Search This Blog
Love reading challenges? Check out my other blog:
2023 Bookish Books Reading Challenge
2023 Literary Escapes Challenge
- Alabama (1)
- Alaska
- Arizona
- Arkansas
- California (1)
- Colorado (1)
- Connecticut
- Delaware
- Florida
- Georgia (1)
- Hawaii
- Idaho
- Illinois
- Indiana
- Iowa
- Kansas
- Kentucky
- Louisiana (1)
- Maine (1)
- Maryland (1)
- Massachusetts (1)
- Michigan
- Minnesota
- Mississippi
- Missouri
- Montana
- Nebraska
- Nevada
- New Hampshire
- New Jersey
- New Mexico
- New York (2)
- North Carolina (1)
- North Dakota
- Ohio
- Oklahoma
- Oregon
- Pennsylvania
- Rhode Island
- South Carolina
- South Dakota
- Tennessee
- Texas
- Utah
- Vermont (2)
- Virginia
- Washington (1)
- West Virginia
- Wisconsin
- Wyoming
- Washington, D.C.*
International:
- Australia (1)
- Ireland (1)
2023 Historical Fiction Reading Challenge
Booklist Queen's 2023 Reading Challenge
2023 52 Club Reading Challenge
2023 Build Your Library Reading Challenge
2023 Craving for Cozies Reading Challenge
2023 Medical Examiner's Mystery Reading Challenge
2023 Pick Your Poison Reading Challenge
Children's Book Reading Challenge...For Adults!
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
All the Dangerous Things by Stacy Willingham
Listening
The War Librarian by Addison Armstrong
Followin' with Bloglovin'
Followin' with Feedly
-
January Reflections32 minutes ago
-
-
Books read in January3 hours ago
-
Coetzee, J.M. "Waiting for the Barbarians"3 hours ago
-
-
-
Top Ten Tuesday5 hours ago
-
-
-
-
Top Ten Tuesday: Bookish Confessions7 hours ago
-
-
TTT – My Favorite Black Authors8 hours ago
-
-
-
-
-
-
-
-
All Is Not Forgotten by Wendy Walker22 hours ago
-
-
A Novel Disguise by Samantha Larsen1 day ago
-
Book’d Out [January 2023]1 day ago
-
-
The Flatshare1 day ago
-
-
Sunday Salon2 days ago
-
-
Sunday Post #4893 days ago
-
-
-
Review of Matilda4 days ago
-
-
-
-
-
My Bookish Goals for 20231 week ago
-
Top Ten Books of 20223 weeks ago
-
Books Read in 20233 weeks ago
-
December Monthly Wrap-up3 weeks ago
-
-
-
Thinking Out Loud: Our Wives Under the Sea2 months ago
-
Are you looking for Pretty Books?3 months ago
-
-
HEARTS OF BRIARWALL by Krista Jensen5 months ago
-
-
-
-
Grab my Button!
Blog Design by:
Blog Archive
- ► 2021 (159)
- ► 2020 (205)
- ► 2019 (197)
- ► 2018 (223)
- ▼ 2017 (157)
- ► 2016 (157)
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