New Releases by Kathleen Duey

Brendan, a hard-working orphan who dreams of rising out of poverty, and Dai Yue, a Chinese immigrant facing an arranged marriage to an older man, find unexpected friendship during the San Francisco earthquake of 1906.

Two friends struggle to survive the treacherous journey across the snake- and alligator-infested Louisiana bayou in the seventh book in the Survivors series. Bayou Teche, 1851. No one in Lily LeGrand’s Cajun community is willing to help search for Paul Courville, who is missing in the bayou along with his mean-spirited older brothers, William and Mark. Why should they? Paul’s wealthy plantation-owner father has made no secret of his disdain for Cajuns. But Paul has always been kind to Lily, defending her against his brothers’ merciless taunts and humiliating pranks—and Lily refuses to turn her back on him when his life is in danger. On her own in the maze of the dangerous bayou, Lily knows she has more to fear than her father’s wrath. Her treacherous journey will test both her knowledge of the swamp and her courage. Can she find Paul before it’s too late?

A brother and sister struggle to survive the rigors of Death Valley after their wagon breaks an axle and they set out alone to find help for their stranded family and injured father.

Two cousins battle the elements during the 1886 blizzard in the Colorado Rocky Mountains in this gripping entry in the historical fiction middle grade Disaster series. Hadyn Sinclair hates absolutely everything about his aunt and uncle’s primitive Rocky Mountain ranch. He’d much rather be in a great city than stuck on the countryside. Hadyn’s cousin Maggie hates the thought of having her rich and spoiled cousin visiting for four long months. She’d be happier if he weren’t around. When Maggie’s father is injured and she and Hadyn are left alone, they argue, and Hadyn sets off on foot for the train station miles away through the snowstorm. The next day, Maggie learns Hadyn never made it to town, and she must search for him despite the blizzard that is raging outside. But even if she can find him, will they be able to survive freezing nights, vicious winds, and the constant threat of snow slides?

Alida has escaped Lord Dunraven’s castle and defied his law to find her exiled faerie family. Using new magic to protect themselves, Alida and her family make the dangerous journey home, back to their beloved meadow near the human village of Ash Grove. When Dunraven’s greed threatens the villagers with starvation, Alida wants to help them. But if Lord Dunraven’s guards find out that fairies are helping humans, her family will be in terrible danger.

Faerie princess Alida and Gavin, the human boy who helped her escape from Lord Dunraven’s castle, are desperate to find Alida’s family, now living in a hidden place where the banished faerie community has resettled. Alida and Gavin’s friendship grows stronger as they face cold and rain and the constant threat of Lord Dunraven’s guards. And now that Alida’s escape has put the fragile peace between Lord Dunraven and the faeries in jeopardy, will her family welcome her?

In alternate chapters, Sadima travels from her farm home to the city and becomes assistant to a heartless man who is trying to restore knowledge of magic to the world, and a group of boys fights to survive in the academy that has resulted from his efforts.

It’s 1865 and the war is over, but the hardship and suffering have not ended for Emma, whose mother is dead and father is missing. With her brother and sister, Emma boards the Sultana, a paddle wheel steamboat, hoping to find refuge in St. Louis with relatives. After Yankee soldiers returning north from Confederate prisons are crowded aboard the boat, disaster shatters Emma’s hopes. Fighting for her life in the flooded Mississippi, Emma discovers courage she did not know she possessed.

It has been a long, hard winter, and the Gypsies are glad to be leaving Lord Levin''s mountains for the sunny plains of Lord Kaybale''s lands. But that means time is running out for Heart. The old stories say that Castle Avamir is higher than the clouds, deep in a valley, under the stars, and over the moon. It makes no sense -- but if Heart can''t solve the riddle, she might never find a safe haven for her beloved unicorns.

In the beautiful armor Joseph Lequire has created for Moonsilver, no one can tell he is a unicorn. It''s safe for Heart to travel to Bidenfast, where she hopes to find her Gypsy friends. But the streets are jammed with people in town for the crowning of the new Lord Irmaedith, and the young lord himself takes a special interest in the unicorns. Will Heart be able to keep her secret?

The young band of adventurers returns innbsp;another action-packed trip into the past—this time back to the American West. When the Time Soldiers go through the portal to the 1860s, they find themselves not just watching the historic, breakneck rides of the pony express but alsonbsp;saddling up with the riders to carry Abraham Lincoln''s inaugural address across 2,000 miles of wilderness. While the travelers lend a handnbsp;in the past, they are watchednbsp;by mysterious men in dark suits who follow and wait, lurking at the margins of theirnbsp;time-bending trips. With engaging graphic design and a mix of history and fantasy, these tales of adventure and mystery will keep young readers glued to the pages.

A year after their previous trip, the Time Soldiers enter the portal again and are transported to a treasure-filled cave, where their attempt to rescue a girl from pirates gets them in big trouble.

The second book in the Hoofbeats series focusing on Lara! Nine-year-old Lara is the daughter of the the leader of her cattle-raising clan. While she spends her days tending to the cattle, her heart lies with her beloved gray mare. When Lara goes to the highlands to set the cattle out to graze, she finds the mare in the process of a difficult birth. Lara vows to take care of the foal as a dying promise to the gray mare, and with the help of a childless milk-cow, she cares for the spindly-legged filly. But just when she is confident that the foal can survive, a rival clan captures them both, and throws Lara''s life into turmoil. When the filly is eventually given to a titled baron in the castle town of Athenry, Lara, determined to stay with the horse no matter what, goes along. Together, she and her beloved horse face seemingly insurmountable challenges, but all along Lara keeps two things in mind. One day, she will manage to flee, and will set off in search of the family that she was taken from. And she will not leave without her silver mare.

