The Dragon Gems

A fantasy world far like any other. A place where loyalty meets authority and power meets demand. Gems of all kinds lay about, but some are more special than others. When characters collide, can they finally use the gems’ powers to bring the Kingdoms back to what they once were? Or is it too late to stop the evil cast in the shadows? Will they figure out how to use the gems? And will the Kingdoms finally unite?

Co-written by Newbery-honor winning author Rajani LaRocca and Chris Baron, this page-turning novel is told through letters, e-mails, instant messages, and video chats between camp friends Tripti and Sam over their shared love of a book series and some mysterious rocks they brought home from summer camp. Eleven-year-olds Tripti Kapoor, a feisty "word nerd" from Massachusetts, and Sam Cohen, a shy, imaginative, budding geologist from California, are both miserable at Camp Dilloway, a summer camp in upstate New York. On the last night of camp, they follow a shooting star to a quiet creek. There they find two silvery rocks glowing in the night. They each take one home, and their long-distance friendship begins. It's soon clear that these are no ordinary rocks. They seem to move on their own, get strangely hot, and even take over Tripti and Sam's thoughts! Inspired by their mutual love of their favorite book series, The Dragon Gems, they dub the rocks Opal and Jasper, after the Dragon Gems in the books. But others are interested in the stones too--including the owner of Camp Dilloway, who hides a secret of his own. Tripti and Sam must crack the Dragon Gems' code and keep them out of Dilloway's clutches, all while navigating the rocky road of middle school friendships and learning to stand up for what is right.

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With nothing to go on but a vague dream which may or may not be memory, Korinalis Karell has spent the last three years searching Amirand for his birth parents. With a Contract to fund his journey and a magic talking wizard cat named Max to keep him company, Korin has tenaciously traveled from one kingdom to the next with no success to speak of.However, after being hired by Count Galius Firmon to retrieve a stolen gem, Korin finds himself faced with revelations about his past that not only flip his world upside down, but throw him into a fight for his very survival.With the aid of a mediocre wizard on a dragon hunt, a chatterbox Kolarin thief, and Max, Korin sets out to discover the truth of his past so that he may live to see his future.Join Korin in this fantasy adventure as he faces a ruthless count, evil wizards, a furious dragon, godsforsaken creatures of death, and even worse, a sarcastic cat.

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