Switchers by Kate Thompson
Tess is a reasonably distant and lonely child, who takes long walks out into the forest and park lands each day, returning home each evening to somewhat bemused parents. They don't believe anything is seriously wrong with their child despite the fact she has no friends — they just think she's a loner that loves the outdoors. But it just so happens that Tess is very different from other teenagers, and harbors a secret that she keeps from every other person on the planet. She has had the ability from a very early age to change into any animal she desires, and her daily walks into the wilderness are due to her transformations and adventures in animal form. It is a wonderful life as a “Switcher,” and she's not lonely — just alone.
Until one day, when a boy begins to follow her home from the bus station and utters some terrifying words: “I know who you are. I know what yo... Read More
Midnight's Choice by Kate Thompson
Midnight's Choice is the second book in Kate Thompson's Switchers trilogy, concerning fourteen-year-old Tess who has the ability to change into any animal at will. It begins right where the last book ended, several months after Tess and her Switcher-friend Kevin have destroyed the terrible krools, with Kevin alighting at her bedroom window in his last (and now permanent) form: a glorious phoenix. It may be necessary to have read Switchers beforehand, just to sort out the characters, the background history and the abilities of Switching, as it is an important point to know that at the age of fifteen, a Switcher's powers disappear, and whatever form — human or animal — that they choose is theirs for the rest of their life.
But Tess's fifteenth birthday is not for... Read More
Wild Blood by Kate Thompson
Wild Blood is the final book in Kate Thompson's Switchers trilogy and deals with the inevitable choice that her young heroine Tess has to face: at the age of fifteen her Switcher powers come to an end, and she can choose either to remain human or to become any one of the animals that she can transform into permanently. To make things worse, her parents are going on holiday without her, and have sent her to stay with her Uncle Maurice, Aunt Dierdre and three cousins.
Life on the farm isn't too bad considering Tess now has a huge environment to explore, but she misses her fellow-Switcher Kevin who she needs to help her make a final decision. Furthermore, there are strange things happening at the farmhouse: odd-looking animals, shadowy figures in the woods and suspicious activity from her bad-tempere... Read More
More speculative fiction by Kate Thompson
The Missing Link — (2000-2003) Publisher: Danny is different. He’s slower than other kids his age, and prone to violent outbursts. But when Danny runs off to find his biological mother, his older stepbrother Christie impulsively follows him. Along the way the two boys are joined by a runaway girl, a bird, and a dog that can speak to humans. However, nothing can prepare them for what they learn when they finally locate Danny’s mother at her laboratory, Fourth World. It seems Danny’s mother has been performing experiments — secret experiments — with terrifying genetic significance…
The New Policeman— (2005) Publisher: Who knows where the time goes? There never seems to be enough time in Kinvara, or anywhere else in Ireland for that matter. When J.J.’s mother says time’s what she really wants for her birthday, J.J. decides to find her some. He’s set himself up for an impossible task… until a neighbor reveals a secret. There’s a place where time stands still — at least, it’s supposed to. J.J. can make the journey there, but he’ll have to vanish from his own life to do so. Can J.J. find the leak between the two worlds? Will a shocking rumor about his family’s past come back to haunt him? And what does it all have to do with the village’s new policeman…?
Stand-alone:
Down Among the Gods — (1997) Publisher: Two lonely people, a chance meeting at an adult education class, an almost instant attraction. But why do they keep misunderstanding each other, missing each other? What is it that conspires to keep Jessie and Patrick apart? This is an urban romance with a difference; a tale of mortals acted by immortals. 
The Beguilers — (2001) Publisher: In Rilka’s village, it isn’t safe to go out after dark. That’s when the beguilers drift through the streets, tempting people to follow them. Everyone knows their power-they hypnotize their victims and ultimately drive them to their death. When Rilka decides to capture a beguiler, her family and friends mourn her as though she is already dead. In the course of her lonely, danger-filled journey, Rilka struggles to keep her strength and her sanity. She is ultimately rewarded with knowledge that will change life in the village forever. Rilka’s fierce independence will resonate with teens as they become mesmerized by this utterly unique quest story.
The Alchemist’s Apprentice — (2002) Publisher: The “Alchemist’s Apprentice” tells the rags to riches story of Jack, the blacksmith’s boy. Jack’s quest leads him on a quixotic set of travels which have a rollicking Tom Jones feel to them. Eventually, after both hardship and luxury, Jack finds himself with the alchemist himself dabbling in alchemy, until finally, he holds in his hand the precious and long awaited nugget but by that time, of course, it is too late. For, the marvels of life cannot be bought.
The Fourth Horseman — (2006) Publisher: The first time Laurie and her dad see the white rider, watching them from the deep, cool shadows of the trees, he is alone. Laurie is convinced that his appearance has a meaning that somehow he is trying to tell them something — something her dad needs to pay attention to. Is the rider somehow linked to the genetic research into squirrels that Laurie is helping her dad with in the lab? When a second rider with a bloody sword appears alongside the first, and then a third and a fourth, Laurie knows she must try to understand who they are and what they represent. With the help of her brother and his best friend, she discovers what the riders mean, but will it be too late to stop the inevitable chain of events that has been set in motion?
Creature of the Night — (2008) Publisher: A HOUSE WITH A SECRET. An unanswered question: Who is the Creature in the Night? Bobby lives a reckless life smoking, drinking, and stealing cars in Dublin. So his mother moves thefamily to the country. But Bobby suspects their cottage might not be as quaint as it seems. Teens will be captivated by this spooky novel about the darkness that lurks in forgotten corners and tough teenagers.
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(1956- )
