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The Emerald Atlas (Books of Beginning), by John Stephens
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Called “A new Narnia for the tween set” by the New York Times and perfect for fans of the His Dark Materials series, The Emerald Atlas brims with humor and action as it charts Kate, Michael, and Emma's extraordinary adventures through an unforgettable, enchanted world.
These three siblings have been in one orphanage after another for the last ten years, passed along like lost baggage.
Yet these unwanted children are more remarkable than they could possibly imagine. Ripped from their parents as babies, they are being protected from a horrible evil of devastating power, an evil they know nothing about.
Until now.
Before long, Kate, Michael, and Emma are on a journey through time to dangerous and secret corners of the world...a journey of allies and enemies, of magic and mayhem. And—if an ancient prophesy is correct—what they do can change history, and it is up to them to set things right.
From the Hardcover edition.
- Sales Rank: #64055 in Books
- Brand: Knopf Books for Young Readers
- Published on: 2012-04-24
- Released on: 2012-04-24
- Original language: English
- Number of items: 1
- Dimensions: 7.63" h x 1.00" w x 5.25" l, .64 pounds
- Binding: Paperback
- 448 pages
Amazon.com Review
Amazon Best Books of the Month, April 2011: With a timeless writing style that invokes thoughts of children’s fantasy classics such as Philip Pullman’s The Golden Compass and J.K. Rowling’s Harry Potter and the Sorcerer’s Stone, author John Stephens weaves a gripping tale of mystery and magic into The Emerald Atlas. His enchanting prose and spot-on wit can only be described as both hip (Stephens was previously the executive producer of Gossip Girls) and Dickensian, a delightful combination that will both engage young readers with its relatable nature and fascinate them with its aberrant charm. If Stephens's comic finesse and archetypal writing style aren’t enough to engage young readers, they will no doubt be captivated by the plot. Stephens's complex formula for time travel and fascinating explanation for the disappearance of the magical realm is so convincing that readers might begin to believe that there is, in fact, far more to the world than meets the eye. Thought-provoking and enchanting, The Emerald Atlas has the makings of a children’s classic. --Jacqueline Segall
Amazon-Exclusive Q&A with Author John Stephens
Amazon: You started off in television, co-producing and writing for The Gilmore Girls and The O.C., and then moved on to be the executive producer (and occasional writer and director) for Gossip Girls. After establishing yourself in Hollywood, what inspired you to change your course and write a children's book trilogy?
John: Honestly, sometimes I ask myself that question in the reverse. How did I ever end up in Hollywood? The truth is that writing novels was my first ambition, and given my druthers when I finished grad school, I probably would’ve gone off and just written books. The only problem was that at the time I was pretty bad at it. I really kinda stunk. As it turned out, I needed another decade of learning the craft before I was ready to write a novel. And, fortunately, writing for Hollywood turns out to be a great training ground. You learn how to work on a schedule, tell a satisfying story, build character, construct scenes, you develop a feel for dramatic momentum…and you get to tool around the Warner Bros lot on a golf cart, which is kind of awesome. In fact, writing and producing television was so much fun I kind of forgot about writing books for a while. That is, till the day I read The Golden Compass by Philip Pullman and realized that all I wanted to do was write children’s fantasy novels. And luckily by then I had the skills to pull it off without embarrassing myself.
Though I do still miss cruising around the lot on golf carts.
Amazon: The whole time I was reading The Emerald Atlas, I kept thinking what a great movie it would make. Are there any plans for a film version?
John: I hope so! Wouldn’t that be awesome? Unfortunately, at present, if people are making plans, they haven’t told me about them.
Amazon: I loved the characters of Kate, Emma, and Michael. They were all so relatable. I felt as if they were kids I had met before. Were your three young heroes inspired by anyone in your life or from your childhood?
John: Kate not so much (though she does share a name with my younger sister). Her closest inspiration came from a character in the movie Not One Less by Zyang Yimou, where this young girl is put in charge of a schoolhouse in rural China, and the teacher tells her that she’ll be paid if all the children are there when he returns. Well, of course one of the kids, this little rapscallion, runs away, and she has to track him down to this big city. And the job of finding this kid in this huge city is OVERWHELMING and yet this girl is unbelievably tenacious. I just loved that sense of incredible strength in someone so young.
