For the next few weeks, we’ll be spotlighting our upcoming releases for the new year. You’ll learn a bit about our 2021 releases, their authors, and information about pre-ordering.
If you’re like us, Helen Brain’s novel, The Thousand Steps, left you wanting more. The first in Helen’s Fiery Spiral Trilogy, a dystopian fantasy series for young adult readers, introduced us to 16-year-old Ebba. Ebba, like most of the population in the book’s futuristic Cape Town setting, lives in a bunker deep within Table Mountain, far removed from the world “above,” which she and the others believe was destroyed. When Ebba is suddenly elevated to the outside world, she discovers everything she thought she knew was wrong, and that she holds the power to change the world.
Ebba’s story continues in the second book of the series— The Rising Tide, set for release in June 2021.
The Rising Tide returns readers to Ebba’s story. Now shouldering an immense power, she must save the world from another apocalypse by reuniting four ancient amulets with the help of her ghostly ancestors. She must listen to her instincts, even if it means destroying the things she holds most dear. Who can she trust to help stop the second “Calamity,” now just days away? Who will betray her?
In the second installment of Helen Brain’s Fiery Spiral trilogy, Ebba will learn the impossible decisions – and great sacrifice – that sometimes come with destiny.
Weaving in history and mythology, Helen’s series explores power, the climate crisis, and the ways that we can create change. Of the series, Helen says, “Through the three books of the trilogy, the heroine ever learns to know her strength to use the power of her ancestors, and to understand what it means to be a leader.”
The Thousand Steps was praised by School Library Journal, Kirkus, and the Midwest Book Review, which called the book “A deftly crafted, impressively original, and inherently entertaining novel.” We’re excited for readers to continuing exploring the vast world that Helen has created in her series.
