The Drift House: The First Voyage

In the tradition of The Lion, the Witch and the Wardrobe and A Wrinkle in Time comes the first book in an exciting fantasy series about three siblings' adventures on the high sea — the Sea of Time, that is.

After 9/11, Susan and her younger brothers, Charles and Murray, are sent to live with their uncle Farley in Canada. Uncle Farley's house looks like a ship perched at the edge of the sea, but it's not until a great flood comes that the house's name — Drift House — starts to make sense. Floating aimlessly on the Sea of Time, the ship-like house begins to yield its many secrets — including a mural that seems to predict the future, a dumbwaiter that enables Murray to travel into the future and back again, and a parrot historian who's also a gifted translator. But when a clan of diabolical mermaids trick the children and their uncle into helping them carry out a plan that will stop time forever, it will take all of Susan's ingenuity — along with some help from a great whale, a band of pirates, and a magic carpet — to set things straight.

"Although this story is set in 2001, the fabric of time itself fluctuates in Peck's (Martin and John, for adults) thrilling debut novel for young people. Following the 9/11 attacks, Susan and her half-brothers, Charles and Murray (could the brothers' names be a nod to Charles Wallace Murray, one of the time-traveling children in Madeleine L'Engle's A Wrinkle in Time?) are sent to live with their Uncle Farley in Canada, until things are calmer in America. But the children notice strange things about the boat-like mansion that is to be their new home: Drift House seems 'crooked,' a dumbwaiter magically delivers whatever food they desire, and Uncle Farley's parrot has a better-than-average grasp of the English language. When they awake one morning to find the house adrift on the Sea of Time, Uncle Farley reveals that Drift House is a 'transtemporal vessel,' capable of navigating time. Murray, the youngest, disappears into the dumbwaiter and returns with hazy memories of his own future, and Susan is drafted by mermaids for a special mission. Peck depicts an affectionate bond among the siblings (Charles, brilliant but ignored as the middle sibling states, 'I am not a boy-slave and I am not a baby and I am tired of being sent away!'), and an eccentric but credible guardian in Uncle Farley. Readers will flip madly through the many pages of this book to see how the siblings navigate the hazards on the Sea of Time and get Drift House safely back to shore. Ages 10-up. (Sept.)" Publishers Weekly (Copyright Reed Business Information, Inc.)

In the first book in this new fantasy series, three siblings are sent to live with their uncle whose house looks like a ship perched at the edge of the sea. It's not until a great flood comes that the house's name — Drift House — starts to make sense. Floating aimlessly, the ship-like house begins to yield its many secrets.

Dale Peck is an acclaimed author of many books for adults as well as a reviewer and critic. This is his first book for young readers. He lives in New York City.