Synopses & Reviews
More than anything, Maya wants to discover something incredible. Her parents are scientists: Her mother spends most of her time in tropical rainforests, uncovering ancient artifacts, and her dad is obsessed with digging up mammoths. When her father gets invited by an eccentric billionaire to lead a team investigating a mammoth’s remains in the Arctic, Maya begs to come along. Upon her arrival at the isolated camp, the mammoth is quickly revealed to be a fake, but there is something hidden in the ice—something unbelievable. Along with a team of international experts, each with his or her own agenda and theory about the mystery in the ice, Maya learns more about this discovery, which will change her life forever.
Laura Quimby expertly mixes adventure, science, and wonder into a page-turning story perfect for middle-grade explorers.
Praise for The Icarus Project
"Who wouldn’t want to find something earth-shatteringly unique while on an Arctic expedition?.. Quimby’s plot is exuberantly fast-paced and earnest."
—Kirkus Reviews
"Maya’s earnest first-person point of view and sense of fair play make her easy to root for, and the inclusion of a boy character as a foil to Maya, along with lively writing and plenty of action, will help this middle-grade novel pull in reluctant readers."
—Booklist
"Maya is an earnest and likable character and the plot is fast-paced enough to hold readers’ attention. Maya’s curiosity, bravery, and desire to do the right thing will resonate with many readers."
—School Library Journal
Synopsis
Peter is thrilled to join his parents on an expedition to Greenland, where his father studies global warming. Peter will get to skip school, drive a dogsled, and-finally-share in his dad's adventures. But on the ice cap, Peter struggles to understand a series of visions that both frighten and entice him.
Thea has never seen the sun. Her extraordinary people, suspected of witchcraft and nearly driven to extinction, have retreated to a secret world they've built deep inside the arctic ice. As Thea dreams of a path to Earth's surface, Peter's search for answers brings him ever closer to her hidden home.
Rebecca Stead's fascinating debut novel is a dazzling tale of mystery, science and adventure at the top of the world.
From the Hardcover edition.
Synopsis
This remarkable and acclaimed debut novel by the Newbery-winning author of When You Reach Me introduces readers to a captivating, hidden world below the ice...
Peter is thrilled to join his parents on an expedition to Greenland. But when they finally reach the ice cap, he struggles to understand a series of frightening yet enticing visions.
Thea has never seen the sun. Her extraordinary people, suspected of witchcraft and nearly driven to extinction, have retreated to a secret world they've built deep inside the arctic ice.
As Thea dreams of a path to Earth's surface, Peter's search for answers brings him ever closer to her hidden home in this dazzling tale of mystery, science, and adventure at the top of the world.
-A mystic thriller.- --Entertainment Weekly
-Optimistic science fiction that highlights human ingenuity and survival under dire conditions.- --The Wall Street Journal
Synopsis
PETER IS THRILLED to leave New York City to accompany his parents on an expedition to Greenland to study global warming. There he has visions of things that should be too far away for him to see.
Generations ago, the people of Theas community were hunted for possessing unusual abilities, so they fled beneath the ice. Thea needs help that only Peter can give. Their meeting reveals secrets of both their pasts, and changes the future for them both forever.
Synopsis
In this fast-paced adventure story, Timothy and Jessamyn are towed through the streets of Manhattan riding in Timothys familys sailboat, on their way to the Long Island shore, when the boat comes unhitched from its truck. The teens sail” backward down a hill in Upper Manhattan, then fall down a huge construction site hole and into the vast sewer system below.
Thrust into an amazing adventure, the kids navigate waterfalls and rapids as they travel through the rain sewers. They meet a graffiti artist their own age, a homeless person named You, and rats the size of large dogs. They fall into the hands of a gangster who claims the sewers as her kingdom and the homeless as her subjects, and acts as a fence for luxury goods! Will she feed Timothy and Jessamyn to the rats?
Praise for Undertown
"Two suburban teens ride a sailboat into Manhattans storm drains and meet quirky residents aplenty."
Kirkus Reviews
"Its a coming-of-age escapade with a sense of wonder, and Bukiet pays homage to the history and mysteries of NYC with a writing style thats part sentimental, part poetic, and part tongue-in-cheek.”
Publishers Weekly
"This classic heros journey is set against the detailed backdrop of New York City, both above ground and below."
Booklist
About the Author
Melvin Jules Bukiet, on the faculty at Sarah Lawrence College, is the author of numerous adult books. His stories and essays have been published in the Paris Review, the New York Times, the Washington Post, the Los Angeles Times, Antaeus, and more. This is his first book for children. He lives in New York City.