The Riddles of Epsilon

With a title that may make readers think they are headed for a literary journey into the depths of the solar system, Morton-Shaw\x92s debut novel, written diary-style, instead delves into ancient mysteries and secrets (though not without some time travel touches). Jess White moves to the island of Lume with her artist parents after she gets expelled from school for alcohol and drug use. The 14-year-old communicates with her friend Avril via what she believes to be a \x93private\x94 chat room, yet Jess soon receives online messages from a stranger (whom she later discovers to be the titular Epsilon). Under his guidance, Jess finds an abandoned cottage and, buried within it, clues rendered in symbols. By deciphering several of these riddles, she unravels a sinister mystery that threatens her mother\x92s sanity (\x93She keeps making funny little sketches in black. But she won\x92t show me those. Yet she leaves the others all over the place\x97the ones of that haunting face. A woman\x92s face.\x94 Jess also begins to dream of a 19th-century boy\x97whom she discovers is also dreaming of her. Jess must decide whom she can trust when everyone seems to hover between good and evil\x97an evil that will surface at Lume\x92s annual Greet festival. In a gripping story that recalls Susan Cooper\x92s The Dark Is Rising sequence, Morton-Shaw creates a captivating fusion of an ancient, powerful mythology and modern technology\x97and it will likely have broad appeal. Ages 12-up. (May)