed to taking care of everyone--everyone but herself. So, when crazy Aunt Hildy writes to demand a bedroom in their Halifax home, Elsie cant help but say yes. When Hilda arrives, she enchants and enrages the family with her moxie. That and her proclamation that she has hidden treasure in the house and the kings ransom will go to whoever loved her most. When someone threatens Aunt Hildy, she responds with her trademark sass: Go ahead. Shoot me. I dare you. Whoever it is takes her up on it. Suddenly, the house is turned topsy-turvy as Elsies family searches for a treasure that Elsie doesnt believe even exists, and for a killer that could be any one of them. Shoot Me is a funny and sometimes heart-wrenching story about family, fortune, and figuring out who you are and who you love. In Elsie, Crewe has created a character who speaks with humour and honesty to conflicts that exist in the lives of so many women: between work and home, between loving one man and wanting others, and between feeling fulfilled not only as a wife and a mother, but as a woman.

    Ward, a tier-one operator turned mercenary, has just flung himself off the cargo deck of a doomed C-130. Now he’s out of the Drop Zone and evading the undead as a terrible new breed of hunter enters the Wyrd. But these new, faster predators might not be the only thing to fear in an apocalypse beset by zombies, nukes and killer A.I.’s. One of the last warriors of a collapsed government is planning on putting up some big numbers in this final, ultimate game of Survivor, until he finds a mysterious new companion... a stranger dressed in black.

    Home is with her beloved grandfather in a small town that just happens to be famous for a medical discovery that saved humankind — though not without significant repercussions. Marivic loves her best friend, Saren, and the two of them promise to stick together, through thick and thin, and especially through the uncertain winnowing procedure, a now inevitable — but dangerous — part of adolescence.But when tragedy separates the two friends, Marivic is thrust into a world of conspiracy, rebellion and revolution. For the first time in her life, Marivic is forced to think and act big. If she is going to right a decade of wrongs, she will need to trust her own frightening new abilities, even when it means turning her back on everything, and everyone, she’s known and loved. A gripping exploration of growing up, love and loss, The Winnowing is a page-turning adventure that will have readers rooting for their new hero, Marivic Stone, as they unravel the horror and intrigue of a world at once familiar but with a chilling strangeness lurking beneath the everyday.

    Thirteen years ago, Sarah Richardson’s life was shattered after the tragic assisted suicide of her mother. The shocking tragedy left a grief-stricken teen-aged Sarah with partial amnesia. Some things are easier to forget.But now a familiar voice from her past sends Sarah, a talented mid-twenties ad exec, back to her past. A past that she had thought was long buried. Some things are meant to be buried. Torn by nightmares and visions of a yellow-eyed wolf, yet aided by the creatures of the Earth and by the killer whales that call to her in the night, Sarah must face her fears and uncover the truth―even if it destroys her. Some things are meant to be remembered―at all cost. This haunting tale of change and choice sensitively explores issues of the right to die, integrating the optimistic spiritualism of native myth and the hard realities of modern-day life. This beautiful story, told in flashback, straddles the genres of mystery and family drama, and is set in the wilds of Canada -- Vancouver Island, Victoria, Bamfield and Vancouver.

    Lia and three others embark on a quest to the forbidden land of Brume to gather ingredients for the cure. But after her elder kinsman is attacked and poisoned, she and her cousin, Wynn, are forced to finish the quest on their own.Lia relies on her powerful herbal wisdom and the memorized pages of her late grandmother’s Grimoire for guidance through a land of soul-hungry shades, trickster creatures, and uncovered truths about the origin of Brume and her family’s unexpected ties to it. The deeper they trek into the land, the stronger Lia’s untapped gift as a tree mage unfolds. When she discovers the enchanted root’s maker, it forces her to question everything about who she is and what is her destiny. Ultimately she must make a terrible choice: keep fighting to save her father and the people of the lands or join with the power behind the deadly roots to help nature start anew.

    Although one of the few mages the kingdom of Kirby has, Jonathan is not expecting to be welcomed with open arms for two reasons. The first is that he is a commoner, the majority of mages are nobles and believe commoners should not have access to such power. The second is that commoner mages are normally weak and Jonathan is one of the strongest mages the kingdom of Kirby has ever seen and has a spell no noble mage can match. Join Jonathan as he proves to everyone while they are better off avoiding instead of making an enemy of The Lightning Mage.