by Pete Hautman
First published 2012
Tucker Feye turns thirteen the day his father climbs onto the roof to repair a shingle and disappears with a scream. An hour later, Reverend Feye walks up the driveway looking older and exhausted, accompanied by a mysterious girl named Lahlia. Tucker watches his father grow distant and his mother descend into madness in the following months. Then both parents vanish completely. Living with his unpredictable Uncle Kosh, Tucker notices shimmering disks of air appearing around town, including one directly above the roof where his father first disappeared. When Tucker steps through one of these strange portals, he launches into a journey that spans time itself. He travels from his small Midwestern town to a futuristic medical facility staffed by digitally enhanced doctors, witnesses the death of an ancient prophet, and visits a forest existing at the end of time. Each decision Tucker makes ripples through past and future, fundamentally altering his reality and setting him on a collision course with forces that control time itself.
Genres: science-fiction, adventure, action, alternate-universe
Vibes: fast-paced, suspenseful, thought-provoking
Tropes: fish-out-of-water, portal-fantasy
Setting: Midwest, Medical Facility
Period: 13th Birthday, Future
320 pages · Hardcover · Candlewick