{"product_id":"2940151252652","title":"Unicorn Seasons","description":"A unicorn for every season.\u003cbr\u003e\u003cbr\u003eFrom a mythical time before the winds were fixed to the corners of the earth to a present-day forest where unicorns are not—quite—extinct, this collection by acclaimed fantasy writer Janni Lee Simner brings together four magical tales about unicorns and the humans who are forever changed by them.\u003cbr\u003e\u003cbr\u003eIn Lost or Forgotten, a unicorn sacrifices his mortality for the woman he loves, leaving their descendants to mourn the loss. When sisters Sara and Amelia hear the trees calling to them one spring night, they have to decide whether to take on an ancient sorrow—or accept an ancient magic.\u003cbr\u003e\u003cbr\u003eIn Unicorn Season, Megan’s small-town summer turns more interesting when a local boy offers to help her find unicorns in the nearby mountains. But why is Josh so interested in the elusive creatures? Megan may not know as much about unicorns—or Josh’s motives—as she thinks.\u003cbr\u003e\u003cbr\u003eIn Tearing Down the Unicorns, Stacey is furious when her older sister tears the unicorn posters from their walls. Then she sees a real unicorn dancing in the autumn night, and she discovers there’s more to the mythical creatures than those rainbow-and-butterfly bedecked pictures show—and more to herself, as well.\u003cbr\u003e\u003cbr\u003eIn Windwood Rose, Miranda has been haunted all her life by strange music and uneasy dreams. When a unicorn appears in the snow one winter afternoon, it may have the answers she longs for. But will it be willing to give her all that she seeks?\u003cbr\u003e\u003cbr\u003e=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=\u003cbr\u003e\u003cbr\u003eExcerpts\u003cbr\u003e\u003cbr\u003eFrom Lost or Forgotten:\u003cbr\u003e\u003cbr\u003eThe year she turned sixteen, Amelia stole out into the night. She waited shivering beneath the trees, at the edge between forest and town, for a boy who didn’t show.\u003cbr\u003e\u003cbr\u003eAs she waited the trees whispered, “Nothing is ever forgotten. Nothing is truly lost.” For the first time, Amelia understood their words. She laughed with joy, all thoughts of the boy gone. From the corners of the earth the winds reached out, tugging at her ankles, urging her to run. Amelia lifted a foot, feeling as if she were balanced between earth and air, light enough to fly away.\u003cbr\u003e\u003cbr\u003eA hand gripped her shoulder, pushing her down.\u003cbr\u003e\u003cbr\u003e“What are you doing?” Sara demanded.\u003cbr\u003e\u003cbr\u003e“Nothing,” Amelia lied, as the wind died and the trees fell silent.\u003cbr\u003e\u003cbr\u003e“Good. Let’s go home.”\u003cbr\u003e\u003cbr\u003eAmelia heard the fear in her sister’s words, and because she loved her sister—because she didn’t want to frighten her sister—she followed Sara away.\u003cbr\u003e\u003cbr\u003eBack in their room Sara shut all the windows, drew all the shades, turned her music so loud Amelia couldn’t hear the trees.\u003cbr\u003e\u003cbr\u003eSara relaxed a little then, for with the windows closed and the music on, she couldn’t hear them, either.\u003cbr\u003e\u003cbr\u003eFrom Unicorn Season:\u003cbr\u003e\u003cbr\u003eJosh stopped laughing, and his eyes went large. “Deer are brown,” he said. “Maybe gray. That was a unicorn.”\u003cbr\u003e\u003cbr\u003e“Yeah, right.” Megan just stared at him. “How stupid do you think I am? Everyone knows unicorns are extinct. Died out during the Civil War.”\u003cbr\u003e\u003cbr\u003e“Don’t believe everything your downstate history books tell you.” Josh’s own disdain matched hers. “There aren’t many unicorns left, but they’re here all right. And if you saw one at all ...” His voice drifted off, and his eyes went languid  ... “You ever want to see a unicorn,” Josh said, his voice strange and low, “You just let me know. I’ll go unicorn hunting with you.”\u003cbr\u003e\u003cbr\u003eFrom Tearing Down the Unicorns:\u003cbr\u003e\u003cbr\u003eThe unicorn was the wildest, most frightening thing I’d ever seen—but also the most beautiful. Soon I realized there was a pattern to its running, one that kept it from ever taking the same path twice. It wasn’t just running. It was dancing, a fiery dance like nothing I’d ever seen before.\u003cbr\u003e\u003cbr\u003eThe burning in my hand spread through the rest of my body, dulling to a smoldering ache as it did. Something about that ache urged me forward. I wanted, more than anything, to follow, to dance with the unicorn.\u003cbr\u003e\u003cbr\u003eI watched it for a few seconds more, memorizing its pattern, learning the steps of its dance. \u003cbr\u003e\u003cbr\u003eThen I took a deep breath and ran after it. \u003cbr\u003e\u003cbr\u003eFrom Windwood Rose:\u003cbr\u003e\u003cbr\u003eInstead of running the unicorn let out a high silver laugh, a laugh which held the same music as the grey branch, as her mother’s singing, as her father’s guitar. At the sound of the music Miranda forgot the creature’s beauty and grew angry all over again.\u003cbr\u003e\u003cbr\u003eThe unicorn dropped its eyes, then raised them again, looking Miranda over from her grey boots to her dark hair. “Miranda Windwood Rose,” it said, in a serious voice that didn’t match its laugh at all.\u003cbr\u003e\u003cbr\u003eThe air grew even stiller then, as if holding its breath and waiting for the answer to some question. Very far away, Miranda heard a sound like whispering leaves.","brand":"Cholla Bear Press","offers":[{"title":"Default Title","offer_id":47075989487856,"sku":"2940151252652","price":2.99,"currency_code":"USD","in_stock":true}],"thumbnail_url":"\/\/cdn.shopify.com\/s\/files\/1\/0737\/7593\/9824\/files\/2940151252652_p0.jpg?v=1764008670","url":"https:\/\/shop-qa.barnesandnoble.com\/products\/2940151252652","provider":"Barnes \u0026 Noble (DEV)","version":"1.0","type":"link"}