Twelve-year-old Simon Thorn's life has never been normal-especially since he's been keeping a big secret: he can talk to animals.But when his mom is suddenly kidnapped by a herd of New York City rats, Simon finds out that he, his mom, and his uncle are all Animalgams-someone born with the ability to change into an animal at will-and suddenly talking to animals doesn't seem so crazy after all.In search of his mom, Simon discovers that Animalgams belong to an ancient world made up of Five Animal Kingdoms (Mammals, Birds, Insects, Reptiles, and Underwater) which are now under attack...and Simon just may be the only one who can save them all. Imaginative and vivid with themes of bravery, loyalty, and finding one's true self, this exciting, five-book adventure series is perfect for fans of the Spirit Animals and The School of Good and Evil series.

Destiny can be cruel In the aftermath of loss and betrayal, Jayden must come to terms with the fact that her fight with the enemy isn't over. Evil rarely binds itself to one individual, and the evil that hunts Jayden—the Mistress of Shadows—has found a new pawn. One who might be the key to opening the Mistress's prison. As the underground prison cracks, darkness seems to take hold of everyone Jayden trusts. Loss almost crippled her once, and while she isn't sure she can seal the fissure alone, pushing her friends away might be the only way to save them—and keep them from being consumed. She must make the right choice because the wrong one could cost her everyone she loves.

Through the voice of a young girl, the life of the people known as Irish Travelers is explored. Megan spends her summers traveling around the Irish countryside with her family. They move from place to place, hauling their camper behind their old car. But they aren't on vacation. This is their way of life. Megan and her family are Travelers. As part of their summer life, Megan's father works odd jobs, from fieldwork to roofing houses. Despite the rough living, Megan loves her life and the freedom that comes from traveling the open road. But at summer's end, when there's no more work to be had, the family moves to the city of Dublin. The camper is parked and they move into a cramped house. Megan and her siblings attend the local school as their parents struggle to make ends meet. And as the seasons pass, Megan counts down the days until she can return to her summer life. Gloria Whelan's other books in the Tales of the World series are Waiting for the Owl's Call, Yuki and the One...

ReviewEnchanting and exciting, romantic and believable-I wasn’t able to tear myself away! (Melissa Marr, author of the New York Times bestselling Wicked Lovely series ) About the AuthorCynthia Hand is a native of southeastern Idaho and currently lives with her husband and two children in Southern California, where she teaches writing at Pepperdine University. She has graduate degrees in creative writing from Boise State University and the University of Nebraska-Lincoln. Instead of a muse, Cynthia has a guardian angel named Buster. He wears a Stetson in place of a halo, prefers a beat-up pickup truck to flying, and loves to correct Cynthia’s grammar.

Chapter 1: A Bad Choice and a Worse One My dad always said that his feet were the only stupid parts of his body. They had walked him into every bad decision he had ever made, so he had to watch them carefully. He repeated that little pearl of wisdom so often that I began to take it literally and stare at my feet when they were moving. I had my eyes on them the afternoon they walked me into my career in agriculture. I blame my feet because I was only thirteen at the time and not exactly in the job market.On that particular day, I was mostly thinking about what I could eat when I got home from school. I was trudging along the dirt lane from the bus stop while my sisters and cousins rushed past me, trying to escape the biting New Mexico wind. The lane's rutted tracks had filled with water from a snowstorm and then frozen into narrow strips of dirty ice. It felt powerful and satisfying to crush the fragile surfaces and watch the underlying brown water ooze around my...