Search This Blog
Love reading challenges? Check out my other blog:
2022 Literary Escapes Challenge
- Alabama (1)
- Alaska (1)
- Arizona (1)
- Arkansas
- California (5)
- Colorado (3)
- Connecticut (1)
- Delaware
- Florida
- Georgia (2)
- Hawaii (1)
- Idaho
- Illinois (2)
- Indiana (1)
- Iowa (1)
- Kansas
- Kentucky
- Louisiana
- Maine (1)
- Maryland (2)
- Massachusetts (5)
- Michigan (2)
- Minnesota (1)
- Mississippi (1)
- Missouri
- Montana
- Nebraska (1)
- Nevada
- New Hampshire (1)
- New Jersey (1)
- New Mexico (1)
- New York (9)
- North Carolina (4)
- North Dakota
- Ohio (1)
- Oklahoma
- Oregon (1)
- Pennsylvania (2)
- Rhode Island (1)
- South Carolina
- South Dakota
- Tennessee (1)
- Texas (2)
- Utah (2)
- Vermont (3)
- Virginia (1)
- Washington (4)
- West Virginia
- Wisconsin (1)
- Wyoming (1)
- Washington, D.C.* (1)
International:
Antarctica (1)
Australia (2)
Egypt (2)
England (15)
France (1)
Greece (1)
Ireland (2)
Italy (1)
Malaysia (1)
Nepal (1)
Poland (1)
Portugal (1)
Romania (1)
Scotland (3)
Sweden (1)
Wales (1)
2022 Historical Fiction Reading Challenge
2022 Craving for Cozies Reading Challenge
2022 Cloak and Dagger Reading Challenge
Booklist Queen's 2022 Reading Challenge
Aussie Author Reading Challenge 2022
2022 Nonfiction Reader Challenge
2022 POPSUGAR Reading Challenge
The 52 Book Club's Reading Challenge 2022
2022 Build Your Library Reading Challenge
2022 Support Book Bloggers Challenge
2022 Medical Examiner's Mystery Reading Challenge
Friday, June 09, 2017
The Door in the Alley A Quick, Quirky, Adventure-Filled Romp
1:18 PM
(Image from Barnes & Noble)
Even though there are maps tacked up all over his bedroom walls, Sebastian is not the kind of boy who longs for adventure. He's certainly not the type who goes looking for it. In fact, he prefers his life just the way it is—safe, predictable, and logical. So, why does a cryptic sign posted in a dingy alley make him so darn curious? What is it about The Explorers Society that keeps tugging at his underactive imagination?
Most illogically, it's a pig in a tiny hat who grants Sebastian entrance into the mysterious society's headquarters. What he finds inside are people and stories so mind-boggling he can hardly believe they're real. The Explorers Society is a fun place to hang out, especially since Sebastian's not required to do any adventuring for himself.
When 11-year-old Evie Drake appears on the Society's doorstep, however, everything changes. Suddenly, Sebastian finds himself in the middle of a grand adventure complete with a missing explorer, a puzzling mystery, and two sinister bad guys hot on his trail. Sebastian wants to help Evie find her missing grandfather—he really does—but he's no Indiana Jones. How can he solve the mystery, rescue Mr. Drake, and keep himself and Evie safe from goons with guns? It's impossible. Especially for a risk-averse, panic-attack prone boy like Sebastian. He's no hero. Or is he?
The Door in the Alley, the first book in a new series by Adrienne Kress, is a fun-filled, action-packed adventure perfect for armchair explorers. Featuring a quirky, conversational narrator, it's an upbeat tale with plenty of twists, turns, and surprises. Sebastian and Evie make a likeable team—it's easy to root for them as they work together to save the only family member Evie has left. The Door in the Alley is an easy, exciting read that middle graders will surely eat right up. Personally, I can't wait to see what happens next to this dynamic duo.
(Readalikes: Reminds me of York by Laura Ruby; also of books by Lemony Snicket, Psuedonymous Bosch, and Chris Grabenstein)
Grade:
If this were a movie, it would be rated:
for violence and scenes of peril
To the FTC, with love: I received an ARC of The Door in the Alley from the generous folks at Random House Kids. Thank you!
