Franny Billingsley – författare

One wish for a lifetime... In the village of Bishop Mayne there is a magical Wishing Well where a person may make one wish in a lifetime. But the Well can create problems for those who use its power, for wishes often go wrong. It was just such a wish that took all the children in the town away. Only eleven-year-old Nuria, who lives with her grandfather up on the mountain, remains. Then one child returns -- Catty Winter. Catty's legs are mysteriously crippled, and Catty desperately wants Nuria to make a wish so she can walk again. Nuria swears she will make the wish for her friend. But the Well has a mind of its own. What if Nuria's wish qoes wrong?

"Here in the Cellar," Corinna says, "I control the Folk. Here, I''m queen of the world." As Folk Keeper at the Rhysbridge Home, she feeds the fierce, dark-dwelling cave Folk; keeps them from souring the milk, killing the chickens, and venting their anger on the neighborhood; and writes it all down in her Folk Record. Since only boys are Folk Keepers, she has disguised herself as a boy, Corin, and it is a boy and a Folk Keeper she intends to stay. Yet there comes a moment when someone else knows the truth. Old, dying Lord Merton not only knows she is a girl, but knows some of her other secrets as well. It is at his bidding that she, as Corin, leaves Rhysbridge to become Folk Keeper and a member of the family on Cliffsend, an isle where the Folk are fiercer than ever they were at Rhysbridge. It is on Cliffsend that Corinna comes face to face with herself, with the powers she does have (some quite unexpected) and those she does not have (even if she lies and says she does). Who really is she? Why does her hair grow two inches a night? Why does the sea draw her? What does she really want? And what future can and will she choose?

"A coin for passage to your heart''s desire," says Agnes, Guardian of the Wishing Well in the village of Bishop Mayne. "That is the first rule." But Nuria doesn''t think she needs a wish. Wishing on the Well is dangerous. Wishes often go wrong. That''s why there are no other children around. A wish-gone-wrong took them all away. But now, because her grandfather, the Avy, has wished for them to come back, Nuria is sure that the one thing she wants -- a friend her own age -- will soon be there. "One wish each lifetime," says Agnes. "One cycle of the moon to repent and call it back. That is the second rule." Only a fool would make a wish that needs to be called back, Nuria thinks. But that''s before she meets Catty Winter, who cannot walk, whose legs are mysteriously crippled. "Make a wish for me," Catty pleads. And Nuria is tempted. But what if the wish goes wrong? "And for that cycle of the moon your lips are locked in this: To no one may you speak of your wish. To no one but to me, for your wish is my wish too. That is the third rule." Nuria has given little thought to the third rule. But there come moments when she wishes it did not exist. The Wishing Well, she is trickier than anyone has known. The Wishing Well in Bishop Mayne has a mind of its own and creates problems for all who try to use its power. Few have gotten anything but misery from it. Knowing this, however, does not keep Nuria, in a time of dire need, from trying to accomplish what few others have managed. Beauty and greed, warmth and cold, walk hand in hand in this unusual fantasy to create an adventure filled with friendship, challenge, and the magic of love.

"Part mystery, part fantasy, this beautifully-written page turner explores guilt, mercy, and love."—New York Times bestselling author Holly BlackBriony has a secret. It is a secret that killed her stepmother, ruined her sister''s mind, and will end her life, if anyone were to know. She has powers. Then Eldric comes along with his golden lion eyes and a great mane of tawny hair. He is as natural as the sun, and he treats her as if she is extraordinary. And everything starts to change . . .A National Book Award Finalist ★ “Exquisite to the final word.”—Booklist, starred review★ “Both lushly sensual and shivery.”—School Library Journal, starred reviewFrom the Trade Paperback edition.

Briony knows she is a witch. She knows that she is guilty of hurting her beloved stepmother. She also knows that, now her stepmother is dead, she must look after her beautiful but complicated twin sister, Rose. Then the energetic, electric, golden-haired Eldric arrives in her home town of Swampsea, and everything that Briony thinks she knows about herself and her life is turned magically, dizzyingly, upside down.