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BRA
Young Samurai Series (age 10+)
by Chris Bradford
survival ... adventure ... action
Publisher comments: Shipwrecked on the shore of Japan, twelve-year-old Jack Fletcher is wounded and alone. His father and the entire crew have been slaughtered by ninja pirates. Jack’s last remaining possession is his father’s rudder, an invaluable book of maps and notes about the world’s uncharted oceans. Masamoto-sama, one of Japan’s greatest samurai, rescues Jack, adopts him, and sends him to samurai school, where Jack will be trained in the Way of the Warrior. Will it be enough to help Jack defeat Dragon Eye, the ruthless ninja who is intent on stealing the rudder at any cost?
title: Young Samurai: The Way of the Warrior
title: Young Samurai: The Way of the Sword
title: Young Samurai: The Way of the Dragon
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HOR
The Alex Rider Series (age 10+)
by Anthony Horowitz
brilliant protagonist ... math/science/technology ... mystery ... action ... adventure
They told him his uncle died in a car accident. Fourteen-year-old Alex knows that's a lie, and the bullet holes in his uncle's windshield confirm his suspicions. But nothing prepares him for the news that the uncle he always thought he knew was really a spy for MI6 ... Britain's top secret intelligence agency. Recruited to find his uncle's killers and complete his final mission, Alex suddenly finds himself caught in a deadly game of cat and mouse.
title: Stormbreaker
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BEN
The Grey Griffins Series (age 10+)
by Derek Benz
action ... adventure ... fantasy
Publisher comments: Max Sumner and his three best friends, Harley, Ernie, and Natalia--who form the secret club The Grey Griffins--seem to be the only people in their very normal Minnesota town to notice that strange things have started to happen. When creatures like goblins and fairies and unicorns, all characters from a card game the Grey Griffins play, begin to make appearances in Max's backyard, Max and his friends know something is terribly wrong. And it's up to them to stop the wicked creatures of the cards from destroying their town-indeed, their world.
title: The Revenge of the Shadow King
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REE
The Larklight Series (age 10+)
by Philip Reeve
science fiction ... action ... adventure
Arthur (Art) Mumsby and his irritating sister Myrtle live with their father in a huge and rambling house called Larklight...that just happens to be traveling through outer space. When a visitor called Mr. Webster arrives for a visit, it is far from an innocent social call. Before long Art and Myrtle are off on an adventure to the furthest reaches of space, where they will do battle with evil forces in order to save each other, and the universe. A fantastically original Victorian tale set in an outer space world that has a unique gravitational pull all its own.
title: Larklight: Or the Revenge of the White Spiders! Or to Saturns Rings and Back! a Rousing Tale of Dauntless Pluck in the Farthest Reaches of Space
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WIL
Danger Boy Series (age 10+)
by Mark London Williams
action ... adventure ... science fiction
Hitch a ride through time on the Danger Boy adventures These rich, action-filled fantasies about a reluctant time-traveler and his unusual sidekicks will keep readers on the edge of their seats. The year is 2019, and a secret government agency is forcing Eli's dad to continue with his time-travel experiments, even though Eli's mom has just disappeared in one. Now Eli has a ridiculous new code name, and a gravely important mission. In DANGER BOY: ANCIENT FIRE, a lab accident sends Eli sprawling through the Fifth Dimension, where he hooks up with the amiable Clyne, an evolved dinosaur from an alternate Earth who just wants to finish his homework. Clyne's timeship lands them in ancient Alexandria, Egypt, just as a great fire rages through the city and the girl scientist Thea is fleeing an angry mob who thinks she's a witch. As if that's not enough, in the present-day world, a deadly pox is on the loose, and bizarre things are starting to happen to the fabric of time itself.
title: Ancient Fire
title: Dragon Sword
title: Trail of Bones
title: City of Ruins
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HOR
The Devil and His Boy (age 10+)
by Anthony Horowitz
the arts ... adventure ... action
Tom Falconer is in trouble. Pursued by the notorious criminal Ratsey, Tom soon finds himself alone and hungry on the streets of London. Luckily enough, the mysterious Dr. Mobius soon recruits Tom to play an important role in a play to be performed in front of Queen Elizabeth. Tom knows there's something not right about Mobius, but he's willing to take a risk in order to keep his neck out of Ratsey's murderous hands. Little does Tom realize that Mobius's dark secret will trap him in the middle of an international conspiracy, holding the fate of the English empire in his hands.
