Description: The Phantom Tower by Keir Graff "When the missing button for their new apartment buildings thirteenth floor suddenly appears, identical twins Mal and Colm are pulled into an eerie adventure in an parallel dimension"--Publishers description. FORMAT Paperback LANGUAGE English CONDITION Brand New Publisher Description Twin brothers discover their new home is also a portal-for an hour a day-to a parallel dimension in this rollicking middle-grade adventure, perfect for fans of The Mysterious Benedict SocietyTwin brothers discover their new home is also a portal to a parallel dimension in this spine-chilling middle-grade adventure, perfect for fans of The Mysterious Benedict Society--now available in paperback!Twelve-year-old twins Colm and Mal might look identical, but theyre different in just about every other way. The one thing they can agree on is that neither brother wants to move to Chicago for a fresh start with their mom two years after their dads death.The boys soon discover that their new apartment building, Brunhild Tower, is full of strange quirks- a mysterious Princess who warns them not to wander the building at midday, eerie sounds coming from the walls, and an elevator thats missing a button for the thirteenth floor. Then one afternoon, that button appears, catapulting the brothers and their inquisitive new neighbor, Tamika, into a parallel dimension and a twin building stuck in time, where the spirits of all the former residents of Brunhild Tower live on, trapped by an ancient curse. Now, Colm, Mal, and Tamika must race against time to solve the mystery of the phantom tower-or risk spending an eternity as ghosts themselves. Author Biography Keir Graff is the author of The Matchstick Castle, The Other Felix, and a handful of books for grown-ups. When hes not making things up, he works as the executive editor of Booklist at the American Library Association. He lives in Chicago with his wife Marya and his sons Felix and Cosmo--in a building that looks exactly like Brunhild Tower. Review Praise for The Phantom Tower:A Chicago Tribune Best Childrens Book of 2018 "Goose bump-inducing fun."—Kirkus Reviews "[A] nail-biting adventure. . . . Hand to fans of Eoin Colfers Artemis Fowl novels, Roland Smiths IQ series, or Mac Barnetts The Brixton Brothers."—School Library Journal"Exciting action, a creepy curse and well-drawn characters make for supremely cozy reading on a cold winters night."—Chicago Tribune Praise for The Matchstick Castle:"Fast-paced, anarchic fun for reluctant and avid readers alike."—Kirkus Reviews "This quirky novel is reminiscent of a Wes Anderson movie for the tweenage set. . . . For those who enjoy a bit of absurdist humor with their realism."—School Library Journal "A zippy, adventurous romp in the woods complete with fierce animals and buried treasure."—Bulletin of the Center for Childrens Books"What makes this book special is the way Graff evokes the excitement of new vistas . . . . a compelling reminder that its a great big world out there, just waiting for the next generation of dreamers and explorers."—Chicago Tribune"A whimsical adventure with a large dose of humor? Yes, please! This story spoke to my inner child, who suffered too many boring summer vacations and longed to discover something magical and exciting in my own backyard."—Jennifer Chambliss Bertman, New York Times bestselling author of Book Scavenger and The Unbreakable Code "For boys and girls alike, this story sings."—Blue Balliett, award-winning author of Chasing Vermeer"A towering tale filled with astonishing action, amazing characters, and two very daring adventurers."—David Lubar, author of the Monsterrific Tales series, the Weenies series, and Sleeping Freshmen Never Lie Promotional Twin brothers discover their new home is also a portal-for an hour a day-to a parallel dimension in this rollicking middle-grade adventure, perfect for fans of The Mysterious Benedict Society Review Quote Praise for The Phantom Tower : A Chicago Tribune Best Childrens Book of 2018 "Goose bump-inducing fun."-- Kirkus Reviews "[A] nail-biting adventure. . . . Hand to fans of Eoin Colfers Artemis Fowl novels, Roland Smiths IQ series, or Mac Barnetts The Brixton Brothers."-- School Library Journal "Exciting action, a creepy curse and well-drawn characters make for supremely cozy reading on a cold winters night."-- The Chicago Tribune Praise for The Matchstick Castle : "Fast-paced, anarchic fun for reluctant and avid readers alike."-- Kirkus Reviews "This quirky novel is reminiscent of a Wes Anderson movie for the tweenage set. . . . For those who enjoy a bit of absurdist humor with their realism."-- School Library Journal "A zippy, adventurous romp in the woods complete with fierce animals and buried treasure." --Bulletin of the Center for Childrens Books "What makes this book special is the way Graff evokes the excitement of new vistas . . . . a compelling reminder that its a great big world out there, just waiting for the next generation of dreamers and explorers."-- Chicago Tribune "A whimsical adventure with a large dose of humor? Yes, please! This story spoke to my inner child, who suffered too many boring summer vacations and longed to discover something magical and exciting in my own backyard."