“Harry Potter meets Da Vinci Code”… that’s how reviewers and critics have described this middle-grade magical tale, the first book in a spellbinding series.
ARCHIBALD FINCH AND THE LOST WITCHES (Book 1)
by Michel Guyon
illustrated by Zina Kostich
Andrews McMeel, September 2021
From myths and legends 500 years old, comes a fantastic adventure, even though Archibald was not looking for one… Exploring his grandma’s creepy manor, he just stumbled upon an ancient terrestrial globe, which turns out to be much more than an old relic. When he unlocks the storm trapped inside, Archibald gets whisked into the unknown, a mysterious land where a battle born in the Middle Ages is still unfolding. In the world of Lemurea, mostly forest, home to small wonders and great scares, it’s light versus darkness, magic versus fire… witches versus dragons. But not any kind of witches, an army of young girls, lost in time. And not your usual dragons, but the most intriguing creatures, half human, half beast. Through this unforgettable journey, Archibald will learn the true meaning of courage, friendship and tolerance. Meanwhile, left behind, his sister Hailee sets out on a quest across London to find out what happened to him, uncovering a dark secret and going through her own coming of age odyssey. Two stories, two plot threads, running parallel but tightly intertwined. Two worlds, on a perilous collision course…
Michel Guyon was born in France, in a small medieval town perched on a rock, surrounded by high walls, with the remains of an ancient fortress at its heart. That’s where the author had his first brush with ancient myths, puzzling legends, and dark tales of the Middle Ages. While his childhood fed his fertile imagination, his travels as an investigative journalist for newspapers and magazines, from Bosnia to Afghanistan, were crucial in shaping his view of the world. He also published several books for children and young adults—not to mention his communication work for the European Space Agency, where he was tasked to make space exploration less opaque to the public. A fervent advocate of learning via entertainment, he always strives to shed light on important subject matters—in this case, Women’s rights, wars, and the future of our planet. That logic was key to the making of Archibald Finch, a magic potion mixing science with science fiction, fantasy with actual events, and fictional heroes with historic characters. Giving life to the most fantastic beasts and the most captivating story was indeed an opportunity to dig deep into the roots of witch-hunting, and explore one of the darkest episodes of Human History—of course with the right dose of humor. Today, Michel spends his life between Los Angeles and New York, where he also works as a photographer, mainly for the Movie industry.
Ten-year-old Mary Lennox arrives at a secluded estate on the Yorkshire moors with a scowl and a chip on her shoulder. First, there’s Martha Sowerby: the too-cheery maid with bothersome questions who seems out of place in the dreary manor. Then there’s the elusive Uncle Craven, Mary’s only remaining family—whom she’s not permitted to see. And finally, there are the mysteries that seem to haunt the run-down place: rumors of a lost garden with a tragic past, and a midnight wail that echoes across the moors at night. As Mary begins to explore this new world alongside her ragtag companions—a cocky robin redbreast, a sour-faced gardener, and a boy who can talk to animals—she learns that even the loneliest of hearts can grow roots in rocky soil. Given new life as a graphic novel in illustrator Hanna Luechtefeld’s whimsical style, THE SECRET GARDEN is more enchanting and relevant than ever before. At the back of the book, readers can learn about the life of Frances Hodgson Burnett and the history of British colonialism that contextualizes the original novel.
La plateforme de streaming diffusera prochainement (été 2021, à confirmer) trois films d’horreur inspirés par la série YA de R. L. Stine, auteur de « Chair de Poule ». Produits par Chernin Entertainment et Disney, ils mettront en scène la ville fictive de Shadytown et nous transporteront chacun dans une période différente : en 1994, 1978 et 1666 respectivement. Les actrices Gillian Jacobs (Community, Love), Sadie Sink (Stranger Things) et Maya Thurman-Hawke (Stranger Things) feront partie de la distribution. (Lire l’
That’s what Jess was to me. I was the ground; she was the rain. I wasn’t anything until she woke me up.
THE SIGN FOR HOME tells the story of Arlo Dilly, a DeafBlind 23-year-old man raised by conservative family members who limit his use of technology. While taking a basic English composition class, Arlo is assigned a new sign language interpreter named Cyril Brewster who is recovering from a romantic breakup and is looking for a new challenge in his career. When Cyril begins to interpret Arlo’s classes he soon realizes that Arlo’s understanding of language, love, and life have been limited, governed, and often censored by iron-fisted guardians. Showing Arlo more of the world and the independence he could have puts Cyril in conflict with Arlo’s family. Against this external conflict of language mediation, we travel inside Arlo’s mind and inside his perceptions of the most important moments of his life, including his own linguistic awakenings, and a heartbreaking memory of first love and first friendship derailed by unspeakable tragedy. When the buried memories are eventually unlocked by a class writing assignment, Arlo convinces Cyril to abandon his own professional ethics to facilitate a forbidden meeting with his old school friends and first love. The narration of The Sign For Home alternates between Arlo’s voice (with its distinctive Deaf syntax) and Cyril’s fast and funny point of view, with dialogue rendered in both standard English and an approximation of American Sign Language structure. The resulting novel is not only unique, but fast-paced, delectable, emotional, and powerful.