Category: YA Speculative

Title: The Shadow Dragons (Chronicles of the Imaginarium Geographica)

Author: James A. Owen

Publisher: Simon & Schuster Children’s Publishing

Release Date: October 27, 2009

ISBN: 978-1416958976

Size: 432 pages, Hardcover

Genre: YA Fantasy

Series: Here There Be Dragons (v. 1), The Search for the Red Dragon (v. 2), The Indigo King (v. 3)

World War II has been raging for three years, but a more terrible evil is just over the horizon. The last stones are falling from the Keep of Time, and the Imperial Cartological Society, led by Richard Burton, has collected doors and is building a new tower at the request of an old enemy: the Winter King’s shadow. He has a terrible weapon — the Spear of Destiny — that can be used to command the shadows of anyone it touches.

The Shadow King uses the Spear of Destiny to enlist an unstoppable army of Dragon shadows. And after the Archipelago falls, the Shadow King intends to use the turmoil of World War II to take over both worlds.

All the legendary Caretakers, past and present, come together to save two worlds, and their only hope lies with a small group of companions who are on the quest for the broken sword Caliburn: the Grail Child, Rose Dyson; her clockwork companion, the owl Archie; a dead professor of ancient literature; and the mythical knight Don Quixote.

Title: The Maze Runner

Author: James Dashner

Publisher: Delacorte

Release Date: October 6, 2009

ISBN: 978-0385737944

Size: 384 pages, Hardcover

Genre: YA Fantasy

When Thomas wakes up in the lift, the only thing he can remember is his first name. His memory is blank. But he’s not alone. When the lift’s doors open, Thomas finds himself surrounded by kids who welcome him to the Glade—a large, open expanse surrounded by stone walls.

Just like Thomas, the Gladers don’t know why or how they got to the Glade. All they know is that every morning the stone doors to the maze that surrounds them have opened. Every night they’ve closed tight. And every 30 days a new boy has been delivered in the lift.

Thomas was expected. But the next day, a girl is sent up—the first girl to ever arrive in the Glade. And more surprising yet is the message she delivers.

Thomas might be more important than he could ever guess. If only he could unlock the dark secrets buried within his mind.

Title: Forest Born

Author: Shannon Hale

Publisher: Bloomsbury USA Children’s Books

Release Date: September 15, 2009

ISBN: 978-1599901671

Size: 400 pages, hardcover

Genre: YA Fantasy

Series: The Goose Girl, Enna Burning, River Secrets

Rin is sure that something is wrong with her…something really bad. Something that is keeping her from feeling at home in the Forest homestead where she’s lived all her life. Something that is keeping her from trusting herself with anyone at all. When her brother Razo returns from the city for a visit, she accompanies him to the palace, hoping that she can find peace away from home. But war has come to Bayern again, and Rin is compelled to join the queen and her closest allies—magical girls Rin thinks of as the Fire Sisters—as they venture into the Forest toward Kel, the land where someone seems to want them all dead. Many beloved Bayern characters reappear in this story, but it is Rin’s own journey of discovering how to balance the good and the bad in herself that drives this compelling adventure.

Title: Reiyalindis

Author: Cory Poulson

Publisher: Sweetwater (Cedar Fort)

Release Date: August 8, 2009

ISBN: 978-1599552880

Size: 272 pages, 6×9, softcover

Genre: Fantasy

Vaelon Sahani’s destiny is about to confront him face to face and her name is Reiyalindis. To save their home from an unspeakable darkness, Reiyalindis, Vaelon, and their new allies form an unlikely band of adventurers who must put their prejudices aside to battle the evil confronting them. With shocking discoveries, bursts of humor, and danger around every corner, Reiyalindis is a thrilling fantasy, full of suspense, that will keep you guessing to the very last page.

Title: Heavenly

Author: Jennifer Laurens

Publisher: Grove Creek Publishing

Release Date: August 15, 2009

ISBN: 978-1933963846

Size: 294 pages, 6×9, softcover

Genre: YA Romantic Fantasy

Read excerpt here.

I met someone who changed everything. Matthias. My autistic sister’s guardian angel. Honest. Inspiring. Funny. Hot. And immortal. That was the problem.

What could I do? I did what any other girl would do—I fell in love with him. Zoë’s sister darts in front of cars. Her brother’s a pothead. Her parents are so overwhelmed; they don’t see Zoë lost in her broken life. Zoë escapes the only way she knows how: partying.

Matthias, a guardian sent from Heaven, watches over Zoë’s autistic sister. After Zoë is convinced he’s legit, angel and lost girl come together in a love that changes destiny. But Heaven on Earth can’t last forever.

Title: Dragon Spear

Author: Jessica Day George

Publisher: Bloomsbury USA Children’s Books

Release Date: May 12, 2009

ISBN: 978-1599903699

Size: 256 pages, hardcover

Genre: YA Fantasy

As far as Creel is concerned, all is finally right with the world. The dragon king, Shardas, and his queen, Velika, have made a home for themselves on the Far Islands, and for the first time in centuries it seems dragons and humans might be able to live together in peace. So what better time for Creel and Luka to plan their wedding. But then Velika gets kidnapped by a band of rogue dragons in need of their own queen. And Creel and Luka leap to aid Shardas and rescue her—only to discover that Luka’s father has set his sights on taking back the Far Islands from the dragons. Torn between her love for Prince Luka and her friendship with Shardas and Velika, Creel must make the most difficult decision of her life if she stands any chance of getting to the church on time.

