"That going to the seaside was the very beginning of everything, - only it seemed as though it were going to be a beginning without an end, like the roads on the Sussex downs which look like roads and then look like paths, and then turn into sheep-tracks, and then are just grass and furze bushes and tottergrass and harebells and rabbits and chalk." "That going to the seaside was the very beginning of everything, - only it seemed as though it were going to be a beginning without an end, like the roads on the Sussex downs which look like roads and then look like paths, and then turn into sheep-tracks, and then are just grass and furze bushes and tottergrass and harebells and rabbits and chalk." In Nesbit's 1913 novel, "Wet Magic," the children of the Desmond family -- Francis, Mavis, Bernard and Kathleen -- are looking forward to a holiday by the sea. They get more of an adventure than they had planned on, though, when they accidentally summon a mermaid. And when that mermaid is captured and put on display at a local circus, they decide they must rescue her. As their reward, they are permitted to visit the hidden kingdom of the mer-people, but find they must now stop a war to save their new friends.

"Hardling's Luck" is a sequel to "The House of Arden," a great favorite of Nesbit fans; it's a story of injustice, poverty, deformity, magic, romance, suspense, sacrifice, and triumph over adversity that comes to its point with a fateful twist. . . .

In this close-your-eyes-and-hold-your-breath adventure, teenage siblings Carson and C.J. Crenshaw are scheduled to spend two weeks at Camp Remnant on Crater Island while their father, archeologist Tommy Crenshaw, searches for the Book of Life-a rare and priceless artifact that may have surfaced there. At Camp Remnant, brother and sister team up with a bunch of misfits to compete in the Adventure Challenge. Team captain Ollie Patrolli is determined to win, but his dreams might be dashed when Carson and C.J. find a puzzling note and are convinced that someone has kidnapped their father. The teens band together to win the Challenge while at the same time rescuing Tommy. Along the way, they encounter choices that may land them in a whole lot of trouble and realize that the Book of Life may be their ultimate downfall. The result is a story chock-full with hilarious twists and hair-raising suspense that will make your pulse race and your spine tingle