By Mark Siegel, Alexis Siegel
A dazzling, full-color space epic where three unlikely children have to save five worlds from burning up.
Five linked worlds are slowly overheating, and the only thing that can cool them is lighting five ancient beacons nobody has managed to light in centuries. It falls to three unlikely children: Oona Lee, a clumsy student of a nearly lost magic called sand dancing; An Tzu, a boy from the slums with a secret; and Jax Amboy, a burned-out star athlete. They have to learn to trust each other before the worlds cook.
If a child loved the world of Avatar, this is about as close as a book gets to that feeling. It's proper epic science-fantasy, five whole worlds and an ancient prophecy and real magic, but it comes in big cinematic full-color pages that turn fast. It asks a bit more than the trail's earlier books, which is why it sits later on: the plot is bigger and there's more to hold in your head, but the pictures still do the heavy lifting. A great pick for a child ready to feel like they're reading something grand.