Map of Flames (The Forgotten Five, Book 1) - Softcover

McMann, Lisa

Softcover

ISBN 10: 0593325427 ISBN 13: 9780593325421

Verlag: G.P. Putnam's Sons Books for Young Readers, 2022

Inhaltsangabe

X-Men meets Spy Kids in this instant New York Times bestseller! Here’s the first book in a new middle-grade fantasy/adventure series from the author of The Unwanteds.

Fifteen years ago, eight supernatural criminals fled Estero City to make a new life in an isolated tropical hideout. Over time, seven of them disappeared without a trace, presumed captured or killed. And now, the remaining one has died.
 
Left behind to fend for themselves are the criminals’ five children, each with superpowers of their own: Birdie can communicate with animals. Brix has athletic abilities and can heal quickly. Tenner can swim like a fish and can see in the dark and hear from a distance. Seven’s skin camouflages to match whatever is around him. Cabot hasn’t shown signs of any unusual power—yet.

Then one day Birdie finds a map among her father’s things that leads to a secret stash. There is also a note:  
 
Go to Estero, find your mother, and give her the map.
 
The five have lived their entire lives in isolation. What would it mean to follow the map to a strange world full of things they’ve only heard about, like cell phones, cars, and electricity? A world where, thanks to their parents, being supernatural is a crime?

Über diesen Titel

Über die Autorin bzw. den Autor

Lisa McMann is the New York Times and USA Today bestselling author of dozens of books, including The Unwanteds series, the Wake trilogy, and her most recent novel, Clarice the Brave. She is married to fellow writer, Matt McMann, and they have two adult children—her son is artist Kilian McMann and her daughter is actor Kennedy McMann. Lisa spends most of her time in Arizona, California, and Vancouver, British Columbia, and loves to cook, read, and watch reality TV. You can visit Lisa at lisamcmann.com or follow her on Twitter and Instagram @lisa_mcmann.

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The Last Words

Birdie Golden’s fingers were still stained with dirt from digging her father’s grave. Tears smudged her cheeks.

“When I’m gone,” he’d whispered to her, “look through my crate. I’ve left you . . .” His fingertips had sparked one last time and gone out, leaving them charcoal-­tinged and lifeless. His labored breathing had slowed, and he’d closed his eyes.

Left her what? Or maybe he’d just . . . you know. Left her. “Dad?” Her chest had tightened. She’d squeezed his hand. “Dad?”

A moment later, his eyes had fluttered. “Find your mother,” he’d said with a gasp. “Tell her . . . I did my best.” And then he’d died.

Birdie hadn’t expected him to say anything like that. Her mind had been churning the words around ever since. Through the digging. The funeral. And the burying. Today’s glorious sunshine hadn’t penetrated the numbness. Not even the call of the gray whale. Only those words: Find your mother.

Birdie would check Dad’s crate in the morning. But tonight, she left their cabin and headed for the fire pit with her ten-­year-­old brother, Brix, who was bouncing—­not joyfully—­by her side, and her tiny pig trotting behind. Only the five kids remained in the hideout built by their supernatural criminal parents. Forgotten and alone. And they had a lot to talk about.

Tradition

Tenner Cordoba scraped the last serving of fish from the skillet onto his plate as the other four ate around the tree-­stump table. The wind picked up, rustling the thick trees, and the surf pounded the shore at high tide. An animal howled far away. Tenner turned sharply toward the noise, narrowing his eyes.

Puerco, Birdie’s pig, stirred uneasily. Shh, Birdie said with her mind, and Puerco settled down.

At the far end of the table was Seven Palacio. He was thirteen like Tenner and Birdie and sat camouflaged by shadows and the black parachute-­fabric clothes he wore. Next to him, Cabot Stone, eleven-­going-­on-­thirty, ran a hand over her buzz-­cut hair and cast a worried glance at Brix to see how he was holding up. He’d stopped crying.

Tenner dropped into the log chair next to Birdie. “Are you doing okay?” he asked her. He looked at his food, then pushed it around with his fork. For once he had little appetite.

“Better,” she said. “Thanks.” She caught his eye and smiled sadly.

Tenner lowered his gaze. “No problem,” he mumbled, then dropped his fork in the dirt and muttered under his breath. After retrieving it and wiping it off, he looked around the table. Everyone was red-­eyed and exhausted. It had been the longest day. They’d never buried anyone before.

