Sunday, January 24, 2016

Anderson, Jodi Lynn. My Diary From The Edge of the World.

Anderson, Jodi Lynn.  My Diary From The Edge of the World.  Simon & Schuster/ Aladdin  2015  432p  $16.99  ISBN 978-1-4424-8387-3  ms/jr  Fantasy  E-BN

In a world where only the east coast of the United States is inhabited due to the presence of dragons and Sasquatch everywhere else, Gracie and her family dream of travel to the Edge of the World to find a better parallel universe.       Gracie’s world is not quite the same as the one readers know.  Dragons roam the earth and do continual damage, and Sasquatch and other monsters roam west of the Appalachian Mountains.  Therefore only the east coast of the US in inhabited.  This is also a world where a black Cloud hanging around your house means someone is going to die.  The cloud is just waiting for the right time. 

Believing the black Cloud at their house to be coming for her brother Sam, who is frequently ill, Gracie’s family packs up and leaves in the hope that the rumors are true, about the Edge of the World being the link to a parallel universe where life will be different.  As they travel across the uncharted United States and then sail toward Antarctica, they encounter many adventures and close calls. 
  
This title is a fantasy featuring an expertly imagined world.  It is also the story of a family whose members care about each other but don’t always show it, and an adventure story about traveling into unknown places.  It will appeal to both boys and girls in middle school.               

Summary: An excellent fantasy about looking for a better world and being willing to risk everything to find it.  Excellent purchase for grades 5-8.           


Travel-Fiction, Fantasy-Fiction                                   --Joan Theal

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