The Emerald Atlas

Book 1 – The Books of Beginning

By John Stephens

Ages 9 to 12

Ten years before the story begins, on Christmas Eve three children are whisked from their home and away from their parents to be kept secretly hidden away the Dire Magnus.  With the help of a tall, white-haired man they race black monsters through the snow to escape without a trace.  They find themselves at St. Agnes’ orphanage – readers know, it’s to await their destiny; they think it’s only until they can be safely reunited with their parents.  You see, they do not for a moment believe they are orphans.

Now ten years later the call of fate is upon them and their adventure begins.  Kate, Michael and Emma discover that magic is real, that different worlds exist in space and across time.  This book combines magic, time travel, and new worlds with great characters on a quest to save the world.  The main characters have strong personalities.  Here’s a passage from the book that let you understand a bit about them from Emma’s (my personal favorite – plucky, intense and strong) point of view.

“The moment Gabriel and the other men had charged into the square, Emma had set off.  Kate and Michael were nearby and in trouble.  She wasn’t going to wait around with her hands in her pockets.  She would free Michael from his cage (she wasn’t quite sure how yet), the two of them would get Kate from the Secretary (he wasn’t sure how she’d accomplish that either, but it would probably involve her being incredibly brave while Michael scribbled some nonsense in his notebook), and they then would all three finally be together (of that she was absolutely sure).  There was just one problem.  The young warrior, her and Dena’ appointed guardian, had intercepted Emma as she made her break and now held her struggling, a foot off the ground.” p. 301

The supporting characters add to quest and offer interesting twists to the story as it unfolds.  It’s not quite what you expect and that’s the fun part.  The story continues in the next two books and I can’t wait for them to come out so I can find out how evil is vanquished and the worlds are restored.  I have lots of questions right now that I hope will be answered as the tale is told.

If you could travel through time, would you?

You might enjoy viewing this:  The Emerald Atlas trailer