This thrilling historical fantasy set days before Mount Vesuvius destroys Pompeii is a meet cute with an explosive fallout.

An exploration of ambition and class, autonomy and religion, survival and love, Vesuvius combines the romantic angst of They Both Die at the End and the blended magic and history of The Song of Achilles to show readers that it is never too late to change your fate—or change the world.

Clever thief Felix slips from city to city to survive the present and escape a past he can’t remember. When Felix steals a divine artifact—Mercury's helmet—from a temple in Pompeii, pieces of his forgotten past begin to surface.

Loren, an ambitious temple attendant, has seen Felix in his apocalyptic nightmares for years. The last thing Loren expects is for his dream to stumble headfirst through his temple doors, moments after an earthquake rocks the city.

When Felix shows Loren the helmet, Loren sees the world coming to an end. He knows they have mere days to uncover Felix’s ties to the relic and to Loren’s visions if they have any hope of saving the city. But Ancient Rome is ruled by bloody politics and unstoppable destinies, and now that Loren and Felix are intertwined, their lives aren’t all they risk losing. When all has turned to ash and rubble, the boys will have to piece together their fates to make it out of a burning city alive.

It's 1945, and the world is in the grip of war. Hideki lives with his family on the island of Okinawa, near Japan. When the Second World War crashes onto his shores, Hideki is drafted to fight for the Japanese army. He is handed a grenade and a set of instructions: Don't come back until you've killed an American soldier. Ray, a young American Marine, has just landed on Okinawa. This is Ray's first-ever battle, and he doesn't know what to expect -- or if he'll make it out alive. All he knows that the enemy is everywhere. Hideki and Ray each fight their way across the island, surviving heart-pounding ambushes and dangerous traps. But then the two of them collide in the middle of the battle... And choices they make in that single instant will change everything. Alan Gratz, New York Times bestselling author of Refugee, returns with this high-octane story of how fear and war tear us apart, but how hope and redemption tie us together. Reviews for Refugee: "An absolute must read for people of all ages" - Hannah Greendale, Goodreads "Like RJ Palacio's Wonder, this book should be mandatory reading..." - Skip, Goodreads "I liked how the book linked history with adventure, and combined to make a realistic storyline for all three characters" - AJH, aged 11, Toppsta

Twelve-year-old Ronnie has just made the difficult decision to live for a whole year with his crotchety great-grandfather instead of in a boarding school. Now, stuck in an old house in Ontario, Ronnie wonders what he has gotten himself into as he and his ninety-year-old roommate constantly clash. But Ronnie has no idea that one evening after being sent to the attic for punishment, he will make an amazing discovery that will change his life forever.

Ronnie has been haunted all his life by a spirit bear who now seems to be leading him straight to the corner of the attic. Frightened, Ronnie summons his great gran'dad to help him empty a mysterious leather bag he finds inside a dresser drawer. After a necklace tumbles out, Ronnie holds the artifact and is suddenly propelled back in time to the War of 1812 and into the body of one of his ancestors, who has been adopted by the Indian war chief, Tecumseh. Now trapped between the past and the present, Ronnie must overcome great challenges in order to return both the artifact and the bear to their rightful places.

"Tecumseh's Artifact" is a tale of friendship, family, and compassion for others as a boy travels through an exciting period in history and learns more about himself than he ever imagined.

In "Escape by Night," Ten-year-old Tommy and his sister Annie are intrigued by the new soldiers arriving in their Georgia town. Since the Civil War started, wounded men waiting to be treated at the local church-turned-hospital have been coming in by droves. When Tommy sees a soldier drop his notebook, he sends his dog, Samson, to fetch it. Tommy soon meets the soldier and is faced with the hardest decision he's ever had to make: whether or not he should help a Yankee escape to freedom.
Filled with intriguing suspense and tackling difficult questions about slavery, this story, told in accessible short chapters by Laurie Myers, will appeal to history buffs as well as those who appreciate a faithful dog.

Blumwald is a town overshadowed by an ancient curse: in a sinister castle in the depths of the wild wood lives a monstrous Witch. Once a generation, she comes to claim a companion to return with her – never to be seen again. Now that time is drawing near once more... Mina, daughter of the duke, is grieving and lonely. She has lost all hope of any future for herself in Blumwald. So when the Witch demands her next companion, Mina offers herself up – though she has no idea what fate awaits her. Stranded with her darkly alluring captor, the mystery of what happened to the previous companions draws Mina into the heart of a terrifying secret that could save her life, or end it.