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Derivatives of Displacement #3
A Grave Tree
To know, to will, to dare, to keep silent…
Abbey’s parents are still missing, possibly trapped in a parallel universe, and the adults around her won't give her any answers. So when she and Caleb once again travel to a possible future—one in which Coventry City is very much not as it should be—it’s up to them, and their neighbour Mark, to try to find her parents and set things right.
But it won’t be that easy. Abbey and Caleb become separated, the stones themselves seem to be breaking down, Mark encounters odd ghosts and his half-sister Sandy beneath the Granton Dam, Ian and Sylvain continue to lead them astray, and a powerful witch named Quinta is reshaping the futures to mysterious ends.
To save the future—or at least get everyone home—science-minded Abbey may have to perform magic. And to do so, she will have to believe…
Abbey’s parents are still missing, possibly trapped in a parallel universe, and the adults around her won't give her any answers. So when she and Caleb once again travel to a possible future—one in which Coventry City is very much not as it should be—it’s up to them, and their neighbour Mark, to try to find her parents and set things right.
But it won’t be that easy. Abbey and Caleb become separated, the stones themselves seem to be breaking down, Mark encounters odd ghosts and his half-sister Sandy beneath the Granton Dam, Ian and Sylvain continue to lead them astray, and a powerful witch named Quinta is reshaping the futures to mysterious ends.
To save the future—or at least get everyone home—science-minded Abbey may have to perform magic. And to do so, she will have to believe…
372 pages, Paperback
Published November 17, 2015
275 people want to read
About the author
Jennifer Ellis
15 books102 followersJennifer lives in the mountains of Canada where she can be found writing, hiking, skiing, borrowing dogs, and evading bears. She also works occasionally as an environmental researcher.
Jennifer writes science fiction, romance and dystopian fiction for children and adults, including Apocalypse Weird: Reversal in Wonderment Media's Apocalypse Weird world and A Pair of Docks, which was a bestseller in children's time travel fiction. She has also contributed to several anthologies, most notably Synchronic: 13 Tales of Time Travel, which hit #16 in the Kindle Store.
She may or may not have a Ph.D. and dabble in tarot card reading and cat sitting. You can subscribe to her blog for the latest book news and industry insights at www.jenniferellis.ca. She tweets about writing, cats, and teenagers at @jenniferlellis.
Author Photo by Carmen Adams, Fresh Photo.
Jennifer writes science fiction, romance and dystopian fiction for children and adults, including Apocalypse Weird: Reversal in Wonderment Media's Apocalypse Weird world and A Pair of Docks, which was a bestseller in children's time travel fiction. She has also contributed to several anthologies, most notably Synchronic: 13 Tales of Time Travel, which hit #16 in the Kindle Store.
She may or may not have a Ph.D. and dabble in tarot card reading and cat sitting. You can subscribe to her blog for the latest book news and industry insights at www.jenniferellis.ca. She tweets about writing, cats, and teenagers at @jenniferlellis.
Author Photo by Carmen Adams, Fresh Photo.
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Displaying 1 - 4 of 4 reviews
June 27, 2016
Summary:
Abbey's parents are still missing, possibly trapped in a parallel universe, and the adults around her won't give her any answers. So when she and Caleb once again travel to a possible future—one in which Coventry City is very much not as it should be—it's up to them, and their neighbour Mark, to try to find her parents and set things right.
But it won't be that easy. Abbey and Caleb become separated, the stones themselves seem to be breaking down, Mark encounters odd ghosts and his half-sister Sandy beneath the Granton Dam, Ian and Sylvain continue to lead them astray, and a powerful witch named Quinta is reshaping the futures to mysterious ends.
Plot:
I really enjoyed the plot. There was so many plot twists and I was never bored. In the past Derivatives of Displacement novels, the beginning started out slow. Well, not with this one. I was hooked from the beginning.
Writing:
I love Jennifer Ellis' writing style. I feel like she put so much time and effort into it to make it the best. And it truly was. Her writing is more complex, but easily understood.
Confusion:
Toward the end, I started getting really confused. I didn't know what was going on, and more amazing plot twists kept coming, so I was still left confused. It wasn't until the end that I truly understood what had happened. It wasn't her writing, it was all of the weird terms and scientific stuff. I felt like it was being thrown at me and I couldn't take all of it in. Thankfully, that didn't last long. That's the reason I docked a star.
Characters:
I honestly love all the characters, except the bad guys of course. It was different this time, because one of the main characters was absent most of the book: Simon. This didn't bother me, I immediately forgot after more action started happening. There was definitely lots of character development in this book. I got to see many different sides to certain characters.
