L.J.M. Wadsworth – författare

Thirteen-year-old Evan Brown has made a confused statement about a 'blackness' coming out of the ceiling and attacking his parents. His mother is in a coma; his father, missing since the attack, is the prime suspect. The police assume it's a case of domestic violence and that Evan is traumatised. Evan certainly doesn't want to make things worse by revealing he can hear a voice inside his head - Kenji - a voice he's never wanted. When dark shadows appear in the tree outside his window and a mysterious cat begins to stalk him, Evan starts to believe he really must be losing his mind, but with no new leads and the police becoming increasingly suspicious, he is left with no choice but to follow Kenji across a bridge into an unknown and dangerous challenge. Can he undo the damage that's been done and save others, not just himself, from harm?Family secrets and cosmic forces are at work in this gripping story for young adult readers.

What to do with Jack? He delights in fighting and causinghavoc. He won't listen to anyone, especially his parents. But one day he goestoo far. He sneaks into a wizard's room to steal a look at a magic book. Whenthe wizard catches him in the act, Jack refuses to surrender and fights evenharder! Exasperated, the wizard places a curse on young Jack: if he thinks he'ssuch a great warrior, let him be cursed to fight a dragon. And not just anydragon: the dragon Doom.But Jack was such a reckless boy, a hopeless questfilled him with joy."Hooray!" he cried. "I'll leave tonight. The soonerthere, the sooner to fight!"Off Jack goes on his quest. He soon realises thatbeing on his own in the Wild isn't quite the same as causing mayhem in apeaceful village. But he rediscovers his fortitude when he is joined by Tark, atalking raven on a quest of his own. They strike a pact, and together theyclimb into the mountains in search of glory and gold.Mountain paths are fraught with peril, the likes of whichJack has never encountered: goblins, ghosts, and, of course, the dragon. Evenif the weather doesn't kill him, his ignorance might. The Raven, the Goblin,and even the Dragon, all have tales that could help Jack survive - if he'lllisten. But in these mountains, nothing is as it seems. And thoughJack doesn't succeed in quite the way he thought he would, he succeeds in doinghis best. And sometimes that's enough, when put to test.The Tale of Jack, told in a mixture of rhyme andprose, makes even the lengthiest quest fly by. A timeless tale, for readers of all ages everywhere.