Series-ly Yours

Someone recently said to me, “The days pass by slowly, but the years speed by.” I have to say I agree, and this year has been no exception, don’t you agree? In thinking about the passing of time, I start to wonder about all those little events that make up our lives — our routines, habits and daily occurrences that weave the fabric of our existence into something coherent and wonderful. Not to get existential, but the New Year kind of brings out the nostalgia in all of us. It’s a time to review successes and failures and to write down hopes for the next year.

Professionally speaking, this has been a phenomenal year for the Teens and ‘Tweens line at Llewellyn. And in looking forward to the year to come, it’s only going to get better. For starters, this year we’ve launched a new website dedicated to this age group (http://teen. llewellyn.com), have become members of some great community groups, and have pumped out some seriously spectacular books. In the interest of reviewing the series of events that happen over the course of a year, I thought I would focus on two of the amazing series that we’re publishing.

Have you ever had a premonition about something that later came true? What if you had that power and couldn’t shut it off? Welcome to Sabine’s world. In Linda Joy Singleton’s The Seer series, Sabine is a teenage girl who has the unfortunate ability to predict disaster before it happens — an unfortunate ability because it got her kicked out of her last school and made her the town pariah. Now living with her grandmother to satisfy her mortified conventional mother, Sabine strives to fit in. In the first installment of this series, Don’t Die Dragonfly, Sabine’s doing a pretty good job of being normal. She’s got a job with the school newspaper, has popular friends and has just met the most gorgeous, lovable guy who wants to date her. Things are looking up and she believes she will be able to live the normal life of a sixteen-year-old girl. Finally.

If it weren’t for her pesky spirit guide, Opal, Sabine might be able to forget all about her strange power. That is, until she gets a premonition about a girl with a dragonfly tattoo — a girl that will die soon unless Sabine can stop it. One problem: she doesn’t know who this girl is. To top it off, her grandmother has hired a helping hand around the house. Dark and mysterious, Dominic is disturbing the peace she’d finally found. Feeling overwhelmed and scared that her secret will be discovered, Sabine searches for a way to stop the oncoming tragedy without compromising the life she’s grown to love. If you want a taste of this exciting book, check out the excerpt provided. You’re guaranteed to love it!

For the ‘tweeners out there, the series Diadem: Worlds of Magic is sure to be a gem. How can you lose with three heroes that can use magic, fight their way out of danger and may just end up friends? Score, a street-wise kid from the slums of New York, finds himself thrown into a different world in the first installment of the series, Book of Names. On this world, Treen, Score meets up with two other 12-year-olds from completely different planets. Helaine, a girl-warrior from Ordin disguised as the boy Renald, is hard-headed and haughty and seems impossible to befriend. Pixel, a boy from the planet Calomir, has come from a world completely immersed in Virtual Reality, and is innocent and unhelpful on this strange new world.

As the three realize they are being thrust together for unknown, manipulative reasons, they begin their training as magic users under a highly skilled wizard. The only problem is, can they trust him? There is something off about him and the trio isn’t quite sure what to think. What’s worse is Score, Helaine and Pixel can’t seem to get along. As the three encounter danger after danger together, they soon begin to realize that to solve the mystery of their circumstances, to hone their magic skills and to simply live through the day, they will have to learn to work together and come to trust each other. Check out the excerpt from this jewel of a series.

Both The Seer: Don’t Die Dragonfly, and Diadem Worlds of Magic: Book of Names are examples of great beginnings and a promising follow-through for the Teens and ‘Tweens set. Looking back on our phenomenal year, this new one promises to bring even more excitement and adventure in the form of stupendous books. So, put your list of resolutions down, grab one of these books and begin the series of events that will help your year to be the best it can be. Happy New Year!