Synopses & Reviews
Nine-year-old Emma is lost at sea in a terrible storm. She awakens on a desolate island, frightened and lonely. Yet brave, quick-witted Emma will not be alone for long, as the ghost of a bellboy appears with the tragic tale of the Grand Wenlocke.
More than a century ago, a brilliant inventor built a splendid Victorian resort, the Grand Wenlocke. The hotel was powered by a Difference Engine, a miraculous device that could slow down time (making your vacation just as long as youd like). But just before it was scheduled to open, the Grand Wenlocke mysteriously sank under the sand. Now the storm that brought Emma to the island has awakened the hotel, perfectly preserved and as incredible as ever.
While exploring the magical hotel, Emma encounters a kind-hearted cook and her faithful little dog, a seemingly fearsome pirate captain, and the imperious young heir to the Wenlocke fortune (should it ever be recovered). Adventure, friendship, peril, and perhaps even treasureall these and more await Emma at the hotel under the sand.
Review
"Skillfully written." Publishers Weekly
Review
Wow! I read
The Hotel Under the Sand with delight and joy. Its wonderful, wacky and spooky, and serious and FUN. It also strikes me as utterly original (which is quite rare
”
Diana Wynne Jones, author of Howls Moving Castle
Kage Bakers The Hotel Under the Sand will grab you on page one and never let you go until you finish reading and beg for more.”
Richard A. Lupoff, author of Marblehead
I read it all in one sitting, enjoying the characters and the well-crafted plot very much, and want to read it soon to my granddaughters. Kage Baker used the fantasy structure with a light touch, reassuring but exciting...”
Cecilia Holland, author of Until the Sun Falls
...charming...Bakers first book for younger readers is a delight.”
Denver Post
...skillfully written....”
Publishers Weekly
Kage Baker is already well-known among adult readers for her science-fiction series The Company, but her new childrens book The Hotel Under the Sand is bound to win her plenty of new readers among the younger set.”
Omivoracious.com
Refreshingly original.... Although Baker is an established author of science fiction and fantasy for adults, this novel is written so naturally that it is difficult to believe
it is her debut for younger readers.”
VOYA Library Journal
There are few books that I immediately want to press into the hands of other readers the instant I turn the last page. My copy of Hotel will be one that I hand to my daughter in a few years. First, however, Im going to force it on everybody I know.”
Locus
Its exciting to come upon a book that serves not only as a great story to share with your kids, but one that has some undeniably unusualand geekyfeatures.”
Wired.com
...a strangely delightful story.”
Charlottes Library
The Hotel Under the Sand is the kind of book that you resolve to send to your nieces and nephews even before you have finished the first page.”
Reading the Leaves
I just wanted more!”
Fantasy Book Critic
I would strongly recommend it for fans of Roald Dahl and readers who are still young at heart.”
SF Crowsnest
Synopsis
Appealing to boys and girls alike, this beguiling adventure explores classic fantasy themes from a unique young heroines perspective. Nine-year-old Emma loses everything she has in a fearsome storm and finds herself alone in the wilderness of the Dunesan area desolate since the mysterious disappearance of a resort known as the Grand Wenlocke. Finding a friend in Winston, the ghostly bellboy who wanders the Dunes, Emma learns that it has been more than 100 years since the hotel with an unsavory reputation vanished; but, unbeknownst to either of them, the long slumbering resort has just begun to stir. Allying herself with a motley crew of companionsthe ghost bellboy, a kindhearted cook, a pirate with a heart of gold, and the imperious young heir to the Wenlocke fortuneEmma soon learns that things are not always as lost as they seem, especially if you have a brave heart and good friends.
Synopsis
Appealing to boys and girls alike, this beguiling adventure explores classic fantasy themes from a unique young heroine's perspective. Illustrations.
About the Author
Kage Baker is an actor, a director, a playwright, and a teacher of Elizabethan English as a second language. She is the author of Black Projects, White Nights; The Children of the Company; Gods and Pawns; The Graveyard Game; In the Garden of Iden; The Life of the World to Come; The Machine's Child; Mendoza in Hollywood; Sky Coyote; and The Son's of Heaven. She lives in Pismo Beach, California.