Hi there!
Welcome back to Satisfaction for Insatiable Readers.
Today, we're joining Penguin Young Readers for a stop along their current tour starring the next MUST READ title for your wish list from author Keir Graff! It's a new Middle Grade Fiction title slated to hit bookstore shelves AUGUST 21st, but we've got your sneak peek in advance so you DON'T MISS A THING. Sound good? Yeah, I thought it might, and without further ado, here's today's book of choice...
by
Keir Graff
9781524739522
G.P. Putnam and Sons
About the book...
Twin brothers discover their new home is also a portal--for an hour a day--to a parallel dimension in this rollicking middle-grade adventure, perfect for fans of The Mysterious Benedict Society
Colm and Mal are twins so identical their own mom can't tell them apart, but they're different in just about every other way. Mal's a pragmatist while Colm's a dreamer, and they bicker and battle constantly. Neither brother is excited to be moving to Chicago for a fresh start with their mom just after their dad's death. But nothing cures homesickness like intrigue--and their new home, Brunhild Tower, has plenty of it: mysterious elderly neighbors who warn against wandering the building at midday, strange sounds in the walls, and an elevator missing a button for the thirteenth floor.
One day, that button appears--and when the doors open on the missing floor, the boys are greeted by the strangest puzzle yet: a twin building that is stuck in time and bustling with activity. All of Brunhild Tower's former residents live on in this phantom tower, where the rules of the real world don't apply. But when the brothers and their newfound friends discover they're all trapped by an ancient curse, they must band together to set everyone free before it's too late.
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Ever wonder WHY most buildings don't have a 13th floor?
Let's just say superstitions have been a long standing friend of many and it was simply easier to build the floor out of something, than to leave it there and deal with the consequences. Only problem is...as much as you may want to, you can't remove a floor from a building of height, but you can rename it (hello 14th floor!), and in some cases you can hide it...
At first glance, this looks like a kiddo version of The Shining, but without the excessive deaths and messy endings...in truth, you wouldn't be THAT far off the mark with your assumption. We have a few of the necessary elements....a new family's arrival after a passing in the family, twins, peculiar residents and staff, a somewhat creepy tower to call home, leftover belongings from yesterday year...but what we don't have is the vindictive spirits heck-bent on adding to their ghostly community...at least, not in the vicious sense. It's more of a matter of circumstance and a series of ironically unfortunate events that all tally up to something unbelievable, something otherworldly, something you have to see to believe and even then you may still question! Yes, you're definitely in for a mind scramble when you set out with MALCOLM, aka Mal and Colm, and their new friend, Tamika, but the reach into the beyond is just the top of this proverbial iceberg.
You see, it's not just a story about life and death, love and loss, the before and after, but it's about how to let go while still carrying the memory of a person in your heart. It's about how in that letting go you allow yourself to move on, continue living, hard as it may seem, but in that living, you are still treasuring those times before, reflecting on the good, bad, and lessons learned, and helping to carry their influence into the future though they may no longer be present to do it themselves. It's also about friendship, families, being true to yourself, second chances...and why you should never go into creepy hotel elevators between one and two o'clock. There's so much hiding between the pages, it's a wonder it doesn't have its own phantom book to carry its secrets...
Recommended for Middle Grade Fiction fans of all ages for the adventure, the mystery, and the life lessons that can be hard learned.
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About the author...
Keir Graff is the author of The Matchstick Castle, The Other Felix, and a handful of books for grown-ups. When he's not making things up, he works as the executive editor of Booklist at the American Library Association. He lives in Chicago with his wife Marya and his sons Felix and Cosmo--in a building that looks exactly like Brunhild Tower.
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Special thanks to Friya at Penguin Young Readers for the ARC for review as well as the chance to bring this tour to you. (THANKS!) For more information on this title, the author, or the publisher, feel free to click through the links provided above. This title hits bookstore and virtual shelves August 21st, 2018 (as of this post), so mark your calendar or pre-order your copy today! Be sure to check out the rest of the stops as this tour makes its way through the blogosphere for more bookish insights and fun...
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WEEK ONE
August 13 – Book Princess Reviews
August 14 – Satisfaction for Insatiable Readers
August 15 – AEB Book Reviews
August 16 – A to Z Book Reviews
WEEK TWO
August 20 – Cover2Cover
August 21 – YA Book Nerd
August 22 – Book Fidelity
August 23 – The Reading Corner for All
August 24 – Good Choice Reading
Until next time, remember...if it looks good, READ IT!
This sounds fun. I have always like time travel elements in fantasy stories.
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