orphans

"Lisette's father killed the King. His execution leaves Lisette alone, disgraced, and without the magic he intended to pass on to her. In Oasis, that's a problem. Glutted with enchanted performers, Oasis is a sin city where courtiers pay in gold to drink, gamble, and above all, be entertained. To survive on its competitive streets, Lisette peddles paltry illusions in place of magic. Desperate to prove herself, Lisette enters into a deadly competition to be chosen as the highest-ranked magician in the world, the Queen's Jester. But her rival, the irritatingly handsome Luc, possesses the one thing Lisette does not--real magic. Lisette will do anything to win, but when evidence implicating the Queen in her husband's murder surfaces, Lisette must choose between redeeming her family name, or seizing the fame she's hungered for her entire life"--Provided by publisher.

Thorfinn is pursued by the dangerous Garm.

"Thanks to his claim by lineage, the attackers surrounding Jomsborg want Thorfinn to be their leader, but it is a mantle he intensely rejects. When the battle for leadership over the powerful Jomsvikings reaches a stalemate, Thorfinn must make a critical decision. With Gudrid held captive within the fortressed city, walking away will not be an option. He must infiltrate Jomsborg to break her out, and the ensuing battle will leave the greatest mercenary force in the North Sea changed forever..."--Back cover.

"Free at last, Thorfinn sets off on an expedition to Vinland, to establish a place free of war and slavery. In an effort to fund his project, Thorfinn visits Iceland where Halfdan, a wealthy man who shared a dark history with his late father, awaits. Meanwhile the marriage between Halfdan's son Sigurd and Leif's relative Gudrid is well under way, but Gudrid dreams of becoming a sailor not a bride. A battle soon breaks out as Gudrid attempts to escape aboard Leif's ship. With Sigurd hot on their tail, Thorfinn and the crew press eastward to the city of Miklagard, picking up an orphaned baby and a dog along the way..."--Back cover.

"Thorfinn and his crew are on their way to Greece, the first leg of their expedition to Vinland. Having landed near Bergen, in Norway, Thorfinn is attacked by a bear, only to be saved by a fierce huntress named Hild. While sharing a meal together, Hild recounts how her village and family were massacred many years ago-a story Thorfinn knows quite intimately. Now, Thorfinn must face Hild and his own violent past in order to press forward. As his journey progresses, Thorfinn encounters more factions that do not share his vision, and a war in the name of Vinland may be looming on the horizon"--Back cover.

"His army starving for resources, King Canute schemes to confiscate Keril's farm. Keril and his sons become fugitives, barely escaping the capital aboard Leif Ericson's ship, but Canute follows in pursuit with his best men. Upon Keril's return, he find his beloved slave Arnheid has helped her former husband, a runaway who has killed many of Keril's bodyguards, escape. Beset by betrayal on all sides, there may be no way out for Keril, but Thorlinn finally has his freedom. Yet the son of Thors feels bound to Denmark by his unfinished business with Canute..."--Back cover.

Eleven-year-old Danny Monteverde believes in magic, he believes that the enchanted land of Rio Luna in his older sister's favorite book is real, and most of all he believes that if he can find the way to Rio Luna he will find his sister, Pili, there, because he does not believe that his sister would run away from the group home where they lived and leave him behind; but after years of being passed from one foster family to another, his faith begins to fade--until one day he finds a mysterious book in the library that contains a map to Rio Luna ... and a way to find Pili.

Devastated when her parents are killed in a car accident, sixteen-year old Jackie moves from New York City to Colorado to live with her mother's best friend, who has twelve children, including two boys who start to show an interest in Jackie that goes beyond brotherly.

Dreaming of one day taming monsters, orphan street urchin Suri finds her self-confidence, cleverness, and ambition serve her well when a mysterious new wagon holding something monstrous joins her merchant camp.

Maeve Merritt's fears that life would grow dull after she let free Mermeros prove unfounded when Mr. Poindexter tries to use one of his three wishes with the djinni. Both Mr. Poindexter and Mermeros go missing, and without them Tom, Maeve's friend, will be forced into an orphanage again. So, Maeve, Tom, and Alice set out on flying carpetbags to find out where their friends have gone.