A Corner of White (The Colors of Madeleine, Book 1)

The first in a rousing, funny, genre-busting trilogy from bestseller Jaclyn Moriarty!

This is a tale of missing persons. Madeleine and her mother have run away from their former life, under mysterious circumstances, and settled in a rainy corner of Cambridge (in our world).Elliot, on the other hand, is in search of his father, who disappeared on the night his uncle was found dead. The talk in the town of Bonfire (in the Kingdom of Cello) is that Elliot's dad may have killed his brother and run away with the Physics teacher. But Elliot refuses to believe it. And he is determined to find both his dad and the truth.As Madeleine and Elliot move closer to unraveling their mysteries, they begin to exchange messages across worlds -- through an accidental gap that hasn't appeared in centuries. But even greater mysteries are unfolding on both sides of the gap: dangerous weather phenomena called "color storms;" a strange fascination with Isaac Newton; the myth of the "Butterfly Child," whose appearance could end the droughts of Cello; and some unexpected kisses... | | Praise for A Corner of White:A Boston Globe-Horn Book Honor BookA Kirkus Best Book of the YearA School Library Journal Best Book of the YearA Horn Book Fanfare Book"Jaclyn Moriarty makes me laugh, hysterically -- and cry, unexpectedly... Startlingly original fantasy." -- E. Lockhart, New York Times bestselling author of We Were Liars"A marvelous novel -- in every sense of the word... A Corner of White slips through a previously unnoticed crack in the reader's heart and changes everything." -- Deborah Harkness, New York Times bestselling author of A Discovery of Witches* "Quirky, charming, funny, sad: another winner from this always-surprising author." -- Kirkus Reviews, starred review* "Irresistible characters help readers navigate a tantalizingly complex plot that will leave them eagerly awaiting the next book." -- Horn Book, starred review* "In this lovely fantasy... mysteries abound." -- School Library Journal, starred review* "[A] genre-blending feat of stylistic energy... The plotting is as innovative and riveting as the world-making." -- Bulletin of the Center for Children's Books, starred review | Jaclyn Moriarty is the award-winning author of A Corner of White, The Cracks in the Kingdom, A Tangle of Gold, The Year of Secret Assignments, The Murder of Bindy Mackenzie, The Ghosts of Ashbury High, and The Spell Book of Listen Taylor. A former media and entertainment lawyer, Jaclyn grew up in Sydney, Australia, lived in the United States, Canada, and UK, and now lives in Sydney again. She is very fond of chocolate, blueberries, and sleep. | From THE COLORS OF MADELEINE #1: A CORNER OF WHITEShe leaned her bike against a wall and saw it again -- that fine line of white along the seam of the parking meter. She tried to pull it out with her fingertips but it was too deeply embedded. By holding two fingernails, one above and one below, she managed to grasp the edge of the paper and slowly draw it out. It was a thin piece of paper, folded in half. She unfolded it and read: Help me! I am being held against my will! She laughed aloud, looking at the base of the parking meter: the split concrete. "You're trying to escape," she said, then glanced around to check that nobody had seen her talking to a parking meter. The street was empty.It was growing dark, everything turning shades of grey. The paper in the palm of her hand made her shudder suddenly.I am being held against my will!What if it was real? A message from a stranger who was trapped?Strange place to put it, though, she thought, and smiled again. I am being held against my will. On the darkening path, she took paper from her backpack, and she wrote a reply to the note.She folded it and slid it into the parking meter until it too was nothing but a fine white line. Then she rode away.