Coming closer with each step to solving the mystery of the glowing green stones scattered across time, the Time Soldiers face the twisting passages of an Egyptian pyramid, a boy pharaoh who wants to keep them prisoner, and a mummy that guards the way home.

Nine-year-old Lara is the daughter of the ri - the leader of her cattle-raising clan. While she spends her days tending to the cows, her heart lies with her beloved grey mare. Lara dreams that the mare''s foal might one day be hers. But she knows that girls aren''t allowed to keep horses-in fourteenth century Ireland, that is a boy''s job. When her clan is raided and the mare is stolen, Lara is devastated. What will become of the mare-and her foal? Lara prays with all of her heart, and hopes beyond hope, that the fates will bring the mare back to her . . .

When a T. rex invades the present day through a time portal, the Time Soldiers kids struggle to keep the raging dinosaur from hurting anyone.

Orphaned at age six and taken in by a heartless couple, nine-year-old Katie Rose spends her days doing chores and dreaming of going west to find her Uncle Jack. Then Mr. Stevens brings home an unbroken Mustang, and Katie''s world changes. Katie is drawn to the horse''s wildness, and he seems to sense her need for companionship. So when Katie learns that the Stevenses plan to join the expansion West&150without her or the Mustang&150she makes a desperate decision to go on her own. And she will not leave the Mustang behind.

The fourth book in the Hoofbeats series focusing on Katie! With trepidation, Katie continues Westward with the Kylers. The mountainous terrain makes for difficult traveling, and they arrive in Oregon shortly before the winter snows hit. While the Kylers and the others begin the search for land, Katie''s worst fears are confirmed. Her uncle is not there. Then she realizes that she has brought the Mustang home, and she cannot keep him with her anymore. Left with no family and without the Mustang to rely on, Katie must find her own way...

Joined by Hiram the farmhand, Katie begins the journey west. At first, she is unsure if the Mustang will follow, but much to her relief, he seems to trust her. Soon, Katie and Hiram meet up with a large family who invite them to join their caravan. For the first time, it seems as though they might really make it to Oregon. But then tragedy strikes, and Katie finds herself having to choose between parting ways with Hiram, or abandoning her dreams of going west&150and giving up on the chance to return the Mustang to his homeland.

The third book in the Hoofbeats series focusing on Katie! Katie knows she has come too far to give up. Taken under the Kylers'' wing, she stays close to the Mustang and clings to her dream of finding her uncle. Then a particularly bad river crossing leaves their guide crippled and their group diminished. Knowing that there is strength in numbers, they join forces with a traveling circus troupe, and somehow make it to Fort Laramie.

Heart is convinced that the old man from Castle Avamir can help her find her family, but the old man has been taken prisoner by Lord Dunraven.

The Time Soldiers hear someone crying. They find themselves on a deserted beach. They spot a cave in the cliffs filled with treasure chests, cannons and Pirates? Can the Time Soldiers avoid being captured? Will they be able to free the child prisoner? Will they make it home?

Mutants are being born with strange powers. Afraid and intolerant, governments build gigantic robots to detect and destroy them. Struggling with loyalty and ideals the X-Men must fight to save the world for all of humanity.

This marvelous gift set holds hardcover editions of both Spider-Man and X-Men. That''s two books starring every kid''s favorite superheroes -- based on characters created by Stan Lee. A perfect gift for comic fans, collectors and children of all ages.

Heart is sure that the small book she found in Lord Dunraven''s castle holds the secret to finding a safe haven for her beloved unicorns, Moonsilver and Avamir - especially after a village blacksmith tells her about a pair of ancient iron gates that are decorated with the same unicorn motifs that appear in the book. Will the book also unlock the key to Heart''s own memories and help her discover who she really is and where she came from - are the unicorn motifs on the gates the same as those on her blanket and in the book? What is on the other side of these gates and where does it lead to? As Heart struggles to learn how to read she knows that she must continue to protect the unicorns, but this is becoming harder and harder as Lord Dunraven''s men close in on them. . .

The time Soldiers travel back in time to help a girl being held prisoner by Calico Jack, the pirate.

Heart has no family. Found abandoned as a baby, she now lives a hard and lonely life in the dusty village of Ash Grove. Then one day she finds a scarred, skinny horse in the forest. Against the wishes of her mean-spirited guardian, Simon, Heart adopts the mare and names her Avamir. When she realises Avamir is in foal, Heart is thrilled. And so too is Simon - now he has two horses he can sell to the slaughterhouse instead of one. But when the colt is born, Heart finds him weak and with a strange bump on his forehead. A bump that begins to crack open, to reveal a silver point beneath. . . Heart realises that the horses are actually unicorns, magical creatures from ancient legend. But why are they here? And how is their destiny linked with Heart''s own? Being creatures of legends, Heart is afraid that if the unicorns aren''t lead away from Ash Grove they will surely be captured and killed by the superstitious villagers. Can she find a way to protect them, and the only love she has ever known?

Adventure, drama, wild horses running free. The American West is brought to life through the eyes of the horses who were there in a new program of books inspired by Spirit: Stallion of the Cimarron, the new film coming May 2002 from DreamWorks. Bonita is a pampered riding horse in San Antonio when the Mexican War for Independence breaks out. Torn from her beloved mistress, Bonita is forced into a life of hardship. But newfound strength enables her to escape from her captors and find a new life of freedom.