"Durst consistently defies expectations."—Publishers Weekly (starred review)From award-winning author Sarah Beth Durst, a standalone epic fantasy set in a brand-new world of towering mountains and sparkling cities, in which a band of aging warriors have a second chance to defeat dark magic and avenge a haunting loss.Twenty-five years ago, five heroes risked their lives to defeat the bone maker Eklor—a corrupt magician who created an inhuman army using animal bones. But victory came at a tragic price. Only four of the heroes survived. Since then, Kreya, the group's leader, has exiled herself to a remote tower and devoted herself to one purpose: resurrecting her dead husband. But such a task requires both a cache of human bones and a sacrifice—for each day he lives, she will live one less.She'd rather live one year with her husband than a hundred without him, but using human bones for magic is...

A half-magic girl learns about heroism and taking action when she and her sister confront a wizard who endangers others for her own gain.

Two modern-day kids discover the truth about an American Revolutionary War–era female spy through a treasure-hunt adventure in their hometown of Setauket, New York.With codewords and secret signals perfected, best friends Rachel and Joon are ready to spend their summer practicing spycraft—especially if they can uncover secrets like the one Joon's parents have been keeping, that his family is about to move out of town.When eavesdropping leads them to a ring rumored to have belonged to Anna "Nancy" Smith Strong—according to local Long Island legend, the only female member of George Washington's famed Culper Spy Ring—they think they've hit the jackpot. Then they discover Nancy left a coded message in the ring!Decoding her message leads to another cryptic clue, and then another, and soon Rachel and Joon are racing to decipher a series of puzzles that must surely lead to hidden treasure! But can they solve the final...

Yellowjackets meets One of Us Is Lying in this masterful survival thriller from award-winning author Sarah Beth Durst.Claire's grown up triple-checking locks. Counting her steps. Second-guessing every decision. It's just how she's wired—her worst-case scenarios never actually come true.Until she arrives at an off-the-grid summer camp to find a blackened, burned husk instead of a lodge—and no survivors, except her and two other late arrivals: Reyva and Mariana.When the three girls find a dead body in the woods, they realize none of this is an accident. Someone, something, is hunting them. Something that hides in the shadows. Something that refuses to let them leave.

Fans of Cassandra Clare and Julie Kagawa will devour this contemporary fantasy about a teen were-dragon who must steal her first treasure. But a dark discovery during her heist could put her family in incredible danger.In Sky Hawkins's family, leading your first heist is a major milestone—even more so than learning to talk, walk, or do long division. It's a chance to gain power and acceptance within your family, and within society. But stealing your first treasure can be complicated, especially when you're a wyvern—a human capable of turning into a dragon.Embarking on a life of crime is never easy, and Sky discovers secrets about her mother, who recently went missing, the real reason her boyfriend broke up with her, and a valuable jewel that could restore her family's wealth and rank in their community.With a handpicked crew by her side, Sky knows she has everything she needs to complete her first heist, and get her boyfriend and mother back...

Zoe must figure out how to keep a giant kitten safe in this magical adventure about change, expectation, and accepting all for who they truly are—regardless of shape or size.

In this epic standalone fantasy, the acclaimed author of the Queens of Renthia series introduces an imaginative new world in which a pair of strong and determined women risk their lives battling injustice, corruption, and deadly enemies in their quest to become monster racing champions. Life, death, and rebirth—in Becar, who you are in this life will determine your next life. Yet there is hope—you can change your destiny with the choices you make. But for the darkest individuals, there is no redemption: you come back as a kehok, a monster, and are doomed to be a kehok for the rest of time.Unless you can win the Races. After a celebrated career as an elite kehok rider, Tamra became a professional trainer. Then a tragic accident shattered her confidence, damaged her reputation, and left her nearly broke. Now, she needs the prize money to prevent the local temple from...

Set in the magical world of Renthia, The Queen of Blood is Sarah Beth Durst's ambitious entry into adult epic fantasy. With the danger of Peter Brett's The Warded Man, heart of Naomi Novik's Uprooted, and lyricism of Patrick Rothfuss' The Name of the Wind, this is the first chapter in a series destined to be a classic.Everything has a spirit: the willow tree with leaves that kiss the pond, the stream that feeds the river, the wind that exhales fresh snow . . .But the spirits that reside within this land want to rid it of all humans. One woman stands between these malevolent spirits and the end of humankind: the queen. She alone has the magical power to prevent the spirits from destroying every man, woman, and child. But queens are still just human, and no matter how strong or good, the threat of danger always looms. With the position so precarious, young women are chosen to train as heirs. Daleina, a seemingly quiet academy student, is...

Eve has a new home, a new face, and a new name—but no memories of her past. 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.

