Swirling Tides

  Premise:   Laia is a slave. Elias is a soldier. Neither is free. Under the Martial Empire, defiance is met with death. Those who do not vow their blood and bodies to the Emperor risk the execution of their loved ones and the destruction of all they hold dear. It is in this brutal world, inspired by ancient Rome, that Laia lives with her grandparents and older brother. The family ekes out an existence in the Empire’s impoverished backstreets. They do not challenge the Empire. They’ve seen what happens to those who do. But when Laia’s brother is arrested for treason, Laia is forced to make a decision. In exchange for help from rebels who promise to rescue her brother, she will risk her life to spy for them from within the Empire’s greatest military academy. There, Laia meets Elias, the school’s finest soldier—and secretly, its most unwilling. Elias wants only to be free of the tyranny he’s being trained to enforce. He and Laia will soon realize that their destinies are intertwined—and

Premise: Five-year-old Heidi goes to live with her grandfather in his lonely hut high in the Alps. She quickly learns to love her new life with him. But her strict aunt decides that Heidi must be sent away again, to live in town. Heidi cannot bear being away from the mountains and is determined to return to the happiness of life with her grandfather. Picturesque and Classical This book begins with a little Swiss girl, five-year-old Heidi who is sent by her aunt after her parents pass away, to live with her estranged grandfather who lives in an isolated hut high in the Alps, away from the rest of the village. His troubled past and his grief over his son’s death makes him reclusive but Heidi immediately loves her carefree life in the mountains with her grandfather, and he comes to like her too. So they are both upset when Heidi’s aunt takes her away and sends her to live with a rich family she had worked for, in a city.  My favorite part of the book was when Heidi gets back to the Alps

Premise: Do you believe in magic? Micah Tuttle does. Even though his awful Great-Aunt Gertrudis doesn’t approve, Micah believes in the stories his dying Grandpa Ephraim tells him of the magical Circus Mirandus: the invisible tiger guarding the gates, the beautiful flying birdwoman, and the magician more powerful than any other—the Man Who Bends Light. Finally, Grandpa Ephraim offers proof. The Circus is real. And the Lightbender owes Ephraim a miracle. With his friend Jenny Mendoza in tow, Micah sets out to find the Circus and the man he believes will save his grandfather. The only problem is, the Lightbender doesn't want to keep his promise. And now it's up to Micah to get the miracle he came for. Delightful and Charming Micah Tuttle has heard the stories of Circus Mirandus many times, from his Grandpa Ephraim, who raised him. He’s always believed the stories, but finally, he has proof. Circus Mirandus is real and Grandpa Ephraim had visited it before. The Man Who Bends Ligh

 I Am The Rain I fall to Earth, pitter and patter, Skies turn dark, storm clouds gather,  I turn the sands damp and brown, The travellers hasten to town, Weeks of my absence, Have caused an imbalance, After the dust and the heat, To life, I am so sweet, I drum gently on the grass, And slide down the window, I cling to the warmth of your fingertips against the glass, Then I lose grip; I let go.

Premise: Every year, the people of the Protectorate leave a baby as an offering to the witch who lives in the forest. They hope this sacrifice will keep her from terrorizing their town. But the witch in the forest, Xan, is kind and gentle. She shares her home with a wise Swamp Monster named Glerk and a Perfectly Tiny Dragon, Fyrian. Xan rescues the abandoned children and deliver them to welcoming families on the other side of the forest, nourishing the babies with starlight on the journey.  One year, Xan accidentally feeds a baby moonlight instead of starlight, filling the ordinary child with extraordinary magic. Xan decides she must raise this enmagicked girl, whom she calls Luna, as her own. To keep young Luna safe from her own unwieldy power, Xan locks her magic deep inside her. When Luna approaches her thirteenth birthday, her magic begins to emerge on schedule--but Xan is far away. Meanwhile, a young man from the Protectorate is determined to free his people by killing the witch.