--
Want more opinions about The Door in the Alley? Of course you do! Follow along on the book's two-month long tour:
|
Date
|
Blog
|
URL
|
|
24-Apr
|
Live To Read
|
|
|
25-Apr
|
Imagination Soup
|
|
|
26-Apr
|
Mom and More
|
|
|
27-Apr
|
Pandora's Books
|
|
|
28-Apr
|
Mommy Ramblings
|
|
|
1-May
|
The Lovely Books
|
|
|
2-May
|
Batch of Books
|
|
|
3-May
|
Oh, for the Hook of a Book!
|
|
|
4-May
|
To Read, or Not To Read
|
|
|
5-May
|
Grandma's Cookie Jar
|
|
|
8-May
|
Good Reads with Ronna
|
|
|
9-May
|
Geo Librarian
|
|
|
10-May
|
Life By Candlelight
|
|
|
11-May
|
Jumpin Beans
|
|
|
12-May
|
Always in the Middle
|
|
|
15-May
|
Librarians Quest
|
|
|
16-May
|
The Book Wars
|
|
|
17-May
|
Middle Grade Mafioso
|
|
|
18-May
|
Hopelessly Devoted Bibliophile
|
|
|
19-May
|
Tween You & Me
|
|
|
22-May
|
Mrs. Knott's Book Nook
|
|
|
23-May
|
Mundie Moms
|
|
|
24-May
|
The Write Path
|
|
|
25-May
|
||
|
26-May
|
Beach Bound Books
|
|
|
29-May
|
Middle Grade Ninja
|
|
|
30-May
|
Night Owl Reviews
|
|
|
31-May
|
Cracking the Cover
|
|
|
1-Jun
|
Jenni Enzor
|
|
|
2-Jun
|
Literary Hoots
|
|
|
5-Jun
|
From the Mixed-Up Files of Middle Grade Authors
|
|
|
6-Jun
|
The Winged Pen
|
|
|
7-Jun
|
Operation Awesome
|
|
|
8-Jun
|
Leeanna.me
|
|
|
9-Jun
|
Bloggin' 'bout Books
|
|
|
12-Jun
|
||
|
13-Jun
|
Ms. Yingling Reads
|
|
|
14-Jun
|
MGMinded blog
|
|
|
15-Jun
|
Smack Dab in the Middle
|
|
|
16-Jun
|
Swoony Boys Podcast
|
|
|
19-Jun
|
Book Foolery
|
|
|
20-Jun
|
Unleashing Readers
|
|
|
21-Jun
|
Kit Lit Reviews
|
|
|
22-Jun
|
The O.W.L.
|
6 comments:
Comments make me feel special, so go crazy! Just keep it clean and civil. Feel free to speak your mind (I always do), but be aware that I will delete any offensive comments.
P.S.: Don't panic if your comment doesn't show up right away. I have to approve each one before it posts to prevent spam. It's annoying, but it works!
Subscribe to:
Post Comments
(Atom)
Reading
Farm to Trouble by Amanda Flower
Listening
The Lost and Found Bookshop by Susan Wiggs
Followin' with Bloglovin'
Followin' with Feedly
-
Sunday Post #371 hour ago
-
-
-
Murder by the Book by Martin Edwards3 hours ago
-
-
Garlic & the Vampire and Garlic & the Witch7 hours ago
-
-
-
Some September Reading1 day ago
-
Sunday Post #4711 day ago
-
-
-
Block Editor Update #WordPress1 day ago
-
Book Quotes of the Week2 days ago
-
My Reading in August 20222 days ago
-
117. From the Shadows2 days ago
-
The Hostage by A. F. Carter2 days ago
-
-
-
-
Can’t Wait for … Hex Appeal3 days ago
-
-
-
-
Happy Banned Books Week!3 days ago
-
Fall TBR4 days ago
-
-
Invisible Man by Ralph Ellison5 days ago
-
-
-
-
Halfway through September1 week ago
-
-
-
-
-
-
-
-
-
Left Neglected by Lisa Genova6 months ago
-
Back to the Classics 20228 months ago
-
-
-
Grab my Button!
Blog Design by:
Blog Archive
- ► 2021 (159)
- ► 2020 (205)
- ► 2019 (197)
- ► 2018 (223)
- ▼ 2017 (157)
- ► 2016 (157)
- ► 2015 (188)
I love when kid books offer up such fun adventures; I still like to read them now and again, even though I don't have kids of my own. This one sounds like a great summer read. :)
ReplyDeleteI love MG, too. Fast, easy stories that are engaging and fun are my fave :)
DeleteSounds like a cute one. And I'm not even a middle grade fan.
ReplyDeleteIt is cute. The perfect length, too.
DeleteThis looks and sounds like another winner in the MG category. Even if I'm no longer reading to my kids who are now teens, I still like reading MG books for myself.
ReplyDeleteI love MG. Fast, easy reads are so nice to sandwich between heavier books. I've come across quite a number of deeper MGs as well, so it's a genre with a lot of variety and potential.
Delete