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SMI
Sasquatch (age 10+)
by Roland Smith
nature ... adventure ... action
Thirteen-year-old Dylan follows his father into the woods on the slopes of Mount St. Helens, which is on the brink of another eruption, in an attempt to protect the resident Sasquatch from ruthless hunters.
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STR
The Bartimaeus Trilogy (age 10+)
by Jonathan Stroud
humor ... adventure ... action ... fantasy ... magic
Nathaniel is a young magician's apprentice, taking his first lessons in the arts of magic. But when a devious hotshot wizard named Simon Lovelace ruthlessly humiliates Nathaniel in front of everyone he knows, Nathaniel decides to kick up his education a few notches and show Lovelace who's boss. With revenge in his mind, he masters one of the toughest spells of all: summoning the all-powerful djinni, Bartimaeus. But summoning Bartimaeus and controlling him are two different things entirely, and when Nathaniel sends the djinni out to steal the powerful Amulet of Samarkand, Nathaniel finds himself caught up in a whirlwind of magical espionage, murder, blackmail, and revolt.
title: The Amulet of Samarkand
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STO
Five Ancestors Series (age 10+)
by Jeff Stone
identity ... adventure ... action ... historical
Twelve-year-old Fu and his temple brothers Malao, Seh, Hok, and Long don’t know who their parents were. Raised from infancy by their grandmaster, they think of their temple as their home and their fellow warrior monks as their family. Then one terrible night, the temple is destroyed by an army led by a former monk named Ying, whose heart is bent on revenge. Fu and his brothers are the only survivors. Charged by their grandmaster to uncover the secrets of their past, the five flee into the countryside and go their separate ways. Somehow, Grandmaster has promised, their pasts are connected to Ying’s. Understanding that the past is the key to shaping the future, the first book in the series follows Fu as he struggles to find out more and prove himself in the process. Fu’s name literally means “tiger,” for he is the youngest-ever master of the fierce fighting style modeled after that animal.
title: Tiger
title: Monkey
title: Snake
title: Crane
title: Eagle
title: Mouse
title: Dragon
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CHR
The Tripods Series (age 10+)
by John Christopher
adventure ... action ... science fiction
Young Will Parker and his companions make a perilous journey toward an outpost of freedom where they hope to escape from the ruling Tripods, who capture mature human beings and make them docile, obedient servants.
title: The White Mountains
title: The City of Gold and Lead
title: The Pool of Fire
title: When the Tripods Came
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CHR
A Dusk of Demons (age 10+)
by John Christopher
adventure ... action ... voyages/journeys ... science fiction
Ben, like many others, has heard the stories of the Demons--those being summoned by the Dark One. But they exist only in his nightmares until his father, the Master, dies mysteriously and Ben is told the Demons are responsible. Then the Demons set fire to Ben's home on Old Isle and he and his stepsister must flee their homeland to find their family. Along the way, they face imprisonment, gypies, and terrified countrymen who are seeking a sacrifice to save themselves from the Dark One.
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CAR
The Atherton Series (age 10+)
by Patrick Carman
action ... science fiction ... adventure
From the creator of the Land of Elyon comes a riveting adventure set in an extraordinary satellite world, created as a refuge from a dying Earth, that begins to collapse and forever change the lives of its inhabitants. Edgar, a gifted climber, is a lonely boy scaling the perilous cliffs that separate the three realms of Atherton: a humble fig grove; a mysterious highland world of untold beauty and sinister secrets; and a vast wasteland where he must confront an unspeakable danger that could destroy the people of Atherton. When Edgar discovers a book which contains the history of Atherton's origins and ultimate apocalypse, his world, quite literally, begins to turn inside out.
title: Atherton: The House of Power
title: Rivers of Fire
title: The Dark Planet
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PAO
The Inheritance Series (age 10+)
by Christopher Paolini
adventure ... action ... magic ... fantasy
Fifteen-year-old Eragon believes that he is merely a poor farm boy ... until his destiny as a Dragon Rider is revealed. Gifted with only an ancient sword, a loyal dragon, and sage advice from an old storyteller, Eragon is soon swept into a dangerous tapestry of magic, glory, and power. Now his choices could save ... or destroy ... the Empire.
