Product Description: From award-winning author P.W. Catanese comes a fascinating novel about a twelve-year-old boy who must prevent the new kinder, gentler underworld from returning to its previous terrifying incarnation.Twelve-year-old Donny Taylor was rescued from certain death in a burning building...read more

Master storyteller P.W. Catanese begins the Books of Umber trilogy with Happenstance Found—now available in paperback—when twelve-yearold Happenstance awakens in a cave with no memory of who he is or how he came to be there. Lord Umber and his companions rescue Hap, and the group sets out on dangerous and unusual missions that continue in Dragon Games. Hap’s and Umber’s journeys take them to the corrupt kingdom of Sarnica, where Umber’s nemesis has acquired some dragon eggs. Umber wants to study a new magical species, but what starts as a quest for knowledge turns into a dangerous rescue operation. The deft plotting of these actionpacked, heart-stopping adventures will pique the imagination and leave readers anxious for the final installment.

Twelve-year-old Happenstance awakens in a cave with no memory of who he is or how he came to be there. Soon a mysterious trio arrives to take him away: the explorer Umber, the shy archer Sophie, and Oates, whose strength and honesty are both brutal. Hap and his new acquaintances narrowly escape the cavernous underworld and make their way to Lord Umber's bustling jewel of a harbor city, Kurahaven. Once there, Hap learns that Lord Umber is an extraordinary man -- he's a merchant, adventurer, inventor, royal adviser, and chronicler of all things monstrous and magical. But Umber's accomplishments can't answer the question closest to the boy's heart: Who is Happenstance? Desperate to uncover clues in his new, baffling surroundings, Hap accompanies Umber on dangerous and unusual missions. But Hap soon learns that there are powerful enemies inside the kingdom, and a ruthless assassin is hot on his trail. Faced with many unknowns, Hap knows one thing is certain: There's a reason Umber has chosen him...if only he could determine it. P. W. Catanese's richly spun fantasy chronicles one boy's quest for answers and hope in a world riddled by knowledge and power corrupted.

Living a life of isolation because he has been cursed with bad luck, a gnome offers twelve-year-old Tom a cure in exchange for his help, but Tom begins to wonder if he could be trading his curse for something far worse.

Thirteen-year-old twin descendants of Snow White and heirs to the Castle Ambercrest are separated to determine who should become baron, but when one of the boys uncovers a mysterious mirror--the same one present in Snow White's tale--the boys' kinship is replaced by dark magic and deceit, hanging the kingdom in the balance. Original.

When twins Bert and Will, who are heirs to the Castle Ambercrest, are separated by the baron to keep them out of trouble, one twin uncovers a mysterious and powerful mirror that replaces the kinship between the boys with dark magic and deceit.

When Hansel approaches Rudi for help in finding the jewels left at the witch's cottage, Rudi doesn't believe his crazy story until all the children of the village go missing and the warlock, the father of the slain witch, makes Rudi a frightening offer of ransom as part of his plan for revenge.

After saving his friend from a fierce troll, Patch Ridling gains respect as an impressive hero and soon is ordered by the King to wage war on the rest of the trolls in the kingdom, yet with the help of a less-than-qualified assistant and little personal experience, Patch takes on his new assignment and hopes for the best--for himself and the kingdom that is doomed if he fails. Original.

After saving his friend from a fierce troll, Patch Ridling gains respect as an impressive hero and soon is ordered by the King to wage war on the rest of the trolls in the kingdom.

Hearing rumors of the riches that Jack possesses after his journey up the beanstalk, Nick the orphan teams up with Finch the thief to break into Jack's castle and get some valuables for themselves.