Hither & Nigh
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- $9.99
Publisher Description
Magic and mystery abound when a young girl discovers a secret, parallel New York City that may help her find her missing brother in this middle grade fantasy adventure that’s a “thrilling page-turner” (Kirkus Reviews) for fans of Thirteen Witches and James Riley.
Could lessons in magic make everything right again?
Nell Batista has been in trouble one too many times. Now she’s down to her last chance—literally. Join the Last Chance Club or be expelled from school. The kids in the club are an odd group, but when their teacher starts giving lessons in magic, things quickly go completely off the weird scale. Nell doesn’t believe in it at first; after all, she’s a smart city kid, and there has been nothing magical in her life since her brother, River, disappeared three years ago.
But this magic is real—and powerful. As their skills grow, Nell and her new friends discover a parallel New York City called the Nigh. It’s a place as delightful as it is scary, sizzling with magical energy, where statues can talk, magicians ride on giant dogs, and monsters roam Central Park. And it is all controlled by the terrifying Minister, who might hold the key to finding Nell’s missing brother. Just how far will Nell go to find him, and who can she trust in a world topsy turvy with enchantment?
PUBLISHERS WEEKLY
Three years after Nell Batista's brother, River, vanished from Washington Square Park, skipping class to hustle chess players lands seventh grader Nell in the Last Chance Club, an after-school program. She's there alongside three eighth graders: beautiful bully Annika Rapp, once friend to River; cute new boy Tom Gunnerson, a rich kid in for stealing; and hulking Crud, who is rumored to be violent. Instead of doing community service, they're supposed to "perform miracles, help avert disasters, et cetera" by learning magic from mysterious Mr. Boot, who bears strangely detailed files on each child. As her magic skills develop and Nell glimpses River, she soon stumbles upon the Nigh—an alternate realm in which centuries' worth of children, kidnapped for their powerful imaginations, are trained by Magicians to build towering cities with their minds. Balancing the tweens' everyday social pressures with a dangerous quest across the fantastical 19th-century version of New York City that is the Nigh, Potter (the Big Foot and Little Foot series) satisfyingly blends contemporary snark with physical adventures heightened by spell-casting misfires, anxious close calls, and just-scary-enough monsters. Nell cues as Latinx; other characters default to white. Ages 8–12.