Louis had told them what to do when the time came, but that hadn’t made it any easier. Pushing dirt over his wrapped-­up body . . . It had been the hardest thing Tenner had ever done. Birdie and Brix had been sobbing. Seven had leaned on his shovel, his arms shaking, unable to do anything but comfort those two. Cabot had stepped in, her face a mask. She’d dropped the first handful of dirt. Then she’d taken Seven’s shovel. Tenner had helped her with the rest of it. He’d cried in the ocean later.

Tenner wanted to go to bed and forget this day. But there was one thing that still needed to happen. A few weeks ago, Tenner had brought Louis some soup and sat next to him to help him eat it. Louis had put down the spoon and taken the boy’s hand.

“You can go your own way, Tenner,” Louis had said. His hair was only beginning to gray, and it spread wildly on the pillow.

“What do you mean?” Tenner had asked, confused.

“You’re not like your parents. You’re in charge of your decisions. I believe in you.”

“Oh.” Tenner’s face had burned, but he’d managed a smile. “Thanks, Louis.”

“Will you do me a favor?” Louis had closed his eyes and taken a labored breath. His fingers sparked.

Tenner leaned back to avoid injury. “Of course. Anything.”

“Continue the tradition. Keep telling the story of the criminals’ escape. It’s important. Do it after I’m gone.”

Tenner had promised.

And now the time had come. “Okay,” Tenner said, glancing worriedly at Birdie. He wasn’t sure she was ready for this. “I promised your dad we’d do the story after . . . well, you know. So, who’s going to start? Birdie or Brix?”

Birdie’s face was pained, but she didn’t object. The siblings glanced at each other. “Brix should do it,” Birdie said. “It’s his turn.”

Brix sat up. The story had been part of their lives since they were little. All the people in this hideaway had been super­natural, extremely rare compared to the rest of the world. Dad had said it was crucial that the children not only remember but be able to recite their family history. Knowing that, and hearing his father’s voice saying it in his head, made Brix’s throat close up for a moment. But then he began the way someone always began. “How did our parents get here?”

They all knew the answer but still looked forward to the story of the criminals’ failed heist. Or, as Louis referred to it, their successful escape.

From the shadows, Seven spoke. “Fifteen years ago, after decades of being oppressed in Estero, our parents decided to come to their hideout, where they’d be safe. But first they wanted to do one last heist—­of the famous Stone Crown on display in President Fuerte’s palace. It had belonged to the first ruler of Estero over a thousand years ago, and it was the president’s most prized possession. The criminals knew they would never be able to sell it because it was well-­known around the world. But they wanted to teach the country, and the president, a lesson about shunning people like them.”

He leaned forward and added a log to the fire, his face appearing to be engulfed in flames. “The plan went wrong. They were recognized and chased by police. But they made it to the roof of the hospital where Cabot’s mom worked. And then they came here.”

“In a helicopter,” Tenner added. “Cabot’s mom flew.”

“They didn’t get the crown,” said Brix, “but they didn’t need it. They’d left their stash of gold and jewels hidden in Estero, for whenever they decided to go back.”

Birdie stared at the fire. Some of the parents were there, no doubt. Like her mother.

“My mom flew the helicopter across the bay through the dark night,” Cabot said, scooting forward in her seat to tell her favorite part. “The criminals were ready to jump with parachutes, and they tied their belongings in a cargo net attached to parachutes, too. Then my mom programmed the helicopter to fly on its own, out of sight, to run out of fuel and crash into the ocean miles and miles away from here.” She sighed. That was the most romantic of all the details. Even though she hadn’t witnessed it, it was a prominent image in her mind—­eight supernatural thieves jumping out of a helicopter and parachuting to the jungle beach on this narrow slice of land. Cabot was wearing part of one of those parachutes right now, fashioned into baggy trousers.

Her thoughts flickered to her parents,...

Details zur Ausgabe

• Verlag: G.P. Putnam's Sons Books for Young Readers
• Erscheinungsdatum: 2022
• Sprache: Englisch
• ISBN 10: 0593325427
• ISBN 13: 9780593325421
• Einband: Taschenbuch
• Anzahl der Seiten: 400
• Kontakt zum Hersteller: Nicht verfügbar
• Verantwortliche Person: Nicht verfügbar