New Releases by Marcus Sedgwick

Originally published: Great Britain: Orion Children''s Books, 2006.

It is 1915 and the First World War has only just begun. 17 year old Sasha is a well-to-do, sheltered-English girl. Just as her brother Thomas longs to be a doctor, she wants to nurse, yet girls of her class don''t do that kind of work. But as the war begins and the hospitals fill with young soldiers, she gets a chance to help. But working in the hospital confirms what Sasha has suspected--she can see when someone is going to die. Her premonitions show her the brutal horrors on the battlefields of the Somme, and the faces of the soldiers who will die. And one of them is her brother Thomas. Pretending to be a real nurse, Sasha goes behind the front lines searching for Thomas, risking her own life as she races to find him, and somehow prevent his death.

THE DAYS BETWEEN Christmas and New Year’s Eve are dead days, when spirits roam and magic shifts restlessly just beneath the surface of our lives. A magician called Valerian must save his own life within those few days or pay the price for the pact he made with evil so many years ago. But alchemy and sorcery are no match against the demonic power pursuing him. Helping him is his servant, Boy, a child with no name and no past. The quick-witted orphan girl, Willow, is with them as they dig in death fields at midnight, and as they are swept into the sprawling blackness of a subterranean city on a journey from which there is no escape. Praise for The Book of Dead Days: “Beautifully paced and sometimes blood-soaked. . . . A very tangible sense of evil.”—The Guardian “Subtle menace and power.”—The Independent “Packed with drama, mystery, and intrigue.”—The Bookseller

SIG IS A boy in a coastal tribe, the Storn, long ago in a Northern land. On the day of the wolf hunt, the life of the tribe changes forever, for Sig rescues a small girl, more like the wolves who shelter her than a human. Sig’s family adopts her and names her Mouse, and he becomes a loyal brother to this girl with mysterious powers and a secret past. The shocking discovery of Mouse’s true identity brings to life a terrifying legend and leads to war, betrayal, and Sig’s coming of age as he finds the wit and courage to save his tribe. “Like an ancient cave painting come to life, Sedgwick’s tale of dark enchantment depicts a primitive tribe in a north country.”—Publishers Weekly, Starred “Will . . . find a solid readership among historical fiction fans, thanks to the fast pace, hint of magic, and satisfyingly enigmatic conclusion.”—Booklist “Employing a lean narrative voice and writing in short chapters that encourage page turning, Sedgwick draws readers along . . . rich, involving, and vivifying.”—School Librabry Journal, Starred

A sealed train speeds through the night around the outskirts of wartime London. As it passes through a dimly-lit station without stopping, a note is thrown out on to the platform. What is happening to the men on board? Why do they have to resort to such a desperate method of contacting their loved ones? This is the story of Howard Marten and Alfred Evans, two young men who refused to join the army in the First World War. They suffered imprisonment and punishment, because they believed it was wrong to kill. Sent to the front line in France, they were told to obey or face the firing squad. But they escaped execution, and were sent to jail instead. The ''conchies'' had achieved a victory, of sorts. The government at last acknowledged the right of men like Marten and Evans to refuse to fight.