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Abadazad: The Road to Inconceivable
J. M DeMatteis
Drawings by Mike Ploog
Fiction (Series)
Ages 9 to 12
Hyperion, 2006, 142310062-X
  Kate Jameson is an angry and unhappy fourteen year old who does her best not to like anything in her life. She despises her father who left the family when she was only five and she thinks her mother is pretty useless. The only good thing she did have in her life was Matt, her little brother, but Matt disappeared five years ago and her life without him has been miserable.
  When Kate’s neighbor, Mrs. Vaughn, practically drags Kate into her apartment, Kate is convinced that the old lady is quite crazy. When Mrs. Vaughn begins to tell Kate that she has been to a story book country called Abadazad, Kate is convinced that she is completely crazy. And yet, there is something about Mrs. Vaughn which appeals to Kate. Kate can see that Mrs. Vaughn has a good heart and she cannot help wondering how it is that the lady knows so much about Abadazad. At one time Kate and Matt both loved the Abadazad books and were quite hooked on the characters, but it is odd to meet a grown-up who seems to be wrapped up in the story of the place that never existed. Then Mrs. Vaughn really upsets Kate by telling her that Kate’s bother was kidnapped by one of the characters from the books, the Lanky Man.
  In a fury Kate leaves Mrs. Vaughn’s apartment but the old lady does not forget Kate. When Mrs. Vaughn dies not long after this peculiar encounter, she leaves Kate a gift, the Blue Globe which is supposed to be a magical Abadazad artifact. Before Kate quite knows what is happening to her, the Blue Globe transports Kate to Abadazad. Kate does not want to believe that any of this can be real but what if there is a chance that she is not dreaming and not hallucinating? What if there is a chance that she can find Matt?
  This unique story is told in a combination of ways. We are told that we are reading Kate’s journal and that the journal has been enchanted. Because of the enchantment we are able to see not just Kate’s own entries but also entries which have magically added themselves to her narrative. These additions come in the form of comic book style strips and also excerpts from the original Abadazad books. The strips show us what happened to Kate in the past, what is happening to her in the present, and what is happening to the other characters in the story.
  Young readers who love a good mystery will find this book most intriguing. Readers will love the honesty of Kate’s writing. She writes in a very personable way and in a fashion which is very true to teenagers in general and to Kate in particular. Thus readers will be able to get to know this teenager who admits that she loves and misses her brother and who finds herself believing that what is happening to her is not a dream at all – instead it is real.
 

Abadazad The Road to Inconceivable

 

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