Years pass and the child’s unusual talents are revealed, the gentle art of candlemaking slowly transforming into something far more sinister.Lingering in the shadows, enemies watch and wait - a vengeful aristocrat, an exotic queen and the lethal creatures known only as the Morte Whisperers.They hunger after the child’s ancient magic and will do anything to control it - betray, lie, manipulate. Even murder.A story of intrigue, deadly magic and a love so deep it transcends life itself.

    The weather is turning against them. Magical disasters occur when they're around. And a mysterious explosion has just destroyed their house...from the inside.Without knowing why, the twins are stolen away to live with Grandma X -- a relative they've never, ever met. At Grandma X's house, things are even stranger. Weather vanes point in the opposite direction of the wind. Doors appear and disappear. Cats talk.Jaide and Jack don't know the reason behind all this strangeness. They don't know that they're troubletwisters, and that they must defend the world against a dark, evil force. The time has come for them to discover the truth--and the powers that come with the truth.Are they ready?

    Highly recommended.”—Australian Bookseller & Publisher   Outsiders and misfits in their Australian school, three friends form a mutual bond: Justin Cheong, an only child and the idol of his Singaporean-Chinese parents; Tien Ho—daughter of a Vietnamese mother who stayed behind and an African American soldier she has never met—who lives with indifferent relatives; and Nigel “Gibbo” Gibson, an oddity: an Australian boy who, to his father’s chagrin, dislikes sports.   When Tien Ho’s mother arrives, the adjustment for mother and daughter is extreme. Gibbo is strongly attracted to beautiful, dainty Linh, to whom he is a kid, her daughter’s pal. And Justin discovers that he likes Gibbo as something more than a friend.   The three draw apart as they grow up, only to be reunited once more on Saturday, September 6, 1997, for the dinner Mrs. Cheong hosts for them and their parents, to watch the funeral of Princess Diana on television. This Dead Diana Dinner turns out to be a more explosive event than any of them would have dreamed possible.

    After the local homecoming queen shows up at her family's struggling drugstore with a beauty disaster that Lucy helps to fix, Lucy has a long line of makeover customers for every school dance and bat mitzvah. But all the makeup tips in the world won't help save the pharmacy. If only she could find a way to make the pharmacy the center of town again, a place where people want to spend time, like in the old days. Lucy dreams up a solution that could resuscitate the family business and help the environment, too. But will Lucy's family stop fighting long enough to listen to a seventh-grader?This book is a funny and sweet debut featuring an unforgettable narrator who knows what she wants, whether it's great makeup, a killer business plan, or a better world.

    Toad, Badger, and Ratty--have enchanted children of all ages. Whether the four friends are setting forth on an exciting adventure, engaging in a comic caper, or simply relaxing by the River Thames, their stories are among the most charming in all English literature.