Book picks similar to
Asterion's Curse (Clockbreakers, #1) by Kate Ristau
middle-grade
steampunk
fantasy
not-at-the-library
A Tale of Magic...
Chris Colfer - 2019
Her only escape are books, but since it's illegal for women to read in her country, she has to find creative ways of acquiring them. Working as a maid at her local library gives her the perfect excuse to be near them and allows her to sneak a few titles home when no one is looking. But one day Brystal uncovers a secret section of the library and finds a book about magic that changes her life forever. Magic is despised and outlawed throughout the world--Brystal is well aware of the severe consequences the book may bring--but her curiosity gets the best of her. By reading some of the text aloud, strange phenomena begin to occur and Brystal discovers she is capable of magic! And the more she practices it, the harder it becomes to hide. After being caught and convicted, Brystal is saved by a mysterious woman named Madame Weatherberry. The woman takes Brystal to her Academy of Magic and teaches her to become a fairy. While Brystal studies magic and befriends the other students, Madame Weatherberry is suddenly called away on suspicious matters. When she doesn't return, Brystal and her friends work together to find and save their instructor. Along the way, the students discover Madame Weatherberry's true intentions for the academy are not what they seem, and they come face to face with a sinister plot that puts the fate of the world, and the fate of magic itself, in grave danger...
The Colossus Rises
Peter Lerangis - 2013
In a few months, he’s going to die.One MissionJack needs to find seven magic loculi that, when combined, have the power to cure him.One ProblemThe loculi are the relics of a lost civilization and haven’t been seen in thousands of years.Seven WondersBecause they’re hidden in the Seven Wonders of the Ancient World.
Eldritch Manor
Kim Thompson - 2012
Only when Willa is hired on as housekeeper does she discover the truth, which is far more fascinating. Eldritch Manor is a retirement home for some very strange beings indeed. All have stories to tell — and petty grievances with one another and the world at large. Storm clouds are on the horizon, however, and when Miss Trang departs on urgent business, Willa is left to babysit the cantankerous bunch. Can she keep the oldsters in line, stitch up unravelling time, and repel an all-out attack from the forces of darkness … all while keeping the nosy neighbours out of their business and uncovering a startling secret about her own past?
The Strangers
Margaret Peterson Haddix - 2019
Chess has always been the protector over his younger siblings, Emma loves math, and Finn does what Finn does best—acting silly and being adored. They’ve been a happy family, just the three of them and their mom.But everything changes when reports of three kidnapped children reach the Greystone kids, and they’re shocked by the startling similarities between themselves and these complete strangers. The other kids share their same first and middle names. They’re the same ages. They even have identical birthdays. Who, exactly, are these strangers?Before Chess, Emma, and Finn can question their mom about it, she takes off on a sudden work trip and leaves them in the care of Ms. Morales and her daughter, Natalie. But puzzling clues left behind lead to complex codes, hidden rooms, and a dangerous secret that will turn their world upside down.
Golden Blood
Melissa Pearl - 2011
Her toes start tingling and she has a few minutes to find a secret haven where she can disintegrate and appear in another time and place. While “across the line,” her training and skills are put to the test as she completes a mission that will change history for the lucky few her father has selected. Gemma's parents are adamant that secrecy is paramount to her family’s safety. If people knew what they were capable of, they could be "used and abused", as her mother always says. Afraid she might accidentally utter the truth and break the ancient oath of her people, Gemma spends her school days as a loner. Only one thing can throw her sheltered life askew... Harrison Granger.Harrison never expected to talk to the strange Hart girl, but after a brief encounter he can't stop thinking about her. He begins a campaign to chisel away her icy veneer and is met with unexpected consequences. As he slowly wins this girl over, he enters a surreal world that has him fighting to keep his newfound love and his life.
His Dark Materials
Philip Pullman - 2000
They will meet witches and armored bears, fallen angels and soul-eating specters. And in the end, the fate of both the living—and the dead—will rely on them.Phillip Pullman’s spellbinding His Dark Materials trilogy has captivated readers for over twenty years and won acclaim at every turn. It will have you questioning everything you know about your world and wondering what really lies just out of reach.
Cece Rios and the Desert of Souls
Kaela Rivera - 2021
But Cecelia Rios has always believed there was more to the criaturas, much to her family’s disapproval. After all, only brujas—humans who capture and control criaturas—consort with the spirits, and brujeria is a terrible crime.When her older sister, Juana, is kidnapped by El Sombrerón, a powerful dark criatura, Cece is determined to bring Juana back. To get into Devil’s Alley, though, she’ll have to become a bruja herself—while hiding her quest from her parents, her town, and the other brujas. Thankfully, the legendary criatura Coyote has a soft spot for humans and agrees to help her on her journey.With him at her side, Cece sets out to reunite her family—and maybe even change what it means to be a bruja along the way.
