About the Author:
Emily Drake lives in a sand castle by the sea...well, actually, it’s a dusty house full of wonderful old books, cats, and a rambunctious cocker spaniel puppy. And, on a good day when the smog clears, you can see the Pacific Ocean. When she’s not reading or talking with the cats or playing with the puppy, she is thinking of Bailey-isms and writing. Somewhere in the house is a grown-up daughter who likes to read and write histories of the fantastic and brings home pottery from class which looks as if it must have been made in another realm, so she fits in extremely well. Emily is married to a nice gentleman who works very hard in the real world and is often a bit bemused by the goings-on in the sand castle but has a good sense of humor about it all. There are other sons and a daughter who are scattered to the Trade Winds but who write and call home often. All in all, a good day is one in which books can be read and written and enjoyed by anyone Emily can reach. At the moment, the pup only considers a book as a good chew-toy, but she’s hoping he’ll outgrow that. Emily does not normally talk about herself like this, but the cats insisted upon it, like royalty.
From Booklist:
Gr. 5-6. Thanks to a sprained ankle, 11-year-old Jason finds himself at Ravenwyng, a ramshackle outpost in the Grand Tetons billed as a "creativity and leadership camp." But as he quickly discovers, the place is actually a school for training workers of "magick," and a battleground in a centuries-old feud. Drake fills the shadows with geeks, menacing lurkers, and secretive adults who aren't always on top of things as she pitches Jason into a series of dangerous encounters and puzzling discoveries. Trailing numerous unresolved subplots, the story revs up to a battle during a wild magical "manna storm," during which Jason opens a certain gate that saves Ravenwyng from destruction. Though Jason overhears a few too many revealing conversations in the course of this busy series opener, his efforts to learn about magick and save his friends will carry readers through a slow beginning and into the inevitable sequel. One can't help but note the similarities to a certain popular series also set in a magical institution. John Peters
Copyright © American Library Association. All rights reserved
"About this title" may belong to another edition of this title.