Title: The Soul Alliance: The Thorn of Gooze

Author: Charles Streams

Publisher: Central Orb Publishing (self)

Release Date: March 11, 2009

ISBN: 978-0981881829

Size: 566 pages, 6×9, softcover

Genre: YA Fantasy

Series: Respites of Power (v1)

Roger Torrents, Israel Mckinley, and the Soul Alliance are on the search for the Ancient Treasures of Chanulville that have been scattered in different ruins throughout Mexico and protected by unknown dangers. In addition to the perils they will face abroad, secret plans are afoot on the home front in Utah and Chanulville. Blaine Warnock, Claudette Alberteau, and the other ex-Chosen Ones show up in Valley View to disrupt the everyday lives of the Chosen Ones, while Lord Rayo enlists the services of Gooze, a mysterious Soul Freezer that lives in the mountains of Chanulville. Will the Soul Alliance be able to recover the Ancient Treasures to move one step closer to healing the Central Orb? And when the prick of the Thorn of Gooze is felt throughout Chanulville, will they all survive until the next spring equinox?

Title: Slathbog’s Gold (Adventurers Wanted, Bk 1)

Author: M.L. Forman

Publisher: Shadow Mountain

Release Date: February 4, 2009

ISBN: 978-1606410295

Size: 432 pages, hardback

Genre: YA Fantasy

Do you have the courage, the wits, and the skill to claim a dragon’s hoard? If so, apply within …

The sign is small, tucked into the corner of Mr. Clutter’s bookshop window: “Adventurers Wanted. Apply Within.” No one but fifteen-year-old Alex Taylor even seems to notice it is there. And for Alex, who has wished for a change in his life, it is an irresistible invitation.

Upon entering Mr. Clutter’s shop, Alex is swept away on an incredible adventure to a faraway land filled with heroic warriors, mysterious elves, and hard-working dwarves. Alex becomes the eigth man in a band of adventurers seeking the lair of Slathbog the Red – and evil dragon with a legendary treasure. Along the way, Alex and his new friends must battle dangerous trolls and bandits, face undead wraiths, and seek the wisdom of the Oracle in her White Tower. Alex’s adventure takes him to distant and exotic lands where he learns about courage, integrity, honor, and, most importantly, friendship.

Title: Princess of the Midnight Ball

Author: Jessica Day George

Publisher: Bloomsbury USA Children’s Books

Release Date: January 20, 2009

ISBN: 978-1599903224

Size: 288 pages, hardcover

Genre: YA Fantasy

Read review.

A tale of twelve princesses doomed to dance until dawn… Galen is a young soldier returning from war; Rose is one of twelve princesses condemned to dance each night for the King Under Stone. Together Galen and Rose will search for a way to break the curse that forces the princesses to dance at the midnight balls. All they need is one invisibility cloak, a black wool chain knit with enchanted silver needles, and that most critical ingredient of all—true love—to conquer their foes in the dark halls below. But malevolent forces are working against them above ground as well, and as cruel as the King Under Stone has seemed, his wrath is mere irritation compared to the evil that awaits Galen and Rose in the brighter world above.

This book includes knitting patterns for a shawl and a chain of black wool that are key to the plot.

Title: Dragonlance: The Survivors

Author: Dan Willis, Tracy Hickman

Publisher: Wizards of the Coast

Release Date: November 4, 2008

ISBN: 978-0786947232

Size: 320 pages, 4×7, Softcover

Genre: YA Fantasy

There are many stories in Krynn–and history is watching.

The Journeyman is charged to use the ancient Anvil of Time to travel back along the river of time and find the lost stories that fell between the pages of the history books.

He finds Bradok Axeblade. A chance meeting in a pub turns into a dire warning of impending apocalypse, and Bradok and a determined band of dwarves must brave the dark of the underworld, facing strange new dangers and horrors long hidden from the light. Hunger, fatigue, betrayal, and death await them, all in their quest to find safety in an alien environment – the surface world.

Tracy Hickman Presents the Anvil of Time is the series title for the stand-alone biographies of several of the most important characters in the Dragonlance world.

Title: The Indigo King (Chronicles of the Imaginarium Geographica)

Author: James A. Owen

Publisher: Simon & Schuster Children’s Publishing

Release Date: October 21, 2008

ISBN: 978-1416951070

Size: 384 pages, Hardcover

Genre: YA Fantasy

Series: Here There Be Dragons (v. 1), The Search for the Red Dragon (v. 2)

“Answer the question unanswered for more than two millennia, and perhaps you may yet restore the world.”

On a September evening in 1931, John and Jack, two of the Caretakers of the Imaginarium Geographica, discover a cryptic warning on a medieval manuscript—which is not only addressed to them but seems to have been written by their friend, Hugo Dyson! But before they can discover the origin of the strange book, Hugo walks through a door in time—and vanishes into the past.

