Mission Multiverse , livre ebook

ABRAMS BOOKS - Caprara Rebecca Caprara

Découvre YouScribe en t'inscrivant gratuitement

Je m'inscris

Obtenez un accès à la bibliothèque pour le consulter en ligne
En savoir plus

194 pages

English

Vous pourrez modifier la taille du texte de cet ouvrage

Obtenez un accès à la bibliothèque pour le consulter en ligne
En savoir plus

A propos
Informations
Extrait

Description

Middle school misfits are tasked with saving the multiverse in this sweeping space adventure perfect for fans of the Percy Jackson series-now in paperback! When five members of a middle school marching band are accidentally projected into an alternate universe during a field trip to the NASA headquarters, their fates land in the hands of the Multiverse Allied Council: a group of extraterrestrial delegates responsible for preserving harmony across the multiverse. Then Dev, Isaiah, Tessa, Maeve, and Lewis discover that Earth's destruction is imminent due to an environmental collapse caused by humans. What can they do, when their most formidable skill is marching in formation? Against all odds, the space cadets fight to navigate the multiverse, save themselves from power-hungry forces eager to destroy them, rescue their families, and fight for the preservation of humankind. But forces far bigger than they ever imagined have insidious plans for the multiverse and its inhabitants . . .

Informations

Publié par	ABRAMS BOOKS
Date de parution	11 mai 2021
Nombre de lectures	0
EAN13	9781647000240
Langue	English
Poids de l'ouvrage	1 Mo

Informations légales : prix de location à la page 0,0600€. Cette information est donnée uniquement à titre indicatif conformément à la législation en vigueur.

