The Keeper (Vega Jane Series #2)

by David Baldacci

Overview

Vega Jane was always told no one could leave the town of Wormwood. She was told there was nothing outside but the Quag, a wilderness filled with danger and death. And she believed it--until the night she stumbled across a secret that proved that everything she knew was a lie.

Now just one thing stands between Vega Jane and freedom--the Quag. In order to leave Wormwood and discover the truth about her world, Vega and her best friend Delph must find a way to make it across a terrifying land of bloodthirsty creatures and sinister magic. But the Quag is worse than Vega Jane's darkest imagining. It's a living, breathing prison designed to keep enemies out and the villagers of Wormwood in.

The Quag will throw everything at Vega Jane. It will try to break her. It will try to kill her. And survival might come at a price not even Vega Jane is willing to pay.

Bestselling author David Baldacci unleashes a hurricane of action and adrenaline that takes readers to the breaking point.

Product Details

ISBN-13:	9781338053609
Publisher:	Scholastic, Inc.
Publication date:	01/31/2017
Series:	Vega Jane Series , #2
Edition description:	Reprint
Pages:	464
Product dimensions:	4.20(w) x 6.70(h) x 1.40(d)
Age Range:	10 - 14 Years

About the Author

David Baldacci is a global #1 bestselling author. His books are published in over forty-five languages and in more than eighty countries; over 110 million copies are in print. His works have been adapted for both feature film and television. He is also the cofounder, along with his wife, of the Wish You Well Foundation, which supports literacy efforts across America. David and his family live in Virginia.

Hometown:

Northern Virginia

Date of Birth:

August 5, 1960

Place of Birth:

Richmond, VIrginia

Education:

B.A. in Political Science, Virginia Commonwealth University, 1982; J.D., University of Virginia, 1986

Website:

http://www.david-baldacci.com/

Interviews

Greetings from Baldacci Land!

Memory Man, my thirtieth adult novel, published in April 2015 and went straight to number one. Thanks to all you readers who made that possible. Readers really connected with Amos Decker, the man with an infallible memory, though nothing else is perfect in his life. I plan to bring Amos back in another thriller in April 2016. Where do the years go? Next year will also mark my twentieth as a published author. Not bad, considering that for many years the idea of publishing even one novel seemed a fantasy.

Next up is The Keeper, the second installment in the Vega Janes series, my adventure books for ages ten to hundred and ten. (In publishing we call that a diverse reader demographic.) The first draft of the script has been turned in to the studio and the wonderful Emma Frost will be hard at work on the next draft. It's all very exciting, considering most books optioned for film don't even get a screenwriter attached much less a script done. We'll keep you updated on that. If The Finisher was a tornado, then The Keeper is a hurricane. Truly, I don't think I've ever thrown this many challenges at a protagonist before.

After that it's The Guilty in November 2015. Will Robie and Jessica Reel come back for a fourth ride. And in this adventure Robie's got some baggage that requires him to go back to his roots in the Deep South. While his previous missions have all been extremely dangerous, his most deadly one might be right here on American soil. I love how the characters of Robie and Reel are evolving, but in this one I take you into Robie's past. I've been waiting a long time to do this. I want readers to understand where this guy came from.

Right now, I'm finishing up The Guilty and plunging into working on the next Amos Decker book and the third installment of the Vega Jane series.

In the meantime, hope your summer is fun, safe, and peaceful, with plenty of time for reading great books!

Editorial Reviews

Praise for Vega Jane Book One, The Finisher:

"This vividly described tale takes readers to an original fantasy world full of strange creatures, intriguing relationships, and long-lost secrets. Baldacci knows how to deliver thrills." -- Brandon Mull, #1 New York Times bestselling author of the Fablehaven series

"The Finisher is an enchanting romp through a fantastical world worthy of Rowling or Brooks. Baldacci proves that his pen can engage youth as well as adults." -- Richard Paul Evans, #1 New York Times bestselling author of the Michael Vey series

"Vega Jane has stolen my heart. I've read several novels in the last few years with female protagonists and none of them are as amazing as Vega. . . . . Her adventures must be continued. To not do so would be a crime. This is the female protagonist I want my daughters to read and emulate." -- SciFi Pulse

"What happens when an international best-selling crime novelist tries his hand at a youth fantasy? Well, in this case, success." -- Booklist, starred review

"Best known for his adult crime novels, Baldacci makes a detour into middle-grade with this wildly fanciful and darkly intriguing tale of a girl forced to fight for her life as she investigates the secrets of her tiny community." -- Publishers Weekly

From the Publisher

Vega Jane; her best friend, Delph; and her dog have left their village of Wormwood behind and crossed into the hostile territory known as the Quag. Captured by a warlord, manipulated by a mysterious witch, and threatened by bizarre monsters, Vega must rely on her newly discovered magic skills and the loyalty of her friends to escape the prison that is the Quag. Along the way she discovers many truths about the origins of Wormwood, as well as the Quag itself. The Keeper can be divided into roughly three sections, which could probably exist as separate books. Cliff-hangers at the end of each chapter will keep many middle graders reading but may make more sophisticated readers roll their eyes. In addition, the constant encyclopedia of new monsters gets a little monotonous after a while. Do not expect deep themes in this novel; it is purely meant for entertainment and will appeal to fans of adventure and fantasy. The tension could work well with reluctant readers, but the heavy page count probably will not. (Vega Jane, Book 2) Reviewer: Cheryl Clark; Ages 11 to 15.

VOYA, August 2015 (Vol. 38, No. 3) - Cheryl Clark

2015-05-18
Baldacci piles on the monsters as he sends Vega Jane and her hunky, clever sidekick Delph through the magical Quag in this follow-up to The Finisher (2014). Escaping the walled town of Wormwood in hopes of finding the "truth" that lies beyond, the two teens befriend or, more often, flee or slaughter a laundry list of creatures: garms, amarocs, lycans, venomous jabbits, snake-haired alectos, green-blooded Soul Takers, dreads, grubbs, hyperbores, and numerous other residents of the broad, weirdly mutable wilderness. For variety, they are also twice captured—once by a mad subterranean king and then by the Quag's 800-year-old Keeper—and Vega has to die to get across a certain river guarded by a skeletal boatman. These all turn out to be only temporary setbacks, however. In blatant bids to add appeal, Baldacci supplements the teeming cast of ravening boojums with a new companion who may be an ally, a rival for Delph, or both, plus familiar elements like a ring that makes its wearer invisible and Harry Potter-esque spells, a talking book that delivers only infuriatingly vague advice, and frequent Briticisms ("Wotcha, Vega Jane"). The flights and fights are all set pieces without much sense of suspense or danger, and there are so many of them that even bloodthirsty readers might echo Vega Jane's own exhausted "Let's just finish this." Not a stand-alone episode, but definitely a pleaser for creature-feature fans. (Fantasy. 11-13)

Kirkus Reviews