A too-quiet morning makes the zoo animals nervous, but they are entertained when strange new animals arrive--bulldozers, cement trucks, wrecking balls--and when all is quiet again, another surprise awaits.

"On the idyllic island of Lute, every seventh summer, seven people die. No more, no less. Lute and its inhabitants are blessed, year after year, with good weather, good health, and good fortune. They live a happy, superior life, untouched by the war that rages all around them. So it’s only fair that every seven years, on the day of the tithe, the island’s gift is honored. Nina Treadway is new to The Day. A Florida girl by birth, she became a...