August 2020 Middle Grade Book Selection | First Editions Club

New York, NY: Penguin Publishing Group (pub: August 25, 2020)
First Edition. Bookplate signed by Janet Fox.
New in dust jacket.

A thrilling, fast-paced middle grade that blends Indiana Jones-style treasure hunting with World War II spies and time travel adventure!

Isaac Wolf can travel through time. But he’s also in a race against it.

With tensions in Prague rising at the height of World War II, Isaac Wolf is forced to leave home with nothing more than a small backpack and a pendant in the shape of an eternity knot. His parents believe the pendant will keep him safe—if he can discover what it really means.

This clue leads him to Rookskill Castle, home of the Special Alternative Intelligence Unit where gifted children can learn to harness their powers to support the Allies’ cause. With the help of his new friends and an antique watch that allows him to travel through time, Isaac must unlock his own powers and uncover the true meaning of the eternity knot. The only way he can do that, though, is by hunting for a series of magical artifacts that are scattered throughout the past…and Isaac isn’t the only artifact hunter. Soon he finds himself in a race against a threat just as deadly as the war itself—one that his parents had been trying to shield him from all along.

Janet Fox writes award-winning fiction and non-fiction for children of all ages. Her published works include GET ORGANIZED WITHOUT LOSING IT (Free Spirit, new edition 2017), and the YA novels FAITHFUL, FORGIVEN, and SIRENS (all from Penguin). THE CHARMED CHILDREN OF ROOKSKILL CASTLE (Viking, 2016), her middle grade debut, received starred reviews from Kirkus, Booklist, Publishers Weekly, and Shelf Awareness, is on numerous lists, and received SCBWI’s Crystal Kite award. VOLCANO DREAMS (Web of Life Books, 2018) is her debut picture book. A companion novel to CHARMED CHILDREN is due out from Viking in 2020. Janet is a former high school teacher and a 2010 graduate of Vermont College of Fine Arts.