This is the first book in an absolutely addictive action series about Aiden and Meg Falconer, whose parents have been arrested as spies. The authorities change the kids’ names and put them into a work camp with tough delinquent children “for their own protection”. Then Aiden accidentally sets the barn on fire and, in the ensuing havoc, the two take off on foot to find the man who framed their parents. The resolute Falconer kids travel across the country by any means possible: horse, all-terrain vehicle, bus, and even though underage and unable to drive, a stolen SUV. There are plenty of hair-raising near-captures and ingenious escapes from the FBI agent who locked up their parents and a professional killer the kids call Hairless Joe. But the incredibly determined siblings won’t stop until they’ve proven their parents innocent.

Thirteen-year-old Katie thinks she is going to London with her father and new stepmother, but is furious to find out at the last minute that she’s being left behind at her grandparents’ B&B in Halifax. But when she goes to bed in the attic room of the old house, she is startled out of her discontent by the appearance of the ghost of a young girl who tells Katie her story.

The ghost girl is Lillie. She is a six-year-old orphan in 19th century London forced to work all day hemming handkerchiefs by the woman who is paid to look after her. Lillie is left-handed and is slapped when she is caught using her “wrong” hand to sew. Every night when she goes up to her attic room, Katie learns a little more of Lillie’s story.

The novel alternates between Katie in 2005 and Lillie and the heartbreaking conditions endured by poor children in Victorian England. Meanwhile, Katie also gets to know her grandfather and finds out that his father was an English orphan too and that along with the other orphaned English children he and Lillie were eventually sent to Canada. Find out the amazing conclusion to this compelling story about how Katie uncovers her own personal connection to Canada’s past.

In this funny, exciting mystery, join Charlie, who is blind and who has extraordinary senses of perception, along with his fiery best friend Bernadette, and their extremely talkative new friend Lewis. On their first day of school, Charlie’s dad is mistaken for the notorious Stocking Bandit and is arrested. Charlie, Bernadette and Lewis must race to solve the mystery and find the real bandit before Charlie’s dad is convicted. Full of humour and magic, From Charlie’s Point of View provides wonderful insight into being a blind student in today’s school system, and takes the reader along through an exciting adventure.

Mella’s father is king of the People, and lord of the land we now call Zimbabwe. They live together in the walled town of Mopopoto, and once life was good. But now, Mella’s father lingers close to death. The wise woman, the N’anga, reveals that the People have strayed from the Old Ways. Drought, famine and war lurk at the borders of the kingdom, and the only hope of salvation lies with the terrifying Python Healer. Is Mella brave and wise enough to survive the terrible journey to the Python Healer’s cave? Can she and two other brave girls find the strength they need as they train to become Daughters of the Hunt? Find out in this story, where adventure, myth and folktale come together in a triumphant ending.

Everything dies: flowers, trees, elephants, bees, hamsters, turtles, dolphins, dogs, cats ... Everything. Nothing lives forever. Everybody knows this. Young readers, however, should guard against this book falling into the hands of grownups, many of whom get quite upset whenever the subject of death is mentioned. Don’t ask us why.

Oliver, a most unpleasant 11-year-old boy, spends most of his time alone snacking, channel surfing and pulling the wings off flies just to hear the “snap”. When he is suddenly forced to move with his family from the city to a run-down old house by a scummy pond in the country, he is not impressed. Not only are there no fast food restaurants or cable TV, but the family is immediately attacked by hordes of bugs and animals.

One day, while desperately attempting to install a make-shift TV antenna on the house’s shabby roof, Oliver is victim to a dive-bombing attack by a vicious crow — and falls through the roof into the attic. It is there that he finds a strange golden gem, which he soon discovers has the power to transform him into any creature he touches. It is through the shiny gem’s magical properties that Oliver is able to enter the remarkable parallel world of the pond, foil an evil plot, and learn life-long lessons about the power of courage, loyalty, and friendship.

“I started going to law school when I was ten years old.”

What Cyril MacIntyre means is that he was dragged to all his mom’s law school classes, helped her cram for exams, and hung out at her first law office. Cyril has all the usual adolescent issues to deal with: single parent, and skin, hair, and girl problems. Then creepy Byron moves into their place. Byron keeps hinting to Cyril’s mom about her past when she was a street kid, and seems to have some kind of hold over her. Then his mom disappears and Cyril has to become a spy, a lawyer and a negotiator. It’s a good thing he was paying attention when she was studying because his knowledge of the law just might save his mom’s life.

Matt Cruse continues the aerial adventure started in Airborn in a gripping sequel that will leave readers shivering with excitement. Join Matt as he flies in a dirigible to altitudes beyond known human endurance to find the legendary ghost ship, the Hyperion. This eerie ship, discovered on Matt’s inaugural cruise as a navigator, is said to contain vast treasure.

Dangerous opponents, huge flying squid-like predators, and the terrifying secrets of the abandoned ship provide thrills and heart-stopping suspense. Matt must also deal with a girlfriend who appears to be attracted to the handsome ship captain and with Nadiara, a gypsy girl whose motives for joining the expedition are mysterious.

When Henry’s mother takes off to Africa to become a missionary, Henry’s father goes chasing after her, leaving Henry in the care of his two bickering aunts, Mag and Pigg. Henry decides his aunts dislike him and moves into the closet to avoid them. Mag, who is practically dying from a gruesome illness, decides that what they all need is a vacation. So they embark on an eccentric car trip to all the places they’ve never been. They go to Virginia Beach (too hot); the Everglades, where Henry spends four days lost in the swamp; an Oklahoma ranch, where Henry rides a horse; and a flying stop to meet Henry’s granddaddy for the first time. On the road Henry becomes a traveling companion rather than just a kid. The journey is as funny as it is touching, with Henry the only sane person in a family of decidedly odd adults.

Thirteen-year-old Heather Blake is just getting used to life on tiny Tarragon Island, on the west coast of BC, when something terrible happens. Her grandmother gets involved with a radical group of anti-logging protestors called the Ladies of the Forest, and they decide to make a nude calendar as a fundraising project! Of course Heather is mortified, but things get much worse when the loggers and protesters face off in the woods. Some of the protesters are arrested, and Heather is furious with her grandmother for stirring up trouble. Neighbours are fighting neighbours as the conflict escalates, and even Heather, who just wishes everyone would calm down, can’t escape the division in her own family when she writes an opinion article for the Island newspaper. As things progress, Heather starts to realize that there are at least two sides to this — and every — story.

From the opening sentence, “Half the town’s driving past our farm ... just to stare at a man driving a tractor,” the teller gets you wondering, first about what’s so strange about a man on a tractor, then what’s meant by “this whole big mess,” and why s/he is recording and hiding numbers on the wall behind the mattress. This last mystery is cleared up on the second page: “Thirty-two days since that day my daddy dragged Prince’s body to the burn pile and set it afire, then walked away from the farm. And us.” But the first two aren’t. You will have to read the whole book to understand, and by then you may have changed the way you look at your own life.