Have you ever caught yourself wondering if perhaps things around you are not quite what they seem? Practical and pragmatic Pris has never even considered the possibility. That is until someone breaks into her home claiming her parents have been abducted and taken to a magical world. Snake has always known he is a gnome, and that there are all manner of magical creatures living, not only in his home town of London, but in the wider world as well. Now he must convince a very human girl she is actually an elf, and that she must join with him and enter the World Below to save both their parents. Entering The World Below isn't simple as it seems—scattered around England are the magical creatures and riddles that will grant them passage. They only have days to reach them all, and someone is working against them to ensure they never make to the magical realm. Unsure who to trust, can Pris embrace her magical heritage before she loses her parents forever? Snake faces his own dark secrets as he fights his growing attraction for Pris, knowing they can never be together. When everything seems against them, will Pris and Snake make it to The World Below in Time?

Snake said let’s go on a quest in a magical realm to save our parents—how hard can it be? After all, we made it to The World Below. Pris had no idea what she was letting herself in for when she said yes. She certainly did not expect to be thrust into a magical maze heading towards a confrontation with a freaking minotaur! When Percival agreed to guide the two creatures from The World Above on their quest, little did he know the stresses of the maze would threaten to pull Pris and Snake apart, and that he would be tested to his very limits. Will the three creatures overcome their own demons, and the obstacles the maze throws at them so they can defeat The Minotaur and claim their prize?

by Vivienne Lee Fraser (Author) Format: Kindle Edition 5.0 5.0 out of 5 stars 1 rating Book 3 of 4: The World Below See all formats and editions Kindle from $2.99 Read with Our Free App Magic is real! Dragons are real! And I am an actual Elven Princess! Pris has a lot to get her head around, but no time do it because she and Snake have been sent to a magical court in The World Above to save The Queen and the very fabric of magic itself—and she is racing to the rescue on the back of a dragon. While Pris is riding high, Snake is still trying to figure out why he is here and not back in The World Below freeing his mother. The Dragon Queen’s reassurances that he and Percival are being there is critical does not have him convinced. In a castle suspended in time in the middle of a Scottish town, Snake, Pris and Percival must navigate court politics and resolve personal problems while trying to convince the King of the Unseelie Court to save their Queen. Just when they are making progress the court comes under attack. Will Snake and Pris succeed? Or will the price be too high for them to pay? Saving their parents brought them together, will saving the world tear them apart?

From the author of While I Was Gone, a stunning new novel that showcases Sue Miller's singular gift for exposing the nerves that lie hidden in marriages and families, and the hopes and regrets that lie buried in the hearts of women. Maine, 1919. Georgia Rice, who has cared for her father and two siblings since her mother's death, is diagnosed, at nineteen, with tuberculosis and sent away to a sanitarium. Freed from the burdens of caretaking, she discovers a nearly lost world of youth and possibility, and meets the doomed young man who will become her lover. Vermont, the present. On the heels of a divorce, Catherine Hubbard, Georgia's granddaughter, takes up residence in Georgia's old house. Sorting through her own affairs, Cath stumbles upon the true story of Georgia's life and marriage, and of the misunderstanding upon which she built a lasting love. With the tales of these two women--one a country doctor's wife with a haunting past, the other a twice-divorced San Francisco schoolteacher casting about at midlife for answers to her future--Miller offers us a novel of astonishing richness and emotional depth. Linked by bitter disappointments, compromise, and powerful grace, the lives of Georgia and Cath begin to seem remarkably similar, despite their distinctly different times: two young girls, generations apart, motherless at nearly the same age, thrust into early adulthood, struggling with confusing bonds of attachment and guilt; both of them in marriages that are not what they seem, forced to make choices that call into question the very nature of intimacy, faithfulness, betrayal, and love. Marvelously written, expertly told, The World Below captures the shadowy half-truths of the visible world, and the beauty and sorrow submerged beneath the surfaces of our lives--the lost world of the past, our lost hopes for the future. A tour de force from one of our most beloved storytellers.

“A swift-paced survival tale that’s a cool blend of Lord of the Flies and Journey to the Center of the Earth.” —School Library Journal “A sharp meditation on the seemingly universal difficulties of being young, smart, and uncertain.” —BCCB “A multifaceted journey from darkness to light.” —Kirkus Reviews Winner of the Red Maple Fiction Award A class field trips turns into an underground quest for survival in the latest middle grade novel from the author of Edgar Award winner OCDaniel. Mr. Baker’s eighth grade class thought they were in for a normal field trip to Carlsbad Caverns in New Mexico. But when an earthquake hits, their field trip takes a terrifying turn. The students are plunged into an underground lake…and their teacher goes missing. They have no choice but to try and make their way back above ground, even though no one can agree on the best course of action. The darkness brings out everyone’s true self. Supplies dwindle and tensions mount. Pretty and popular Silvia does everything she can to hide her panic attacks, even as she tries to step up and be a leader. But the longer she’s underground, the more frequent and debilitating they become. Meanwhile, Eric has always been a social no one, preferring to sit at the back of the class and spend evenings alone. Now, he finds himself separated from his class, totally by himself underground. That is, until he meets an unexpected stranger. Told from three different points of view, this fast-paced adventure novel explores how group dynamics change under dire circumstances. Do the students of Mr. Baker’s class really know each other at all? Or do they just think they do? It turns out, it’s hard to hide in the dark.

This selection of William Jay Smith's work of sixty years covers the entire career of one of America's acknowledged poetic masters. It moves from the dark pre-war lyrics ( Quail in Autumn) to the powerful long-lined free verse of the 1960s ( The Tin Can). Here are memorable WWII lyrics ( Dark Valentine) and masterful light verse ( The Tall Poets), displaying the wit that enlivens all of Smith's work. Previously uncollected poems range from a haunting delineation of the ironies of age in "The Shipwreck" to the dramatic intensity of The Cherokee Lottery, which deals with the forced removal of Indian tribes east of the Mississippi. Praise for William Jay Smith: "A most gifted and original poet... One of the very few who cannot be confused with anybody else."—Richard Wilbur "William Jay Smith has been one of our best poets for more than sixty years, and The Cherokee Lottery is his masterwork: taut, harrowing, eloquent, and profoundly memorable."—Harold Bloom "His best poems are unlike anything else in contemporary American literature... Although often based on realistic situations, Smith's compressed, formal lyrics develop language musically in a way which summons an intricate, dreamlike set of images and associations."—Dana Gioia "William Jay Smith has given us many of the truest and purest poems an American has written: the most resonantly musical, the most magical."—X. J. Kennedy