Cirrus@Austlit

‘Some figured I was a broomstick rider. Others figured I was a person of wings. In case you got it wrong too; no, I’m not a witch, not a fairy. I’m just an ordinary kid. Plain ordinary, I tell you – in spite of my name also suggesting not.’

'So says Marvel, though her schoolmates disagree …

Then comes relief from the whispers and giggles at her city school, as Marvel has to return to her birth town in the country. She yearns for a fresh start, but her new classmates, including mysterious Sky, begin to notice her feats. Even Marvel ponders about herself when she stumbles upon woods that are invisible to everyone else.

In the invisible woods, she meets Zylo, who at first she mistakenly believes is no more than an unusual boy. He soon leads her to a discovery that adds to her self-doubt. 

Perplexed, Marvel goes in search of answers, which puts her in peril and unwittingly endangers the town too. Is she not who she thinks she is? Would she ever be able to escape her past?'

(Source: bookseller's abstract).

'School rules, home rules, Mimi-Marina is up to her neck with rules. So for the school holidays, she is only too glad to help out at her mum’s seemingly rule-free Global Village Doll Shop. She soon feels a magical vibe in the shop. Was her mind playing with her mum’s hilarious remarks? How could those comments make sense, unless the dolls gadded about and frolicked around the shop at night?

'Then Mimi-Marina makes a discovery which ties her down to big rules, freaky rules, rules that get her into trouble and brings the shop to a standstill. To get the shop back on track she must go to the Realm of Dolls. But going to the Doll Realm is fraught with danger for her. Would her life change forever? Even worse, might she never return home?' (Publication summary)

'Would Sierra live to prove she is a famous-ballerina-to-be?

'Sierra’s only hope of saving her ballerina dreams is an ordinary ballet book, or so it seems – until a dancer steps out of a page.

'What’s more? Rosella, the ballerina, offers to train Sierra for the audition which might convince her schoolwork-obsessed mum that her daughter is a famous-ballerina-to-be. Sierra cannot believe her luck. Except that Rosella’s fate is now in her hands: if she fails to find a way to free Rosella from the magic spells of the witch who trapped her in the book, the dancer will forever have to return to the page within a few hours, whenever she comes out. But even scarier is that if Rosella misses the witch’s deadline, she will disappear.

'And this is just the beginning of Sierra’s challenges …

'Could Sierra overcome them, and succeed at her audition to avoid having to quit ballet school and give up dance? Would she get Rosella out of the ballet book for good? Or would Sierra end up inside the book too? Worse still, disappear?

'This is a story of striving for what you feel passionate about, whatever that might be.

Not only dance fans but also other kids ages 9-12 (as well as kids ages 6-8) who enjoy tales of fantasy and magic, friendship, and mystery will find that this book is for them! ' (Publication summary)