--Jennifer Chambliss Bertman, New York Times bestselling author of Book Scavenger and The Unbreakable Code "For boys and girls alike, this story sings."--Blue Balliett, award-winning author of Chasing Vermeer "A towering tale filled with astonishing action, amazing characters, and two very daring adventurers."--David Lubar, author of the Monsterrific Tales series, the Weenies series, and Sleeping Freshmen Never Lie Promotional "Headline" Twin brothers discover their new home is also a portal-for an hour a day-to a parallel dimension in this rollicking middle-grade adventure, perfect for fans of The Mysterious Benedict Society Excerpt from Book Chapter One Chicago THE FIRST TIME I saw Brunhild Towers was the day we moved in. Even though it wasnt that long ago, I saw a lot of things differently back then. I thought old people were boring. I thought learning history was a good way to fall asleep. I thought dying was simple. You probably noticed I said Towers , not Tower . Pay attention and Ill explain everything. *** Mom had been driving all day with my brother, Mal, and me in the back seat. The air conditioner in our old van barely worked, and the August heat was making us sweaty, tired, and crabby. My right arm was red and sore from where Mal had been punching it, and Mals left arm looked even worse--I was better at using my knuckles. Moms voice was fried from telling us to knock it off. Every few miles she tried again. "Malcolm. Stop arguing." "Malcolm! Stop hitting!" "MALCOLM! If you make me pull over and stop this car, youll lose all your screen time for a week!" She was talking to both of us, actually. You see, Mals full name is Malachy, and my name is Colm. Whenever were in trouble, Mom drops the and between our names and we become Malcolm. The screen-time threat was the only one that worked. Mals favorite thing is building stuff in Minecraft , and mine is wrecking stuff in video games--Mal says Im just a griefer, but I prefer to think of myself as a demolition expert--so the idea of being grounded from screens after we finally got out of the car was a nightmare. Still, I just dont think theres any way you can put twin brothers in the back of a minivan for the 926-mile drive from Dallas to Chicago without both of them needing to throw a few punches. After two days on the road, we were positively sick of each other. We were sick of the way the upholstery rubbed against our sweaty legs, and we were even sick of fast food. All my favorite foods come from drive-through windows, but if I had to unwrap one more burger or breakfast sandwich, I was going to projectile vomit all over our minivan, and we would need to call in a hazmat team to make it habitable again. The van was so full of stuff, it was almost impossible to move. The space behind us was crammed with boxes. Our feet were resting on duffel bags full of clothes, so we couldnt even straighten our legs, and we had to hit each other over Eric the cat, whose carrier was on the seat between us. The front passenger seat had a lamp, a computer, and our TV in it, which was strapped into the seat belt to protect it from disaster. If youre wondering why our dad wasnt in that seat, well, its because hes dead. He was in a car accident two years ago, when Mal and I were ten. Dad was the one who named the cat Eric, but I still dont know why. Ive asked him, but he just laughs. I know what youre thinking: Im crazy, because you cant talk to dead people. But youre wrong. You can talk to them. Youre only crazy if you expect them to answer you. I talk to Dad all the time, just to hear his voice in my head. Who cares if Im making up all the stuff he says? Even so, sometimes Im afraid hell stop answering. Sometimes Im afraid Ill forget what his voice sounded like. Moving was Moms idea. She never even asked what we thought about it. One day, she just told us it was time for a fresh start. She said she had gotten a new job in Chicago and we were leaving in the middle of August. I didnt want to go. I wanted things to stay the same, but it seemed like ever since the policemen came to our door the day Dad didnt come home from work, our old life had been falling apart piece by piece. Mal didnt like to talk about moving, or Dad, and I hated making Mom cry, so Dad was pretty much the only one I had to talk to. *** Chicago traffic made Dallas traffic look minor league. It took us an hour and a half to get from the big green Welcome to Chicago sign above the highway to our new apartment. By then, the sun was going down, and I was so hungry that I might even have been able to eat a cheeseburger without spraying it all over the back seat. Finally, we turned right, and Mom swore and hit the brakes. She swears sometimes, but Mal and I act like we dont hear it. If we swear, thats a different story. She can hear it a block away. "There it is: Brunhild Tower," she said. "I missed it!" Then, instead of going around the block like a normal person, Mom backed right down the street, ignoring all the honking horns, while Mal and I scrunched down in our seats and tried to hide. Eric moaned like he was embarrassed, too. When Mom pulled into the driveway, I couldnt see much--all the stuff crammed into the van blocked the view. But I could tell it was old and