• Age: 14 to 18
• Grade: 9 to 12

Ella Wellsley is not your typical teenager. Cancer left her mute, but not powerless. Trapped in a parallel dimension, Ella rallies her strength to join her family—her mother, Tessa, her grandpa Archie, and her magical boyfriend—in locating the cure to her illness. This cure is entangled in the fate of all worlds, and threatened by the presence of an evil Star anchored in the sea. The Star has thrown life everywhere into chaos—and it is Ella who holds the key to unlocking its mystery.

Caught in a web of betrayal, mistaken identities, secrets, and love triangles, Ella, Tessa, and Archie must overcome their troubled pasts to ensure a future for all worlds. On this journey—armed with unearthly abilities and unexpected allies—each member of the Wellsley family will learn the power of love in the face of their greatest fears.

Alexis Marie Chute is an award-winning author, artist, filmmaker, curator, and inspirational speaker. Her memoir, Expecting Sunshine: A Journey of Grief, Healing, and Pregnancy After Loss, was a Kirkus Best Book of 2017 and received many literary awards. Expecting Sunshine is also a highly acclaimed feature documentary film, produced, and directed by the author that was screened around the world in 2018 and 2019. Her 8th Island Trilogy—including the novels Above the Star, Below the Moon, and Inside the Sun—has been called “A Wrinkle in Time meets The Princess Bride” (Lee Lee Thompson, The Perpetual You), was a 2018 “Top 15 Unputdownable YA Reads” pick (Bookstr), and a 5/5 Readers’ Favorite book. Chute holds a Bachelor of Fine Arts in Art and Design and a Master of Fine Arts in Creative Writing. She is an internationally exhibited painter and photographer, curator of InFocus Photography Exhibition, and widely published writer of fiction, non-fiction, and poetry. She lives in snowy Edmonton, Alberta, Canada, with her husband, Aaron, and their three living children.

Alexis Marie Chute's profile page

2019/2020 Reader Views Literary Awards 1st Place Winner in Young Adult
2019/2020 Reader Views Literary Awards 2nd Place Winner in Adult Fiction: Fantasy
2019 Living Now Book Awards Bronze Medal in Adventure Fiction

“Below the Moon is as fast and bizarre as its prequel, with enough new elements to keep the imagination soaring . . . an action-packed fantasy sure to excite and engage anyone willing to embrace its magic.”

—Foreword Reviews, starred review

“ . . . like nothing I have ever read. The uniqueness of the story makes it impossible to guess what might be coming next. Chute also does an excellent job of bringing her settings to life.”

—Reader Views

“Below the Moon is an imaginative ride; readers are immersed in another world from the first page.”

—Chelsey Krause, author of All Shook Up

“In the second book in The 8th Island Trilogy, Ella and her family continue their fantastical adventure on Jarr-Wya, an island in a parallel dimension. In this book, the protagonists search for a cure for Ella’s cancer, which is closely tied to the fate of all worlds. Below the Moon is difficult to put down. Chute’s words bring the island’s wonders and dangers to life. Her characters, multidimensional, are on a journey to learn to live with both their strengths and weaknesses. Chute has a created a world that leaves you wanting more.”

—Deb Brandon, award-winning author of But My Brain Had Other Ideas

“This book will delight lovers of Neil Gaiman. Below the Moon is an accessible but sophisticated fantasy novel that will take readers to a fully conceived world with characters whose fates will matter to you. Chute is a multitalented storyteller whose gorgeous illustrations add another deeply immersive and enjoyable element to her imagined universe.”

—Andrea Jarrell, author of I’m the One Who Got Away: A Memoir

“Below the Moon is full of characters I was rooting for every step of the way and new universes beyond my imagination. Traveling through space with Ella Wellsley and her family made me especially grateful for the safety of Earth. Still, the darkness surrounding the Wellsleys makes me wonder: maybe none of us are truly safe! I’m waiting impatiently for the final book, Inside the Sun.”

—Carissa Halton, author of Little Yellow House

“With this follow-up to Above the Star, Chute has produced another book of immense beauty and heart-stopping peril. As this spectacular company of brave yet vulnerable characters race against time towards the Star and a cure for 15-year-old Ella, they must battle floods and sea monsters, treacherous mazes, malicious shape-shifting sands, and a host of fierce enemies. With stunning imagery and imaginative prose, Chute brings to life a dark magical world where love and wonder shine brightly. A terrific read!”

—Fran Kimmel, award-winning author of The Shore Girl and No Good Asking

“Continuing the adventures began in Above the Star, Chute brings readers once again into the magical world of Jarr-Wya in Below the Moon. Our heroine charges forward in the search for the cure to her cancer and a way to save the magical world she has come to love. A master at weaving together parallel narratives, Chute captures the unique perspectives of her characters as they move through the story, neatly tying everything together in ways the reader does not expect. Below the Moon is a wonderfully original and richly imaginative tale that shows us that anyone can be a hero, regardless of our abilities.”

—Jaci Wells, author of the forthcoming The Lost Priestess

“A spunky heroine is a hallmark of any great adventure, but Chute has made Ella unlike anything you’ve ever seen before. Ella’s depth, fire, and fragility combine to create a young woman who you’d want to fight beside, and fall in love with. Chute’s 8th Island is a world that feels both unique and familiar, and Below the Moon takes an already breathtaking story into another gear. If you have any love for the fantasy-adventure genre, you need to be reading this series.”

—Conor McCreery, author of Kill Shakespeare

“Alexis Marie Chute has created an immersive fantasy world with her 8th Island Trilogy.Below the Moon takes readers on an adventurous journey that stretches the limits of imagination all while exploring deeper and darker themes at the very root of our humanity. A wonderful read for young adult and adult fans of the fantasy genre.”

—Shane Turgeon, author of The Force in the Flesh

“Below the Moon is a spellbinding tale, built with a truly magical and dreamlike style of fantasy. This story transports readers to other worlds, nay, other dimensions, fraught with peril, yet where the power of love still holds true during a time of great testing for the Wellsley family. Below the Moon is utterly enchanting!”

—Pierre Dimaculangan, author of The Sage, the Swordsman and the Scholars

“Below the Moon is an adrenaline-filled adventure that unravels across the page like a windstorm. The character Ella, young and mute, stubborn and tough, takes us all along on a magical journey with her as she searches for the cure to her illness. Chute writes with authority around the family relationship and you can see she understands the heart of her characters. This is a story that will inspire and transport you into a complex and fantastical world filled with likable characters and a young woman you can’t help but cheer for.”

—Rayanne Haines, poet, performer, and award-winning author of the Guardian Series

Praise for Book 1 in the series Above the Star:

“Will hold you spellbound until the last page.”

—Reader’s Favorite

“Think of Star Wars, The Lord of the Rings and Homer’s Odyssey all wrapped up together.”

— Raymond Gariepy, editor of WestWord magazine

“Shows readers that there is a power within all of us to change the world.”

— Jessica Kluthe, author of Rosina, The Midwife