Mark Peter Hughes

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It’s the end of the world.

The last of humanity struggles to survive in a landscape devastated by heat, disease, and violent storms. While nomadic savages run wild in the wasteland beyond the dome-protected cities, inside the artificial city of Providence thirteen-year-old Eli and his brain-boosted mongoose are unaware of the dangers that lie just outside their synthetic metropolis with its cooling systems, air purifiers, and electronic sky. When Eli starts to uncover the truth, he learns that being a child of privilege won’t be enough to save him from losing everything that he loves—maybe even his own life.

REVIEWS:

“Hughes gives us a peek into a future that is both fascinating and frightening. It’s a tight mystery where friends could be enemies, reality isn’t what it appears to be, and the threat of cataclysm grows with the turning of each page. But at its core is the story of a young guy who must grow up a lot quicker than he’d like.”
- D.J. MacHale, Author of The Pendragon series

“[A Crack In The Sky] marks the beginning of a thought-provoking series…Hughes takes on digital realities, mind control, corporate conspiracies, climate change, religious mania, and evil family members in this action-packed adventure.”
- Booklist

“This sci-fi dystopian mystery pulls you in and makes you want to discover the truth along with Eli and his pet mongoose…”
- The Calgary Herald

“[A Crack In The Sky] transcends literary categories… stimulating, fascinating, richly detailed, and totally wowed me in every way…a magnificent book…an impressive, entertaining novel that I cannot stop thinking about.”
- Voracious YAppetite

“…a fast-paced, action-driven story that will snare readers…a page turner”
- Childrens Literature

“Fans of the Hunger Games will love this fast-paced adventure…made me laugh, cry and shiver.”
- Flamingnet Book Reviews

“a grand adventure..wonderful…Fans of Scott Westerfeld’s Uglies or Claire Dunkle’s The Sky Inside will enjoy A Crack in the Sky.”
- Guys Lit Wire

“…an incredible story…I could not put it down…brilliant and rich and compelling and awesome…need I say more?”
- Holly Frakes, Schuler Books and Music, Okemos, MI

“A gem!…I’ve recommended it to most of my friends already…[The story] scared me when I thought of how close we are to this coming true.”
- National Geographic Kids Book Blog

“[The] first book in what promises to be an exciting series…A Crack in the Sky is a great read.”
- middlegradeninja.blogspot.com

“A great action-packed adventure. The characters are well-developed…fast-paced and well-written. Readers who like action, science fiction, adventure, and “big brother” government stories will enjoy…”
- kissthebook.blogspot.com

“…a real page-turner…Eli is wonderful character, able to see things other people miss, torn between loyalty to his family and his serach for the truth about his world…”
- The Enchanted Inkpot

“Simply incredible…[Hughes] respects the intelligence of his readers and challenges them to think…The reviews are in; I am just a single voice in a loud, enthusiastic chorus of fans.”
- Chris Rose, Andover Bookstore, Andover, MA

“…Hughes keeps his protagonist an individual, and in fact an amiable, scrappy one with whom readers will identify.”
- The Bulletin for the Center for Children’s Books

“”Smart, yet attainable…Eli’s odd journey is rich with imagination, but scarily believable, with a strange new world’s domed cities and mutant animals that live in the new America, which is a dry desert with red seas that reek of sulfur. I’m not going to give any spoilers, but I loved Marilyn (Eli’s mongoose), you will too!”"
- Hilary Wagner, Project Mayhem

“A very promising start to an exciting new post-apocalyptic series. Can’t wait for the next one…”
- whatscarolreading.blogspot.com