Lucien is seriously ill but his life is transformed when an old Italian notebook gives him the power to become a stravagante, a time traveller with access to 16th century Italy. He wakes up in Bellezza (Venice) during carnival time and meets Arianna, a girl his own age who is disguised as a boy in the hope of being selected as one of the Duchessa's mandoliers. Arianna gives Lucien her boy's clothing and he is selected as a mandolier himself, becoming a friend of fellow-stravagante Rodolfo, the Duchessa's lover, and saving the Duchessa's life when she is threatened by an assassin hired by the powerful di Chimici family. For state occasions the Duchessa uses her maid Giuliana as a body-double but Guiliana commits the fatal mistake of revealing the secret to her fiance Enrico and a sequence of devastating consequences unravels. Meanwhile Lucien has met the original stravagante, the Elizabethan alchemist William Dethridge, and he begins to understand that he may be called to follow in his footsteps.

On Cauldron Cooker's Night, expect black cats and blacker magic.It's Cauldron Cooker's Night, a holiday for witches. Josh and his sister Jozlyn can't sleep. When they hear a noise outside their window, they know it's a witch coming for them.On Cauldron Cooker's Night, expect black cats and blacker magic.It's Cauldron Cooker's Night, a holiday for witches. Josh and his sister Jozlyn can't sleep. When they hear a noise outside their window, they know it's a witch coming for them.But the witch is only the beginning of their troubles. Soon the pair head out on a dangerous adventure to save their townsfolk from a terrible spell. Everyone has been turned into frogs! Along the way, Josh and Jozlyn will face a hungry ogre, a creepy swamp, a mischievous black cat, and more.Worst of all, the witch is waiting for them at the end.Children's fantasy. Recommended for ages 10 and up.

Stacey gets caught with a counterfeit bill and the Babysitters search for the crook spreading funny money in Stoneybrook.

The legions are about to be unleashed, and no human, rogue dragon or former dragon slayer can stand against the coming horde. Dragon hatchling Ember Hill was never prepared to find love at all--dragons do not suffer human emotions--let alone the love of a human and a former dragonslayer, at that. With ex-soldier Garret dying at her feet after sacrificing his freedom and his life to expose the deepest of betrayals, Ember knows only that nothing she was taught by dragon organization Talon is true. About humans, about rogue dragons, about herself and what she's capable of doing and feeling. In the face of great loss, Ember vows to stand with rogue dragon Riley against the dragon-slaying Order of St. George and her own twin brother Dante--the heir apparent to all of Talon, and the boy who will soon unleash the greatest threat and terror dragonkind has ever known. Talon is poised to take over the world, and the abominations they have created will soon take to the skies, darkening the world with the promise of blood and death to those who refuse to yield.

SUMMER AU PAIRS NEEDED IMMEDIATELY For four energetic children, between 3 and 10 years old. Join a NYC family for the best summer of your life in East Hampton, July 4-Labor Day. Pay: $10,000.00 Driver's license a must. Familiarity with the Hamptons, a plus. Send resumes and head shots to [email protected] Meet Mara Waters, Eliza Thompson, and Jacqui Velasco -- new au pairs for one of New York City's wealthiest families -- who will spend their summer in one of the most posh, most exclusive spots for summer summering: the Hamptons. For good girl Mara, this job is a way out of another go-slow Massachusetts summer. Eliza, New York City's former It Girl, knows this is the fast lane back to the stylish world she wishes she'd never left. And for Brazilian bombshell Jacqui, it's a boarding pass back to her American love who told her he'd e-mail as soon as he got home, and didn't. After all, how hard can an au pair job be? Slap sunscreen on the kids during the day and party at the coolest hot spots at night, right? Wrong. While Eliza is desperately trying to hide her baby-sitting job from her superspoiled friends who think she's still just as rich as she used to be, Mara's getting awfully cozy with the kids' extremely attractive older brother, Ryan. And Jacqui is heartbroken when she discovers that the love of her life may have been nothing more than a spring fling. If the girls can manage au pair duties -- all the while mastering the ins and outs of the Hamptons' social scene -- it might just turn out to be the most incredible summer of their lives. But to do it they'll have to stick together. And that's where things definitely get sticky.

Summer knows that kouun means good luck" in Japanese, and this year her family has had none. Just when Summer thinks nothing else can possibly go wrong, an emergency whisks her parents away to Japan, right before harvest season leaving Summer and her little brother, Jaz, in the care of their elderly grandparents, Obaachan and Jiichan. Obaachan and Jiichan are old fashioned, very demanding, and easily disappointed. Between helping Obaachan cook for the workers and with all the other chores, and worrying about her little brother, who can't seem to make any friends, Summer has her hands full. But when a welcome distraction turns into a big mess, causing further disappointment, Summer realises she must try and make her own luck as it might be the only way to save her family.

