Vendor
	Mohrbooks Literary Agency Sebastian Ritscher
Original language
English
Categories
Children’s, Teenage & Educational
Weblink
http://jaclynmoriarty.com

THE CRACKS IN THE KINGDOM

Jaclyn Moriarty

The people of the Kingdom of Cello have no idea that their royal family is missing—nor that they are being ruled by a teenage princess. The people of our world have no idea that the Kingdom of Cello exists—nor does the royal family, living here among us.

In Cello, 15-year-old farmboy Elliot Baranski is recruited by the teenage princess to help find her family. Along with the princess and her other recruits, officially known as the Royal Youth Alliance, Elliot spins across the Kingdom—fishing at the Lake of Spells in Magical North, running through Turquoise Rain in Jagged Edge, pitching quoits and bobbing for apples in Olde Quainte—but all the time, he is distracted. His own father is being held captive, and all Elliot wants to do is focus on his rescue. Meanwhile, in our world, 14-year-old Madeleine Tully is trying to adapt to her new life in Cambridge, England. She is drawn to the idea of Cello—with its night-dwellers, occasional pilots, and deftball games—but more than that, to the elusive figure of Elliot Baranski himself: the boy who sends her messages in a parking meter. She wants to help him open up the cracks between the worlds—to find the way through to Cello.
As the story unfolds, Madeleine and Elliot edge closer and closer to the secret of the cracks, and closer and closer to each other. They catch distant glimpses of each other, touch hands for electrical seconds, and get peeks into one another’s hearts. This is also the story about the best way to pry open a crack: imagination, poetry, quantum physics, a sledgehammer… or by just believing hard enough…

Jaclyn Moriarty is the internationally bestselling author of THE GHOSTS OF ASHBURY HIGH, FEELING SORRY FOR CELIA, THE YEAR OF SECRET ASSIGNMENTS, and THE MURDER OF BINDY MACKENZIE. Jaclyn resides in Sydney with her son, Charlie.

Available products
Book Published 2014-03-25 by Arthur Levine/Scholastic
Book Published 2014-03-25 by Arthur Levine/Scholastic

Comments

Moriarty’s The Colors of Madeleine series continues its odd, charming blend of fantasy, quirky humor, attractive geeky teens, and genuine compassion for those who have lost their health, family, or identity. This sequel to A Corner of White(2013) introduces many fascinating new characters but remains focused on Elliot Baranski, a farm boy in the Kingdom of Cello who has been risking his life to correspond with Madeleine Tully, a homeschooled Cambridge teen who lives with (and looks after) her confused and childlike mother. Our world and Cello further intertwine when Cello’s Princess Ko selects Elliot to be part of the Royal Youth Alliance, a group of three clever, talented teens whose covert task is to assist the princess in finding the rest of the royal family—the king, the queen, and all her siblings have mysteriously disappeared. Elliot, however, would much rather find his own father, missing and presumed dead. Moriarty’s magical kingdom boasts a rich and creative history, and her matter-of-fact and logically detailed narrative tone will appeal to Harry Potter fans.

This is madcap, whimsical, smart and even heartbreaking, but Moriarty never drops the dozens of balls in the air... even better than the first.

AUS / ANZ: Allen & Unwin Portuguese (Brazil): V&R Spanish (Latin America): V&R

Readers will be clamoring for the next title after the thrilling yet satisfying conclusion.

THE CRACKS IN THE KINGDOM, the second book in the Colors of Madeline trilogy by Jaclyn Moriarty, won the Aurealis Award for Best Young Adult Novel.

The characters’ desperate yearning for absent loved ones adds emotional depth to the story, which is full of clever invention and intrigue, excellent surprises (readers will kick themselves for not spotting one of the missing persons earlier), and all the sophisticated wit Moriarty's fans expect. This wholly engrossing book outdoes the first—not an easy task.