The Glass Puzzle - Hardcover

CHRISTINE BRODIEN-JONES studied writing at Emerson College in Boston, and has been a journalist, an editor, and a teacher. She now splits her time between Gloucester, Massachusetts, and Deer Isle, Maine. Look for her other book for young readers, The Owl Keeper, available from Delacorte Press.

With its unexplored tunnels, secret societies, ties to pirates, and folklore about Wythernsea, an island that disappeared off the coast of Wales in 1349, the mystical coastal town of Tenby is just where 11-year-old Zoé and her cousin Ian love to spend the summer with Granddad. When Zoé finds an odd piece of glass and looks through it, she notices some of the town’s citizens now possess a third eye and appear to be monsters. With the help of Ian’s methodical scrutiny, the cousins discover the glass is part of a puzzle, which serves as a portal to parallel worlds, including Wythernsea. While they can visit the lost island, the portal also allows Scravens, monsters that inhabit humans, to enter Tenby and take over its residents. If Zoé and Ian can find an ancient rune stone and the Scraven leader before Midsummer’s Day, they may be able to defeat the monsters and close the portal for good. Although some plot points are obvious, the nonstop adventures and fantastical setting should keep readers entertained. Grades 4-7. --Angela Leeper