Kingdom Over the Sea

"Enchanting, immersive, and beautifully imagined." -A.F. Steadman, New York Times bestselling author of Skandar and the Unicorn Thief "Perfect for fans of Philip Pullman and Tahereh Mafi" (Booklist), this lavish middle grade adventure follows a girl who must travel to a mystical land of sorceresses, alchemists, jinn, and flying carpets to discover her heritage and fulfill her destiny. My own Yara, if you are reading this, then something terrible has happened, and you are on your own. To return to the city of Zehaira, you must read out the words on the back of this letter… Good luck, my brave girl. When twelve-year-old Yara's mother passes away, she leaves behind a letter and a strange set of instructions. Yara must travel from the home she has always known to a place that is not on any map-Zehaira, a world of sorcerers, alchemists, and simmering magic. But Zehaira is not the land it used to be. The practice of magic has been outlawed, the Sultan's alchemists are plotting a sinister scheme-and the answers Yara is searching for seem to be out of reach. Yara must summon all her courage to discover the truth about her mother's past and her own identity…and to find her place in this magical new world.

The captivating sequel to "The Kingdom Over the Sea” follows Yara and her friends as they change the fate of the kingdom and their magic forever. Yara may have stopped the magical plague spreading its way through her new home, but to do so, she had to leave her mother in the hands of the sinister alchemists. Now Yara longs to return to Zehaira and free her mother from her prison. Yet when her mother's familiar arrives, close to death and bearing a message, Yara must put aside her plans to rescue her and instead set off with her friends to the official residence of the Grand High Sorceress, convinced it holds magic powerful enough to defeat the alchemists. After a treacherous journey, Yara finds her mother's house, and in it, a girl claiming to be the daughter of the Grand High Sorceress-a sister Yara didn't know she had. Meanwhile, the alchemists are circling ever closer, and the magic that Yara's mother was working, threatens the foundations of their world. Yara is unsure if her newfound sister can be trusted, but she is going to need all the help she can get if she wants to save their mother and take back Zehaira from the alchemists' rule.