Fire the Depths

Gr 4–6—With his mother in the hospital, his father unemployed, the mortgage overdue, and utilities shut off, 13-year-old Max Tilt needs help, but he never expects that his salvation might come from his great-great-great-grandfather Jules Verne. Searching for garage sale items, he and his cousin Alex Verne find a strange chest in the attic; the clues inside it lead them to the unpublished chapters of Verne's memoir, The Lost Treasures, and to the path that Verne followed in 20,000 Leagues Under the Sea. But Alex and Max are not alone in their quest for the lost treasure—evil tycoon Spencer Niemand has made it his life's goal to claim it and build an underwater civilization, his own refuge for a dying planet. Together this unlikely team venture to a lost underwater city, cross treacherous frozen mountains, battle giant squid, navigate vicious whirlpools, and brave deadly cold on a quest that may follow the passage of the real, not fictional, Nautilus. Lerangis brings Jules Verne to life for a new generation, and instantly pulls readers in with enticing clues, fast-paced action, and intriguing characters. Max is a likeable hero; he is clever, brave, and ready to risk it all for his family. He has been labeled as "on the spectrum;" his emotions trigger associative smells, he loves facts, and sometimes has trouble relating to people.