The Sword of Summer


Rick Riordan - 2015
    Ever since that terrible night two years ago when his mother told him to run, he has lived alone on the streets of Boston, surviving by his wits, staying one step ahead of the police and the truant officers.One day, Magnus learns that someone else is trying to track him down—his uncle Randolph, a man his mother had always warned him about. When Magnus tries to outmaneuver his uncle, he falls right into his clutches. Randolph starts rambling about Norse history and Magnus's birthright: a weapon that has been lost for thousands of years.The more Randolph talks, the more puzzle pieces fall into place. Stories about the gods of Asgard, wolves, and Doomsday bubble up from Magnus's memory. But he doesn't have time to consider it all before a fire giant attacks the city, forcing him to choose between his own safety and the lives of hundreds of innocents. . . .Sometimes, the only way to start a new life is to die.

A Year Without Autumn


Liz Kessler - 2011
    Now she discovers that in the year that's gone by, tragedy has struck and her friendship with Autumn will never be the same again. But what caused the tragedy?

The Magician's Nephew


C.S. Lewis - 1955
    Their lives burst into adventure when Digory's Uncle Andrew, who thinks he is a magician, sends them hurtling to...somewhere else. They find their way to Narnia, newborn from the Lion's song, and encounter the evil sorceress Jadis before they finally return home.

The Mennyms


Sylvia Waugh - 1993
    Their forty year long secret threatens to be exposed when a distant relative of their landlord visits from Australia. "Good old-fashioned fantasy at its finest."-Publishers Weekly

Rhyme Stew


Roald Dahl - 1989
    The perfect treat for Dahl fans tall and small. ‘There is no end to the Dahl invention, and this will join all the other cherished favourites. Quentin Blake is his perfect illustrator’ Books.

The House at Pooh Corner and Now We Are Six


A.A. Milne - 1997
    

The Magic Summer


Noel Streatfeild - 1966
    An adventurous summer with four children visiting their eccentric great aunt in the Irish countryside.

Minor Mage


T. Kingfisher - 2019
    His familiar reminded him of this several times a day.He only knew three spells, and one of them was to control his allergy to armadillo dander. His attempts to summon elementals resulted in nosebleeds, and there is nothing more embarrassing than having your elemental leave the circle to get you a tissue, pat you comfortingly, and then disappear in a puff of magic. The armadillo had about wet himself laughing.He was a very minor mage.Unfortunately, he was all they had.

Thin Air


Storm Constantine - 1999
    Author Storm Constantine was intrigued by this story and found herself thinking ‘What if...?’ Thin Air is the novel that sprang from her ideas. While the characters in this book are not based upon any existing people, alive, dead or missing, the mystery was enough to inspire a story.Dex is the front man of a successful band, and appears to have the perfect rock star life with his journalist partner, Jay. But Jay’s existence is shattered by Dex’s sudden disappearance. The mystery is never solved, and Dex is never found: alive or dead. Some years later, after Jay has got her life back together, strange events begin to unfold that suggest that Dex is still around. While it gradually becomes clear to Jay that there is more to the mystery than even she thought possible, malign forces begin to close in on her with the apparent intent of keeping the truth behind Dex’s disappearance forever hidden.Jay can only follow the clues where they lead her, and that is into territory beyond normal human perception. In the bizarre town of Lestholme, she comes upon a community of the lost, people whose lives have been ruined by media attention, and it is in this surreal place that Jay must penetrate to the heart of the mystery, and discover what really happened to the man she loves, who vanished into thin air.Capturing the ambience of the music scene of the 90s, Thin Air is one of Storm’s best-loved novels.

The Sword of the Spirits Trilogy


John Christopher - 1972
    

The Magic Thief


Sarah Prineas - 2008
    Conn should have dropped dead the day he picked Nevery's pocket and touched the wizard's locus magicalicus, a stone used to focus magic and work spells. But for some reason he did not. Nevery finds that interesting, and he takes Conn as his apprentice on the provision that the boy find a locus stone of his own. But Conn has little time to search for his stone between wizard lessons and helping Nevery discover who or what is stealing the city of Wellmet's magic.

The Chocolate Run: AND The Cupid Effect


Dorothy Koomson - 2010
    Going back to college might not be everyone's dream but all Ceri has ever wanted to do is teach. Though her professional life is sorted, Ceri's personal life is still a no-go area. In fact her pent-up energies and frustrations seem to have been diverted into solving other people's romantic problems. Is Ceri destined to always play Cupid? Or can she use some of her powers where they're needed most - to help herself? THE CHOCOLATE RUN: Amber Salpone doesn't mean to keep ending up in bed with her friend Greg Walterson, but she can't help herself. And every time it 'just happens' their secret affair moves closer to being a real relationship, which is a big problem when he's a womaniser and she's a commitment-phobe. Slowly but surely, Amber has to confront the fact that chocolate can't cure everything and sometimes running away isn't an option ...

Del-Del


Victor Kelleher - 1991
    And their young son, Sam, for all his brilliance, gives every sign of being a normal little boy. Then, quite suddenly, exactly a year after the death of the middle child, Laura, Sam starts to act peculiarly. His strange behaviour, treated at first as a 'he'll get over it' syndrome, soon takes a demonic twist which can no longer be ignored, or indeed explained. For it seems that Sam is somehow possessed by a terrifying and evil presence he calls Del-Del, and Del-Del's influence is malign to a frightening degree. Sam tries to wrestle with Del-Del in his own way, and sometimes there are periods of normality which suggest that Del-Del has finally been defeated. But Del-Del is cunning, and knows exactly how and when to strike again. Under the intolerable stress of Sam's increasingly dangerous and anarchic behaviour, the fabric of the family begins to come apart and only Sam's sister Beth has the tenacity to go on probing for the cause, to piece together every clue which could destroy Del-Del forever. Inevitably a confrontation must come, and the climax to this tense psychological thriller leads to a conclusion of quite brilliant unpredictability and excitement.Del-Del, with its thoroughly contemporary setting and characters, is a novel so startling and original that it will no doubt win for Victor Kelleher readers of any age who respond to story-telling which grips like a vice.

The Blue Sword


Robin McKinley - 1982
    This is the story of Corlath, golden-eyed king of the Free Hillfolk, son of the sons of the Lady Aerin.And this is the story of Harry Crewe, the Homelander orphan girl who became Harimad-sol, King's Rider, and heir to the Blue Sword, Gonturan, that no woman had wielded since the Lady Aerin herself bore it into battle.And this is the song of the kelar of the Hillfolk, the magic of the blood, the weaver of destinies...

The Merchant of Death


D.J. MacHale - 2002
    He has a family, a home, and even Marley, his beloved dog. But there is something very special about Bobby.He is going to save the world.And not just Earth as we know it. Bobby is slowly starting to realize that life in the cosmos isn't quite what he thought it was. And before he can object, he is swept off to an alternate dimension known as Denduron, a territory inhabited by strange beings, ruled by a magical tyrant, and plagued by dangerous revolution.If Bobby wants to see his family again, he's going to have to accept his role as savior, and accept it wholeheartedly. Because, as he is about to discover, Denduron is only the beginning....Cover illustration by Victor Lee