Drowning Mermaids
Nadia Scrieva - 2012
Doing all she can to keep her younger sisters safe, Aazuria tries to assimilate and work among the Americans. She tries to hold her head up high even in the lowest of places, until she meets a somber man in a dark corner with eyes that remind her of home. Trevain Murphy is a successful crab fisherman who has spent his life building an empire on the sea. When a graceful dancer captures his attention, he becomes fascinated with her old-fashioned speech and unique mannerisms. Learning that her father has recently died, he cannot resist extending his kindness in offering to guide and protect her. As it becomes clear that the dark-haired woman is much more than she seems, Trevain is unprepared to uncover the staggering secrets behind her innocent facade. Neither the captain nor the princess can imagine that their lives will become forcibly entwined as a common enemy threatens both of their worlds...
Maya and the Rising Dark
Rena Barron - 2020
Twelve-year-old Maya is the only one in her South Side Chicago neighborhood who witnesses weird occurrences like werehyenas stalking the streets at night and a scary man made of shadows plaguing her dreams. Her friends try to find an explanation—perhaps a ghost uprising or a lunchroom experiment gone awry. But to Maya, it sounds like something from one of Papa’s stories or her favorite comics.When Papa goes missing, Maya is thrust into a world both strange and familiar as she uncovers the truth. Her father is the guardian of the veil between our world and the Dark—where an army led by the Lord of Shadows, the man from Maya’s nightmares, awaits. Maya herself is a godling, half orisha and half human, and her neighborhood is a safe haven. But now that the veil is failing, the Lord of Shadows is determined to destroy the human world and it’s up to Maya to stop him. She just hopes she can do it in time to attend Comic-Con before summer’s over.
The Jumbies
Tracey Baptiste - 2015
Not scorpions, not the boys who tease her, and certainly not jumbies. They're just tricksters parents make up to frighten their children. Then one night Corinne chases an agouti all the way into the forbidden forest. Those shining yellow eyes that followed her to the edge of the trees, they couldn't belong to a jumbie. Or could they?When Corinne spots a beautiful stranger speaking to the town witch at the market the next day, she knows something unexpected is about to happen. And when this same beauty, called Severine, turns up at Corinne's house, cooking dinner for Corinne's father, Corinne is sure that danger is in the air. She soon finds out that bewitching her father, Pierre, is only the first step in Severine's plan to claim the entire island for the jumbies. Corinne must call on her courage and her friends and learn to use ancient magic she didn't know she possessed to stop Severine and save her island home.With its able and gutsy heroine, lyrical narration, and inventive twist on the classic Haitian folktale "The Magic Orange Tree," The Jumbies will be a favorite of fans of Breadcrumbs, A Tale Dark and Grimm, and Where the Mountain Meets the Moon.
Linear Shift
Paul B. Kohler - 2015
Peter Cooper, a widowed father of two whose life is crumbling around him—until a bizarre encounter with a desperate Army general launches him on a risky mission: to go back to 1942 and change a moment in time. The repercussions will almost certainly alter the conclusion of World War II. But will the ripple effects stop there? And what kind of life will Peter return to? Unknown Consequences: A successful mission may not have the success he had intended.
Echo in Time
Lindsey Sparks (Fairleigh) - 2013
The revelation sparks a change within Lex, and her dreams become far too real. She sees things she shouldn’t be able to see…knows things she couldn’t possibly know. Terrifying things. Deadly things.To distract her from the surreal changes taking over her life, Lex leaps at the chance to join an Egyptian excavation run by Oxford’s enigmatic Professor Marcus Bahur. But the distraction might be more than she bargained for. While deciphering the secrets of a mysterious stone tablet, Lex falls headlong into a prophecy created by a dying god over four millennia ago. She must rely on her frightening new psychic powers to dig up the truth. And it doesn’t take long for her visions to convince her that both Professor Bahur and his excavation are much more than they seem…The past clashes with the present in this paranormal tale of ancient prophecies and warring gods. If you like Egyptian mythology, steamy romance, and headstrong characters who won’t give up until they discover the truth, then you’ll love the first installment in author Lindsey Fairleigh’s sprawling time travel adventure.
Swept Away
Kamery Solomon - 2015
For more than 200 years, the Treasure Pit on Oak Isle has baffled treasure hunters, engineers, and the common man alike. When Samantha Greene arrives, she finds her estranged father has spent years funneling energy and finances into the endeavor, finding nothing. When an accidental death occurs in the pit, fulfilling the prophecy that seven lives must end before the treasure can be found, the search kicks into high gear, with more than one party vying for the secrets that lie below. Finding herself the closest to the treasure anyone has ever been, Samantha throws herself into the work, landing among the coveted prize. Just as she's about to discover what's truly hidden beneath the island, the pit begins to flood with ocean water, sweeping her away despite her attempts to swim to the surface. Upon awaking, Samantha discovers that, not only did she not drown, but the year is 1695—one hundred years before the Treasure Pit was even discovered. Carried off by the pirate Tristan O'Rourke, a rouge Irishman with more than his share of secrets, she soon finds that there is much more than she realized in play. Will she discover the secrets of Oak Isle, or will an unexpected love keep her from finding out the truth? Will she ever make it back to her own time? Perhaps the real question is this; will she want to?
The Golden Acorn
Catherine Cooper - 2009
Just an ordinary boy, Jack has been chosen for a hugely important task, and enters a world he believed only existed in legend. Full of twists and turns and featuring characters such as talking ravens and mischievous Spriggans, The Golden Acorn is a hugely entertaining and exciting tale from a very talented new author.
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.