Emma is partly inspired from a friend of mine, a writer I worked with who can be incredibly combative and feisty, but also has an enormous heart. I love that combination of fury and vulnerability.
Michael, in many ways, was based on me. We’re both the middle brother of two sisters, studious, wear glasses, think dwarves are awesome, and have a need to document our worlds. However, like all characters, he grew away from me and became much braver and more resourceful than I could ever hope to be.
Amazon: The fantasy world in The Emerald Atlas is described in such detail that it really comes to life in the mind of the reader. What was your inspiration for the world that Kate, Emma, and Michael happen upon?
John: The inspiration was the Adirondacks of upstate New York. A few years ago, I spent a lot of time up near Lake Placid and I found the area to be really magical and just imbued with history, in particular, a romantic, turn-of-the-century, Edith Wharton-type of history that I found very appealing. British fantasy writers are surrounded by buildings, streets, and graveyards that are centuries old. Fantasy and magic seems to cling to those places. It’s a little bit harder to find that in the States, but I felt the Adirondacks had that quality in spades, as well as being near the old stomping grounds of Washington Irving, who sort of began the tradition of American fantasy I was trying to nod towards.
Amazon: You have a distinctly individual voice and plotline in The Emerald Atlas, but your writing style does invoke thoughts of some children’s fantasy classics. The beginning portion of The Emerald Atlas reminded me a little bit of Lemony Snicket’s A Series of Unfortunate Events, while the main body of your work read more similarly to C.S. Lewis’s The Chronicles of Narnia and Phillip Pullman’s His Dark Materials trilogy, and the action scenes reminded me most of J.K Rowling’s Harry Potter series. Which writers would you say inspired you most as an author?
John: First off, to say that my book reminds you of those writers is a HUGE compliment, so thank you. I feel very indebted to particular writers for very specific things. Among the ones you mention…from Pullman, I love the authority of his other worlds. He believes in Lyra’s world completely and he makes you believe in it. Also, his characters live at the edges of their feelings, which makes reading the books enormously exciting. From Lewis, at his best, he can convey a true sense of magic to readers, especially young readers. And though I don’t love all his books, his prose is always great. I admire so much about J.K. Rowling’s books but just to pick a couple things, she has a Dickensian affection for side characters that I also have. Also, she shares with Roald Dahl, one of my other literary heroes, a taste for the comic grotesque. I’m deeply indebted to Edith Nesbit, most particularly for her Bastable books. I love her humor, her lightness of touch and above all the interaction of her children. And finally, I’d just say Dickens for so many things, but mostly because he proved again and again that a funny book can also be moving.
Review
"Rich with wonder and personality, The Emerald Atlas is a terrific read. I wholeheartedly recommend it, and look forward to more." -- Brandon Mull, #1 New York Times bestselling author of Fablehaven and Beyonders
Starred Review, School Library Journal, June 2011:
"Unfolding magic and secrets deepen the story and build excitement as it reaches its complex and time-bending climax....Echoes of other popular fantasy series, from “Harry Potter” to the “Narnia” books, are easily found, but debut author Stephens has created a new and appealing read that will leave readers looking forward to the next volumes in this projected trilogy."
Publishers Weekly, January 18, 2011:
"This fast-paced, fully imagined fantasy is by turns frightening and funny, and the siblings are well-crafted and empathetic heroes. Highly enjoyable, it should find many readers."
The Wall Street Journal, April 2, 2011:
"[A] great story is all in the telling, and in 'The Emerald Atlas' the telling is superb...First-time novelist John Stephens has created a vicarious adventure for children ages 9-15—the first in a trilogy—filled with unexpected twists and marvelously distinct and vivid characters."
BookPage, April 2, 2011:
"With magic, humor and unforgettable characters, John Stephens’ remarkable debut novel follows Kate, Michael and Emma as they attempt to outwit the Countess, rescue the children and maybe even save the world in the process. Unanswered questions and two more books to locate ensure a sequel and more robust adventures ahead."
Realms of Fantasy, April 2011:
“Ambitious, entertaining, magical, and whimsical, this marks a strong beginning to a new trilogy, invoking just a little Harry Potter and Series of Unfortunate Events along the way.”
Booklist, March 15, 2011:
“Fast-paced and engaging, with plenty of action, humor, and secrets propelling the plot. . . . Themes of family and responsibility . . . will easily resonate with young readers.”
