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Published Jun 2010
240 pages
Genre: Fantasy, Sci-Fi, Speculative, Alt. History
Publication Information
Something very strange is happening in Vermont. It's not The Game of Sunken Places - Brian and Gregory have been through that before, and there's not supposed to be another Game until they say there's a Game. But still . . . when they go to visit a relative in the Vermont woods, they find many things are . . . off. Like, people aren't where they're supposed to be. And houses are everywhere. In fact, the houses seem to be taking over.
If anyone in the universe can make high adventure out of supernatural urban sprawl . . . well, it's M. T. Anderson. And in The Suburb Beyond the Stars he brings both humor and intelligence to a thrill ride that's part quest, part mystery, part fantasy, and part Abbott and Costello.
"Young readers will gasp in fear and laugh uproariously at the adventures of this trio...Readers will eagerly await the next in this rollicking series. " - Children's Literature
"Anderson dishes up another strange, exhausting and masterful tale - with at least a promise of further sequels. Ages 11-13." - Kirkus Reviews
"This is a fun and gripping read, with action, suspense, and creepy monsters that will keep readers up late and make them want to keep the lights on." - School Library Journal
"it's a funny and eerie tale told with impeccable writing, and at minimum, kids will come away a bit smarter just for having read it. Leave it to Anderson to toss around descriptors like hirsute and mucilaginous in middle-grade fiction." - Booklist
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Writing the celebrated satire, Feed, says M. T. Anderson, was a process that demanded a fair share of field research. "I read a huge number of magazines like Seventeen and Stuff," he confesses. "I listened to cell phone conversations in malls. Where else could you get lines like 'Dude, I think the truffle is totally undervalued'?" It seems these furtive observations paid off: Feed, a National Book Award Finalist, was honored with the Los Angeles Times Book Prize, among many other major awards, and dubbed "satire at its finest." The research undertaken to write The Astonishing Life of Octavian Nothing, Traitor To The Nation, Volume 1: The Pox Party, a National Book Award Winner, was on a wholly different magnitude, the author recalls. Street-side eavesdropping was replaced with...
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