Overview: In a landmark epic of fantasy and storytelling, Philip Pullman invites readers into a world as convincing and thoroughly realized as Narnia, Earthsea, or Redwall. Here lives an orphaned ward named Lyra Belacqua, whose carefree life among the scholars at Oxford's Jordan College is shattered by the arrival of two powerful visitors. First, her fearsome uncle, Lord Asriel, appears with evidence of mystery and danger in the far North, including...

Desperate to uncover the Sultan's secrets by spying on his court, gunslinger Amani is taken captive by the forces of the Sultan, whose agenda seems less tyrannical than originally believed.

After three years in exile Kestra Dallisor has been summoned back to Antora by her father, right-hand man of the seemingly immortal king, Lord Endrick, but she is intercepted and kidnapped by the Coracks who want to use her to get the Olden Blade, which they believe can be used to kill the despot--Simon, one of the rebels with his own grudge against the Dallisors, is assigned to accompany her, but Kestra has her own plans and she does not intend to...

"Sisters Cheta and Zam's paths to break free of their oppressive home diverge wildly--one moves into an aunt's luxurious home and the other struggles to survive on her wits alone--and when they finally reunite, Zam realizes how far Cheta has fallen, leaving Cheta's fate in Zam's hands."--

Allowing herself to be hynotized, fifteen-year-old Kira reveals memories of another time and place that may eventually cost her and her mother their lives.

The battle for control of Antora continues, and Simon and Kestra have been forced apart; Kestra is a prisoner in the cursed All Spirits Forest where Loelle wants her to use her growing power to heal the land and bring it back to life, while Simon has been made king of the Halderians, but is surrounded by men whose loyalty is uncertain and who fear his connection to Kestra of the hated Dallisor family, and the evil Lord Endrick.

Prince Tal has long awaited his coming-of-age tour. After spending most of his life cloistered behind palace walls as he learns to keep his forbidden magic secret, he can finally see his family's kingdom for the first time. His first taste of adventure comes just two days into the journey, when their crew discovers a mysterious prisoner on a burning derelict vessel. Tasked with watching over the prisoner, Tal is surprised to feel an intense connection...

Five high school students are kidnapped and held for ransom.

Sixteen-year-old Gemma, a British city-dweller, is abducted while on vacation with her parents and taken to the Australian outback, where she soon realizes that escape attempts are futile, and in time she learns that her captor is not as despicable as she first believed.

When eleven-year-old Dylan Anderson is kidnapped, his subsequent rescue leads to the discovery of Ethan Jorgensen, who had disappeared four years earlier, and now Dylan's sister Caroline befriends Ethan and wants to learn the truth about her autistic brother's captivity.