The Tunnels Below

December 15, 2020
Grades 4-7 *Starred Review* This inventive, whimsical tale brings to life many metropolitan readers' worst nightmare--being separated from their family on the subway or, in particular, the London Tube--when Cecilia is stranded on her twelfth birthday in the strange world of the tunnels. She finds a subterranean universe filled with vivid and pleasantly creepy anthropomorphic animals, of which Cecilia must determine who is friend and who is foe. As she draws unwanted and even dangerous attention from the Corvus Community that rules the roost, Cecilia must work to find a way home. Wild-Palmer's brilliant story--undoubtedly for fans of quirky portal fantasies like Alice's Adventures in Wonderland, The Phantom Tollbooth, or the works of Roald Dahl--melds clever wordplay with fantastically drawn creatures of the deep and dark (quaintly illustrated by Shi) in a wholly new world that readers will be eager to explore. As Cecilia unearths unexpected secrets and attempts to thwart the twisted plans of the nefarious Corvus, her journey reminds her of the strength of friendship and family, as well as everyday magic.

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