Growing up

The Great Fox, a world famous magician, disappears without a trace and without an heir to leave his legacy and fortune to. By his instruction, a TV competition will determine which young magician will inherit the secrets to his tricks.

Thirteen-year-old orphan Tomek runs a grocery store where, one day, a stranger girl comes into his shop asking for various items. She tells him she is looking for a magic river whose waters are eternal. Tomek develops a yearning to travel, and to bring some of the eternal water back for a beloved elderly man in his village.

Kara Lukas is lonely. In the atmospheric Swedish winter, she watches the frozen lake, watches the stars, and tries to uncover the mystery of a snow angel. Strange noises in the woods and inexplicable footprints lead her to Rebecca and her brother Samuel in their small isle hideout. The Jewish siblings are not only from another place, but another time. A bond of friendship forms across space and time as two lonely girls find each other.

Darren Simpson’s novel is an unusual blend of fantasy narrative and the emotional theme of confronting life’s hardships. Bren is a teenage boy consumed by grief over the recent tragic death of his sister, Evie. He carries a heavy burden on his shoulders, between familial issues, school bullying and depression. His only solace is in travelling to a mystical land called Furthermoor using the magical mechanics of his watch, to meet Evie and confide in her his struggles since her death.

Linnet is an alkonost, bird-like creatures similar to humans who have the gift of singing magic. Their island of home of Morovia was once peacefully shared with humans, but now the island is divided, singing magic is outlawed, and the alkonosts are forced to live in a swamp.

Children have been disappearing in London, but Cassie Morgan is more concerned with trying to be invisible at her boarding school, where she has attracted the ire of school bullies and, as a consequence, is a social pariah to her peers. Cassie copes with her solitude by retreating into a world of reading, yearning for the day when her mother will come for her. This hope is shattered when the callous school head mistress announces that Cassie's mother has officially been declared dead, which prompts the girl to run away rather than be despatched to an institution.

Yesterday Crumb is pulled away from a life as a mere circus speculation to a new magical adventure every day. This element made the book super enjoyable to read as well as the family and friends Yesterday found along the way.

In this fun and metropolitan mystery story, Rita Wong stumbles upon Neon city after accidentally following what she believes to be a someone dressed as a dragon. There Rita meets Lester Thyme, the dragon she haplessly followed into the magical city of werewolves, goblins, dwarves, and all other species of magical creatures.

Aarti and Aunt live in a state of anxious self-sufficiency on Aunt’s Scottish island. Aunt apparently rescued orphaned Aarti, and took her to safety away from ‘a world full of bad, cruel things.’