Jake Ransom and the Howling Sphinx

Gr 5—9—In this sequel to Jake Ransom and the Skull King's Shadow (HarperCollins, 2009), Jake's wild adventures take readers on a journey through space and time, where Nefertiti and her father, Pharaoh Neferhotep, are waging war against the Skull King and his minions, who are hunting Jake and his sister, Kady. The siblings don't know if their parents are alive or dead. When a new exhibit on Egypt opens at the American Museum of Natural History, they discover that it is sponsored by Bledsworth Sundries and Industries, the company thought to be behind their parents' disappearance. They take a close look at the mummified body that they heard was half-man, half-bird and discover that it is a grakyl—a deadly creature from another world that gives a warning to Jake and Kady: the Skull King will find and kill them and everyone they love. Suddenly they are back in Pangaea with their friends from the previous book, facing danger and adventure at every turn. And they must defeat the Skull King or the bridge between one time and another could be closed forever. A wild ride with some quick-thinking teens fighting for survival.—Kathryn Kennedy, Georgia Southern University, Statesboro, GA