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Twelve-year-old Sunny Nwazue, an American-born child with albinism of Nigerian parents, moves with her family back to Nigeria, where she learns that she has latent magical powers which she and three similarly gifted friends use to catch a serial killer.

Launched into the world of Hindu gods, Aru faces the Sleeper demon from the Lamp of Bharata—in her Spider-Man pajamas.

Life in real-world Atlanta isn’t always so simple, as Alice juggles an overprotective mom, a high-maintenance best friend, and a slipping GPA. Keeping the Nightmares at bay is turning into a full-time job. But when Alice’s handsome and mysterious mentor is poisoned, she has to find the antidote by venturing deeper into Wonderland than she’s ever gone before. And she’ll need to use everything she’s learned in both worlds to keep from losing her head…literally. Debut author L.L. McKinney delivers an action-packed twist on Alice in Wonderland, full of romance and otherworldly intrigue.

While ruthlessly pursued by Prince Inan, Zélie, her older brother Tzain, and rogue Princess Amari, fight to restore magic to the land and activate a new generation of magi.

It’s 200 years after Cinderella found her prince, but the fairy tale is over. Teen girls are now required to appear at the Annual Ball, where the men of the kingdom select wives based on a girl’s display of finery. If a suitable match is not found, the girls not chosen are never heard from again. Sixteen-year-old Sophia would much rather marry Erin, her childhood best friend, than parade in front of suitors. At the ball, Sophia makes the desperate decision to flee, and finds herself hiding in Cinderella’s mausoleum. There, she meets Constance, the last known descendant of Cinderella and her step sisters. Together they vow to bring down the king once and for all — and in the process, they learn that there’s more to Cinderella’s story than they ever knew. This fresh take on a classic story will make readers question the tales they’ve been told, and root for girls to break down the constructs of the world around them. 2020 Books Are My Bag Readers Award.

An ancient talisman resurfaces to once again create misery until a true heart destroys it forever. The husband and wife team rework this early 20th century fantasy making it accessible to contemporary audiences. Lush illustrations and rich language make this a fine family read aloud.

Gretchen Yee, 16, feels painfully ordinary in a school where everyone is an overachiever. She longs to understand what others think of her, and her wish to be a fly on the wall of the boys locker room comes true. She spends a week there observing her classmates, learning and seeing more than she ever expected. With this knowledge, Gretchen gains confidence, which ultimately allows her to be a better person. Although containing some strong language and mature situations, this novel is a good choice for teens who are unsure of their place in the world, including reluctant readers. 

Why has Rin become uneasy in her forest home and distrustful of her neighbors? And will a journey deeper into the Forest, toward the enemy, offer any solace? This fantasy tale is a companion to other Books of Bayern titles listed here.

The stars say eghteen-year-old Xifeng is destined for greatness, but only if she embraces the darkness within her. In order to achieve greatness, she must spurn the young man who loves her and exploit the callous magic that runs through her veins — sorcery fueled by eating the hearts of the recently killed. For the god who has sent her on this journey will not be satisfied until his power is absolute. Set in an East Asian-inspired fantasy world filled with both breathtaking pain and beauty, Forest of a Thousand Lanterns possesses all the hallmarks of masterful fantasy: dazzling magic, heartbreaking romance, and a world that hangs in the balance. First book in the “Rise of the Empress” series. New York Public Library’s 2017 Best Books For Teens.

In the first book of The Missing series, 13-year-olds friends Jonah and Chip land in the middle of mystery involving the FBI, smugglers, and people who vanish at will. Opposing forces are struggling over Jonah and Chip’s lives and they may not have any choice in the matter.

To avoid spending time with his father and his new girlfriend, eleven-year-old Nathan goes to stay with his grandma, Nali, on the Navajo reservation where Nathan meets a Holy Being from the Navajo Creation Story—a Water Monster in need of his help.

When he was 10 years old, Victor wanted to be just like master magician Harry Houdini. For years Victor did not realize what magic he held in his hands with a box initialed “E.W.” What happened years later when Victor discovered that Houdini’s given name was Ehrick Weiss creates a plausible and captivating glimpse at a major historical figure.

“The hour has come to speak of troubled times. It is time we spoke of Skullyville.” Thus begins Rose Goode’s story of her growing up in Indian Territory in pre-statehood Oklahoma. It’s a world where backwoods spiritualism and Bible-thumping Christianity mix with bad guys; a one-legged woman shop-keeper, her oaf of a husband, herbal potions, and shape-shifting panthers rendering justice. Tim Tingle — a scholar of his nation’s language, culture, and spirituality — tells Rose’s story of good and evil with understanding and even laugh-out-loud Choctaw humor.

Balancing epic and intensely personal stakes, this story is a gritty, fast-paced adventure about two brothers caught up in a magical war generations in the making. Growing up in New York, brothers Emil and Brighton always idolized the Spell Walkers — a vigilante group sworn to rid the world of specters. While the Spell Walkers and other celestials are born with powers, specters take them, violently stealing the essence of endangered magical creatures. Brighton wishes he had a power so he could join the fray. Emil just wants the fighting to stop. Brotherhood, love, and loyalty will be put to the test, and no one will escape the fight unscathed.

