The Doldrums
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- €6.99
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- €6.99
Publisher Description
Archer B. Helmsley longs for adventure. But how can he have an adventure when he can’t even leave his house?
Archer B. Helmsley has grown up in a house full of oddities and treasures collected by his grandparents, the famous explorers. Archer longs for grand adventures but ever since his grandparents went missing on an iceberg, his mother barely lets him leave the house. So, along with his best friends, Adélaïde L. Belmont and Oliver Grub, Archer forms a plan to get out of the house and set off on a grand adventure with crocodiles and parachutes and danger. It's a good plan. Well, it's not bad, anyway. But nothing goes quite as they expected…
Reviews
“The Doldrums is delightful! What a wonderful ride of a book!” –Jennifer L. Holm, NY TIMES
“Archer, Adelaide, and Oliver make the best trio of friends in a middle grade novel since Harry, Hermione, and Ron in the Harry Potter series.” –Clara Martin, Lemuria Books, Jackson, MS
“You’ll laugh, you’ll cry, you’ll root for them, and when it s over, you’ll want to turn the page back to the beginning and read it all over again. This is one of those books that everyone should read.” –Candice Huber, Tubby & Coo's Mid City Book Shop, New Orleans, LA
“Amusing, heartwarming, and zany. … The debut author also provides delicate, full-colour illustrations throughout. Readers will eventually sigh in relief with Archer and his friends.” –Kirkus Reviews (starred review)"
About the author
Nicholas Gannon studied art and design and held a number of odd jobs before becoming a full time author. He lives in Brooklyn. The Doldrums is his first book.
PUBLISHERS WEEKLY
On Archer Helmsley's ninth birthday, his grandparents vanish while exploring an iceberg in Antarctica. Two years later, Archer (along with his best friend Oliver, the fretful son of a newspaperman, and Ad la de, a mysterious Parisian girl with a wooden leg) plans to embark on a rescue mission if only his overprotective mother would let him leave the house. Newcomer Gannon reveals himself as a skilled storyteller, both in his writing and artwork. His quippy quotes, whimsically meandering exposition, and penchant for the gently absurd breathe life into his three main characters, while his full-color illustrations precise, elegant, and haunting are a delightful means of seeing into his mind's eye. Archer has a vibrant imagination, spending lonely days inside the family home daydreaming and making conversation with a menagerie of taxidermied creatures, while Ad la de's missing limb is the subject of spirited schoolyard gossip involving a hungry crocodile, speculation that Ad la de herself is happy to fuel. It's a tender tale of friendship, untapped courage, and accidental adventure, filled with the spirit of exploration. Ages 8 12.