Sixteen-year-old Kayla was born with the ability to move things with her mind—things like credit cards and buttons on cash registers—and she has become a master shoplifter. She steals to build up enough money for her and her mom to be able to flee if her dad finds them again...which would mean grave danger for them both.When she's caught stealing by a boy named Daniel—a boy with the ability to teleport—he needs her help and is willing to blackmail her to get it. Together, they embark on a quest to find and steal an ancient incantation, written on three indestructible stones and hidden millennia ago, all to rescue Daniel's kidnapped mother. But Kayla has no idea that this rescue mission will lead back to her own family—and to betrayals that she may not be able to forgive...or survive.

A group of magical misfit animals learns to appreciate their seemingly useless powers—and themselves—when they work together to thwart a villain's attempt to steal their magic.Holly, a grey squirrel, and her animal friends have accepted that they will never be wizards' familiars. Though they are each magical, their powers are so offbeat—Holly herself can conjure pastries (and only pastries)—that no professional magic-worker would choose any of them as a companion for noble quests. So instead of going on adventures, they languish at the Shelter for Rejected Familiars, where they are known as "shelterlings."When an old friend appears with a plan for curing the shelterlings' defective magic, everyone is on board to help him locate and retrieve the ingredients for a powerful spell. But when they learn that his offer is not what it seems, Holly and the shelterlings must fight to defend their magic, discovering in the process...

A teen vampire is stabbed through the heart by a were-unicorn - and develops a conscience. Life sucks!Pearl is a sixteen-year-old vampire...fond of blood, allergic to sunlight, and mostly evil. That is until one night she encounters a unicorn and he stabs her through the heart with his horn. Oops. Her family doesn't believe her (because obviously unicorns don't exist), but when Pearl reveals she can now withstand the sun, they are thrilled. She can be enrolled in high school, make friends and then lure these tasty snacks to her family!But Pearl's change is deeper than her family realise. She has started to experience a number of alarming symptoms including feeling sympathy for her meals - the humans. While struggling with balancing high school, her family and her new conscience, Pearl learns that the Vampire King has a seriously evil plot in store for the local humans - and that her good-looking new friend Evan is the were-unicorn that stabbed her through the heart. Pearl...

From School Library JournalGr 8 Up–Applying to one's dream school is a stressful process, especially if the school is Princeton, as it is for 16-year-old Lily Carter. But Lily's grandfather, an alumnus, has arranged a possible in for her: the Legacy Test. If she can pass the test by finding the Ivy Key, the exclusive Vineyard Club will guarantee her admission. The test turns out to be a means of introducing Lily to the “other” Princeton; a twin university in a parallel world inhabited by magical creatures. Tensions between the two worlds are strained, and the revelation of the Key soon brings the conflict to a head and forces Lily to confront some startling discoveries about herself, her mentally unbalanced mother, and the father who died when she was just a baby. While the story and the depiction of the magical world are fairly basic, Durst clearly enjoys spinning her supernatural ideas out of the architecture and lore of Princeton. Lily deals with the peculiarity of her situation in a believable manner, and her two potential love interests–a loner boy with orange-and-black hair and the handsome grandson of the Vineyard Club president–are charming. Fans of Lesley Livingston's “Wondrous Strange” series (HarperCollins) may find this similar melding of the mundane and the magical appealing.–Christi Esterle, Parker Library, CO. (c) Copyright 2010. Library Journals LLC, a wholly owned subsidiary of Media Source, Inc. No redistribution permitted. FromPrinceton University—prestigious, elite, and the gateway between parallel worlds. This is the stunning discovery that high-school junior Lily makes when she visits the university on the occasion of her grandfather’s fiftieth class reunion. Lily is desperate to attend Princeton, and when she is given the opportunity to take the über-exclusive Legacy Test for automatic acceptance, she thinks her dreams are about to come true. But taking the test is only part of the story, and once Lily passes, the book really kicks into gear with a monumental battle between good and evil that uncovers secret after secret not just about the university but also about Lily’s family and her unique place between the worlds of humans and monsters. While Lily is a bit slow to accept the evidence, she is a quick-thinking heroine who holds her own against not only monsters but also rival love interests who are at the ready to save her should she fall into distress. Despite the collegiate setting and high-school-age heroine, this will easily appeal to strong middle-school fantasy readers. Grades 7-12. --Kara Dean

The traditional Emperor's Journey is meant to be uneventful. But as the princesses Seika and Ji-Lin—twin sisters—travel to pay respects to their kingdom's dragon guardian, unexpected monsters appear and tremors shake the earth. The Hidden Islands face unprecedented threats, and the old rituals are failing. With only their strength, ingenuity, and flying lion to rely on, can the sisters find a new way to keep their people safe?