Mori and her friends live a normal life on Firefly Lane in their utopian community, Old Harmonie. In a world this safe and perfect, they've never had to question anything . . . never had to wonder about how their lives came to be. Until a new girl named Ilana moves in. She's so perfect that Mori and her friends are curious . . . Where exactly did Ilana come from, and why does she act so strange sometimes? When Ilana's secret is revealed, the kids on Firefly Lane must decide: is it finally time to start questioning the only world they've ever known?
In a stunningly imaginative story, critically acclaimed author Megan Frazer Blakemore takes readers on a journey with five friends--new and old--that will have everyone talking about not just what makes people human, but what makes them true friends.
MEGAN FRAZER BLAKEMORE is the author of The Firefly Code and its sequel, The Daybreak Bond; The Friendship Riddle; The Spy Catchers of Maple Hill; and The Water Castle, which was listed as a Kirkus Reviews Best Book of the Year, a Bank Street Best Book of the Year, and as a New York Public Library Best Book for Reading and Sharing. She is also the author of the young adult novel Secrets of Truth And Beauty which received a starred review in Publishers Weekly and was on the ALA Rainbow list. A former middle-school librarian, Megan lives in Maine with her family.
www.meganfrazerblakemore.com
@meganbfrazer.
"In this gripping novel, Blakemore (The Friendship Riddle) creates a disturbingly ordered world in which questions about friendship and family offer courageous and heartwarming testaments to the human spirit." - Publishers Weekly
"This creepy, memorable novel is a welcome addition to the relative few utopian/ dystopian books for pre-YA readers . . . An ending that will have readers eagerly anticipating the next installment." - BCCB
"The themes are strong, and the depiction of a tightly controlled world at the expense of individuality will surely fascinate fans of Lois Lowry's The Giver . . . A very good selection for middle grade readers drawn to high-concept science fiction." - School Library Journal
"Will have children turning pages and thinking about important questions. An excellent choice for those who love Lois Lowry's The Giver or Margaret Peterson Haddix's sci-fi adventures." - Booklist
"Less stark than The Giver, this welcome addition to the dystopic utopia genre is a young cousin of Ally Condie's Matched and Mary Pearson's The Adoration of Jenna Fox." - Kirkus
"Science, history and literature references glow . . . With keen intelligence and bits of humor, the prose slips calmly between narrative perspectives, trusting readers to pick up a revelation that Ephraim and Mallory don't see--and it's a doozy. This one is special." - starred review, Kirkus Reviews on THE WATER CASTLE
"What shines through . . . is Blakemore's tender understanding of how these children--and all children--feel about their lives and the adults who control them." - New York Times on THE WATER CASTLE
"It is no mystery that readers will come to love Hazel Kaplansky." - Kirby Larson, Newbery Honor-winning author of HATTIE BIG SKY, on THE SPY CATCHERS OF MAPLE HILL
"Thought provoking . . . a tribute to the great girl detectives of children's literature." - New York Times Book Review on THE SPY CATCHERS OF MAPLE HILL