Promotional Information

In this gorgeously-crafted utopian saga from Megan Frazer Blakemore, five friends must find the courage to change the course of the future . . .

About the Author

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.

Reviews

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.
*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*