Recommendations based on "Maker's Curse"

For fans of Lemony Snicket and Escape from Mr. Lemoncello's Library, this first book in the bestselling, award-winning Mysterious Benedict Society Series is not to be missed!"Are you a gifted child looking for special opportunities?" Dozens of children respond to this peculiar newspaper ad and are then put through a series of mind-bending tests, which readers take along with them. Only four children—two boys and two girls—succeed. Their challenge: to go on a secret mission that only the most intelligent and inventive children could complete. To accomplish it, they will have to go undercover at the Learning Institute for the Very Enlightened, where the only rule is that there are no rules. But what they'll find in the hidden underground tunnels of the school is more than your average school supplies. So, if you're gifted, creative, or happen to know Morse Code, they could probably use your help.

New York Times bestseller!Artemis Fowl meets Men in Black in this exhilarating debut middle grade fantasy, the first in a series filled with #blackgirlmagic. Perfect for fans of Tristan Strong Punches a Hole in the Sky, the Percy Jackson series, and Nevermoor.Amari Peters has never stopped believing her missing brother, Quinton, is alive. Not even when the police told her otherwise, or when she got in trouble for standing up to bullies who said he was gone for good.So when she finds a ticking briefcase in his closet, containing a nomination for a summer tryout at the Bureau of Supernatural Affairs, she’s certain the secretive organization holds the key to locating Quinton—if only she can wrap her head around the idea of magicians, fairies, aliens, and other supernatural creatures all being real.Now she must compete for a spot against kids who’ve known about magic their whole lives. No matter how hard she tries, Amari can’t seem to escape their intense doubt and scrutiny—especially once her supernaturally enhanced talent is deemed “illegal.” With an evil magician threatening the supernatural world, and her own classmates thinking she’s an enemy, Amari has never felt more alone. But if she doesn’t stick it out and pass the tryouts, she may never find out what happened to Quinton.Plus don't miss the thrilling sequel, Amari and the Great Game!

Meet Skulduggery Pleasant,Ace Detective,Snappy Dresser,Razor–tongued Wit,Crackerjack Sorcerer,and Walking, Talking,Fire-throwing Skeleton,—as well as ally, protector, and mentor of Stephanie Edgley, a very unusual and darkly talented twelve-year-old.These two alone must defeat an all-consuming ancient evil.The end of the world?Over his dead body.

I believe in stardust, I believe in stardust, I BELIEVE IN STARDUST! Lucy's magical stardust powers grow stronger every day and, at night, when she joins her stardust spirit friends, she loves showing them off! But every Lucy's powers can't prepare her for the danger that lies ahead. It will take a magic even more powerful than stardust to save her . . .

"Unadulterated fun. . . witty, frequently hilarious." —San Francisco ChronicleThe third novel in New York Times bestselling author Terry Pratchett's Discworld series, a fantasy universe where anything can happen—and usually does.A dying wizard tries to pass his staff on to the eighth son of an eighth son. When it is revealed that the he is a girl named Esk, the news of the female wizard sends the citizens of Discworld into a tail-spin.With their biting satire and limitless imagination, it is easy to understand why 80 million Discworld books have been sold worldwide. Equal Rites possesses rich characterizations, a journey of awareness, and even a hint of romance from master storyteller Terry Pratchett.

Lois McMaster Bujold has won the Hugo award four times, and the Nebula award twice. In this, her first epic fantasy, we join Cazaril -- a former soldier, and courtier who is about to embark on a perilous journey, rife with lethal treacheries, demonic magic, and scheming characters. Lord Cazaril has been in turn courier, courtier, castle-warder, and captain; now he is but a crippled ex-galley slave seeking nothing more than a menial job in the kitchens of the Dowager Provincara, the noble patroness of his youth. But Fortunes wheel continues to turn for Cazaril, and he finds himself promoted immediately to the exalted and dangerous position of secretary-tutor to the Iselle, the beautiful, fiery sister of the heir to Chalions throne. Amidst the decaying splendor and poisonous intrigue of Chalion's ancient capital, Cardegoss, Cazaril is forced to encounter both old enemies and surprising allies, as he seeks to lift the curse of misfortune that clings to the royal family of Chalion, and to all who come too close to them!

Glorious new rejacket of a Diana Wynne Jones Chrestomanci novel – now a book with extra bits!Conrad is young, good at heart, and yet is apparently suffering from the effects of such bad karma that there is nothing in his future but terrible things. Unless he can alter his circumstances – well, quite frankly, he is DOOMED.Conrad is sent in disguise to Stallery Mansion, to infiltrate the magical fortress that has power over the whole town of Stallchester, and to discover the identity of the person who is affecting his Fate so badly. Then he has to kill that person. But can any plan really be that simple and straightforward? Of course it can't! And things start to go very strangely for Conrad from the moment he meets the boy called Christopher…This is trademark DWJ – packed with laugh-aloud humour, insane logic, spot-on observations, organised chaos, and all wrapped up in a rattling good adventure which oozes magic from every seam. Literally.

Fourteen-year-old Sarah must reach the center of a dangerous labyrinth within thirteen hours in order to save her little brother, Toby from Jareth, King of the Goblins

Lev Grossman’s new novel THE BRIGHT SWORD will be on sale July 2024The stunning #1 New York Times bestselling conclusion to the Magicians trilogyA NEW YORK TIMES NOTABLE BOOK OF THE YEARONE OF THE YEAR’S BEST BOOKS • The San Francisco Chronicle • Salon • The Christian Science Monitor • AV Club • Buzzfeed • Kirkus • NY 1 • Bustle • The Globe and MailQuentin Coldwater has been cast out of Fillory, the secret magical land of his childhood dreams. With nothing left to lose he returns to where his story began, the Brakebills Preparatory College of Magic. But he can’t hide from his past, and it’s not long before it comes looking for him.Along with Plum, a brilliant young undergraduate with a dark secret of her own, Quentin sets out on a crooked path through a magical demimonde of gray magic and desperate characters. But all roads lead back to Fillory, and his new life takes him to old haunts, like Antarctica, and to buried secrets and old friends he thought were lost forever. He uncovers the key to a sorcery masterwork, a spell that could create magical utopia, a new Fillory—but casting it will set in motion a chain of events that will bring Earth and Fillory crashing together. To save them he will have to risk sacrificing everything.The Magician’s Land is an intricate thriller, a fantastical epic, and an epic of love and redemption that brings the Magicians trilogy to a magnificent conclusion, confirming it as one of the great achievements in modern fantasy. It’s the story of a boy becoming a man, an apprentice becoming a master, and a broken land finally becoming whole.