And in that moment, the world begins to change.

The Frontier, which separates our world from the Archipelago of Dreams, has fallen. Dark and terrible beasts roam throughout England. No one can be summoned from the Archipelago. And both worlds have fallen into darkness under the reign of a cruel and terrible king.

The only hope to restore the proper order of things lies on a forgotten island at the edge of the Archipelago, where a time travel device left by Jules Verne must be used to race through history itself—from the Bronze Age to ancient Alexandria and the founding of the Silver Throne—in one night. And in that single night, John and Jack will find that the only way to save their friend and stop the chaos destroying the world is to solve a 2,000-year-old mystery: Who is the Cartographer?

Title: The Hero of Ages (Mistborn vol. 3)

Author: Brandon Sanderson

Publisher: Tor Books

Release Date: October 14, 2008

ISBN: 978-0765316899

Size: 576 pages, hardcover

Genre: Fantasy

Series: Mistborn (vol. 1), The Well of Ascension (vol. 2)

Who is the Hero of Ages?

To end the Final Empire and restore freedom, Vin killed the Lord Ruler. But as a result, the Deepness—the lethal form of the ubiquitous mists—is back, along with increasingly heavy ashfalls and ever more powerful earthquakes. Humanity appears to be doomed.

Having escaped death at the climax of The Well of Ascension only by becoming a Mistborn himself, Emperor Elend Venture hopes to find clues left behind by the Lord Ruler that will allow him to save the world. Vin is consumed with guilt at having been tricked into releasing the mystic force known as Ruin from the Well. Ruin wants to end the world, and its near omniscience and ability to warp reality make stopping it seem impossible. She can’t even discuss it with Elend lest Ruin learn their plans!

The conclusion of the Mistborn trilogy fulfills all the promise of the first two books. Revelations abound, connections rooted in early chapters of the series click into place, and surprises, as satisfying as they are stunning, blossom like fireworks to dazzle and delight. It all leads up to a finale unmatched for originality and audacity that will leave readers rubbing their eyes in wonder, as if awaking from an amazing dream.

Title: Sun and Moon, Ice and Snow

Author: Jessica Day George

Publisher: Bloomsbury USA Children’s Books

Release Date: January 8, 2008

ISBN: 978-1599901091

Size: Hardback; 336 pages

Genre: Young Adult Fantasy

Blessed—or cursed—with an ability to understand animals, the Lass has always felt estranged from her family, who struggle to make a living in the windswept north. So when an isbjorn (polar bear) seeks her out and promises that her family will be provided for if she accompanies him to his castle, she doesn’t hesitate. But the great white bear is not what he seems, nor is his castle. Slowly the Lass unravels the mystery of the bear’s enchantment and the spell connecting him with the strange symbols carved in the castle’s icy walls. But on a journey to a place where the four winds fear to travel, the true horror of the bear’s spell is revealed, and the Lass’s courage—and love—will be tested.

Based on the Nordic legend East of the Sun, West of the Moon, this richly reimagined tale is perfect for fans of Shannon Hale and Donna Jo Napoli.

Title: The Search for the Red Dragon

Author: James A. Owen

Publisher: Simon & Schuster Children’s Publishing

Release Date: January 1, 2008

ISBN: 978-1416948506

Size: 9 x 6; 384 pages

Genre: Young Adult Fantasy

It has been nine years since John, Jack, and Charles had their great adventure in the Archipelago of Dreams and became the Caretakers of the Imaginarium Geographica. Now they have been brought together again to solve a mystery: Someone is kidnapping the children of the Archipelago. And their only clue is a mysterious message delivered by a strange girl with artificial wings: “The Crusade has begun.” Worse, they discover that all of the legendary Dragonships have disappeared as well.

The only chance they have to save the world from a centuries-old plot is to seek out the last of the Dragonships—the Red Dragon—in a spectacular journey that takes them from Sir James Barrie’s Kensington Gardens to the Underneath of the Greek Titans of myth. With friends both familiar and new, they will travel through an extraordinary landscape where history, myth, and fable blend together to tell the oldest story in the world. And along the way, the Caretakers of the Geographica will discover that great deeds alone do not make heroes, and that growing up may be unavoidable…but growing old doesn’t have to be.

Title: Book of a Thousand Days

Author: Shannon Hale

Publisher: Bloomsbury USA Children’s Books

Release Date: September 18, 2007

ISBN: 978-1599900513

Size: 5×8; 320 pages

Genre: Young Adult Fantasy

When Dashti, a maid, and Lady Saren, her mistress, are shut in a tower for seven years because of Saren’s refusal to marry a man she despises, the two prepare for a very long and dark imprisonment.

As food runs low and the days go from broiling hot to freezing cold, it is all Dashti can do to keep them fed and comfortable. With the arrival outside the tower of Saren’s two suitors—one welcome, the other decidedly less so—the girls are confronted with both hope and great danger, and Dashti must make the desperate choices of a girl whose life is worth more than she knows.