Extrait

PUBLISHER S NOTE: This is a work of fiction. Names, characters, places, and incidents are either the product of the author s imagination or used fictitiously, and any resemblance to actual persons, living or dead, business establishments, events, or locales is entirely coincidental.
Cataloging-in-Publication Data has been applied for and may be obtained from the Library of Congress.
ISBN 978-1-4197-4823-3
eISBN 9781647000240
Text copyright 2021 ABRAMS
Book design by Marcie J. Lawrence
Published in 2021 by Amulet Books, an imprint of ABRAMS. All rights reserved.
No portion of this book may be reproduced, stored in a retrieval system, or transmitted in any form or by any means, mechanical, electronic, photocopying, recording, or otherwise, without written permission from the publisher.
Amulet Books are available at special discounts when purchased in quantity for premiums and promotions as well as fundraising or educational use. Special editions can also be created to specification. For details, contact specialsales@abramsbooks.com or the address below.
Amulet Books is a registered trademark of Harry N. Abrams, Inc.
ABRAMS The Art of Books 195 Broadway, New York, NY 10007 abramsbooks.com
For AJ FJ-the most out-of-this-world kiddos
1
EARTH
Dev Khatri s rules for surviving middle school were pretty simple: Don t speak up. Don t act out. Don t get your butt kicked.
During the last two months, he had learned these rules the hard way. Being the new kid was like wearing a flashing beacon on his head, alerting every bully to his presence. Except all Dev wanted to do was blend in, become invisible. That had been easy enough at his last school. But here in Conroy, Ohio, things were different.
It wasn t just school that was rough. Dev couldn t quite put his finger on it, but something about this town felt off. Maybe it was the fact that Conroy lay along an active fault line and experienced frequent mini-quakes called quivers . Or maybe it was the intense and unpredictable weather patterns, dubbed shivers , with temperatures plummeting from balmy to subzero in a matter of hours.
Whatever it was, Dev believed his family had made a big mistake leaving San Francisco. His parents, however, disagreed. Virtually all cities were coping with shifting weather patterns, and seismic activity was a natural and normal phenomenon, they said. Before the most recent tectonic realignment, San Francisco had experienced far worse quakes than Conroy, his mother pointed out.
More importantly, how could they pass up an opportunity to help advance scientific study in revolutionary and meaningful ways, especially at a time when Earth and its ten billion inhabitants were more vulnerable than ever? His parents, a physicist and a botanist, spoke of exploration, adaptation, and survival. Their visions for the future spanned timescales of light-years and expanded into universes-even multiverses-far away.
Dev appreciated the weight of these issues, but his concerns were a lot more immediate. Like not getting his butt kicked by the lacrosse jocks, or heckled by the pop-collared prepsters, or lured into some argument about the ethical ramifications of interstellar colonization with the speech and debate kids. Like not making an utter fool of himself in front of Zoey Hawthorne-Scott.
He had met Zoey at marching band tryouts during his second week at Conroy Middle School. Typically paralyzed by stage fright, he d been reluctant to join the group, but after the first practice he was hooked. It wasn t just that he got to spend time with Zoey; when he played the saxophone, he felt at home, despite the new city, new kids, new school. Plus, there was some unspoken nerd-to-nerd peace treaty that existed between the bandmates, which meant Dev could relax during practice without worrying some ninth grader was going to jump out from behind the tuba section and deliver an atom-splitting wedgie.
Rise and shine! It s morning time! His father knocked loudly on his bedroom door.
Newton s first law: A body at rest wants to stay at rest, Dev grumbled sleepily.
Good one! his dad laughed. He paused for a minute, then began tapping out the words W-A-K-E U-P in Morse code with his knuckles.
Message received. I m awake, Dev called.
Copy that! Breakfast will be ready in ten minutes. You need to fuel up for your field trip. I hear it s going to be out of this world ! Pun intended. Get it? He chuckled at his own dad joke.
Dev groaned and pulled a pillow over his head. It wasn t NASA that Dev had an issue with. NASA was cool. Out-of-this-world cool, to be precise. It was the fact that his father, Dr. Mohan Khatri, was the head interdimensional physicist at NASA s Gwen Research Center, the exact place Dev s class was headed later that day. And he knew that despite his father s good intentions, the statistical likelihood of him embarrassing Dev in some astronomically mortifying way was approximately 99.9 percent.
Stupid field trip, he muttered to himself as he got dressed, wishing his wardrobe might reveal a portal to some alternate dimension where he could escape. Just for the day.
He opened his sock drawer and paused, staring at the neatly rolled rows of goofy socks. There were swirling galaxies stitched in shades of indigo and violet, metatron diagrams in fluorescent green and orange, even flying cheeseburgers orbiting cratered planets. Until recently, the socks had been something he and his father had shared. Okay, they didn t share them; that would ve been gross. They each had their own identical sets. Before moving to Conroy, Dev and his dad would coordinate which pairs to wear each day of the week. A father-son bonding thing.
Dev looked down glumly at the open drawer. The socks fit, but Dev couldn t help but feel like he d grown out of the tradition. He knew his dad would be wearing the classic rocket ship socks today, but Dev couldn t bring himself to wear his own set. Instead, he grabbed a boring, inconspicuous pair of black tube socks and slammed the drawer shut.
From the nursery across the hall, Dev s younger sister, Sejal, wailed, hitting an earsplitting high note that could rival the school chorus s best soprano. He knew his mother was out in their backyard greenhouse taking morning assessments of her new cultivars, and his father was downstairs making breakfast and packing lunches, which meant diaper duty fell to Dev.
While he changed her, he hummed a jazzy version of Twinkle, Twinkle Little Star. Sejal clapped enthusiastically. He wished all his performances could be met with such high praise. The marching band was preparing for regionals and would be up against some fierce competition.
Excited for the big field trip today? his dad asked as Dev carried Sejal into the kitchen and buckled her into her high chair.
I am. But Dad, listen. Please don t do anything to embarrass me. Okay?
His father looked shocked. Who, me? How could I possibly do anything of the sort?
It s just that moving here has been tough. I m finally starting to get in a groove and make some friends
Yes! His father thumped him on the back. I m really looking forward to meeting them today. I think your new friends will really get a kick out of these! He hiked up the leg of his pleated chinos and stuck his foot out, wiggling his toes in a pair of socks with pi written out to the two-hundredth digit. I know we discussed the rocket ships, but I thought these would make a stronger impression.
Dev blinked. They definitely make an impression, that s for sure.
Go change into yours, Dev-i-doodle! his dad said brightly, using Dev s ridiculous childhood nickname. So we can match!
The probability of that happening was exactly 0.0 percent. Oh, shoot! Mine are in the wash. Right, Mom? Dev called out, knowing his mother was still in the greenhouse and nothing as trivial as laundry could distract her.
His dad shrugged. Well, maybe next time. Need me to drive you to school today? The Tardis awaits. He couldn t resist a good Doctor Who joke.
Dev considered the offer. Thanks, but I ll take the bus.
It would have been nice to get a ride to school, especially since Gage Rawley and the other bullies might be on board the bus. But the last time his dad had driven him to school, he d insisted on walking Dev all the way inside, as though he were a helpless kindergartener. Then, his dad proceeded to introduce himself to Principal Brant, Janitor Howe, and even the electrician who was repairing some lights in the lobby. Worst of all, before he finally left, he hugged Dev in front of everyone, declaring loudly, I love you to infinity, but not beyond, because infinity goes on forever-ever-ever-ever-ever-ever-ever-ever-ever Dev cringed at the memory and the teasing he had endured since.
Good morning, his mother said, gliding into the room with a handful of fragrant herbs from the greenhouse.
Sejal squawked and launched a spoon into the air like a space missile. His father wiped splattered yogurt from his cheek, nudged his horn-rimmed glasses back up the bridge of his nose, and smiled warmly. Pure entropy, as usual! Lack of order or predictability and gradual decline into complete disorder.
I can see that, his mother said, completely unfazed. She turned to the blender on the counter and filled it with assorted ingredients, including the fresh herbs, then set the machine to pulse. A minute later, she handed Dev a thick, green smoothie in a tall glass.
He took a swig. He gagged. Ack! What s in this? It s worse than yesterday s! Like lawnmower clippings mixed with ginger and toothpaste. And He wagged his tongue. Chili powder? Ughhh!
Delicious, right? his mother replied, polishing off a glass of her own. Drink up, Dev.
Not happening. Dev backed away from the kitchen island.
She reached her arms over her head, twisting from side to side, stretching her muscles. The things that challenge us make us stronger, she said. If you want to be a knight, you will need dragons to defe