THE GIRL WHO COULD FLY, by Victoria Forester, Feiwel& Friends, $16.95; ages 9-12.
Piper can fly. The problem is small towns don’t like strange things like a girl who can fly.
She is invited to attend a special school for kids with extraordinary abilities. The trouble starts when Piper realizes that the purpose of the school is not to enhance her abilities, but to take them away. Piper can’t and won’t let that happen. She is a girl who must fly.
CINDY ELLA, by Robin Palmer, Speak, paperback $7.99; ages 11-13.
Our classic fairy tale Cinderella has gone modern day L.A. In this sarcastic, clever, cute and oh so fun version we have Cindy Ella, her two step sisters, her step mother and prom. While the step sisters are abuzz with prom fever-dresses, hair, manicures, etc.-Cindy is writing an anti-prom letter to the school paper. The step sisters are sure Cindy has committed social suicide, but with the right boy and the right pair of shoes anything can happen. Maybe even happily ever after.
INKHEART, by Cornelia Funke, Scholastic Paperbacks, paperback $9.99; ages 8-12.
Meggie has had her father all to herself since her mother disappeared when she was a baby. One day a man called Dustfinger shows up calling Meggie’s father Silvertongue and telling him that Capricorn wants him back. Meggie discovers that when her father reads aloud, things and characters come alive. If she can understand the magic, can she rewrite the ending of the story?
Inkspell is available now. Inkdeath will be out in October and the movie of the trilogy is coming soon.
PANDORA GETS JEALOUS, by Carolyn Hennesy, Bloomsbury USA Children’s Books, paperback, $6.99; ages 9-12.
Pandy’s big project is due tomorrow and she has no idea what to do or bring. As she wanders around the house trying to think of something terrific, she finds a box. When she was little, her father showed her the box and told her to never touch it. She decides to take the box to school and opens it. Now the seven evils of the world are loose and death and destruction is everywhere. Pandora must put everything back in the box.
THE POSTCARD, by Tony Abbott, Little, Brown Young Readers, $15.99; ages 9-12.
Does your family have secrets? Have you asked?
When Jason’s grandmother dies, he and his father go to Florida to take care of her house. As soon as Jason finds a yellowed postcard the phone rings and the weird voice on the other end wants him to do something. Before the story is over, there is an odd ball neighbor, some freakish old carnival people, an empty old hotel waiting to be torn down and secrets to be discovered.
THE ABHORSEN TRILOGY, SABRIEL, LIRAEL AND ABHORSEN, by Garth Nix, HarperCollins Publishers, paperback $9.99 and $12.99; ages 12 and up.
In the first book of the trilogy, Sabriel lives in a world where the living and the dead live much closer than anyone wants to believe. When her father, Abhorsen, goes missing, she must enter the world of the dead to find him.
In another book, Lirael has never felt as if she truly belongs in her world. She isn’t like the rest of the Clayr because she doesn’t have the sight-the ability to see the present and possible future. She finds herself entering the world of the dead and finding her true birthright.
In the sequel to Sabriel and Lirael, Sabriel, the Abhorsen and her husband King Touchtone are believed to be dead. Their son Sam must assume his new role as the Abhorsen. With the help of the Disreputable Dog and Mogget the cat, Sam and Lirael face their fears and realize their true fates.
