Arcadia Public Library

After her mother, a Shamer, is summoned to Dunark for a mission, ten-year-old Dina is forced to use her own special powers as she is caught up in an adventure of political intrigue and survival.

When eleven-year-old Dina, who recently inherited her mother's gift of perceiving secret shames through eye contact, is kidnapped and forced to shame enemies of the evil Valdracu, her fifteen-year-old brother Davin rides to her aid.

"Every day a veterinarian helps animals. She examines them to see if they are healthy, and helps them if they are sick or hurt. Maybe you would like to be a vet someday?"--

Stump always has a fantastic time with his grandparents, filled with flowers, puzzles, crosswords, and endless love. But one day, Stump's grandfather starts to lose his memory--and his words, which literally fall from him. Stump tries his best to keep the lost words safe, collecting them in a special box. But Grandpa seems to forget more and more everyday, and the situation comes to a head one snowy night when Stump wakes up to find Grandpa missing....

As her brother Davin is unjustly confined to a prison and looks for a way to escape, Dina, now twelve years old, meets her father and learns whether she shares his serpent gift of having the ability to give people dreams.