Book picks similar to
Rick Riordan Presents Free Sampler by Roshani Chokshi


mythology
fantasy
kids
rick-riordan-presents-and-beyond

The Alchemyst


Michael Scott - 2007
    Nearly seven hundred years later, he is acknowledged as the greatest Alchemyst of his day. It is said that he discovered the secret of eternal life. The records show that he died in 1418. But his tomb is empty and Nicholas Flamel lives. The secret of eternal life is hidden within the book he protects—the Book of Abraham the Mage. It's the most powerful book that has ever existed. In the wrong hands, it will destroy the world. And that's exactly what Dr. John Dee plans to do when he steals it. Humankind won't know what's happening until it's too late. And if the prophecy is right, Sophie and Josh Newman are the only ones with the power to save the world as we know it. Sometimes legends are true. And Sophie and Josh Newman are about to find themselves in the middle of the greatest legend of all time.

The Reluctant Assassin


Eoin Colfer - 2013
    operation (Witness Anonymous Relocation Program). He and young FBI Agent Chevie Savano are forced to flee terrifying assassin-for-hire Albert Garrick, who pursues Riley through time and will not stop until he has hunted him down. Barely staying one step ahead, Riley and Chevie must stay alive and stop Garrick returning to his own time with knowledge and power that could change the world forever.

Lalani of the Distant Sea


Erin Entrada Kelly - 2019
    Sometimes, you have to choose yourself. This is the story of Lalani Sarita, a twelve-year-old girl who lives on the island of Sanlagita in the shadow of a vengeful mountain. When she makes a fateful wish that endangers her already-vulnerable village, she sets out across the distant sea in search of life's good fortunes. Grown men have died making the same journey. What hope does an ordinary girl have?Inspired by Filipino folklore, Lalani of the Distant Sea introduces readers to a landscape of magical creatures, such as Bai-Vinca, the enormous birdwoman; Ditasa Ulod, part woman, part eel; the mindoren, a race of creatures modeled after the water buffalo; and the whenbo -- trees that eat the souls of the dead.

The Otherworldlies


Jennifer Anne Kogler - 2008
    Even so, she's always seemed to be a normal twelve-year-old girl . . . until one day when Fern closes her eyes in class and opens them seconds later on a sandy beach miles away from school. When Fern disappears again, this time to a place far more dangerous, she begins to realize exactly "how" different she is.With the help of her twin brother, Sam, Fern struggles to gain control of her supernatural powers. The arrival of a sinister vampire in town--who seems to have an alarming interest in Fern's powers--causes Fern to question her true identity. Who "is" she? More importantly, who can she count on? Soon Fern finds herself in the middle of a centuries-old battle--one that could destroy Fern and endanger everyone she loves.

The Grandest Bookshop in the World


Amelia Mellor - 2020
    And not just any bookshop. In 1893, Cole’s Book Arcade in Melbourne is the grandest bookshop in the world, brimming with every curiosity imaginable. Each day brings fresh delights for the siblings: voice-changing sweets, talking parrots, a new story written just for them by their eccentric father.When Pearl and Vally learn that Pa has risked the Arcade – and himself – in a shocking deal with the mysterious Obscurosmith, the siblings hatch a plan. Soon they are swept into a dangerous game with impossibly high stakes: defeat seven challenges by the stroke of midnight and both the Arcade and their father will be restored. But if they fail Pearl and Vally won’t just lose Pa – they’ll forget that he and the Arcade ever existed.

The Lost Conspiracy


Frances Hardinge - 2008
    It is here, in the midst of ancient tensions and new calamity, that two sisters are caught in a deadly web of deceits. Arilou is proclaimed a beautiful prophetess one of the island's precious oracles: a Lost. Hathin, her junior, is her nearly invisible attendant. But neither Arilou nor Hathin is exactly what she seems, and they live a lie that is carefully constructed and jealously guarded. When the sisters are unknowingly drawn into a sinister, island-wide conspiracy, quiet, unobtrusive Hathin must journey beyond all she has ever known of her world and of herself in a desperate attempt to save them both. As the stakes mount and falsehoods unravel, she discovers that the only thing more dangerous than the secret she hides is the truth she must uncover.

