UMBERLAND by: Wendy Spinale

Title: UMBERLAND

Author: Wendy Spinale

Pub. Date: May 2, 2017

Publisher: Scholastic Press

Pages: 288

Formats: Hardcover, eBook

Find it: Amazon, Barnes & Noble, TBD, iBooks, Goodreads

What began with a reimagining of Peter Pan and Wendy now twists into a stunning version of Alice’s Adventures in Wonderland and Through the Looking-Glass!

Gwen, Pete, and the others have escaped from Everland. But the safe haven they hoped to find at Alnwick Castle doesn’t exist. With the Queen of England on her deathbed, Duchess Alyssa has stepped in to lead, but things have gotten worse as the cure Doc created for the Horologia virus has mutated, accelerating the disease. The only possible solution he can think of is to go back to the virus’s origin: an extinct poisonous apple.

Legend has it a tree bearing the apple might be found at the center of a deadly labyrinth hidden deep within Germany. A place that no one in their right mind enters. Leaving Pete in charge of the survivors, Alyssa sets out with only her sword, her wits, and the help of Maddox Hadder, a wild boy who oversees the castle gardens. To get to the center of the maze, she’ll be forced to battle monsters more terrifying than her darkest nightmares.

But can anyone truly survive the madness of the maze? And what if there’s no apple to be found there?

The rancid scent of rotting flesh and the sound of distraught whimpers make my stomach turn. Controlling the urge to retch, I hum a lullaby as I sit near Bella’s bed, made up of hay and old blankets, and administer another dose of painkillers. Her eyes flutter as she drifts into a haze. When the pixie-faced girl finally relaxes, I stand and stretch, working out the ache in my muscles. Gwen sits three beds over, her siblings, Mikey and Joanna, lying between us. They look so tiny tucked beneath their blankets. Having cried herself to sleep, Gwen’s head rests on her forearm as she holds her mother’s frail hand. The Professor, like Bella, is far worse than the others. Doc predicts it will be only a matter of days, if not hours, before we lose her to the disease. I feel a pang of sympathy as I think of watching my own parents die.
Daring a reluctant glance, my eyes scan the sea of people. Rows and rows of sick lie wailing on their beds, each in excruciating pain, their battle crueler than the day Captain Hanz Otto Oswald Kretschmer bombed London. There are so many, I’m not even sure where they’ve all come from. Alnwick Castle has become home for hundreds of refugees, some so sick they are beyond help. All I can do is keep them comfortable as their bodies blister and scab over . . . or die.
Bella, Gwen, and the Lost Boys arrived here only a few months ago after narrowly escaping Captain Hook. With Hook dead, the Marauders no longer chase them, but I am not at all sure Alnwick Castle is any more of an improvement. Although the antidote has staved off death in some, the side effects are horrific. Guilt settles like a broken, jagged brick in my chest.

Title: EVERLAND

Author: Wendy Spinale

Pub. Date: May 10, 2016

Publisher: Scholastic Press

Format: Hardcover, eBook, audiobook

Find it: Amazon, Barnes & Noble, TBD, iBooks, Goodreads

Forget the story of Peter Pan you know. Because in Everland, the only way to grow up is to survive.

London has been destroyed in a blitz of bombs and disease. The only ones who have survived are children, among them Gwen Darling and her siblings, Joanna and Mikey. They spend their nights scavenging and their days avoiding the ruthless Marauders — the German Army led by Captain Hanz Otto Oswald Kretschmer.

Unsure if the virus has spread past England’s borders but desperate to leave, Captain Hook hunts for a cure, which he thinks can be found in one of the survivors. He and his Marauders stalk the streets snatching children for experimentation. None ever return. Until the day they grab Joanna. As Gwen sets out to save her, she meets a mysterious boy named Pete. Pete offers the assistance of his gang of Lost Boys and the fierce sharpshooter Bella, who have all been living in a city hidden underground. But in a place where help has a steep price and every promise is bound by blood, it will cost Gwen. And are she, Pete, the Lost Boys, and Bella enough to outsmart Captain Hook?

I must admit, I have lived an extraordinary life and will forever be grateful for the opportunities I have had.

I was the middle of three kids, my older brother being deaf for as far back as I can remember. At the time, I didn’t realize how much that would later impact my life. I was a sign language interpreter for a short time (although I’m extremely rusty now), taught my kids to sign as infants, and now am using that experience in my current manuscript.

During college I was living in southern California working for Disneyland as a Cast Member in the Entertainment Department. I met my husband there who was also a performer. After four incredible years working with the Mouse, we moved to his hometown in the Bay Area.

I eventually got my Bachelor’s in Kinesiology and worked in the fitness industry for ten years before a knee injury ended my career. Not sure what to do with my time, I applied to job posting to be an online journalist. I loved writing, but had no experience. I didn’t hear back so I wrote up a review about a local restaurant and sent it to them to prove I could do the job. Twenty-four hours later, I was a journalist with AOL Media/Pleasanton Patch.

I spent three great years with them before cut backs forced me without a job again. That’s when I started writing my first novel, which went nowhere. Dozens of rejection letters later. I started a second book. A year later I was offered representation by Thao Le from Sandra Dijkstra Literary Agency and within another six months I was offered a book deal. EVERLAND (Scholastic) is scheduled to debut Summer of 2016!

Today I live in the Bay Area with my husband and three sons who are my biggest fans. While they’re off at work and school, I bounce ideas off my four-legged, furry family members, Odie and Sammy.

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