Kirkus, March 15, 2011:
“Each character has such a likable voice that the elaborate story doesn’t feel overcomplicated. . . . The only gripe readers might initially have is with its length, but by the end, they’ll immediately wish it was longer.”
Library Media Connection, May / June 2011:
“A rollicking fantasy filled with shiver-inspiring evil creatures and quiet heroes. The feisty sisters and the intellectual brother will win the hearts of readers of all ages.”
CrackingTheCover.com, April 5, 2011:
"“Creativity and wit abound in 'The Emerald Atlas.' Author John Stephens could have easily fallen into the trap of building on someone else’s ideas. But he doesn’t.
Stephens doesn’t write down to his readers. Rather he offers a sophisticated narrative that will appeal to children and adults alike. It’s clear he had fun writing and that 'The Emerald Atlas' was painstakingly thought out.”
From the Hardcover edition.
From the Author
My first day as a paid writer in Hollywood, I was tooling around the Warner Bros lot in a golf cart and nearly ran down Martin Sheen, who was then starring as President Bartlett on The West Wing. Killing a president, even a fictional one, is a bad first-day-on-the-job move. Luckily, Martin Sheen is very nimble, and I was neither fired nor shot by fictional Secret Service.
I had arrived in Los Angeles from the University of Virginia where I had gotten an MFA in creative writing. Now, when you live in Virginia and you tell people you’re moving to Hollywood to be a writer, the most common response is, “Don’t give up your apartment.” The second most common response is, “You’re an idiot.” This one is most often spoken by people related to you.
Flash-forward two years and that same idiot is nearly running down Martin Sheen in a golf cart. Yes, he’s still an idiot, but now he’s employed! Getting paid to write in Hollywood! My second week on the lot, I saw Arnold Schwarzenegger, as he was shooting a movie called Collateral Damage. My friend and I peeked into a sound stage and saw the soon-to-be-Governor destroying the craft service table. Ho-ho’s, ding-dongs, Twizzlers, nothing stood a chance. It was a true Hollywood moment.
But being a television writer wasn’t just about running down fictional Commander-in-Chiefs or seeing Arnold demolish the snack table; there was the job itself, which mostly involved sitting around a table with your friends, making each other laugh, and getting a free lunch. Or having real actors – actors you’ve seen on actual TV – say lines you’ve written! Or writing a line in a script like, “So and So goes to the Harvest Festival, and there are twelve jugglers in lederhosen and a dog riding a bike,” and then you show up on set and there in front of you are twelve jugglers wearing lederhosen and an animal wrangler trying to jam a schnauzer onto a tricycle. You put words on a page, and a small army of people make them happen. It was surreal and amazing and a lot of fun. At its best, writing for television was like putting on a play in high school with your friends. You get the costumes! I’ll write the script! Mike will be the actor because he’s the best-looking! And you got to do it week after week, get paid for it, and as long as Martin Sheen was safe in his trailer, you got to drive the golf cart.
So why would you ever leave that? Why did I?
Because one day I read The Golden Compass by Philip Pullman, and I thought, “Holy Crud, this guy” and by ‘this guy’ I mean P.P., that’s what I call him, P.P., “is doing what I want to be doing.” Not only that, it was as if I’d wanted to do it for years and years but just hadn’t realized it because I’d been too busy stalking Arnold S. And suddenly I knew that I was going to have to leave the lederhosen-wearing jugglers and the bicycle-riding dogs and the hanging out in the writers’ room and the running-down of Martin Sheen to someone else. I was going to write children’s fantasy books.
And of course, when I told my friends in Virginia that I was quitting my television writing jobs to write children’s books, they said, “You’re an idiot.”
“Yes,” I said, smiling, “I know.”
Most helpful customer reviews
90 of 97 people found the following review helpful.
Wonderful new series
By Robin Landry
This is the kind of book that will have the reader glued to its pages until the exciting conclusion. I would equate this book to The Golden Compass, though easier to understand, Harry Potter, and The Hobbit. John Stephens, a television writer, really knows how to keeps his audience's attention. I swear, I could not stop reading this book, finishing all 400-plus pages in just over two days. I can't remember the last time I was so enthralled with a book.
