Almost accidentally, author Susan Hood stumbled upon a historical event that has gone mostly overlooked and it is the basis of her exciting middle grade novel Lifeboat 12. The book is told in verse format by narrator and actual survivor Ken Sparks, who is thirteen years of age right before London is destroyed in the Blitz. His life in London is troubled by things large in scope (like running to bomb shelters nightly when the alarms go off and living off rations and hand-me-downs) and […]
“A soft heart only makes it easier for a knife to slip in.”
Prosper Redding is of the Massacusetts Reddings: a very rich, very privileged family whose lineage goes back to the pilgrims. Prosper is a bit of a black sheep, caring mostly about art and his twin sister Prue. His grandmother, a severe matriarchal type, seems to particularly despise him, probably because he doesn’t do much to contribute to the Redding Name. Even he couldn’t guess how much he was despised, though — until the day of a local fair, when he is dragged down to the family […]
“When the mist rises, and the smiling man comes walking, you must avoid large places at night.”
Ollie hasn’t been much of a people-person, but since her mother died the only solace she can seem to find is in books. On a bike ride home from school, she comes across a woman sobbing by the lake, trying to talk herself into throwing an old black book into the water. On a whim, Ollie steals the book and discovers within its pages a strange and spooky old story about the Webster family and their tragedy brought on by a sinister “smiling man.” The […]
Here There Be Giant Catfish Monsters
When Mr. Baker takes his sixth grade class to the Carslbad Caverns for their end of year field-trip, he assures them they’ll find awe and adventure. Turns out they find a little too much of both. Wandering the cavern’s depths, they get caught in an earthquake that sends them deeper underground and the students find themselves split up, teacherless, and lost in the middle of the earth. As they try to find their way back, they will encounter unrecognizable wildlife, conquer their own fears, and […]