MY BOOKS

NEW Release!

The Heart of the Uni-verse

Like any typical fifth-grader, Pi deals with the everyday complexities of life, family, and friendship. Compound that with his upcoming heart surgery, and you have the recipe for a galactic-level disaster. Sandwiched between his exhausted mother, his deployed military father, and his declining grandfather, it feels as if his universe is set to implode. When it’s announced that his school will host a national science contest, Pi sees this as his chance to change the course of his life. Unfortunately, only eligible sixth-grade students can participate. With the help of his friends, Pi concocts a plan to enter, taking his dream beyond the limits of space and time, and together they discover how to heal more than just a broken heart.

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One Moon

Named the “Number 1 Favorite Read” at the National Association for Gifted Children 2022 Conference

by Bob Seney, Professor Emeritus of Gifted Studies


In the heart of the formidable Arctic Tundra, an uncommon bond between two she-wolves proves to be essential for one Arctic wolf pack’s future. Inspired by the true story of the legendary Eureka pack in a documentary filmed by PBS on Nature’s Arctic Wolf Pack and the legacy of Snow White and Black Spot.

Painting Half the Sky

Francis would give almost anything to bring back the colorful canvas of her mother's fantastical tales of the world of Fănshè. But meddling with the inherited charms of Wu Xíng magic always comes at a price. When she paints over her scars and the cruel truth on her dead mother’s mirror she unveils the perils of the looking-glass world where friends turn feral foes and an evil sorcerer awaits his claim. Francis learns of an unkept promise tied to the wings of the elusive yellow dragon she only knows from myth. She must embrace the other half of a broken truth or her whole world and everyone she cares about will be captives for all eternity. 

Story Bends: Water Walker

Enter the mind of a disturbed boy who gains a passport to one of the foretold ‘thin places’ between life and death. In this realm of tilted memories, Edward meets a peculiar trio who help him reclaim his broken bits while discovering the secret behind an early death marking. Only then does he realize the nature of his nightmares and the malevolent source behind his suffering. With truth comes great responsibility, and Edward must choose to save the living world from a cataclysmic end or die again trying. 


THE IDEA33 TRILOGY

IDEA33 A Regeneration

Heli Clame doesn't know it yet, but he stands in the wake of a critical change. Coming of age himself during a time of enhanced technology and decades lost to ecological devastation, he arrives on the grounds of IDEA33 to join two others, Terra Sial and Dous Cistern. Unaware that they all have special and undeveloped powers to offset a prophecy foretelling the end of time, they soon learn their unique origins and the purpose for why they were created. The balance of all life on earth rests on the strength of their unity. Only then will they have the power to initiate a Regeneration. 

IDEA33 A Revolution

Heli Clame and his friends have abandoned any hope of a normal life outside the protective gates of IDEA33. Nearly six months after entering a portal between space and time, absolving humanity of Earth’s devastation, they are faced with a decision to leave the only place they call home. Despite the success of their mission and the confirmation that a regeneration is conclusive, they are warned that their greatest enemy will soon return. With the support of the Regulation, their enemies will stop at nothing to obtain control once again. Their only choice is to abandon their home and hide among strangers in a sacred space known as the Frey. Here alliances are forged and loyalties will be tested as they slowly come to realize that their arrival is the signal to something much more. Now they must face a decision that comes with a price and discover a higher purpose marked by their actions as a race against time leads them back to IDEA33. 

IDEA33 A Resolution

We celebrate the third and final installment of the IDEA33 Young Adult Cli-Fi series this Earth Day, April 22, 2018, meet Zenith. Nearly sixteen years have passed since her parents, Terra and Heli, and close allies, Dous and Mianna, accomplished their mission to initiate the Regeneration. The pivotal shift unveiled the key source in replenishing the Earth's depleted resources. Forced to abandon their newborn child, in compliance with the Regulation's efforts to offset a rising rebellion, they reentered the Strata and paid the ultimate sacrifice of prophetic proportions. When their daughter, Zenith learns the secrets behind her unusual origins she comes to realize her powers and must rise to meet her destiny and embody the source that will lead to a final resolution. 

Editorial Reviews: 

"Henke's writing in this third and final installment of her IDEA33 series blew me away. I especially admire her use of multiple character perspectives, including perspectives from characters rarely represented in fiction (like that of a blind teenager who navigates the world through sound and touch). It's a deeply satisfying end to a thrilling and mind expanding series."

"IDEA 33 A Resolution, the trilogy's third volume, moves quickly using prophetic, thought-provoking ideas, appealing plot twists, and intriguing character relationships. Visually-inventive statements and descriptions pepper the book, helping characters, like holograms rising from its pages, to take their places in the story. Even if you read nothing else from this new novel, do yourself a favor and read its first chapter, "Constructs." Author Henke's creative word choices and inventive structure combine to shape the opening images of her newest narrator, Zenith, a brilliant, blind teen, who soon takes the lead to move the plot towards its inevitable resolution."

Note: This series was selected as a gifted and talented "signature series," for What's New in Young Adult books and part of what sets it apart is that Ms. Henke (an elementary school teacher with 20+ years of experience) wrote it with her students, and incorporated several of their ideas and thoughts into the series. The result is an excellent series to share and discuss with young readers. Highly recommended for sophisticated 5th graders and up.