Anne Nesbet

The Cabinet of Earths , Anne Nesbet’s debut novel for tweens, blends fantasy, science, and horror into an irresistible story in the vein of the classic His Dark Materials series.   Twelve-year-old Maya is miserable when she has to move from California to Paris. Not speaking French at a school full of snobby French girls is bad enough, but Maya believes there is something sinister going on in her new city. A purple-eyed man follows Maya and her younger brother, James. Statues seem to have Maya’s face. And an eerie cabinet filled with mysterious colored bottles calls to her.   When James becomes the target of dark forces, Maya decides she must answer the call of the Cabinet of Earths, despite the danger.  

In an exciting wilderness adventure, three cousins are cut off from their parents by a huge earthquake—and must hike long and treacherous mountain trails back to safety, with only each other to rely on. During a hiking trip with their parents in the mountains of California, cousins Owen, Vivian, and Amy are finally allowed to camp for one night at a little lake all on their own. But when a massive earthquake blocks their return path, there’s only one way the long way around, through a wilderness filled with fierce animals, raging rivers, unstable weather, and high passes. The hardest challenges the cousins face, however, are the troubles they’ve brought with bold Vivian’s fear of starting middle school and of changes she can’t control, Owen’s lingering emotional scars from a car accident, and Amy’s desire to live in stories rather than in boring regular life. Drawing on courage and humor, the cousins weather storms, make the most of dwindling rations, and face their deepest fears in order to bring each other safely home. This gripping contemporary novel from celebrated author Anne Nesbet is bursting with excitement, rich natural settings, and characters who will have readers rooting for them all the way.