Wendy isn't as blind as a bat--there are bats that can see better than she can. Which is why, when her new glasses break, she's all too happy to wear the dorky pair of sunglasses she finds on the lawn. They seem to match her prescription, and that's all that matters if she's going to be able to make it through her school day. But the glasses correct her vision too much. She begins to see things that no one else can see: cheerful corpses, frightening crones disguised as teenyboppers, and portals to other worlds--places where people are all too aware of the magical properties of her new shades . . . and will do anything to get them.

Life's been rough lately for Mary Anne. The members of the Baby-sitters Club are taking an intensive first aid class - and Mary Anne is scared to death. She's not sure she'll ever be prepared for a big emergency. Mary Anne is even less prepared for Logan's shocking news: his parents want to send him away to boarding school. Effective immediately. It looks as though Mary Anne and Logan will be separated. Unless they can do something about it...before Logan is gone forever.

Zombies- as if that wasn’t enough to ruin any girl’s dream of a happily ever after. In the final installment of Love and Decay, Season One, Reagan and the Parkers are forced to face Matthias and his unrealistic demands that they return to The Colony with him as his prisoners. Gage takes their sides and an argument breaks loose. When Tyler and Miller are dragged into the middle of the tense fight, aggression is unleashed and the struggle to survive in a Zombie Apocalypse takes on a new meaning. Reagan must fight her way out of the fray, but not everything is as easy as gun shots and knife wounds. Kane holds a power over her heart that she doesn’t understand and doesn’t have the time to examine. Reagan must protect her heart and those she loves all while trying to get rid of Kane and his father once and for all. Love and Decay, Episode Twelve, is the twelfth in a novella series in a Dystopian Romance about Zombies, the end of the world and finding someone to share it with. This story takes place over multiple episodes. Approximately 20,000 words.

Bessie! Bessie! "Yes, mother," replied Bessie Challoner. "You'll be late for school, child, if you are not quick." "Bessie!" shouted her father at the top of his voice from below stairs. "Bessie; late as usual." "I am really going, father; I am just ready," was the eager reply. Bessie caught up her sailor hat, shoved it carelessly over her mass of thick hair, and searched frantically round her untidy bedroom for the string bag which contained her schoolbooks. --This text refers to an alternate Paperback edition. --This text refers to an alternate Paperback edition.

Four fairy tales featuring a dragon, a giant, a cunning mule, and a little chimney-girl.

Nancy, Bess, and George are doubly excited. Not only are they taking horseback-riding lessons, but Bess is in the school spelling bee. And maybe her mom's lucky horseshoe earrings will help her win!But now the earrings have disappeared. Good thing Nancy's around to help Bess solve the mystery--because a good friend is the best good-luck charm of all!

Haven still blames Ever for the death of her boyfriend Roman, no matter how hard Ever’s tried to convince her it was an accident. Now she’s determined to take Ever down…and destroy Damen and Jude along the way. Her first step is to tear Ever and Damen apart—and she has just the ammunition to do it. Hidden in one of Ever’s past lives is a terrible secret about Damen—a secret that illuminates new facts about her relationship with Jude, but that’s so dark and brutal it might be enough to drive her and Damen apart once and for all. As Ever faces her greatest fears about the guy she wants to spend eternity with, she’s thrust into a deadly clash with Haven that could destroy them all. Now it’ll take everything she’s got—and bring out powers she never knew she had—to face down her most formidable enemy. But in order to win, she must first ask herself: is her own survival worth dooming Haven to an eternity of darkness in the Shadowland? And will learning the truth about Damen’s past hold the key to their future?

Mara Dyer wants to believe there's more to the lies she’s been told. There is. She doesn’t stop to think about where her quest for the truth might lead. She should. She never had to imagine how far she would go for vengeance. She will now. Loyalties are betrayed, guilt and innocence tangle, and fate and chance collide in this shocking conclusion to Mara Dyer’s story. Retribution has arrived.

Her chimps played croquet. Her dachshund wore eyeglasses. Her gorilla has his own refrigerator. Welcome to the world of Gertie Lintz, a woman who loved animals--and knew just how to pamper them. But when she adopts Buddy, an orphaned baby gorilla, her life is turned upside down. Based on the fascinating true-life story of a remarkable woman, "Buddy" is the heroic tale of the power of love.