title: Eragon
title: Eldest
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PUL
His Dark Materials (age 10+)
by Philip Pullman
growing up ... spooky ... action ... adventure ... fantasy
Lyra Belaqua is content to run wild among the scholars of Jordan College, with her daemon familiar Pantalaimon always by her side. But the arrival of her fearsome uncle, Lord Asriel, draws her to the heart of a terrible struggle ... a struggle born of Gobblers and stolen children, witch clans and armored bears. And as she hurtles toward danger in the cold, far North, young Lyra never suspects the shocking truth: She alone is destined to win, or to lose, this more-than-mortal battle.
title: The Golden Compass
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RIO
Percy Jackson and the Olympians (age 10+)
by Rick Riordan
action ... folklore ... fantasy ... adventure
Percy, expelled from six schools for being unable to control his temper, learns the truth from his mother that his father is the Greek god Poseidon, and is sent to Camp Half Blood where he is befriended by a satyr and the demigod daughter of Athena who join him in a journey to the Underworld to retrieve Zeus's lightning bolt and prevent a catastrophic war.
title: The Lightning Thief
title: The Sea of Monsters
title: The Titan's Curse
title: the Battle of the Labyrinth
title: The Last Olympian
title: The Demigod Files
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PRA
The Johnny Maxwell Trilogy (age 10+)
by Terry Pratchett
action ... war ... science fiction ... humor ... adventure
The alien spaceship is in his sights. His finger is on the Fire button. Johnny Maxwell is about to set the new high score on the computer game Only You Can Save Mankind. Suddenly: ``We wish to talk.'' Huh? ``We surrender.'' The aliens aren't supposed to surrender. Now what is Johnny going to do with a fleet of alien prisoners who know their rights under the international rules of war and are demanding safe-conduct? It's hard enough trying to save Mankind from the Galactic Hordes. It's even harder trying to save the Galactic Hordes from Mankind. But it's just a game, isn't it? Isn't it?
title: Only You Can Save Mankind
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STE
The Edge Chronicles (age 10+)
by Paul Stewart and Chris Riddell
action ... identity ... adventure ... fantasy
Young Twig lives in the Deepwoods, among the Woodtrolls, but he isn't one of them. In a brave attempt to find out where he belongs, Twig wanders into the mysterious, dangerous world beyond the Deepwoods.
title: Beyond the Deepwoods
title: Stormchaser
title: Midnight Over Sanctaphrax
title: Freeglader
title: The Last of the Sky Pirates
title: The Curse of the Gloamglozer
title: Vox
title: Clash of the Sky Galleons
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FUN
Inkheart Series (age 10+)
by Cornelia Funke
authorship ... magic ... fantasy ... adventure ... action
Publisher comments: One cruel night, Meggie's father reads aloud from a book called Inkheart, and an evil ruler escapes the boundaries of fiction and lands in their living room. Suddenly, Meggie is smack in the middle of the kind of adventure she has only read about in books. Meggie must learn to harness the magic that has conjured this nightmare. For only she can change the course of the story that has changed her life forever.
title: Inkheart
title: Inkspell
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DUP
The Book of Ember Series (age 10+)
by Jeanne Duprau
survival ... action ... adventure ... fantasy ... science fiction
Publisher comments: Built as an underground refuge for the human race, the city of Ember begins to deteriorate as its lights start to flicker. When Lina finds part of an ancient message, she's sure it holds a secret that will save the city. She and her friend Doon must decipher the message before the lights go out on Ember forever.
title: The City of Ember
title: The People of Sparks
title: The Prophet of Yonwood
title: The Diamond of Darkhold
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COO
The Dark Is Rising Series (age 10+)
by Susan Cooper
folklore ... action ... adventure ... fantasy
On holiday in Cornwall, the three Drew children discover an ancient map in the attic of the house that they are staying in. They know immediately that it is special. It is even more than that...the key to finding a grail, a source of power to fight the forces of evil known as the Dark. And in searching for it themselves, the Drews put their very lives in peril. Begin with "Over Sea, Under Stone."
title: Over Sea, Under Stone
title: The Dark is Rising
title: Greenwitch
title: The Grey King
title: Silver on the Tree

Escondido Elementary School, Sat Aug 25 11:55:29 2012
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