In this companion book to Palace of Mirrors, 15-year-old Ella finds that accepting Prince Charming’s proposal ensnares her in a suffocating tangle of palace rules and royal etiquette, so she plots to escape.

GAME. SET. MAGIC. 

Game: Tennis means life and death for the residents of the magical kingdom of Nova, and for twelve-year-old Legacy, it’s the only thing getting her through the long days taking care of the other kids at the orphanage. That’s all about to change when she hears about Silla’s tournament.

Set: Silla, the ruler of Nova, hosts an annual tournament for the less fortunate of her citizens to come and prove themselves and win entrance to the Academy, where they can train to compete at nationals. The prize is Silla’s favor and enough cash to keep open the orphanage, and Legacy has her heart set on both.

Magic: What Legacy has yet to know is that the other players have something besides better skills and more money than she does. In Nova, tennis can unlock magic. Magic that Silla used to save the kingdom long ago and magic that her competitors have been training in for months already. Now, with the world turned against her and the orphanage at stake, Legacy has to learn to use her passion for the game to rise above those around her and shine. 

After her mother dies in an accident, sixteen-year-old Bree Matthews wants nothing to do with her family memories or childhood home. A residential program for bright high schoolers at UNC-Chapel Hill seems like the perfect escape — until Bree witnesses a magical attack her very first night on campus. The incidient reveals Bree’s own unique magic and a buried memory. Now that Bree knows there’s more to her mother’s death than what’s on the police report, she’ll do whatever it takes to find out the truth, even if that means infiltrating the Legendborn as one of their initiates. She recruits Nick, a self-exiled Legendborn with his own grudge against the group, and their reluctant partnership pulls them deeper into the society’s secrets — and closer to each other. But when the Legendborn reveal themselves as the descendants of King Arthur’s knights and explain that a magical war is coming, Bree has to decide how far she’ll go for the truth and whether she should use her magic to take the society down — or join the fight.

Today is the first day of Sage’s magical internship! Her fellow wizards-in-training get to study pyromancy and transfiguration, but Sage has been assigned an internship in…baking? She doesn’t think that sounds fun, or particularly magical! But her instructor, Korian, insists that baking is a tasty form of alchemy. In an enchanted kitchen where the ingredients insist that you eat them, Sage learns the simple science behind baking―and that’s the best kind of magic trick!

In Bake Like a Pro!, you’ll learn how different combination of proteins, fats, and liquids will result in textures that lend themselves to perfect pies, breads, cookies, and more! Follow these simple recipes, and you’ll be able to bake a pizza and frost a cake―no magic necessary!
 

Maximiliano loves stories, especially the legend about a mythical gatekeeper who can guide brave travelers on a journey into tomorrow. If Max could see tomorrow, he would know if he’d make Santa Maria’s celebrated fútbol team and whether he’d ever meet his mother, who disappeared when he was a baby. So when Max uncovers a buried family secret — involving an underground network of guardians who lead people fleeing a neighboring country to safety — he decides to seek answers on his own. With a treasured compass, a mysterious stone rubbing, and the legend as his only guides, he sets out on a perilous quest to discover if he is true of heart and what the future holds.

Washed ashore with no recollection of who he is, a young boy has lots of adventures and gradually comes to terms with his magical powers. Book one of The Lost Years of Merlin trilogy.

After being abandoned in the woods by his parents, a young boy is resuced and adopted by a falconer. With his years of hardship and danger behind him, this boy begins to discover his magical future.

Corinne LaMer defeated the wicked jumbie Severine months ago, but things haven’t exactly gone back to normal in her Caribbean island home. Everyone knows Corinne is half-jumbie, and many of her neighbors treat her with mistrust. When local children begin to go missing, snatched from the beach and vanishing into wells, suspicious eyes turn to Corinne. To rescue the missing children and clear her own name, Corinne goes deep into the ocean to find Mama D’Leau, the dangerous jumbie who rules the sea. But Mama D’Leau’s help comes with a price. The only thing more perilous than Corinne’s adventures across the sea is the jumbie that waits for her back home.
 
Rise of the Jumbies features inventive twists on Caribbean and West African mythology and fairy tales while grappling with the legacy of the African diaspora and the history of the trans-Atlantic slave trade.

When the murals painted on the walls of her Brooklyn neighborhood start to change and fade in front of her, Sierra Santiago realizes that something strange is going on—then she discovers her Puerto Rican family are shadowshapers and finds herself in a battle with an evil anthropologist for the lives of her family and friends.

Lily and Wendy have been best friends since they became stepsisters. But with their feuding parents planning to spend the summer apart, what will become of their family — and their friendship? Little do they know that a mysterious boy has been watching them from the oak tree outside their window. A boy who intends to take them away from home for good, to an island of wild animals, Merfolk, Fairies, and kidnapped children, to a sea of merfolk, pirates, and a giant crocodile: a boy who calls himself Peter Pan.