Books with author Jessica Rusick

From the award-winning author, Jessica Renwick, comes the third installment of the Starfell series! Filled with friendship, magic, and adventure—readers will be thrilled with this follow up to The Book of Chaos and The Guitar of Mayhem!After a quiet winter, the Lichwood is waking. Soft murmurs of activity at Endora’s mansion reach Tulip Manor, and Fable and her friends are restless to discover why. After an undead guard attacks the enchanted barrier that encloses the cottage grounds, Fable’s magic spins out of control.When a letter arrives from the Thistle Plum Inn stating a Folkvar has been sighted in the city of Mistford, the residents of Tulip Manor find themselves thrust into chaos. A mystery involving Thorn’s missing sister, a mystical bow and arrow, kidnapped magical creatures, and a dangerous curse looms over the spring festival—and it’s up to Fable and her friends to solve.Deep down, Fable knows these secrets are tied to her evil great-grandmother. But if she can’t fight the darkness that grows within her, she won’t be able to save anyone. Not even herself.

In the early 1800s, thousands of pioneers made a long, perilous westward journey from Missouri to New Mexico. They paved the way for more settlers looking to start a new life in the West. They endured many hardships and made many tough choices. Now the choices are yours. Would you rather get bitten by a poisonous snake or suffer from cholera? Would you take the longer route across mountains with more available water? Or would you take the shorter route across the desert with less water? It's your turn to pick this or that!

How do you live with yourself when you decide who dies? Ava Parks would have killed for an iPod for her sixteenth birthday. Anything would have been better than coming into her birthright of being a seeker for the Grim Reaper, an arrangement made by her fallen angel ancestor in exchange for his re-admittance to heaven. And she isn’t just any seeker—she finds souls that have the potential for becoming angels and sentences them to death. A year and two souls into her role as a seeker with her conscience overflowing with guilt, Ava comes up with a plan to thwart the system. When it goes awry, she is forced to submit the name of a classmate, Cole Fowler, an ornery, rough around the edges guy who always seems to come to her rescue, whether she likes it or not. Her feelings for Cole prompt her to intervene, and she saves him from death, upsetting the Grim Reaper’s agenda. While Ava schemes to find a way to save Cole, she learns he has some secrets of his own. She lets him believe he is protecting her, and not the other way around, until a final showdown with the Grim Reaper forces Ava to make choices Cole may never forgive.

Budding magicians will love exploring the art of magic with Science Magic to Surprise and Captivate. They will read how famous illusionists fooled their audiences. Then learn how to trick an audience of their own! Kids will follow simple instructions and photos to make cups melt, water bend, and more. Aligned to Common Core Standards and correlated to state standards. Super Sandcastle is an imprint of Abdo Publishing, a division of ABDO.

Budding magicians will love exploring the art of magic with 3-D Optical Illusions to Baffle the Mind. They will read how famous illusionists fooled their audiences. Then learn how to trick an audience of their own! Kids will follow simple instructions and photos to float orbs, pull objects from thin air, and more. Aligned to Common Core Standards and correlated to state standards. Super Sandcastle is an imprint of Abdo Publishing, a division of ABDO.

Ava Parks’ job as a seeker for the Grim Reaper is one she wouldn’t wish on anyone. It’s her responsibility to find souls with the potential to become angels. Last fall she learned the hard way that bucking the system has its own set of consequences, as her choices nearly killed the two people she cares about most—her mother and the boy she’s come to love, Cole. Now, Ava’s mother is fading fast. Her former handler—and the root of her problems—seems set on revenge. And Ava must confess to Cole the price he has to pay for her saving his life—a decision he may never forgive her for. Ava’s path to retribution is filled with twists, turns, and a whole heap of heartache. As problems mount and push her to the breaking point, she’s forced into the unthinkable, making her question everything she thought she knew about life, loyalty, and love.

After gold was discovered in California in 1848, thousands of people rushed there to strike it rich. They faced tough choices at every turn. Now the choices are yours. Would you rather use the slower method of panning for gold or use a more dangerous method of hydraulic mining? Would you rather run a store or a hotel in a California boomtown? It's your turn to pick this or that!

From the author of the award-winning Starfell series comes a spooky adventure about the bonds of family and friendship!Even though her mother is obsessed with the paranormal, thirteen-year-old Lavender Raine does not believe in ghosts. Or spirits. Or specters—or whatever you want to call them. But when her cat bolts into the woods and she chases after him, they are confronted by a chilling presence that puts her belief to the test. With her grandmother's necklace disappearing, her best friend having boy trouble, and that ghost—or whatever it is—showing up at every turn, things keep getting worse. With help from her quirky friend, Rosie, and her sassy cat, Blot, can Lavender find the necklace and get rid of the ghost haunting her?

In this engaging biography, readers will learn about the creator of LC Lauren Conrad, Lauren Conrad. Follow Conrad's story from her childhood in California, to her early years as an actress, to her founding of the fashion lines Lauren Conrad Collection, LC Lauren Conrad, and Paper Crown and the marketing site The Little Market. Fun facts, a timeline, a glossary, and an index supplement the color photos showcased in this inspiring biography. Aligned to Common Core Standards and correlated to state standards. Checkerboard Library is an imprint of Abdo Publishing, a division of ABDO.