The story is about the love of family, faith, and magic. The three main characters are siblings who have been taken from their parents ten years ago, forced to grow up in one orphanage after another, until finally ending up in an old mansion owned by a mysterious old man. Before they meet the old man, the children explore the house until they come upon a door that magically appears, leading fourteen Kate, and her twelve year old brother Michael, along with feisty eleven year old Emma, into a laboratory of sorts. There they find a mysterious green leather book with filled with blank pages. When Michael, who chronicles their lives in his journal, drops a picture onto one of the blank pages, the children are transported through time, finding themselves watching in horror as a beautiful witch threatens to drop a child into a lake.
I loved the back-story of how magic left the land, along with some real history thrown in for good measure. Stephens does a great job of adding depth to the story and for making believable and unforgettable characters.
Set in modern times yet full of magic, the Emerald Atlas is non-stop action with lessons of loyalty, love and the importance of family woven masterfully into a tale that kids of all ages will find hard to put down. Like Harry Potter, the Emerald Atlas can be read by children and adults alike. There is nothing in the book that you couldn't read to a young child and still find enjoyable yourself.
Stephens' triology starts off with such promise. I will be eagerly awaiting book two. I hope he writes quickly.
94 of 108 people found the following review helpful.
A mildly enjoyable but average Middle Reader fantasy
By Media Man
[This review is based on an Advanced Reading Copy - 417 pages]
"The Emerald Atlas" is book 1 of the Books of Beginning, a new young adult fantasy series by John Stephens. The book centers on three children, Kate, Michael and Emma who on Christmas Eve are spirited away from their parents when they're very young for safe keeping from unexplained dark forces. Kate being the oldest is the trio's leader and has vowed to keep watch over her younger brother and sister. Michael is the nerdy, bookworm middle child who is obsessed with dwarves. Emma is the baby of the three but is brash, brave and outspoken. The children have spent the majority of their youth bouncing from orphanage to orphanage. As they continuously long for their parents return, Kate, Michael and Emma eventually find themselves at a secluded small town orphanage in a mountainous mansion. They quickly discover they're the only children there and eagerly begin to search out answers as to why. When they accidentally stumble across a strange green book that allows them to magically travel back and forth through time by using photos their real adventure begins. Here are my thoughts on The Emerald Atlas;
Pros
+ Plenty of colorful and interesting characters that will appeal and resonate with young readers. The dwarves were actually my favorite even if they were stereotypical.
+ Three main characters will be easy for children to identify with.
+ Great cover art.
Cons
- Time travel aspects and ideas could be too confusing for young readers.
- Lacks originality and borrows from other fantasy stories such as Narnia, Golden Compass, Lord of the Rings etc.
- Although realistic, Emma and Michael's bickering becomes tiresome.
- Majority of the characters are generally stereotypical.
- No Map (Ironic considering it's called the Emerald Atlas). A map of the island/town would have been nice and especially helpful for young readers.
- A few references to murder and killing that struck an odd chord with me given the intended audience. The one instance that really stuck out to me was when Michael and Emma were arguing about which of them a killer would murder first based on who was more annoying. The sequence made me chuckle but some may not find it amusing.
Occasionally amusing and sometimes confusing, The Emerald Atlas was an enjoyable yet cliché young adult fantasy novel. I wouldn't put it on the same level as Narnia or the Golden Compass but more along the lines of Spiderwick Chronicles, Inkheart or Lemony Snickets. While the story is often predictable and unoriginal it still made for an interesting read. The story moves along quickly and is never really dull, which is great for the younger short attention span. The middle reader audience for which the book is intended will more than likely enjoy it. I know I probably would have at that age.
27 of 31 people found the following review helpful.
Fun and engaging fantasy read
By Z Hayes
Well, having read and enjoyed Lemony Snickett's A Series of Unfortunate Events series of books, I had really not read much YA fantasy. Then I got offered The Emerald Atlas as a Vine review, and I snapped it up. To my delight, I found it fun and enjoyable. The three siblings, i.e. Kate, Michael, and Emma are likable in their roles as the orphan children who go on these adventures. Each child has his/her own distinct personality - Kate is the oldest sibling who bears the responsibility of looking out for her siblings; Michael is the smart one; and, Emma is the youngest sibling who is feisty and tough. The characterization of each sibling is credibly drawn and they appear real, not as mere cardboard characters.
The other strength of this novel is the language which is witty and funny. At times, the language does get overly descriptive which makes it tedious and lumbering, but on the whole, the story is engaging and fun and should appeal to young adults who love a good fantasy read.
See all 257 customer reviews...
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