Sky Run

by Alex Shearer

Overview

Peggy Piercy, a 112-year-old crofter, lives on a remote island farm, raising her great-great-grandniece Gemma and her great-great-grandnephew Martin. Eight years ago, Gemma and Martin were brought to Peggy and entrusted to her care, having been orphaned after their parents disappeared while traveling between the Isles of Night. Peggy has enjoyed bringing them up, but now that they are teenagers she wants them to get an education. To do this, Peggy must transport them in her rickety boat on a long journey across some of the most pirate-infested, dangerous creature–infested, weirdo-infested, and unpredictable sky this side of the Main Drift.

One morning, Peggy, Gemma, Martin, and Peggy’s sky-cat, Botcher, set sail. It is an exciting journey for sheltered Gemma and Martin, who have little knowledge of the world around them. Along the way, they encounter a toll-demanding sky-troll; a deadly sky-shark; a crossbow-happy survivor of a child army; an eccentric rat-skinner; a submarine from another dimension; a sky-motel where the customers are made to fit the beds and provide their own dinners; and the seductive Friendly Isle, which few ever manage to leave. Maneuvering all these dangers and desperate characters, the four reach their final destination, only to find more surprises awaiting them. Sky Run is the exciting new adventure by author Alex Shearer, and is sure to capture the interest of action-loving young readers.

Sky Pony Press, with our Good Books, Racehorse and Arcade imprints, is proud to publish a broad range of books for young readers—picture books for small children, chapter books, books for middle grade readers, and novels for young adults. Our list includes bestsellers for children who love to play Minecraft; stories told with LEGO bricks; books that teach lessons about tolerance, patience, and the environment, and much more. While not every title we publish becomes a New York Times bestseller or a national bestseller, we are committed to books on subjects that are sometimes overlooked and to authors whose work might not otherwise find a home.

Product Details

ISBN-13:	9781628735932
Publisher:	Sky Pony Press
Publication date:	05/06/2014
Series:	Little Bit
Pages:	288
Product dimensions:	5.20(w) x 7.80(h) x 0.40(d)
Age Range:	8 - 12 Years

About the Author

Alex Shearer was born in Wick, in the far north of Scotland. His father was a blacksmith and his mother a secretary. He enjoyed writing from an early age and sold his first television script thirty years ago. He went on to write several TV series, stage plays, radio plays, and comedy scripts. Moving into writing for children, his novels Bootleg and The Greatest Store in the World were adapted for television by the BBC, and his 2003 novel The Speed of Dark was shortlisted for the Guardian Children’s Fiction Prize. He lives in London, England.

Editorial Reviews

2014-03-03
A hero's tale set in an alternate world. Living on a tiny island in an unnamed world that is an archipelago in space instead of an ocean, Gemma and her younger brother Martin have seen only two other people for the majority of their lives—their 120-year-old great-great-great aunt Peggy and her nearest neighbor. That is, until Peggy decides she has taught them everything she knows and it is time to take them to boarding school on City Island—a long and potentially dangerous journey. The three set out in Peggy's sky-runner and encounter along the way various folks who just so happen to bear caricatural resemblances to modern-day types, whether it be the Toll Troll, the rabid, red- and blue-clad soccer fans, or the heartbreaking child soldier. Each encounter adds to the education of Gemma and Martin and possibly to that of readers as well. The adventure is narrated in turn by Peggy, Gemma and Martin, and each is pitch-perfect in its respective age and outlook. Never confusing or overbearing, the story mixes adventure with commentary—but so skillfully and humorously done that it rarely seems didactic. The cover, alas, does not do this book justice. Wise and wonderful, this is the archetypal Hero's Journey laced with gentle satire. (Adventure. 10-14)

Kirkus Reviews