The Boundless [Paperback] Oppel, Kenneth and Tierney, Jim

Product Description The Boundless, the greatest train ever built, is on its maiden voyage across the country, and first-class passenger Will Everett is about to embark on the adventure of his life! When Will ends up in possession of the key to a train car containing priceless treasures, he becomes the target of sinister figures from his past. In order to survive, Will must join a traveling circus, enlisting the aid of Mr. Dorian, the ringmaster and leader of the troupe, and Maren, a girl his age who is an expert escape artist. With villains fast on their heels, can Will and Maren reach Will’s father and save The Boundless before someone winds up dead? “Canadian railway history, fantasy, a flutter of romance—and a thoughtful examination of social injustice—collide in this entertaining swashbuckler from the author of Printz Honor–winning Airborne” (Kirkus Reviews, starred review). Review * "An epic journey novel with a distinctive setting, a powerful sense of adventure, and just a whiff of steampunk." ― Booklist, starred review About the Author Kenneth Oppel is the author of numerous books for young readers. His award-winning Silverwing trilogy has sold over a million copies worldwide and been adapted as an animated TV series and stage play. Airborn won a Michael L. Printz Honor Book Award and the Canadian Governor General’s Literary Award for children’s literature; its sequel, Skybreaker, was a New York Times bestseller and was named Children’s Novel of the Year by the London Times. He is also the author of Half Brother, This Dark Endeavor, Such Wicked Intent, and The Boundless. Born on Canada’s Vancouver Island, he has lived in Nova Scotia and Newfoundland, Canada; in England and Ireland; and now resides in Toronto with his wife and children. Visit him at KennethOppel.ca. Excerpt. © Reprinted by permission. All rights reserved. Boundless THE LAST SPIKE Three hours before the avalanche hits, William Everett is sitting on an upturned crate, waiting for his father. The town doesn’t even have a name yet. Nailed to a crooked post at the side of the train track is a messy hand-painted sign that says only: Mile 2553. Paint has dribbled down from the bottom of each number and letter. Yesterday when Will and his mother stepped off the train, the conductor shouted, “End of the line! Farewell Station!” But Will wasn’t sure if Farewell was the town’s name or if the fellow was just in a hurry to say “Good riddance.” The station is an uncovered wooden platform. There is a water tower and coal shed to fuel the trains. A telegraph pole slings a wire to a shack, where the station master dozes on his stool, his crooked door shut against the November chill. The town feels like it’s just been carved from the forest. Behind Will is a halfhearted jumble of wooden houses set back from a street of churned mud and snow. There is a general store, a church, and a large rooming house, where his mother waits. She’s tired out after their five-day journey from Winnipeg, and so is Will. But he’s had his fill of small spaces, and people everywhere, and he wants to be alone and breathe fresh air. He’s grubby. His hair needs a wash. He’s not sure, but he might have lice again; it’s itchy back behind his ears. In their rooming house the single bath was in high demand last night, and Will didn’t get a turn. On the wooden planks beneath his boots someone has carved the initials of two lovers inside a clumsy heart. He wonders if he’ll ever put his initials inside a heart. He pulls his collar closer about his neck. The cold seeps through the worn patch under his right armpit. He’s too thin, his mother says. But right now his body doesn’t want to be any other way. At least his feet are warm. The boots are the newest things he owns. The laces keep coming undone, though, even when he double knots them. He looks at the track, gleaming as though it has just been set down. Will imagines his father helping lay those long measures of stee