• Age: 8 to 12
• Grade: 3 to 7

From the bestselling author of RESTART, the story of a middle-school “band of brothers” — five friends who need to stick together after they set up a hideout in an abandoned bomb shelter and discover that the only way to be true friends is to reveal their secrets and help each other out.

The morning after Hurricane Leo rips through the town of Canaan, residents awaken to widespread destruction — power outages, downed branches, uprooted trees, broken windows and damaged roofs. Four eighth-grade friends — Evan, Jason, Mitchell, and CJ — meet to explore the devastation. The tight-knit group is dismayed to find that Evan has brought along a stray — Ricky, who is new to their town and school, and doesn’t have any friends yet.

Ricky is the one to find the strange trap door that’s appeared in the middle of the woods — the door to an old bomb shelter, unearthed by the hurricane. Inside, the boys find a completely intact underground lair, complete with electricity, food, and entertainment (in the form of videocassettes). The boys vow to keep the place’s existence to themselves.

Things soon get tense. Some bad locals keep snooping around. And what started out as a fun place to escape soon becomes a serious refuge for one of the kids who is trying to avoid an abusive home situation. In order to save the shelter, the friends must keep its secret... and in order to save themselves, they’re going to have to share their individual secrets, and build the safest place they can.

Gordon Korman
est né à Montréal et a grandi dans la région de Toronto. Il a signé son
premier contrat chez Scholastic à l'âge de 14 ans, avec son premier livre
Deux farceurs au collège.
Il est maintenant l'auteur de plus de 60 livres, dont beaucoup lui ont valu
de nombreuses récompenses. Gordon habite dans la ville de New York.

Gordon Korman is the #1 bestselling author of three books in The 39 Clues series as well as eight books in his Swindle series: Swindle, Zoobreak, Framed, Showoff, Hideout, Jackpot, Unleashed, and Jingle. His other books include This Can't Be Happening at Macdonald Hall! (published when he was 14); The Toilet Paper Tigers; Radio Fifth Grade; Slacker; Restart; Whatshisface; Level 13; the trilogies Island, Everest, Dive, Kidnapped, and Titanic; and the series The Hypnotists and On the Run. Gordon grew up in Thornhill, Ontario and he lives in New York with his family. Visit him online at www.gordonkorman.com.

Gordon Korman's profile page

Praise for War Stories:

* "This weave of perceptive, well-told tales wears its agenda with unusual grace." -- Kirkus Reviews, starred review

Praise for Restart:

* "A fresh approach to the familiar topic of bullying, kept credible by believable characters and events, with typical Korman humor and just the right touch of mystery." -- School Library Journal, starred review

Praise for Slacker:

"Upbeat, inspiring, and full of Korman's signature sense of humor." -- Publishers Weekly

"Korman makes comedy look deceptively easy." -- Booklist

Praise for Swindle:

"Scary, funny, and hysterical adventures!" -- Chicago Tribune

"Pure fun from top to bottom." -- School Library Journal

Praise for The Hypnotists:

"Fast-paced... an entertaining mix of intense action and goofy fun." -- Publishers Weekly

Praise for Ungifted:

"A gem for readers looking for a book where the underdog comes out on top." -- Voice of Youth Advocates

"Funny and insightful." -- Publishers Weekly

Praise for Schooled:

* "This rewarding novel features an engaging main character and some memorable moments of comedy, tenderness, and reflection." -- Booklist, starred review