Magic, kung fu, fallen angels and star-crossed love...
YA Contemporary Fantasy
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Dark Territory
The Tracks: Book 1
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In the quaint town of Middleburg, an abandoned train yard and old railroad tracks form the dividing line between two rival gangs—the wealthy, preppy Toppers and the working-class Flatliners. When Raphael, the leader of the Flatliners, falls in love with Aimee, a Topper girl, the rival gangs prepare to do battle . . . but not with guns and knives. Their martial arts training dictates a strict code of honor, which all of the gang members adhere to. The only hope for peace between the rival gangs lies within the giant X formed where the railroad tracks cross. The awesome power contained in the X sends the Flatliners and the Toppers on a mystical quest to fight against malevolent forces that threaten the existence of Middleburg—and maybe the world.
Ghost Crown
The Tracks: Book 2
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Despite a tentative alliance between the goth Flatliners and the rich, preppie Toppers, any hope of peace is dashed when Topper girl Aimee arrives at the homecoming dance with Raphael, a Flatliner. A fight erupts between the two gangs and, in the midst of the rumble, a bizarre catastrophe occurs when Middleburg’s homecoming queen discovers she has supernatural powers.
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To make matters worse, Middleburg real-estate moguls who have bought up most of the land in the Flats have started evicting their tenants. They are searching for a priceless treasure prophesied in ancient Chinese writings and will stop at nothing to find it. But Raphael and his impoverished Flatliners vow to get it first and use it buy back their homes. Meanwhile, a handsome, charismatic half-angel, half-human comes to Middleburg with plans to steal Aimee from Raphael.
As Raphael and his Flatliners and Zhai and his Toppers work to perfect their supernatural abilities and find the treasure, Aimee begins kung fu training, intent on becoming strong enough to locate and rescue her missing mother. When she discovers that the mysterious treasure may be the key to finding her mom, the race to find it intensifies.
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But there are others who seek the treasure, too, forces powerful enough to reduce all of Middleburg, and perhaps the world, to ashes…
Shadow Train
The Tracks: Book 3
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Middleburg's teen martial artists scramble to reunite the broken shards of the powerful and mysterious Shen ring in an effort to locate their missing friend Raphael and avert worldwide disaster—but it won't be easy.
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A pack of government agents, a secret order of Chinese kung fu masters, and a family of vengeful fallen angels stand in their way. Amid the struggle, tensions between the two teen gangs flare once again when one of the Flats kids gets jumped and put in the hospital. Zhai and Ignacio, the leaders of the rival factions, struggle to maintain peace and continue their quest for the ring shards amid the rising tide of confrontation.
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Meanwhile, Middleburg's leading ladies Maggie and Dalton put their differences aside in an effort to wrest their friend Aimee from the clutches of the sultry and seductive Nephilim, Orias. But when a powerful fallen angel learns that Orias has imprisoned his father Oberon, a new supernatural menace is unleashed on Middleburg, one that threatens to bring all the conflicting factions together in one final, deadly conflagration.
Reviews
Nobody goes deep into the unused train tunnels on the wrong side of the tracks in Middleburg until former friends and rival gang leaders Raphael and Zhai are sent there by a shadowy figure called the Magician. The tracks intersect in a nexus holding a dashboard that turns each tunnel into a passageway through time, and Raph and Zhai have lists of items to retrieve if they are to achieve their hearts’ desires: Raph, to save his first love, Aimee; and Zhai, to save his dying sister. Who will win?
- Booklist
What a great team of writers Gabriel Gates and Charlene Keel are. They work fabulously together and this book is proof of it…As soon as you start reading you notice that there are dark forces at work…takes you on a journey with the teenagers of Middleburg, with all their own fears and trials going on. Ignacio moves to this new town to get away from gangs but what he moves to is much worse…Dark Territory is setting the stage for more in this series and I for one can’t wait for more.
-- SweepingMe.com
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This young adult fiction is sure to be a hit - it has block buster movie written all over it!
-- Imagination-Café
Wow, I loved this book. I loved this book. I swear, it has everything; martial arts (action, action, action), romance, school plays, gangs, train tracks . . . Just wow.
-- Simply Nerdy Book Review
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“I think the story was very imaginative and not something I've seen before, the writing is brilliant … I'll definitely read the second book.”
- Bookaholics Book Club – Mist
“I enjoyed this - the action was incredible, the humor was just as great… can't wait to read the next one ...”
- Community Bookstop