• Age: 10 to 14
• Grade: 5 to 9

The second title in Kenneth Oppel’s explosive science-fiction trilogy, described by the Wall Street Journal as “so exciting that the pages might well have been printed with adrenaline”

First the rain brought seeds. Seeds that grew into alien plants that burrowed and strangled and fed.

Seth, Anaya and Petra are strangely immune to the plants’ toxins and have found a way to combat them. But just as they achieve their first success, the rain begins again. This rain brings eggs. Which hatch into insects. Not small insects. Bird-sized mosquitos that carry disease. Borer worms that can eat through the foundation of a house. Boat-sized water striders that carry away their prey.

Our heroes aren’t able to help this time--they’ve been locked away in a government lab with other kids who are also immune. What is their secret? Could they be . . . part alien themselves? Whose side are they on?

Kenneth Oppel expertly escalates the threats and ratchets up the tension in this can’t-read-it-fast-enough adventure with an alien twist. Readers will be gasping for the next book as soon as they turn the last page . . .

KENNETH OPPEL is the author of numerous books for young readers. His award-winning Silverwing trilogy has sold over a million copies worldwide and was adapted into an animated TV series and stage play. Airborn won a Michael L. Printz Honor Book Award and the Governor General’s Literary Award; its sequel, Skybreaker, was a New York Times bestseller and was named Children’s Novel of the Year by The Times (London). He is also the author of Half Brother, This Dark Endeavor, Such Wicked Intent and The Boundless. Born on Vancouver Island, he has lived in Nova Scotia and Newfoundland, and in England and Ireland, and now resides in Toronto with his wife and children.

WEB: www.kennethoppel.ca

TWITTER: https://twitter.com/kennethoppel

JON KLASSEN is the author-illustrator of This Is Not My Hat, winner of the Caldecott Medal and the Kate Greenaway Medal, and I Want My Hat Back, a Theodor Seuss Geisel Honor Book. He is also the illustrator of Cats' Night Out, which won the Governor General’s Award; The Dark, a finalist for the same award; House Held Up by Trees, a New York Times Best Illustrated Children’s Book; Extra Yarn, a Caldecott Honor Book; and Sam and Dave Dig a Hole, also a Caldecott Honor Book. He created the concept art for Coraline, the stop-motion animated film based on the book by Neil Gaiman. Originally from Niagara Falls, he now lives in Los Angeles.

WEB: www.burstofbeaden.com

TWITTER: https://twitter.com/burstofbeaden

Kenneth Oppel's profile page

"The appeal of fantasy, suspense, horror, and relationships will be too strong for readers to resist, and they will be avidly awaiting the final book in this series. An impressive addition to the outstanding trilogy." — School Library Journal

"The book’s character arcs are nuanced and believable and the prose, gorgeously rendered. Oppel’s chillingly beautiful, detailed world is the perfect backdrop to the action-packed plot." — Kirkus Reviews

“With its compelling vision of conflicted and brilliant youth tortured by a plausible threat to humanity, and its pan-North American backdrop of adult successes, failures, and misdeeds, Hatch is a book that is impossible to put down, cruelly teasing readers in a cliffhanger ending that suggests a dramatic and surprising final volume. We can’t wait.” — CM Magazine

“In this fast-paced thriller, Oppel spins a richly drawn, incredibly fascinating world. Beginning with the brilliantly unique premise of a botanical alien invasion, the plot unravels satisfyingly, building readers’ curiosity by creating 10 new questions for every answer given. A thrilling alien-invasion novel based on a chillingly nefarious premise.” — Kirkus Reviews, on Bloom

"A terrifying non-stop thriller . . . full of emotionally complicated subplots." — Quill & Quire, on Bloom