FICTION

The Door in the Alley

illus. by Matthew C. Rockefeller. 320p. (The Explorers: Bk 1). ebook available. Delacorte. Apr. 2017. Tr $16.99. ISBN 9781101940051. POP.
COPY ISBN
Gr 4–6—Rational and risk-averse Sebastian is challenged by the director of the madcap Explorers Society to do something he shouldn't: steal a box. The contents of the box relate in some way to Evie, an orphan who lives at a school but regularly dines with a very boring couple known as the Andersons. One night, two dangerous men burst into the Andersons' house in pursuit of a key. The two children find themselves caught up in a perilous chase involving Evie's grandfather and a group of explorers known as the Filipendulous Five. This is a rollicking read, full of derring-do and old-fashioned villainy. A narrator inserts sly and humorous comments alongside amusing footnotes. Comical chapter headings include "In Which Great Revelations Are Greatly Revealed" and "In Which We Meet a Pig in a Teeny Hat. Again." The language is quite sophisticated, with challenging vocabulary. Readers of Lemony Snicket will find a tale of adventure in a similar vein to "A Series of Unfortunate Events": the last sentence reads, "Don't you just hate stories that end in cliff-hangers? They are just so…"
VERDICT A quirky and lighthearted romp with likable characters and ample plot twists and turns; hand to fans of Lemony Snicket.

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