New Children's Books: Published In May 2012 - Post One

                                 
Rick Riordan - The Kane Chronicles: The Serpent's Shadow - Published by Puffin - 1 May 2012
CARTER AND SADIE KANE, descendants of the magical House of Life, are in pretty big trouble.
Despite their bravest efforts, Apophis, the giant snake of Chaos, is still threatening to plunge the world into eternal darkness. Now the Kanes must do something no magician has ever managed - defeat Apophis himself. No pressure there then.
Battling against the forces of Chaos, their only hope is an ancient spell - but the magic has been lost for a millennia. Will they find the serpent's shadow, or will they be led to their deaths in the depths of the Underworld?

                                 
Tiger Wars (The Tiger Wars)
Steve Backshall - Tiger Wars ( The Tiger Wars) - Published By Orion Children's - 1 May 2012
Saker is a member of the Clan, a clandestine group offering child renegades for hire to the highest bidder. The Clan are like brothers, but once you're a member you can never leave - ever. Each member of the Clan has their own animal identity and corresponding tattoo, each is an expert in jungle law, survival and the ways of animals in order to make them better spies, thieves or assassins. Saker's latest assignment takes him to India to bring down the men who protect tigers. He's being employed by a Chinese overlord who specialises in poaching for tiger farms and tiger organs for high priced medicines. But something happens to make Saker change sides and now he's on the run from his predatory brothers. They're hunting him down and they're professionals. He meets fifteen year old Sinter, a spoiled rich girl, who is running away from an arranged marriage, and their uneasy friendship will eventually form an unshakeable bond, as together they face adventure and danger as two young eco-warriors in a truly threatening world. In the spirit of Willard Price for today's readers, Tiger Wars is the first in DEADLY presenter Steve Backshall's high-octane adventure series, The Falcon Chronicles, which introduces Saker and Sinter on a quest to right some of the horrific wrongs perpetrated against wildlife around the planet. As they rescue tigers or mountain gorillas, thwart shark finners and cyanide fishers, rainforest exploiters and canned hunters, they come face to face with the world's most fascinating, majestic and lethal creatures.

book cover of 

The Drowned Cities 

 (Ship Breaker, book 2)

by

Paolo Bacigalupi
                                            
Paolo Bacigalupi - The Drowned Cities (Ship Breaker) - Published by Atom - 1 May 2012
In this exhilarating companion to Printz Award winner and National Book Award finalist Ship Breaker, Paolo Bacigalupi brilliantly captures a dark future America that has devolved into unending civil wars, driven by demagogues who recruit children to become soulless killing machines. Two refugees of these wars, Mahlia and Mouse, are known as 'war maggots': survivors who have barely managed to escape the unspeakable violence plaguing the war-torn lands of the Drowned Cities. But their fragile safety is threatened when they discover a wounded half-man--a bioengineered war beast named Tool, who is hunted by a vengeful band of soldiers. When tragedy strikes, Mahlia is faced with an impossible decision: risk everything to save the boy who once saved her, or flee to her own safety. Drawing upon the brutal truths of current events, The Drowned Cities is a powerful story of loyalty, survival, and heart-pounding adventure.
book cover of 

The Power of Three 

 (Secret Breakers, book 1)

by

H L Dennis
                                     
H. L. Dennis - The Power of Three (Secret Breakers) - Published by Hodder Chilldren's - May 2012
Introducing an extraordinary series with real codes, real mysteries and real danger. A Da Vinci Code for kids ...Imagine the chance to solve the Voynich Manuscript - a puzzle that has truly defeated adults for centuries.
It's an ancient manuscript no one has ever been able to decipher. And there are Rules that say it is forbidden to even try to solve it.
A secret hidden for centuries. 
But Brodie Bray likes a challenge, and when she receives a coded message through the post her life changes for ever. She's chosen for a secret team working to crack this most complicated code in the world to uncover the secret it hides.
But it's a code that has driven people mad trying to solve it.
Together with her new friends, Brodie must break the rules to break the code, at every turn facing terrible danger. For someone is watching them - and will even kill to stop them.


In this original new series, three children tackle real unsolved mysteries and struggle with real unbroken codes to get to the hidden truth.




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