The World Between Blinks (World Between Blinks #1)

An inventive, heartwarming first book in a new middle-grade series.

Gr 3-7--During her lifetime, Nana was always one for adventures, which she chronicled through tales told over iced tea at the family beach house. While the beach house holds so many fond memories, it is too much for the family to maintain, and they come together one last time to pack up Nana's things. Primos (cousins) Jake and Marisol both feel the impending loss of the connection to their Nana deeply; so when they discover a hidden map, Jake and Marisol are inspired to take a Nana-style adventure. Maybe they will find the treasure she always talked about and be able to save the beach house! While X does mark the spot, it is not a treasure (in the traditional sense) that Jake and Marisol discover. The cousins find themselves swept into the World Between Blinks, a magical parallel world where that which is lost--things, places, people--appear; but they were not lost, so why are they here and how do they get back? Jake and Marisol have thoughts on how they ended up being taken by the Unknown to the World Between Blinks, but the truth may be the biggest surprise of all. Getting home will take all their strength, ingenuity, moxie, and each other. VERDICT A fast-paced fantasy adventure that will appeal to genre fans and reluctant middle grade readers alike; purchase where lighthearted fantasies and series, such as Chris Colfer's Land of Stories and James Riley's Story Thieves, are popular.--Jessica Caron, Bancroft Sch., MA

Copyright 2020 School Library Journal, LLC Used with permission.

Two heroes head on a quest in this series starter with a strong focus on family and shared memories. After 12-year-old Marisol Beruna's adventure-loving Nana dies, she travels from her home in La Paz to Nana's South Carolina beach house, where the family is gathering to prepare the home for sale. Marisol hopes to use her uncanny ability--locating missing objects--to somehow afford the house's upkeep and keep it in the family. When she and her favorite cousin, Jake, also 12, find a treasure map that their Nana drew, they follow it down the beach, only to wind up trapped in an adjacent realm filled with lost entities from their own world--cities such as Atlantis, historical figures such as Amelia Earhart, and treasures such as the fabled Amber Room. In their effort to return home, they must recover a magical book before they're stuck there forever. Kaufman (the Aurora Cycle series) and Graudin (Invictus) take full advantage of the book's inventive premise, introducing readers to a host of exciting historical oddities and concepts, including the Library of Alex-andria, the Tasmanian Tiger, and Queen Nefertiti, all of which are detailed further in supplementary notes. Ages 8-12. Agent: Tracey Adams, Adams Literary. (Jan.)

Copyright 2020 Publishers Weekly, LLC Used with permission.

A rollicking fun adventure! The World Between Blinks is both a suspenseful mystery with a surprise twist, and a treasure hunt for people, places, and things that vanished from history.—Margaret Peterson Haddix, New York Times bestselling author