Middle school meets magic in this hilarious and heartfelt novel about a girl whose life flips when she wishes on an enchanted candle—perfect for fans of Sarah Mlynowski and Wendy Mass. Sage Sassafras’s life is cursed! No, really. Since birth, Sage has been plagued by the Contrarium Curse that’s set her at odds with classmate Priscilla Petty. Every time something goes right for Priscilla, it goes terribly, horribly wrong for Sage. And things always go well for Priscilla. Sage blames the curse for all her middle school misery—from losing a friend to failing gym to gaining a reputation as the girl whose daddy’s in trouble. So when Sage is given a magical candle on her twelfth birthday, she seizes the chance to turn her luck around—with a wish to reverse the curse. But when the consequences of her wish take a terrible turn, Sage has to team up with her worst enemy—before she’s doomed to a life of opposites forever. 

When fairy-godmother-in-training Willow's wish to attend a human school comes true, she finds getting along with humans to be harder than she expected, but her newly-acquired magical talent makes it easy to collaborate with animals.

Five elements. Four friends. One city—and its sinister shadow. This epic middle grade series is filled with awesome elemental powers, nightmarish creatures, and nonstop adventure that will thrill fans of Avatar: The Last Airbender, Rick Riordan, and Brandon Mull. When Gabe Conway and his friends find a strange old map in his uncle’s office and follow it to a crumbling secret chamber beneath San Francisco, they think they’re just having one last adventure before Gabe moves away. They don’t expect to end up bound to the magic of the elements, or to set off a chain of events that none of them can explain. But they’re about to get more of an adventure than they bargained for. A power-hungry cult is plotting to merge our world with a twisted parallel realm—and now it’s up to Gabe, his friends, and their new elemental powers to save San Francisco from utter destruction.

Aleca Zamm, an ordinary ten-year-old with an extraordinary talent, spends a day in the 1950s with Aunt Zephyr and Ford in this hilarious fourth novel in the Aleca Zamm chapter book series. For Aleca Zamm, being friends with Ford, a fellow Wonder, means even more magical adventures! Ford can see things from the past and future, and when he sees a bridge that no longer exists in the present, Aleca can’t wait to investigate. Hand in hand with Aunt Zephyr, the three of them manage to cross the bridge and climb through a portal into the past. Aleca, Ford, and Aunt Zephyr spend a day in the 1950s. At first, it’s exciting to see how things have changed, but time travel doesn’t come without snags! And when it’s time to go back home, they return to the bridge and find that the portal is gone! Will they be able to find a way home? Or are they stuck in the past for good?

Artemis Fowl meets Men in Black in this exhilarating debut middle grade fantasy, the first in a trilogy 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.

Presenting the amazing Harry Kellar! The first magician to receive international fame! The most well-known illusionist at the turn of the twentieth century! The model for the Wizard of Oz! Author Gail Jarrow follows Kellar from a magician's assistant traveling and performing across the United States during the Civil War to an international superstar with a show of his own, entertaining emperors, kings, and presidents. Jarrow uses Kellar's own words and images—his amazing four-color promotional posters—to tell his riveting story in this first Kellar biography for young readers. And she reveals the science behind Kellar's illusions and explores nineteenth-century entertainment and transportation as well as the history of magic, spiritualism, and séances.

This second book in the Balance Keepers series, by #1 New York Times bestselling author Lindsay Cummings, explodes with just as much magic, mystery, friendship, and humor as the first one. Fans of books like Brandon Mull’s The Candy Shop War or the Unwanteds series by Lisa McMann will love the action and imagination in this epic fantasy-adventure series. With both boy and girl main characters, creatures like Hammerfin sharks to battle, a traitor to expose, and a boarding school that could be described as Hogwarts Underground, there’s something for every reader to enjoy in this series reminiscent of the classic Journey to the Center of the Earth. An anti-bullying theme also makes this great for in-classroom reading. In The Pillars of Ponderay, Balance Keepers Albert, Birdie, and Leroy enter the underground watery Realm of Ponderay along with their archrival, Hoyt, in an attempt to reset the Balance of the Realm. If they don’t succeed in time, all of California above could be consumed by tsunamis and hurricanes.

