Ravenwood

by Peters, Andrew

• ISBN13: 9780545305501
• ISBN10: 0545305500
• Format: Hardcover
• Copyright: 2011-08-01
• Publisher: Chicken House

Summary

Who holds the seeds to save a sky-high world? Arborium is at risk, the sharpened blades of rival Maw poised to saw off its bark and branches. What can a poor plumber's apprentice armed with little more than a monkey wrench do to stop the chopping? Carved into a massive, mile-high canopy, the forest kingdom of Arborium stands upon the tallest of trees. Within them, 14-year-old Ark holds the lowest of jobs: unclogging toilets. He's already up to his elbows in gunk when he REALLY steps in it. He overhears a plot echoing through the pipes: Maw, a ruthless glass-and-steel superpower, is scheming to wield its axes of evil to strip Arborium of its wood -- a natural resource now more precious than gold. The fate of a kingdom in the filthy hands of a plumber boy? Plunged into danger, Ark must make the treacherous climb down to the darkest roots of RAVENWOOD if there's any hope of rescuing his threatened tree home!

Author Biography

ANDREW PETERS was born in Hildesheim, Germany, and raised in London, England. He has been climbing up and talking to trees ever since childhood. He now lives in Shropshire, England, with his wife and two children of their own.

Excerpts

From Ravenwood

The mist had done Ark a huge favor. At this level below the treetops, the foreset transformed into a backdrop of blurred hsapes. He was now no more than a shadow crouched between the advancing guards.

He onle had seconds. His mind raced. What he'd overheard back in the utility room was a death sentence. He had to do something — but what? He looked desperately at his plumber's belt; wrenches, screwdrivers, pliers, and rope, thin but strong, for crawling through dark, stinking pipes... Rope! That was it!

The leaves shivered in the gloom, whispering among themselves, as Ark peered briefly over the safety posts at the edge of the highway. Why wait to be pushed? All he needed to do was unhook the rope from his belt, loop it around one of the posts, and then tie the ends tightly around one wrist. Keeping low to the branch, he fastened the rope with nervous fingers.

It was now or never. He stood up and took a running leap straight over the edge. All he had in his mind was a blid faith. If the post was rotten, then... snap! Ark would plummet down: a wingless brid. Dead.