fancy: Through the windshield, I glimpsed gray stone, big windows, and some flowers and plants, if you care about that kind of thing. Mom stopped in front of four tall gray pillars and climbed out of the car. "Wait here and dont try anything," she said. "Ill just check in with the doorman." When we heard the word doorman , Mal and I exchanged a look. In our old house, you had to jiggle the key in the lock forever before it worked. And in the apartment we moved into after Dad died, we had to enter a key code to get into the building. But we had never lived in a building with a doorman. "Maybe Moms new job pays a lot better than her old one," said Mal. "Who knows?" I said. "She wouldnt even tell us if she won the lottery." Mom never talked about money. I knew things were tighter now that Dad was gone, but it wasnt like we were rich or anything before that. Still, Mom always tried to act like everything was just great. Like she didnt mind working a part-time job in the evenings and like having a giant old box of a TV was somehow better than having a flat screen like everyone else. Like it was somehow better for Mal and me not to have cell phones when the fact was we just couldnt afford them. Mal usually went along with her and pretended, but it drove me crazy. Its embarrassing not to have a cell phone or a flat-screen TV. We were lucky our computer wasnt made out of wood. Mom came out of the building with a man wearing a black-and-gray uniform. The man pointed at something behind us, and Mom got back in the car. "Whos that?" I asked. "Thats the doorman, dummy," said Mal, taking advantage of my being distracted to hit my arm right on the bruised spot. I had my fist raised to retaliate when Mom stopped me with a look. So I sent him a telepathic message instead: Ill get you later. "His name is Virgilio," said Mom. "He said theres parking behind us. We cant bring our boxes through the front door--we have to go to the loading dock. But I think its too late to unload, dont you?" "Yes," we said at the same time, not wanting anything to get between us and dinner. We had to drive back onto the street to get to the parking lot. Fortunately, this time, there were only a couple of honks. The way people in Chicago laid on their horns, youd think they drove horn-powered cars. Inside the lot, Mom parked in the numbered space Virgilio had given her. Then we got out of the van and stretched. Mom started pulling things out of the back while Mal and I had a quick kickboxing battle that I totally won. "Malcolm, enough !" snapped Mom, holding out things for us to carry. We took our duffel bags, backpacks, the cat carrier, and the litter box and headed across the lot to the main building. Brunhild Tower loomed over us, huge and dark. Above the gray stone on the first few floors of the L-shaped building, black iron fire escapes zigzagged up the redbrick walls that faced the parking lot. It was so big, I felt like it would swallow us up. Suddenly, a stupid hope occurred to me: What if we couldnt find our apartment? Since we werent unloading the van, we could just drive back to Dallas. It was still hot as an oven outside. The heat coming off the blacktop practically melted the bottoms of my sneakers. Im no expert on big cities, but it did seem weird that there was room for such a big parking lot when there were so many tall buildings crowded around. Mom stood there for a moment, staring up at the building with that look she gets that makes me think shes going to start crying. "Your dad would have loved this place," she said. "He always liked older buildings. He said they were built to last." I tried sending Mal a telepathic message: Quick, change the subject. "Why is it called Brunhild Tower?" he asked. Studying his face, I couldnt tell if hed gotten my message. He probably just asked because hes always going out of his way to learn things hell never need to know. "I have no idea," said Mom, snapping out of it. "But it sounds like something out of an old folktale, doesnt it? Brunhild. " "Sounds like a witchs name," I muttered as we started walking toward the building. None of us had any idea how close Mom and I were to being right. Details ISBN1524739545 Author Keir Graff ISBN-10 1524739545 ISBN-13 9781524739546 Format Paperback Country of Publication United States Audience Age 8-12 Language English Pages 288 Publisher Penguin Putnam Inc Year 2021 Place of Publication New York, NY Publication Date 2021-09-07 US Release Date 2021-09-07 UK Release Date 2021-09-07 Imprint G.P.Putnams Sons Books for Young Readers DEWEY 813.6 Audience Children / Juvenile NZ Release Date 2021-12-06 AU Release Date 2021-12-06 We've got this At The Nile, if you're looking for it, we've got it. With fast shipping, low prices, friendly service and well over a million items - you're bound to find what you want, at a price you'll love! TheNile_Item_ID:133070478;
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ISBN-13: 9781524739546
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Book Title: The Phantom Tower
Item Height: 197mm
Item Width: 130mm
Author: Keir Graff
Format: Paperback
Language: English
Publisher: Penguin Putnam Inc
Publication Year: 2021
Genre: Children & Young Adults
Item Weight: 210g
Number of Pages: 288 Pages