Two-time Newbery Honor Award Winner begins a new series!

A Fall 2009 Kid's Indie Next List title

Two-time Newbery Honor Award-Winning Author Laurence Yep opens his newest series with CITY OF FIRE (Tor Books; $15.99; September 2009). Yep’s City Trilogy introduces readers to an alternate version of our world in 1941—one in which magical beings such as dragons in human form and tiny but powerful pet griffins mingle with ordinary people.

Twelve-year-old Scirye, a descendant of the ancient Kushan Empire, guides us through this mystical world as she vows to avenge her older sister against the evil dragon Badik. Scirye unites with two boys from the San Francisco streets: Leech, a boy with powers yet undiscovered, and his devoted companion Koko. This group is joined by Bayang, a dragon disguised as an elderly woman, whose people have a long-standing grudge against Badik.

Though the members of this coalition have little in common, they are united against their common foe. As their journey continues, they grow to appreciate and depend on each other as they work together to defeat the frightening obstacles that stand in their way.

While tracking Badik, they learn that he is in league with the evil and ambitious Mr. Roland, whose ultimate goal is to capture the Five Lost Treasures of Emperor Yü and unite their power to control the universe. Their mission is now expanded from achieving personal vengeance to saving the world and success is a must.

In City of Fire, our heroes travel to the magically created Hawaiian island of Houlani, befriend Pele, the goddess of volcanoes, and take on tasks larger than they ever imagined. This action-packed adventure is just the beginning of another thrilling Laurence Yep series!

Laurence Yep has written over sixty books for children and young adults, including two Newbery Honor Award Winners: Dragonwings and Dragon’s Gate. In 2005, he won the Laura Ingalls Wilder Award from the American Library Association for a substantial and lasting contribution to children’s literature. Mr. Yep lives with his wife, author and editor Joanne Ryder, in California.

* Visit www.tor-forge.com/cityoffire-yep for a fun

City of Fire book trailer *

Praise for Laurence Yep:

“Told with humanity and compassion. A tribute to the survival and courage of these immigrants.”

—Newbery Award Committee on Dragon’s Gate

“An engaging survival-adventure story, a social history, a heroic quest.”

—Booklist on Dragon’s Gate

“A triumph.”

—The New York Times on Dragonwings

City of Fire

Laurence Yep

A Tor Hardcover