The Infinite Lives of Maisie Day

Gr 4 Up—It's Maisie Day's 10th birthday and she comes down the stairs expecting everything to be perfectly normal—her father making breakfast, her mother planning her party, and her older sister being her usual grumpy self. Instead, she seems to enter an alternate universe; no one is in the house and when she opens her front door, a gaping black abyss appears before her. Told in chapters alternating between what seems to be Maisie's "real" world and an alternate universe, readers will be drawn into this intriguing, suspenseful story with the intrepid Maisie in the lead. The fascinating plot will keep readers at the edge of their seats as they try to guess what happens next. The last few chapters have an explosive twist that will have readers shedding a tear or two—and flipping pages back and forth to reread earlier chapters. The complexity of the relationship between young Maisie and her older sister will linger with readers. Kids who love A Wrinkle in Time and other stories which play on the theories of physics and mathematical puzzles will enjoy how Edge weaves the nuances of scientific theories into a well-told narrative. An author's note at the end explains the science behind the fantasy.