| Landon Snow, a boy from Minneapolis, is a thinker. He wants to know how things work; he wants to have explanation for everything. This leads him to love books. Reading becomes his favorite activity. When a trip to his grandparents is scheduled, Landon is happy because there is a great library in their town. He can't wait to go there. However, when he arrives all the plans are messed up by his grandfather getting injured in an accident. Landon learns that grandpa will be all right and goes to bed slightly relieved, but he keeps thinking about the accident. Why did it happen? How can it be explained? He has no answer, and he does not like it.
Suddenly, a large bookcase moves away from the wall and opens a secret passage. Landon goes in, and the passage leads him to the town's big library. It turns out that the library is quite different at night: books come alive and start talking. One of them, called Book of Meanings, gives Landon the first part of a riddle that sounds like it might have an answer to his question. In order to learn the answer, Landon must travel to a fantasy world and find the rest of the riddle. The book swallows Landon, and he finds himself on a gigantic chessboard, where the figures are alive. A chess knight saves the boy and helps him to get away from the board and to continue his journey. Landon meets a talking horse named Melech, and they start exploring the world together. In a forest, they meet dwarf-like creatures called Odds; some of the Odds are friendly, and others are not. After these, more inhabitants of the land show up. It might seem like they are delaying Landon in his quest, but in reality each one is contributing to it in some way, helping him to get closer to the answer he is looking for. Eventually, Landon meets Auctor, the person who wrote the riddle. Auctor gives him the second part of the riddle and sends him home. | ||
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Plot & Themes FANTASY or SCIENCE FICTION? - part earth & part fantasy world Explore/1st contact/ enviro story Yes Explore: Is this an adult or child's book? - Kid's book (ages 7-14) Descript. of chases or violence - 20 % planning/preparing, gather info, debate puzzles/motives - 30 % Feelings, relationships, character bio/development - 40 % Descript. of society, phenomena (tech), places - 10 % Main Character Identity: - Male Age: - a teen Main Adversary Identity: - none Setting Terrain Not Earth, in Solar System? Yes Writing Style Accounts of torture and death? - generic/vague references to death/punishment How much dialogue? - roughly even amounts of descript and dialog |
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