The explosive conclusion to Lindsay Cummings’s epic fantasy adventure series about a magical world at the center of the earth that New York Times bestselling author of the Seven Wonders series Peter Lerangis says is “filled with imagination and sneaky humor.” In this third book, perfect for fans of Brandon Mull and Lisa McMann, the Balance Keepers must fight a dangerous traitor in an epic battle of magic. Albert and his Balance Keepers teammates have been called back to the Core for immediate action! There’s a serious Imbalance in the fantastical underground Realm of Belltroll. Without intervention, everything from New York to Yellowstone above could be swallowed by earthquakes. It’s clear the mysterious traitor who caused last term’s chaos is at it again, and with a vengeance. Albert’s super-magical Master Tile helped fix the Ponderay and Calderon Realms in previous terms, but now it seems the Tile may be more trouble than it’s worth. Because if it’s Albert’s Tile the traitor is after, there will have to be a battle sooner or later, and only one of them can win…

Following a series of murders, an apothecary’s apprentice must solve puzzles and decipher codes in pursuit of a secret that could destroy the world in this suspenseful debut novel. “Tell no one what I’ve given you.” Until he got that cryptic warning, Christopher Rowe was happy, learning how to solve complex codes and puzzles and creating powerful medicines, potions, and weapons as an apprentice to Master Benedict Blackthorn—with maybe an explosion or two along the way. But when a mysterious cult begins to prey on London’s apothecaries, the trail of murders grows closer and closer to Blackthorn’s shop. With time running out, Christopher must use every skill he’s learned to discover the key to a terrible secret with the power to tear the world apart. In his stunning debut novel, Kevin Sands brings readers on a heart-stopping adventure rich with suspense, mystery, and unforgettable characters.

Rosemary Bliss's family has a secret. It's the Bliss Cookery Booke—an ancient, leather-bound volume of enchanted recipes like Singing Gingersnaps. Rose and her siblings are supposed to keep the Cookery Booke locked away while their parents are out of town, but then a mysterious stranger shows up. "Aunt" Lily rides a motorcycle and also whips up exotic (but delicious) dishes for dinner. Soon boring, non-magical recipes feel like life before Aunt Lily—a lot less fun. So Rose and her siblings experiment with just a couple of recipes from the forbidden Cookery Booke. A few Love Muffins and Cookies of Truth couldn't cause too much trouble . . . could they? Kathryn Littlewood's culinary caper blends rich emotional flavor with truly enchanting wit, yielding one heaping portion of hilarious family adventure.

For fans of Pseudonymous Bosch, Coraline, and Septimus Heap comes the first book in the award-winning, New York Times bestselling Books of Elsewhere series. This house is keeping secrets . . . When eleven-year-old Olive and her parents move into the crumbling mansion on Linden Street and find it filled with mysterious paintings, Olive knows the place is creepy—but it isn’t until she encounters its three talking cats that she realizes there’s something darkly magical afoot. Then Olive finds a pair of antique spectacles in a dusty drawer and discovers the most peculiar thing yet: She can travel inside the house’s spooky paintings to a world that’s strangely quiet . . . and eerily sinister. But in entering Elsewhere, Olive has been ensnared in a mystery darker and more dangerous than she could have imagined, confronting a power that wants to be rid of her by any means necessary. With only the cats and an unusual boy she meets in Elsewhere on her side, it’s up to Olive to save the house from the shadows, before the lights go out for good.

The mysteries grow deeper and the secrets darker in the second volume of the New York Times bestselling Books of Elsewhere series. With no way into the McMartin house's magical paintings and its three guardian cats reluctant to help, Olive's friend Morton is still trapped inside Elsewhere. So when Rutherford, the new oddball kid next door mentions a grimoire—a spellbook—Olive sees a glint of hope. If she can find the McMartins' spellbook, maybe she can help Morton escape Elsewhere for good. Unless, that is, the book finds Olive first. The house isn't the only one keeping secrets anymore. You'll never guess what happens next in this thrilling, chilling fantasy series, perfect for fans of Pseudonymous Bosch, Coraline, and Septimus Heap.

Magic doesn't exist in Bert's world...or does it? The mages of Ferenor were outlawed and destroyed by the royal family centuries ago for performing incredible feats and powering wondrous machines with their magic, and the world is a much duller place. Bert is a young boy who's lived in an orphanage longer than he can remember, with no friends and the most ordinary life. He's told that magic is just a myth. But then a chain of strange and inexplicable mishaps causes Bert's life to spiral out of control -- only to be rescued by Finch, a plucky girl-adventurer with metal legs. Soon the two are sailing across a sea of clouds with the mysterious Professor, pursued by a royal prince who's desperate to get his hands on Bert at any cost. For magic is all too real and even more powerful than imagined -- and Bert just might hold the key to bringing it back to the world...

Magic is strictly forbidden in the McGill house, but Delpha McGill has found the family book of spells and plans to use it to make things a little easier for herself and her mother; Katybird Hearn comes from a rival family of witches, but her magic has been slow to emerge and she thinks a spell book is just what she needs to help things along--and when a quarrel between the two unleashes a graveyard full of angry zombies the two girls must work together to save Howler's Hollow, and themselves.