The Map to Everywhere (Map to Everywhere Series #1)

by Carrie Ryan, John Parke Davis

Overview

Adventure, magic, and hilarity collide in New York Times bestselling author Carrie Ryan and John Parke Davis's first book in a fantastical series.

To Master Thief Fin, an orphan from the murky pirate world of the Khaznot Quay, the Map is the key to finding his mother. To suburban schoolgirl Marrill, it's her only way home after getting stranded on the Pirate Stream, the magical waterway that connects every world in creation. With the help of a bumbling wizard and his crew, they must scour the many worlds of the Pirate Stream to gather the pieces of the Map to Everywhere--but they aren't the only ones looking. A sinister figure is hot on their tail, and if they can't beat his ghostly ship to find the Map, it could mean the destruction of everything they hold dear!

Heart-pounding escapades and a colorful cast of characters will have readers setting sail through this wholly original and unforgettable tale.

Product Details

ISBN-13:	9780316240765
Publisher:	Little, Brown Books for Young Readers
Publication date:	11/04/2014
Series:	Map to Everywhere Series , #1
Sold by:	Hachette Digital, Inc.
Format:	eBook
Lexile:	750L (what's this?)
File size:	10 MB
Age Range:	8 - 12 Years

About the Author

Husband and wife Carrie Ryan and John Parke Davis have been in love with each other's writing (and with each other) since meeting in law school a decade ago. Carrie is the New York Times bestselling author of the critically acclaimed and multi-award-winning Forest of Hands and Teeth series, which is based on a world she and JP created together. She is also the author of Daughter of Deep Silence and Infinity Ring: Divide and Conquer, and the editor of Foretold: 14 Tales of Prophecy and Prediction. JP is the First Assistant Federal Defender for the Western District of North Carolina, as well as a published author of short fiction. Although they've been important parts of each other's writing for years, the Map to Everywhere series is their first full collaboration. They live in Charlotte, North Carolina, and they invite you to visit their website at TheMaptoEverywhere.com.

Editorial Reviews

★ 09/01/2014
Gr 4–6—Fin is so forgettable, no one can remember him for more than a few minutes. Left by his mother at an orphanage in the pirate city of Khaznot Quay at the age of four, he's been on his own ever since. Fin uses his curse to his benefit by becoming a master thief. When he receives a letter directing him to steal a key in exchange for treasures and a promise to show him the way home, he accidentally releases the Oracle, an insane wizard who had been carefully guarded for centuries. Meanwhile in another world, adventurous Marrill, stuck in suburban Arizona, finds an enormous ship in a parking lot. Soon she's traveling the pirate stream, a waterway connecting all worlds, joined by a wizard on a quest for the Map to Everywhere, which they will need to get Marrill home. Fin and Marrill's paths intersect and they set about stealing and reassembling the map—each piece located in a different world. The task becomes further complicated when they realize the Oracle is also after the map. Alternating between Fin and Marilll's points of view, a slower beginning allows for compelling character development in the first quarter the book. When the plots merge, the pacing picks up, mirroring the urgency of the characters, though readers may wish for more time to digest and appreciate the various worlds before racing on to the next. Husband and wife team Ryan and Davis have created wholly original settings, and the juxtaposition of Fin and Marrill's backgrounds and personalities is enjoyable and humorous. This is an ambitious undertaking, and strong readers who enjoy adventure fiction and fantasy will inhale the first book in what has the potential to be an extraordinary series.—Juliet Morefield, Multnomah County Library, OR

School Library Journal

★ 09/29/2014
Ryan (the Forest of Hands and Teeth series) teams up with her husband, short fiction author Davis, to launch a series that sees an intrepid girl from Earth teaming up with a colorful cast as they attempt to prevent the end of everything. Trapped aboard a ship sailing the Pirate Stream, a waterway that meanders between myriad worlds, 12-year-old Marrill must help her new friends find the scattered pieces of the Bintheyr Map to Everywhere if she has any hope of getting home. Unfortunately, an ancient, insane wizard also seeks the Map; if he gets it first, he could destroy all of creation. Marrill’s new best friend is Fin, a master thief and orphan who’s literally forgettable, a useful ability for a thief, but one that can make for a lonely existence (Marrill is one of only a few people who recognize him from minute to minute). Fast-paced and imaginative, this adventure combines action with whimsy, injecting emotion and pathos into an otherwise lighthearted romp. It’s a strong start for what promises to be a highly enjoyable series. Ages 8–12. Agent: Merrilee Heifetz, Writers House. (Nov.)

Publishers Weekly

A Kirkus Reviews Best Children's Book
A Booklist Editors' Choice
A Chicago Public Library Best Book
A Junior Library Guild Selection


* "Ryan and Davis' swashbuckling quest features fantastic world building, gnarly creatures, and a villain who is both spooky and formidable.... The unique details, expert plotting, charming characters, and comic interludes combine in a tantalizing read."—Booklist, starred review

* "Wholly original.... This is an ambitious undertaking, and strong readers who enjoy adventure fiction and fantasy will inhale the first book in what has the potential to be an extraordinary series."—School Library Journal, starred review

* "Vividly cast.... Multifaceted characters, high stakes, imaginative magic, and hints of hidden twists and complexities to come."—Kirkus Reviews, starred review

* "Fast-paced and imaginative, this adventure combines action with whimsy, injecting emotion and pathos into an otherwise lighthearted romp. It's a strong start for what promises to be a highly enjoyable series."—Publishers Weekly, starred review

From the Publisher

★ 2014-07-22
Two displaced young adventurers sail streams of raw magic from world to world in this vividly cast series opener. Convergent plotlines bring together Marrill, who impulsively climbs aboard the four-master that floats into view atop a shimmering mirage in an Arizona parking lot, and Fin, another world's scruffy orphan/thief who literally passes "out of sight, out of mind" with everyone he meets. Nearly everyone, that is: To his shock, Marrill actually remembers him when he's not in view. Joining a notably diverse crew aboard the Enterprising Kraken, a ship able to sail the transformative waters of the multiverse-spanning Pirate Stream thanks to a hull made from "dullwood," the two set out to gather the long-separated parts of a fabled map to Everywhere. The quest becomes a frantic dash thanks to hot pursuit by Serth, a mad wizard who constantly weeps black tears and seeks the map to fulfill a vision of universal apocalypse. Fin's oddball ability serves him well in tight spots, but it also becomes an amusing running gag. Filling out the cast with sobbing pirates, briskly efficient "pirats" (or "bilge mice") and like fancies, the authors send their intrepid searchers hither and thither, to a desperate climactic struggle…that is only a beginning. Multifaceted characters, high stakes, imaginative magic, and hints of hidden twists and complexities to come add up to a memorable start to a projected four-volume voyage. (numerous illustrations, not seen) (Fantasy. 10-13)

Kirkus Reviews