Read an excerpt and see the cover for Kenneth Oppel's new adventure trilogy, Bloom
Jane van Koeverden | | Posted: October 17, 2019 12:39 PM | Last Updated: October 17, 2019
The series is about three teens who live on Salt Spring Island and must deal with a toxic plant evasion
Award-winning Toronto writer Kenneth Oppel is launching a new adventure series for middle-grade readers on Feb. 4, 2020.
The new series is called Bloom and begins with three teenagers, Anaya, Petra and Seth, who live on Salt Spring Island.
After a rainfall, black plants spring up and take over the island, spouting toxic pollen that only Anaya, Petra and Seth are immune to. The trio must work together to figure out how to stop the invasion from taking over the planet.
"You won't look at so much as a houseplant the same way again," said HarperCollins editor Suzanne Sutherland in a press release.
The first novel in the trilogy, Bloom, will be followed by Hatch in September 2020 and Thrive in May 2021.
Oppel is a bestselling author whose books include the Silverwing trilogy, which has sold over a million copies worldwide, and Airborn, winner of the Governor General's Literary Award. His most recent books include Inkling, Every Hidden Thing and The Nest.
Read an excerpt from the opening of Bloom below.
Air tumbled into the helicopter as the soldier shoved the door open. Anaya looked down at the island's rocky slope. She spotted a scrawny goat standing on a boulder, and then they were over forest, the helicopter's shadow flashing across treetops.
Impatiently, she searched for a break in the tree line. A marshland, a lake — that's where they'd find Dad.
Her insides gave a twist when she remembered how he'd looked on the video call. His wild, dirt-streaked face. The things he'd said.
Can't get off...
They're everywhere...
Above the pounding of the helicopter's rotors, the soldier shouted, "I'm not seeing any lake!"
Neither was Anaya. Her eyes skittered anxiously across the forest.
And then the helicopter dropped suddenly, like something was yanking it from below.
"Thought you said you knew where this place was." The soldier sounded testy.
"I do. It's sort of bean-shaped. I've seen pictures."
"You said you'd been there."
"It was awhile ago." Years ago, actually, when she was just five. "It's on the northeast end of the island," she said.
"Should've seen it by now," the soldier told her. "This place isn't that big."
"It can't have just disappeared!" Anaya said firmly.
"One more circle," the soldier told the pilots over his headset.
Anaya shook her head in frustration. "It should be right here!"
"All I see are trees," said the soldier.
Anaya stared down, then stared harder. Cold electricity prickled across her skin. "Those aren't trees," she said.
And then the helicopter dropped suddenly, like something was yanking it from below.
From Bloom by Kenneth Oppel ©2020. Published by HarperCollins.