fiction Archives - Page 583 of 713

Leo, Dog of the Sea: 1519-1521
by Alison Hart (Author) and Michael G. Montgomery (Illustrator)

Booktalk: After three ocean voyages, Leo knows not to trust anyone but himself. But when he sets sail with Magellan on a journey to find a westward route to the Spice Islands, he develops new friendships with Magellan’s scribe, Pigafetta, and Marco, his page. Together, the three of them experience hunger and thirst, storms and doldrums, and mutinies and hostile, violent encounters. Will they ever find safe passage?

Snippet: Soon I am bringing dead rats for everyone, until Espinosa saunters over to see what the commotion is.

“Oh ho!” He grabs me by the scruff before I can dodge him. “The rats may be plump, but this dog is plumper. Think how tasty he will be roasted over the coals,” he says as he holds me up in the air. “I think I will string him up from the yardarm.”

The Shapeshifter’s Guide to Running Away
by Lari Don (Author)

Booktalk: The curse-breaking workshop hasn’t exactly turned out how Molly and her friends had hoped. And now something is going wrong with the way curses work. The team need to find the Promise Keeper who controls all curses, but the Keeper is guarded by Atacama the sphinx and his riddle. The five friends set off on a quest that takes them past the misty giant grey men of the mountains, to spar with an ancient snake and battling terrifying Nuckelavee. Can they discover what’s wrong with the Promise Keeper and stop the world of curses from spinning out of control?

Snippet: Molly expected to become human as she leapt through the air.

She expected to beat Innes to the finish line as a hare, change shape as she crossed the stone wall into Aunt Doreen’s garden, and crash-land on the ground as a girl.

That’s what always happened.

She always beat her friend Innes when he challenged her to a race. She always controlled her curse by crossing a boundary and becoming human again, just in time to accept his grudging congratulations.

But this time, when she landed on the ground, she didn’t fall and bash her knees. This time she stayed on all four feet. All four paws.

She was over the wall, over the boundary, and she was still a hare. Still small, vulnerable, defenceless. Still unable to speak.