Shanghai, November 1937. Yaya, the eight-year-old daughter of a diamond merchant, lives a life of luxury in the French Concession in Shanghai. Her one great passion is the piano. While she is preparing for an important audition, her father decides that the family must leave town in the face of the imminent Japanese invasion. The evening before all the family is to leave, stubborn Yaya, unaware of the danger, runs away in an attempt to make it to her audition come what may. On the way, in the midst of the crowd fleeing the Japanese offensive, She is caught in a bombardment. She owes her life to Tuduo, a street urchin who discovers her unconscious in the ruins of a house. With his help, Yaya learns that her family fled for Hong Kong without her, and she determines to go join them there right away. Tuduo begins to dream about what his life would be like if Yaya's parents welcomed him and his little brother into their beautiful home. He decides to go along with Yaya on her long and perilous journey. But before he can do anything, he must escape from the clutches of Zhu, who runs a gang of homeless boys. When Zhu learns that Tuduo's little protégée is from a very wealthy family, he comes up with a Machiavellian plot to kidnap her and collect a ransom. Tuduo and Yaya barely manage to get away and head off for the south. But Zhu, a heartless outlaw, doesn't give up so easily and comes after them, driven by his high hopes of cashing in on the ransom scheme. This nine-volume series chronicles their long journey fraught with perils. The children meet all sorts of people, both friendly and wicked, as they travel toward Hong Kong. Yaya and Tuduo are different in every way: social background, character, dreams, and desires. These children learn many growing lessons along the way, not the least of which is to judge a person on their character, not their social or financial status. The gloom of war, its absurd tragedy, gives way to the incredible capacity of youth to overwhelm grim reality. Imagination is the only thing these children have to defend themselves against adults who are like the ogres, evil fairies, or good witches of bedtime tales. Their imagination gives the story a touch of poetry, while humor brings a lighter touch to a story that is steeped in genuine historical tragedy.

Zoe is a shy girl, struggling to fit in at her new school, when she finds a mysterious gem left to her by her birth mother. All of a sudden, darkness-spewing dragons are chasing her down in the schoolyard, and a squad of crystal-wielding girls is there to save her! What does this mean for Zoe? Find out in the all-new Crystal Cadets #1.

Evil forces have found Zoe at home--and her parents have been taken over by The Darkness! Luckily, the mysterious "exchange students" from school come to save Zoe, and they each sport crystals a lot like Zoe's diamond! What does this all mean, and who are these arrow-shooting, fireball-throwing girls? Team up with Zoe in the next issue of Crystal Cadets!

The Crystal Cadets are on the search for the Pearl Cadet. They've got to get to her before The Darkness converts her! Their search takes them to a skateboarding competition, where the evil Emmy has been convincing all the athletes to cheat--powering the Darkness to attack the Cadets! Will they find the Pearl Cadet in time, or will she save them?

There's a huge storm headed for Puerto Rico, just as the Crystal Cadets arrive to look for the Sapphire Cadet! The Darkness is whipping the storm up and the Cadets are in real trouble when a shipwreck seems imminent . . . But do the Cadets have enough power to fight off hurricane-force winds at the same time as the biggest Darkness monster they've ever faced?!

After the massive magical explosion that ended the hurricane, Zoe, Liz, and Jasmine are lost at sea! The other cadets scramble to find them, but they've drifted into a strange cave full of Darkness Beasts. Zoe's diamond is having a strange reaction to some of the murals in the cave--could they finally be learning the secrets of the Crystal Cadets?

The Darkness has created a riot in an amusement park--and half the Cadets halfway across the globe on a wild goose chase! The evil Emmy has set up traps everywhere, and Liz and Milena are still figuring out their powers. The traps are springing closed and time is running out! What does The Darkness want anyway? What does Emmy want from the Crystal Cadets?

Nahla has been kidnapped by The Darkness--but why? What is Emmy's goal in interfering with the Cadet's battles? The Crystal Cadets begin a daring rescue plan on The Darkness' headquarters, and Milena's devastating Leviathan magic helps them score a big victory! The last Cadet is supposed to be in The Darkness' base--but where? Who could she be?

The Crystal Cadets are in a decisive final battle with The Darkness. They'll need to combine all their powers to defeat Emmy, but if Emmy holds the power of the Topaz Cadet, how can they use it against her? Zoe steps right into the line of fire! The Crystal Cadets have to save the world!

Zoe is a shy girl, struggling to fit in at her new school, when she finds a mysterious gem left to her by her birth mother. All of a sudden, darkness-spewing dragons are chasing her down in the schoolyard, and a squad of crystal-wielding girls is there to save her! Welcome to the Crystal Cadets, Zoe, you're now the Diamond Cadets! Join Ruby Cadet Jasmine, Emerald Cadet Gwen, Garnet Cadet Olivia, Pearl Cadet Liz, and Sapphire Cadet Milena as a member of the toughest, smartest, and best-dressed team of evil-fighting girls in the world!