Bent Northrop Memorial Library

Orphaned by the Border Wars, Alina Starkov is taken from obscurity and her only friend, Mal, to become the protegé of the mysterious Darkling, who trains her to join the magical elite in the belief that she is the Sun Summoner, who can destroy the monsters of the Fold.

Thirteen-year-old Conor awakens one night to find a monster outside his bedroom window, but not the one from the recurring nightmare that began when his mother became ill--an ancient, wild creature that wants him to face truth and loss.

The Darkling rules Ravka from his shadow throne. A weakened Alina must submit to the dubious protection of the Apparat and the zealots who worship her as a Saint. Alina will have to forge new alliances and put aside old rivalries as she and Mal race to find the last of Morozova's amplifiers.

"Thirteen-year-old Molly doesn't know how she got the short end of the stick -- being raised by her neglectful father -- while Dustin, the older brother she's never met, got their mother and the keys to the family estate. But now the siblings are both orphaned, she's come home for her inheritance, and if Dustin won't welcome her into the family business, then she'll happily take her half in cash. There's just one problem: the family business is a...