The Dragon's Tooth

Wilson (the 100 Cupboards books) launches the Ashtown Burials series with this wildly imaginative and action-packed thrill ride. Their father dead and their mother in a coma, Cyrus and Antigone Smith are being raised by their older brother, Dan, while running (and living in) a dilapidated motel. Then the enigmatic Billy Skelton shows up: the elderly man barely has time to induct Cyrus and Antigone into the mysterious Order of Brendan and designate them as his heirs before he's killed. After Dan is kidnapped and the motel is destroyed, the siblings have nowhere to go but Ashtown, the clandestine home of the ancient order. There, they learn about their family's shadowy history and must prove their worth to the society of adventurers and explorers whose past members have included the likes of Amelia Earhart. Additionally, Cyrus and Antigone battle traitors and subterranean creatures while struggling to keep an ancient artifact away from an immortal madman. Wilson balances these hyperbolic plot elements with measured prose and smart dialogue, while combining pulp sensibilities, cinematic pacing, and fully developed characters readers will gladly follow down the rabbit hole. Ages 8%E2%80%9312. (Aug.)