Review
"Skillfully written." —Publishers Weekly
"There are few books that I immediately want to press into the hands of other readers the instant I turn the last page. My copy of Hotel will be one that I hand to my daughter in a few years. First, however, I'm going to force it on everybody I know." —Locus
"I read it all in one sitting, enjoying the characters and the well-crafted plot very much, and want to read it soon to my granddaughters . . . reassuring but exciting, and the Wenlocke itself is a wonderful creation." —Cecilia Holland, author, Until the Sun Falls
"Ms. Baker has written something like an Edwardian storybook by E. Nesbit but still suitable for modern tastes and attention-spans. There are also some beautiful and ethereal illustrations by fantasy artist Stephanie Pui-Mun Law. The Hotel Under the Sand is smart and funny, filled with old-fashioned wonder." —i09
"It's exciting to come upon a book that serves not only as a great story to share with your kids, but one that has some undeniably unusual—and geeky—features. So, here are five particularly good reasons to read The Hotel Under the Sand with your kids this summer." —Geek Dad, Wired.com
"Wow! I read The Hotel Under the Sand with delight and joy. It’s wonderful, wacky and spooky and serious and FUN . . . it wouldn’t surprise me if it turned out to be a classic and went on down the ages along with Alice and Oz and the very few others that have become immortal." —Diana Wynne Jones, author, Howl’s Moving Castle
"Charming . . . Baker's first book for younger readers is a delight." —Denver Post
Product Description
Appealing to boys and girls alike, this beguiling adventure explores classic fantasy themes from a unique young heroine’s perspective. Nine-year-old Emma loses everything she has in a fearsome storm and finds herself alone in the wilderness of the Dunes—an area desolate since the mysterious disappearance of a resort known as the Grand Wenlocke. Finding a friend in Winston, the ghostly bellboy who wanders the Dunes, Emma learns that it has been more than 100 years since the hotel with an unsavory reputation vanished; but, unbeknownst to either of them, the long slumbering resort has just begun to stir. Allying herself with a motley crew of companions—the ghost bellboy, a kindhearted cook, a pirate with a heart of gold, and the imperious young heir to the Wenlocke fortune—Emma soon learns that things are not always as lost as they seem, especially if you have a brave heart and good friends.
About the Author
Kage Baker is an actor, a director, a playwright, and a teacher of Elizabethan English as a second language. She is the author of Black Projects, White Nights; The Children of the Company; Gods and Pawns; The Graveyard Game; In the Garden of Iden; The Life of the World to Come; The Machine's Child; Mendoza in Hollywood; Sky Coyote; and The Son's of Heaven. She lives in Pismo Beach, California.