Burning Glass


Kathryn Purdie - 2016
    After a reckless mistake wipes out all the other girls with similar abilities, Sonya is hauled off to the palace and forced to serve the emperor as his sovereign Auraseer.Tasked with sensing the intentions of would-be assassins, Sonya is under constant pressure to protect the emperor. But Sonya’s power is untamed and reckless, and she can’t always decipher when other people’s impulses end and her own begin. In a palace full of warring emotions and looming darkness, Sonya fears that the biggest danger to the empire may be herself.As she struggles to wrangle her abilities, Sonya seeks refuge in her tenuous alliances with the charming-yet-volatile Emperor Valko and his idealistic younger brother, Anton, the crown prince. But when threats of revolution pit the two brothers against each other, Sonya must choose which brother to trust—and which to betray.

Magic Tree House: #11-12


Mary Pope Osborne - 2004
    But that's only the beginning! Once the riddle is solved, they still have to get past a pride of lions, a humongous herd of rampaging wildebeests, and one very hungry Masai warrior. Polar Bears Past BedtimeThe Magic Tree House transportss Jack and Annie to the freezing Arctic. There, they must solve the final riddle to become master librarians. But it's not going to be easy--especially when they have cracking ice, a seal hunter, and a prodigious polar bear to deal with. Will they be able to solve the riddle before they get iced themselves?

The Accidental Apprentice


Amanda Foody - 2021
    No danger required. But then Barclay accidentally breaks his town’s most sacred rule: never ever EVER stray into the Woods, for within the Woods lurk vicious magical Beasts. To Barclay’s horror, he faces a fate far worse than being eaten: he unwittingly bonds with a Beast and is run out of town by an angry mob. Determined to break this bond and return home, Barclay journeys to find the mysterious town of Lore Keepers, people who have also bonded with Beasts and share their powers.But after making new friends, entering a dangerous apprenticeship exam, and even facing the legendary Beast of the Woods, Barclay must make a difficult choice: return to the home and rules he’s always known, or embrace the adventure awaiting him.

Conjured


Sarah Beth Durst - 2013
    She’s been told that she's in a witness protection program. That she escaped a dangerous magic-wielding serial killer who still hunts her. The only thing she knows for sure is that there is something horrifying in her memories the people hiding her want to access—and there is nothing they won’t say—or do—to her to get her to remember.At night she dreams of a tattered carnival tent and buttons being sewn into her skin. But during the day, she shelves books at the local library, trying to not let anyone know that she can do things—things like change the color of her eyes or walk through walls. When she does use her strange powers, she blacks out and is drawn into terrifying visions, returning to find that days or weeks have passed—and she’s lost all short-term memories. Eve must find out who and what she really is before the killer finds her—but the truth may be more dangerous than anyone could have ever imagined.

Far Far Away


Tom McNeal - 2013
    Jeremy once admitted he's able to hear voices, and the townspeople of Never Better have treated him like an outsider since. After his mother left, his father became a recluse, and it's been up to Jeremy to support the family. But it hasn't been up to Jeremy alone. The truth is, Jeremy can hear voices. Or, specifically, one voice: the voice of the ghost of Jacob Grimm, one half of the infamous writing duo, The Brothers Grimm.Jacob watches over Jeremy, protecting him from an unknown dark evil whispered about in the space between this world and the next. But when the provocative local girl Ginger Boultinghouse takes an interest in Jeremy (and his unique abilities), a grim chain of events is put into motion. And as anyone familiar with the Grimm Brothers know, not all fairy tales have happy endings...

