Black Moon Rising (The Library Book 2) - Softcover

MacHale, D. J.

Softcover

ISBN 10: 1101932600 ISBN 13: 9781101932605

Verlag: Yearling, 2018

Inhaltsangabe

“I'm not sure anyone does suspense quite like D. J. MacHale.” —James Dashner, bestselling author of the Maze Runner series

The next fast-paced, thrilling adventure from bestselling author D. J. MacHale! 

Marcus is an agent of the Library—a place filled with tales that don’t have endings. Mysteries that won’t be solved until Marcus and his friends Theo and Lu step in to finish them. Before it’s too late.
 
Because mysterious accidents are disturbing a middle school in Massachusetts. Windows shatter for no reason. Bleachers collapse at a pep rally. Most of the students think they’re just having a string of bad luck, but Marcus suspects something a lot more dangerous. Something like witchcraft. When the black moon rises, this story must come to an end . . . one way or another.

Über diesen Titel

Über die Autorin bzw. den Autor

D. J. MacHale is the author of the bestselling book series Pendragon, Morpheus Road, and the SYLO Chronicles, as well as Voyagers: Project Alpha and Curse of the Boggin (The Library, Book 1). He has written, directed, and produced numerous award-winning television series and movies for young people, including Are You Afraid of the Dark?, Flight 29 Down, and Tower of Terror. He lives with his family in Southern California. Visit him at djmachalebooks.com.

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Chapter 1

 

 

“I’m dead. I’m dead. I’m seriously dead.”

 

“You’re also a drama queen,” Theo McLean said without a trace of sympathy. “It’s not exactly the end of the world.”

 

“Easy for you to say,” Lu snapped at him. “What did you get on the test? An A, right?”

 

“No, in fact, I didn’t,” Theo replied. “I got an A-plus. But I missed the extra credit.”

 

“I hate you,” Lu snarled.

 

My two best buddies don’t always get along. If not for me, I doubt they’d even be friends. Annabella Lu is driven by emotion. She’s a real “seat of the pants” kind of girl who always starts out in third gear. Theo McLean, on the other hand, is a thinker. An overthinker, actually. By the time he analyzes a problem and looks at every possible solution from multiple angles, it’s usually the next day and nobody can remember what the problem was in the first place.

 

I fall somewhere in the middle. I can think through a challenge fast, and I’m not afraid to make bold, decisive choices. On the other hand, my bold decisions aren’t always the best, and I’ve been known to solve problems by creating even bigger problems. But, hey, at least I get things done. Sort of.

 

Lu is Asian American, Theo is African American, and I’m Caucasian Euro-mutt-American. Together we look like the cast of some racially diverse kids’ TV show.

 

“It’s only one test grade,” I said, trying to be the voice of reason. “Your father’s not going to kill you over one C.”

 

“It’s not just one C, Marcus,” Lu said, spinning on her roller skates with nervous energy.

 

Lu is a roller-derby girl. The only reason she takes off her skates during the day is because they aren’t allowed on Stony Brook Middle School property. Theo and I were sitting near the school’s front entrance so Lu could legally roll along the sidewalk and burn off tension.

 

“I bombed a couple of other science tests I haven’t told my parents about, and now I’m staring at a big, fat old C for the trimester. That will make my dad’s brain detonate.”

 

“It won’t. Your parents are cool,” I argued.

 

“Sure, when it comes to my friends and letting me play derby and not getting up in my stuff all the time, but school is a whole different thing. I’ve got a tiger mom and a dragon dad. To them, anything less than an A is failing.”

 

“So what will they do?” Theo asked.

 

“I don’t know!” Lu shouted in frustration. “I’ve never had to find out! They could ground me, or get me a tutor, or they might even force me to quit derby!”

 

“All because of one lousy C?” I asked, incredulous.

 

“To them it’s not a lousy C. It’s a hot blade that cuts straight into their souls and twists with such a vengeance that pain from the hideous scar will torture them until the day they die.”

 

“Wow,” I said. “You may suck at science but I bet you’re getting an A in English.”

 

“So do better next time,” Theo said matter-of-factly. “I mean, you’re not dumb. Not really.”

 

“Gee, thanks,” Lu said, her voice dripping with sarcasm. “Maybe that should go on my tombstone: ‘Here lies Annabella Lu. She wasn’t dumb. Not really.’ ”

 

“But you aren’t,” Theo said innocently.

 

“Ugh,” Lu groaned, and skated off. She spun around, skating backward, and said, “If you don’t see me tomorrow, it’s because I’ve been shipped off to boarding school.”

 

“You’re making too big a thing outta this!” I called to her as she spun back around and zipped away.

 

Her response was to throw me a dismissive wave.

 

“I don’t know why her parents would be so upset,” Theo said. “I mean, maybe a C is the best she can do.”

 

I stood and hoisted my pack. “I’d keep that opinion to myself, unless you want roller-skate tracks across your back.”

 

Theo stood too and said, “So what did you get on the test?”

 

“An A-plus,” I replied without hesitation. “Nailed the extra credit too. Do not tell Lu.”

 

Theo and I live close to the school and always walk home together through our suburban neighborhood in Stony Brook, Connecticut. It was late October, and the fall foliage was at its spectacular peak. The leafy trees sported stunning shades of orange, yellow, and red that made the sky seem freakishly blue. It was like something out of a perfect Halloween picture book.

 

As we walked along, Theo kept glancing at me as if he wanted to say something but couldn’t find the guts. The whole time he was tugging on his earlobe. It’s a nervous tic that always shows up when he’s thinking hard.

 

“What!” I finally exclaimed, making him jump.

 

“It’s nothing,” he said quickly, which meant it was definitely something. “Forget it.”

 

“Okay,” I said with a dismissive shrug.

 

He pulled on his earlobe again and said, “But it actually is something.”

 

“Aha!”

 

“C’mon, Marcus, we have to talk about it.”

 

“About what?” I asked, though I knew exactly what he meant.

 

“It’s been over a week, and we haven’t discussed it once. It’s like we’re pretending it didn’t happen.”

 

“I’m not sure what you mean,” I said innocently.

 

“Give me a break,” he said with impatience.

 

“Oh! You mean about how the three of us trapped a centuries-old evil spirit in a metal box and tossed it into the Long Island Sound so it could never escape and terrorize people ever again? Is that what you’re talking about?”

 

“Yes, smart guy. That. And the Library.”

 

The Library.

 

Theo was right. I was trying to pretend like none of it had happened. I hadn’t been back since we captured the Boggin.

 

“I know,” I said sincerely. “I’ve been avoiding.”

 

“I thought you wanted to help Everett finish some of the stories. What’s the problem?”

 

“No problem,” I said. “It’s just that the whole thing seems like a dream. I mean, you saw those shelves. There were thousands of unfinished stories there. How can I hope to put a dent in that?”

 

“Maybe not a dent, but you could finish a few. Like maybe . . . oh, I don’t know . . . mine. Or Lu’s.”

 

He had me there. The unfinished stories in the Library were about people who had experienced unexplainable events. Odd occurrences. Supernatural shenanigans. The only thing the stories had in common was that they were unfinished. Throughout history the agents of the Library were able to...

Details zur Ausgabe

• Verlag: Yearling
• Erscheinungsdatum: 2018
• Sprache: Englisch
• ISBN 10: 1101932600
• ISBN 13: 9781101932605
• Einband: Taschenbuch
• Anzahl der Seiten: 320
• Kontakt zum Hersteller: Nicht verfügbar
• Verantwortliche Person: eucomply OÜ; hello@eucompliancepartner.com; ; Pärnu mnt 139b-14; Tallinn; 11317; Estland