Anne Ursu Books In Order

The Shadow Thieves

Oh, it’s not the very cute kitten that appears out of nowhere and demands to go home with her. It’s not the sudden arrival of her cousin Zee, who believes he’s the cause of a mysterious sickness that has struck his friends back in England. It’s not her creepy English teacher Mr. Metos, who takes his mythology lessons just a little too seriously. And it’s not the white faced, yellow eyed men in tuxedoes, who follow Charlotte everywhere.

What’s so extraordinary is not any one of these things…
. It’s all of them. And when Charlotte’s friends start to get sick one by one, Charlotte and Zee set out to find a cure. Their quest leads them to a not so mythical Underworld, where they face rhyme loving Harpies, gods with personnel problems, and ghosts with a thirst for blood.

Charlotte and Zee learn that in a world overrun by Nightmares, Pain, and Death, the really dangerous character is a guy named Phil. And then they discover that the fate of every person living and dead is in their young hands.

In her dazzling debut for young readers, Anne Ursu weaves a tale of myth and adventure, danger and magic that will keep readers engrossed until the very last secret is revealed.

The Siren Song

Inside an ordinary middle school in an ordinary city, a small redheaded eighth grader is doing something very ordinary, indeed. Ever since Charlotte Mielswetzski and her cousin, Zee, saved the world, life has been rather ordinary. Ordinary, that is, if you call being ultramegagrounded in Charlotte’s case or treated as if you might fall to pieces in Zee’s case ordinary. Either way, heroes deserve better. Of course, no one knows Charlotte and Zee are heroes. It’s not like they can simply announce that Greek myths are real or proclaim they have returned from the Underworld, where they rescued all of mankind from Philonecron, a deranged demigod with delusions of grandeur. Instead, they are forced to keep this terrible knowledge to themselves, and are stuck in a state of extraordinary ordinariness. But things aren’t quite as ordinary as they seem. For Philonecron is the grandson of Poseidon, and you don’t mess with the progeny of the second most powerful god in the universe. And Philonecron himself isn’t so happy about having all of his delicious plans thwarted by mortal children. He wants revenge, and with his grandfather to help him, he is going to get what he wants. For Charlotte and Zee, their not so ordinary lives are about to be disrupted once again. This time it’s not the world they must save it’s themselves. In the thrilling second installment of the Cronus Chronicles trilogy, author Anne Ursu brings her trademark wit to a spectacular adventure on the high seas.

The Immortal Fire

After surviving the perilous Underworld and barely escaping a murderous Poseidon, cousins Charlotte and Zee know better than to expect their lives to return to normal. After all, vengeful gods do not like to be foiled by mere mortals…
especially when those mortals are thirteen. So when a fire breathing Chimera descends on their middle school, Charlotte and Zee are determined to fight not only for their lives, but for humankind. With nothing but a mysterious map and hints of a powerful weapon to guide them, the cousins journey to Mount Olympus, home of Zeus himself. But they’re not alone. Their arch nemesis Philonecron dreams of taking Zeus’s place at the throne of the universe and now he has Poseidon’s trident to help him do it. The only thing he needs now is a little help from Charlotte and Zee…
. In this thrilling conclusion to the Cronus Chronicles, author Anne Ursu brings her epic battle of good versus gods to a breathtaking end.

Spilling Clarence

What if you could suddenly remember everything that ever happened in your life? Would it be a blessing or a curse? The answer is found in Spilling Clarence, a satisfying, witty, romantic, and tender novel. In the fictional town of Clarence, Minnesota, a breakroom microwave sparks a smoky fire at the pharmaceutical factory and triggers a massive chemical spill. Panic stricken and paralyzed, the townspeople wait until the all clear signal to assure them everything’s back to normal. Except that it isn’t. Over the coming days, the citizens of Clarence fall under the spell of a strange and powerful drug that unlocks their memories. They become trapped by their own reminiscences: of love and death, of war and childhood, of family they’ve lost and sins they’ve committed. Beautifully rendered with a light comic touch, this bittersweet first novel is about more than the sum of its beguiling parts. It’s about the need to remember, and about the bliss of forgetting. A universe peopled by exquisitely drawn characters, Spilling Clarence is a funny, moving story with a truly original premise that introduces the impressive talents of an exciting new writer.

The Disapparation of James

From the highly praised author of Spilling Clarence, a luminous novel about the joy of family and the perils of loving. The Woodrow family is going to the circus to celebrate Greta’s seventh birthday. When five year old brother James eagerly volunteers to join the magic act, his parents watch with pride as he climbs onto the stage alongside the clown. The trick is spectacular and applause rings through the crowd as James disappears vanishing before their very eyes. The trouble is, James really did disappear…
into thin air. In the aftermath of James’s disappearance, with the police investigation providing no clues, the laws of the universe come into question. His mother becomes lost in her dreams and his father becomes obsessed with the clown, while his big sister Greta sets out to figure out what happened. A novel peppered with dreams, premonitions, and possible realities, The Disapparation of James is a work of enormous sensitivity, tenderness, and wit.