Sylvia Doe and the 100-Year Flood
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- $14.99
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- $14.99
Publisher Description
A hurricane changes the course of a river and the life of a lonely girl in this nature-based mystery-adventure by the best-selling author of the Serafina series and the Willa seriesRobert Beatty, a master at telling atmospheric tales of mystery and suspense set in the natural world, has crafted another ingenious, unputdownable story.Thirteen-year-old Sylvia Doe has lived at the Highground Home for Children nearly all her life. Whenever the administrators try to place her with a foster family, she runs away—back to Mason, Highground's caretaker and her best friend. The only place she feels like she belongs is with him and the horses he has taught her to love.When a powerful storm causes the remote mountain valley where she lives to flood, Sylvia begins to encounter strange and wondrous things floating down the river. Glittering gemstones and wild animals that don't belong—everything's out of place. Then she spots an unconscious boy floating in the water.As she drags him onto the shore and their adventure together begins, Sylvia wonders who he is and where he came from. And why does she feel such a strong connection to this mysterious boy?
PUBLISHERS WEEKLY
Amnesiac 13-year-old Sylvia Doe has considered Highground Home for Children in the North Carolina mountains her safe haven ever since she was found by Highground staff at age four. As a devout naturalist, she feels uneasy anywhere else; she's run away from every foster home she's been placed in, returning faithfully to Highground. Upon fleeing from another foster family during a hurricane, she discovers a flooded river that has morphed into a once-in-a-lifetime "100-year flood." Things that have no place in the present such as long-extinct animals appear along the river's current, as well as 13-year-old Jorna Grant, who has been carried far from home. When Sylvia rescues him, the pair soon realize that the solution to ending the flood may lie in getting Jorna home—but in the process, Sylvia could lose Highground. Beatty (Willa of Dark Hollow) pays tribute to the beauty and dangers of the natural world in this thoughtful tale. Sensorial descriptions focusing on Sylvia's love for her surroundings and passion for observing the environment mix with pulse-pounding action to craft a quietly magical adventure about finding where one belongs. Sylvia has brown skin; Jorna is Black. Ages 8–12.
