Oscar from Elsewhere - (Kingdoms and Empires) by Jaclyn Moriarty

About the Book

When Oscar dies in the city of the elves after a silver wave struck him down, his friends, family, and a six-year-old troublemaking stowaway elf race against time to stop the clock and rewind time to prevent the tragedy.

Book Synopsis

Amazon Best of the Year
AudioFile Earphones Award Winner

A unique blend of humor, suspense, and magic, unfolding through the instantly recognizable rivalries, affections and foibles of her characters, from Jaclyn Moriarty

During a sleepover, a letter comes to five children begging for the urgent assistance of Esther Mettlestone-Staranise, the newly-realized Rain Weaver; she must arrive before 10am on Monday to save an entire town of elves. When they arrive, the children find two incredibly odd things: first, the town of elves, buried under layers of silver; and second, a regular-size boy who, soon after seeing the children, dies.

Oscar is that boy who skipped school in our world on Monday to skate, and found himself in the city of the elves at just the wrong moment: He fled as fast as he could, but not fast enough because the silver wave struck him and he fell down dead.

And that's just the beginning! At breakneck pace the cousins and friends (and a six year old stowaway elf named Gruffudd, who's a troublemaker) try to stop the clock and rewind the tragedy. Can they do it?

The pleasure is all in the adventure, as only Jaclyn Moriarty can tell it.

PRAISE FOR THE KINGDOMS AND EMPIRES BOOKS

★ "A delightfully quirky story with nuance, depth, and a colorful cast of characters, this book begs for multiple readings."
--School Library Journal (starred)

★ "Like a middle-grade version of Terry Pratchett's Discworld--fantasy adventure steeped in humor, with a touch of satire, and set in a whimsical secondary world of the highest order."
--Booklist (starred)

"Beautifully presented."
--Sydney Morning Herald

"Splendidly entertaining."
--Kirkus

"The tale crescendos to an uplifting close that promotes honesty, bravery, and self-confidence."
--Publishers Weekly

Review Quotes

"Moriarty's fantasy is an intricate confection of a fairyland, busy with good-humored, imaginative invention. The personable, confiding voices of the two narrators, Imogen and Oscar, propel the novel along with a style as breathless with emotion as it is with unpredictable adventuring." --Horn Book

[STAR] "The fourth installment of the villainously underrated Kingdoms and Empires series brings back an ensemble of beloved past characters while introducing 12-year-old Oscar, a new protagonist from neither Kingdom nor Empire, who joins the others after being teleported from elsewhere (Sydney, Australia) to the Elven city of Dun-sorey-lo-vay-lo-hey...As always, Moriarty leans into the humor of her Pratchettesque world and its absurdities while managing to craft lovable characters and nail down poignant moments of heart. A furiously fun adventure."

- Booklist (starred)

"Nail-bitingly suspenseful and refreshingly witty." --Kirkus

"Readers will enjoy the quirky questing tasks, including a high-stakes playground game, and the tricky vicissitudes of bright magic that opposes harmful shadow magic but has abundant quirks of its own. Grounding the fun is a more serious thread in which Oscar and Imogen realize the extent to which they have each been failed by adults in their lives and learn that it is okay to be taken care of instead of constantly caring for others' needs. The group makes a loving found family through their obvious affection and admiration for one another and much cousinly squabbling." -- Bulletin of the Center for Children's Books

About the Author

Jaclyn Moriarty is the award-winning author of uniquely creative and readable books for adults and young readers including The Year of Secret Assignments, the Colors of Madeleine trilogy, The Extremely Inconvenient Adventures of Bronte Mettlestone, and The Stolen Prince of Cloudburst. One of the talented and popular Moriarty sisters (including Liane and Nicola), Jaclyn lives in Sydney, Australia. She is very fond of chocolate, blueberries, and sleep.