The Scepter of the Snowy Land

By Lara Therrise Chen

This gripping episode is the second in the series and the sequel to Legend of the Red Ruby.
Having found the red ruby, Ava is living a much more comfortable life. Yet, she continues to miss her dear mother terribly. Loading up her trusty camel Sandstorm, Ava and her best friend, Mohammad, set off on a brand new quest to find the mysterious scepter. Legend has it that the scepter possesses enough magical power to bring lost loved ones back from the spirit world.
Ava is more than willing to try anything to see her mother safely returned, but nothing is ever easy on a journey into the dangers of the unknown. This new adventure to a magical world is filled with dark myths, perilous challenges and bamboozling riddles every step of the way.
Will Ava succeed in finding the scepter of the Snowy Land or will she perish in the chilly Snowy Land?

• Language: English
• Publisher: Partridge Publishing Singapore
• Release date: Sep 16, 2015
• ISBN: 9781482853261

Lara Therrise Chen

Lara is a twelve-year-old aspiring writer, an ICAS Medal Winner (top scorer in Singapore) from the University of New South Wales for excellence in English and a Gold Medal Winner from the Queens Royal Commonwealth Essay competition. Her books, Legend of the Red Ruby (2014), Scepter of Snowy Land (2015), and Diary of a Keychain (2016), won praise from young people and adults alike.

Book preview

Copyright © 2015 by Lara Therrise Chen.

Designs and Illustrations © 2015 by Lara Therrise Chen

Illustrated by J.C.

ISBN:      Softcover      978-1-4828-5325-4

                eBook           978-1-4828-5326-1

All rights reserved. No part of this book may be used or reproduced by any means, graphic, electronic, or mechanical, including photocopying, recording, taping or by any information storage retrieval system without the written permission of the author except in the case of brief quotations embodied in critical articles and reviews.

Because of the dynamic nature of the Internet, any web addresses or links contained in this book may have changed since publication and may no longer be valid. The views expressed in this work are solely those of the author and do not necessarily reflect the views of the publisher, and the publisher hereby disclaims any responsibility for them.

www.partridgepublishing.com/singapore

CONTENTS

Chapter 1:   An Impossible New Quest?

Chapter 2:   A Picnic with a Difference

Chapter 3:   A Friend in the Cold

Chapter 4:   All under a Snowy Veil

Chapter 5:   Riddles and Rhymes and Trying Times

Chapter 6:   Just One More Question

Chapter 7:   Different, yet so Alike

Chapter 8:   Waiting for a Sign

Chapter 9:   Ogres Don’t Play Nicely

Chapter 10:   That Ogre’s Lost His Marbles!

Chapter 11:   The Evil Empress and the Box

Chapter 12:   The Curse of the Evil Empress

Chapter 13:   An Unexpected Homecoming

Chapter 14:   The Theory of Timelessness

Chapter 15:   Did the Phoenix Know the Sphinx?

Chapter 16:   What, Thinks a Sphinx, is a Jinx?

Chapter 17:   Now You’ve Done It!

Chapter 18:   That’s Not a Scepter!

Chapter 19:   A Chilly Day on Mount Chillmore

Chapter 20:   Are We Nearly There Yet?

Chapter 21:   Are We Nearly There Yeti?

Chapter 22:   The Second Half

Chapter 23:   An Orb for an Empty Scepter

Chapter 24:   A Ruby for a Stone?

Chapter 25:   Homeward Bound, for Now

To my mother, father, and younger brother,

I dedicate this 2nd book in the series of the Red Ruby,

a magical journey to find a loved one.

To Veronica,

thank you for the friendship and the inspiration

for the Snowy Land.

Praisesd for Lara Therrise Chen’s

The Scepter of the Snowy Land

Yet again Lara has excelled herself with this action packed tale. She combines sadness and loss with light-hearted humour, creating an enjoyable balance for readers of any age. The endearing friendships and strong family bonds in this story prove that Lara is an author well beyond her years.

Tamara Forge

Author of Children’s Books

The Scepter of the Snowy Land is an intriguing and marvellous tale of adventure, combined with a deeply moving portrayal of camaraderie and grief. It is very heartwarming to see a young writer have a high level of maturity and immense passion in her craft. I am truly proud of Lara and look forward to read more of her stories in the future. She is definitely an inspiration to many young children out there. Great job, Lara!

Siti Sakinah Mohamed Jaffar

Form Teacher, Raffles Girls Primary School

You will be taken on an emotional roller coaster ride once you start reading The Scepter of The Snowy Land – a book packed with friendship and magical adventures that set your magination run wild! I am heartened to know that this inspirational young author, Lara, has created another book that any ardent reader would have a whale of a time reading it. Fantastic! We shall anticipate more books of such quality to be created in no time!

Darren Lau Kar Loong

Form Teacher, Raffles Girls Primary School

About the Author

Lara is a ten-year-old aspiring writer and a medal winner from the University of New South Wales for excellence in English. Her first book, Legend of the Red Ruby (2014), won praise from young people and adults alike.

When Lara is not writing, she attends Raffles Girls’ Primary School in Singapore. She lives with her parents and younger brother and enjoys reading, playing the drums, and speed skating. Lara dreams of winning a Pulitzer… and having ice-cream for dinner.

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The eternal quest of the individual human being

is to shatter his loneliness.

~ Norman Cousins

CHAPTER 1

An Impossible New Quest?

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How dare you even think that?! Ava scowled at her best friend, Mohammad. "No, my mother did not leave us—she was taken from us, in the cruelest way imaginable. And that is why we are going to find her!" Ava’s face softened, and she flashed Mohammad a determined smile.

"I’m sorry, Ava. I didn’t mean to…