Create your character and roll the dice—it’s all just a game . . . or is it? Why can’t Tansy’s boyfriend, Travis, be into something normal—like football? Instead, he likes complicated games with magical characters and fantastic setups. In fact, Travis just discovered a new one called Spirits and Spells, which he’s sure will be a huge hit. To try it out, Tansy, Travis, and four of their friends gather one night in an abandoned mansion—the perfect setting for their spooky quest. All six accept their characters’ roles and special abilities and set off to find four objects of power that Travis has hidden nearby. But as they move deeper into the house, the players encounter obstacles that definitely weren’t supposed to be there, and the dangers start to seem all too real. Before morning, each of them will be forced to call on their new powers as they struggle to keep their magical identities from taking over and getting what they really want: a way back into this world. This ebook features an illustrated personal history of Bruce Coville including rare images from the author’s collection.
Mr. Elives’s magic shop is back, and this time it is on the other side of Tucker’s Swamp. And Tucker’s Swamp is where Charlie Eggleston heads to escape a beating-for lying. Charlie can’t seem to keep from lying, though sometimes his lies are for a good cause. When Charlie stumbles into Mr. Elives’s magic shop, his eyes light upon The Skull. Charlie steals The Skull and it puts him under some sort of spell-he can only tell the truth. Trouble is, now no one believes him. . . .
In this magical fantasy adventure by the award-winning author of Jeremy Thatcher, Dragon Hatcher, a talking toad takes a girl on a wild ride. Jennifer Murdley has always wanted to be pretty. That’s why she’s so surprised to leave Mr. Elives’s magic shop with a particularly ugly toad. As her worst enemy says, “A toad for a toad.” But this toad can talk. And what it has to say sets Jennifer off on a journey that leads her into the company of the Immortal Vermin and straight to the Beauty Parlor of Doom . . . where she comes face-to-face with her deepest fears and dreams. Jennifer Murdley would give anything to be beautiful. But sometimes anything is too high a price to pay. “Endlessly funny . . . . A roller-coaster ride of a story, full of humor and even wisdom.” —Kirkus Reviews “Fast-moving with slapstick humor . . . . Recommended.” —Horn Book
The Last Hunt weaves together all the strands of the great clash between the Hunters and the unicorns. As the Hunters invade Luster, bent on the extermination of the unicorns, the unicorns rally to defend themselves. To do so, they will be forced to make peace with their intimate enemies, the delvers. Even worse, the Hunters may not be the greatest danger. For Luster itself is beginnings to collapse from the damage done to the great world tree when Beloved tore a hole between the worlds. Preventing that collapse will require Cara--reunited at last with her mother and father--to discover the secret of how and why Luster was originally created. But first she must confront her own ancestor, the fierce and wily Beloved!
A magical fantasy adventure about the high cost of loving, from the award-winning author of My Teacher Is an Alien and The Unicorn Chronicles. Juliet Dove is a girl who doesn't like to be noticed. But though she may be shy, she has a wickedly sharp wit. Whenever someone does take notice of her, she tears into the person with a savagery that’s earned her the nickname “Killer.” Juliet ends up leaving Mr. Elives’s magic shop with Helen of Troy's amulet—that is, a virtual man magnet. Juliet doesn’t know what she’s got, but the boys in her class do—they start to notice her . . . Soon every boy in town is swooning for her. Yet, much as she’d like to lose all the unwanted attention, she can’t: The amulet won't come off! “Although humorous, the story has surprising depth, with musings on honor, power, strength, courage, and, above all, love.” —School Library Journal “A rare book . . . . Funny [and] absorbing.” —Miami Herald