Posts Tagged ‘england’
The Eyes of a King
Random House, 2008
Fantasy
ISBN: 0375838767
448 pages
Synopsis
Fifteen-year-old Leo North’s prospects in life are limited. He reluctantly attends military school because that’s what most boys do in Malonia. He grudgingly lives with his pious, fearful grandmother and looks after his young brother, Stirling. He resists his innate powers because those who demonstrate any sort of magical ability are considered enemies of the state. But when he finds a blank book in the snow, his typical indifference melts away. From the very first moment he touches the book, he senses its strange power. …
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The Hunchback Assignments
Wendy Lamb Books, 2009
Historical Fantasy
ISBN: 038573784X
288 pages
Synopsis
The mysterious Mr. Socrates rescues Modo, a child in a traveling freak show. Modo is a hunchback with an amazing ability to transform his appearance, and Mr. Socrates raises him in isolation as an agent for the Permanent Association, a spy agency behind Brittania’s efforts to rule the empire. At 14, Modo is left on the streets of London to fend for himself. When he encounters Octavia Milkweed, another Association agent, the two uncover a plot by the Clockword Guild behind the murders of important men. Furthermore, a mad scientist is turning orphan children into automatons to further the goals of the Guild. Modo and Octavia journey deep into the tunnels under London and discover a terrifying plot against the British government. It’s up to them to save their country. …
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A Brief History of Montmaray
Knopf Books for Young Readers, 2009
Historical Fiction
ISBN: 0375858644
304 pages
Synopsis
“There’s a fine line between gossip and history, when one is talking about kings.”
Sophie Fitzosborne lives in a crumbling castle in the tiny island kingdom of Montmaray with her eccentric and impoverished royal family. When she receives a journal for her sixteenth birthday, Sophie decides to chronicle day-to-day life on the island. But this is 1936, and the news that trickles in from the mainland reveals a world on the brink of war. The politics of Europe seem far away from their remote island—until two German officers land a boat on Montmaray. And then suddenly politics become very personal indeed. …
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Solace of the Road
David Fickling Books, 2009
Fiction
ISBN: 0375849718
272 pages
Synopsis
Holly’s story will leave a lasting impression on all who travel with her.
Memories of mum are the only thing that make Holly Hogan happy. She hates her foster family with their too-nice ways and their false sympathy. And she hates her life, her stupid school, and the way everyone is always on at her. Then she finds the wig, and everything changes. Wearing the long, flowing blond locks she feels transformed. She’s not Holly anymore, she’s Solace: the girl with the slinkster walk and the supersharp talk. She’s older, more confident—the kind of girl who can walk right out of her humdrum life, hitch to Ireland, and find her mum. The kind of girl who can face the world head-on. …
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The Graveyard Book
HarperCollins, 2008
Fantasy Fiction
ISBN-10: 0060530928
320 pages
Newbery Award Winner
Synopsis
Nobody Owens, known as Bod, is like any normal boy his age, except that he’s been raised by a graveyard full of ghosts. When he was just a baby, the man Jack was sent to murder him and his family, but Bod solely escaped. Largely taken care of by a guardian who exists neither within the living or the dead, Bod has to navigate a mysterious and different world than most people, and as a result, growing up can be difficult at times. As he hits his teenage years, he must decide what to do once the man Jack knows his whereabouts again. …
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Good Masters! Sweet Ladies! Voices from a Medieval Village
Candlewick Press, 2007
Historical Fiction – Play
ISBN: 0763615781
96 pages
Newbery Award Winner
Synopsis
Originally written to be performed by the students at the school in which she is a librarian, Schlitz has created a series of 22 short monologues that give light to the life of average children living in a medieval village in England during the 11th century, from the rich lord’s daughter to the half-wit, the doctor’s son to the runaway. …
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