The Doldrums

[Children's Fiction (Ages 8 -12)]

Have you ever wanted to hold a little piece of the impossible? The Doldrums is an extraordinary debut about friendship, imagination, and the yearning for adventure, from author-artist Nicholas Gannon. A modern classic in the making, The Doldrums is for readers of inventive and timeless authors such as Brian Selznick and Lemony Snicket.

Archer B. Helmsley wants an adventure. No, he needs an adventure. His grandparents were famous explorers … until they got stuck atop that iceberg. Now Archer's mother barely lets him out of the house. As if that would stop a true Helmsley. Archer enlists Adelaide, the girl who, according to rumor, lost her leg to a crocodile; and Oliver, the boy next door, to help him rescue his grandparents.

Author-artist Nicholas Gannon's imagination is even more fantastic than Archer's. The Doldrums whisks us off on an adventure full of sly humor, incredible detail, and enormous heart. With gorgeous, literary writing, Nicholas Gannon proves himself to be a rare and distinctive new talent. Be in it for the limitless imagination, for the characters who capture your heart, and for the rich world you'll want to settle into. But most of all, be in it for the friendship. That, after all, is the true adventure.