Reading Metrics
Description
Valerian is a magician who made a pact with evil many years ago and is now being called upon to pay. Helping Valerian is Boy, a child with no name and no past, and Willow, who is quick witted. Unknown to any of them, Boy holds the key to their destinies.
Quick Summary
In the nine days before New Year's Eve, a weary magician named Valerian must pay a deadly price for an ancient pact, and everything hinges on a mysterious boy who cannot remember his own name. Kids will devour the frosty, atmospheric world where every shadow might hold magic or danger, and the slowly revealed secret of Boy's true identity adds chills and heart to the countdown. If your kid loves the haunting blend of mystery and magic in Neil Gaiman's The Graveyard Book or the secret societies in the Nicholas Flamel books, they'll be hooked. Ideal for readers in grades 5 through 7 who enjoy dark, twisty stories with real emotional stakes.