Opal gets a dirty old suitcase for her birthday. She's not impressed. Her grandfather tells her she'll need it, because she's going to live with her great aunt on Broken Shell Island. Opal wonders if her grandfather hasn't gone senile, because Broken Shell Island is a made-up magical place that their family friend Flora Fritz writes picture books about. Oh, but the island is real. And magic. Opal encounters magical plants, animals, and danger, too. The evening she arrives, a body is discovered in the woods, not far from where she passed through. Worse, a terrifying creature has emerged from the ground, and it hungers for the innocent, whether the people of the island believe in it or not. While young Opal is eager to fit into her new life, perhaps becoming a witch, she's mainly concerned about surviving her first week. Riding a unicorn is not quite the experience she expected, nor is her first encounter with hair-styling pixies. Life is beautiful, magical, and perilous, on Broken Shell Island. Ages: Family-friendly, no swearing or mature content beyond some adventure-type action and violence.Length: 78,800 words / approx 240 pages