It is Rebecca Jane's birthday, the first since her mum died. Dad eagerly gives her a present, but when Rebecca opens it she unwittingly steps into a living nightmare. The Victorian sampler she has received unlocks a chilling spectre. What does she have to do to escape this restless ghostly presence and its haunting power?

Jack is in hospital. There's something wrong with his leg. But when he catches a glimpse of his X-ray he doesn't expect to see a huge squirming thing writhing around inside it. It turns out he's not alone - two of his best mates have the same problem. The doctors won't tell them anything. Jack's worried. Then the burning and hissing starts.

In a future where hospitals seem to be to fix anything, Jake's accident should have been easy to sort out. So why can't his friends see him? The Phoenix Conspiracy is one of brand-new titles for the Shades 2.0 series, it is great for reluctant older readers. The Shades 2.0 books offer fast-paced, shorter stories (just 64pp each) for older readers who may find longer books too daunting, but who still want the excitement of a great story told with pace and style. Shades 2.0 is ideal for reluctant readers aged 12+ with a reading age of 9 - 10.

In a future where hospitals seem to be to fix anything, Jake's accident should have been easy to sort out. So why can't his friends see him?

In this dystopian future, the blood of the young is a precious commodity: it can rejuvenate old people. Of course only the rich can afford to buy young blood, and an illegal market is inevitable. Two friends are drawn into an underqorld of organised crime where they risk being drained of every drop of their young blood.