The Black Mage Complete Series Digital Boxed Set


Rachel E. Carter - 2018
    Carter.Magic. Romance. War. Perfect for fans of Throne of Glass, Falling Kingdoms, and Tamora Pierce.FIRST YEAR (book 1)Before the age of seventeen, the young men and women of Jerar are given a choice —pursue a trade or enroll in a trial year in one of the realm’s three war schools to study as a soldier, knight, or mage…For fifteen-year-old Ryiah, the choice has always been easy. Become a mage and train in Combat, the most prestigious faction of magic.Yet when she arrives, Ry finds herself competing against friend and foe for one of the exalted apprenticeships. Everyone is rooting for her to fail—first and foremost among them is Prince Darren, the school prodigy who has done nothing but make life miserable since she arrived.Will Ry survive, or will her dream go down in flames?APPRENTICE (book 2)She survived a trial year at the Academy of Magic, but that was the easy part…Now sixteen-year-old Ryiah is an apprentice of Combat, her school’s most notorious faction. When she finishes, she will be a war mage, but in order to do so, she has to survive four years traveling across Jerar, training with a master she hates, her old nemesis, Priscilla, and Prince Darren, her sometimes-rival sometimes… more?Ry’s new apprenticeship is nothing like what she prepared for. War is on the horizon and her lessons aren’t just for practice anymore.It’s time to fight.CANDIDATE (book 3)Welcome to the Candidacy. Where dreams go to die.Twenty-year-old Ryiah is a black mage of Combat, but she’s not the Black Mage. Yet. She’s had her eyes on the legendary robe for as long as she can remember, and in just one year, she will have a chance at her country’s prestigious—and only—tourney for war mages... Too bad she is going up against a certain prince—the one person she has yet to beat.The Candidacy finally arrives and a winner is robed, but something dark is lurking in her kingdom’s midst. Rival nations are closing in, and it’s time to make an alliance. Unfortunately for Ryiah, that’s only the beginning. The worst enemy resides in the palace.LAST STAND (book 4)He’s the Black Mage and she’s the traitor to the Crown.Ryiah’s world was shattered the night she discovered King Blayne’s nefarious plans. Now, she has to betray the one she loves most in order to save the realm from war. Torn between love and duty, Ry finds herself on a perilous mission to help the rebels and convince the kingdom of Pythus not to honor its pact with the corrupt king of Jerar—all the while deceiving the most powerful mage in the realm, the very man sworn to protect the Crown and hunt the rebels at all costs: her husband.She’s one step ahead, but sooner or later the curtain will fall.Sooner or later, she’ll have to fight.Witness the epic conclusion of The Black Mage series, and see just how far one girl will go to save her kingdom and the boy she loves—even when that boy has become the enemy.

The Master's Chair


Mackenzie Morgan - 2010
    Long ago, magical and non-magical creatures lived together in harmony on both worlds, but as life on Earth evolved in the direction of science and technology, the use of magic deteriorated and soon magical creatures and sorcerers became the subject of myths and legends.Meanwhile magic flourished on Terah, and as sorcerers became more powerful, they became more influential, and soon they were the heads of government. The Council of Sorcerers became the ruling body, with the chairman, the Master Sorcerer, the highest position on Terah, a position that comes with tremendous responsibility and formidable enemies.When Master Sorcerer Badec realizes that his unborn son, Myron, will be his one and only heir, he protects the child by arranging for him to grow up on Earth. Myron is scheduled to be returned to Terah on his twenty-fifth birthday, at which time he’ll learn who he is and begin to study magic as well as everything else he’ll need to know in order to assume his role as Terah's next Master Sorcerer.For twenty-three years, things go as planned, and Myron goes about his life as Kevin, a typical nerd, who is more comfortable with computers than with people. Then Badec becomes quite ill and the decision is made to bring his son home early. One morning Kevin is an accountant living and working in Omaha, and the next he is in the middle of a field with six complete strangers, surrounded by huge stones and a forest. Before the day is out, Kevin learns that he is actually a sorcerer named Myron and that he’s next in line for the Master’s Chair. While he’s still reeling from that bit of information, he finds out that due to his father’s illness, he has a little less than one year to learn enough about sorcery to be able to defend his life and chair against sorcerers who have been practicing their craft longer than he’s been alive.Welcome to Terah.

Silver Hollow Cozy Mysteries Box Set, #1-3


Leighann Dobbs - 2019
    Welcome to the small town of Silver Hollow with its bewitching magic and twisty mysteries.  Follow the Quinn cousins, Issy, Gray, Ember and Raine and their quirky familiars as they become embroiled in one paranormal mystery after another.  If you like enchanting witches, snarky familiars and hard-to-solve mysteries in a quaint small town setting, then this box-set is a must read.  This set includes the first 3 books in the series: Book 1: A Spell of Trouble Book 2: Spell Disaster Book 3: Nothing to Croak About

Better You Than Me


Jessica Brody - 2018
    Skylar Welshman is a seventh grader who wants to be cool--and she's Ruby's biggest fan. When Skylar and Ruby meet on the set of Ruby's hit show, Ruby of the Lamp, and wish they could switch places . . . it happens!Now Ruby is living Skylar's life--going to a normal school, eating fro-yo, sleeping in, texting boys . . . it's amazing. And being Ruby is even better than Skylar imagined--her fancy closet is huge, everyone wants to be her friend, and she gets to spend every day with Ryder Vance, her dreamy costar. Life is a blast!But when Ruby finds herself dealing with mean girls and Skylar discovers that being a celebrity isn't all red-carpet glamour, the girls start to wonder if being yourself isn't so bad after all. Can they swap bodies again? Or are they stuck being each other forever?