Ending:
The ending was a minor cliffhanger, but I'm still overly pumped to get my hands on the 4th book. I hope it comes out really soon!!! I was extremely satisfied with the ending, now I can't wait till the 4th book comes out.
Overall:
I thoroughly enjoyed this book. I docked a star due to confusion of what was happening. I'm very happy I read this book, and I'm excited to get my hands on more of Jennifer Ellis' works.
Recommendations:
This is a squeaky clean read, but it has many complex scientific terms, that can be hard to understand. Due to the possible confusion, I would recommend it to 12+.
Abbey's parents are still missing, possibly trapped in a parallel universe, and the adults around her won't give her any answers. So when she and Caleb once again travel to a possible future—one in which Coventry City is very much not as it should be—it's up to them, and their neighbour Mark, to try to find her parents and set things right.
But it won't be that easy. Abbey and Caleb become separated, the stones themselves seem to be breaking down, Mark encounters odd ghosts and his half-sister Sandy beneath the Granton Dam, Ian and Sylvain continue to lead them astray, and a powerful witch named Quinta is reshaping the futures to mysterious ends.
Plot:
I really enjoyed the plot. There was so many plot twists and I was never bored. In the past Derivatives of Displacement novels, the beginning started out slow. Well, not with this one. I was hooked from the beginning.
Writing:
I love Jennifer Ellis' writing style. I feel like she put so much time and effort into it to make it the best. And it truly was. Her writing is more complex, but easily understood.
Confusion:
Toward the end, I started getting really confused. I didn't know what was going on, and more amazing plot twists kept coming, so I was still left confused. It wasn't until the end that I truly understood what had happened. It wasn't her writing, it was all of the weird terms and scientific stuff. I felt like it was being thrown at me and I couldn't take all of it in. Thankfully, that didn't last long. That's the reason I docked a star.
Characters:
I honestly love all the characters, except the bad guys of course. It was different this time, because one of the main characters was absent most of the book: Simon. This didn't bother me, I immediately forgot after more action started happening. There was definitely lots of character development in this book. I got to see many different sides to certain characters.
Ending:
The ending was a minor cliffhanger, but I'm still overly pumped to get my hands on the 4th book. I hope it comes out really soon!!! I was extremely satisfied with the ending, now I can't wait till the 4th book comes out.
Overall:
I thoroughly enjoyed this book. I docked a star due to confusion of what was happening. I'm very happy I read this book, and I'm excited to get my hands on more of Jennifer Ellis' works.
Recommendations:
This is a squeaky clean read, but it has many complex scientific terms, that can be hard to understand. Due to the possible confusion, I would recommend it to 12+.
November 16, 2015
Gifted copy for honest review.
I enjoyed reading A Grave Tree. This is the third in this series. It is a story about siblings, Abbey, Simon, Caleb and friend Mark. It picks up where A Quill Ladder left off. It keeps you guessing throughout the book.
I enjoyed reading A Grave Tree. This is the third in this series. It is a story about siblings, Abbey, Simon, Caleb and friend Mark. It picks up where A Quill Ladder left off. It keeps you guessing throughout the book.
July 25, 2017
This is the third of the series. I think that it may have had fewer problems than previous books in the series. While there were some awkward, and some probably "incorrect" sentences in this, either I am getting so much more used to this just being a common thing, or she's writing better, as it was jarring, but not enough to totally knock me off reading it for a while.
I find that many books have at least *minor* issues where things just seem "wrong". And it is probably good that I don't read with a red pen most of the time. On a 2 sided 8.5" by 11" (or maybe 14") I can easily write my "editing comments" in the 5-20 page range. This is with stuff that isn't even that poorly written.
I find that many books have at least *minor* issues where things just seem "wrong". And it is probably good that I don't read with a red pen most of the time. On a 2 sided 8.5" by 11" (or maybe 14") I can easily write my "editing comments" in the 5-20 page range. This is with stuff that isn't even that poorly written.
This entire review has been hidden because of spoilers.
October 13, 2016
Book 3 continues the series - or should it really be a serial? Yes, episodes end, but there is always more to sort out. This is a seriously mind-bending, twisting and turning story involving hard science and the possibilities that future science might bring upon us. Apart from that it has some seriously geeky kids, a young man (Mark) with Asperger’s syndrome, and various people from the past or future in various shades of bad. Thankfully I can keep up with who’s who from Mark’s nicknames for them.
In this book Jennifer Ellis continues to explore the power of the mind – especially Abbey’s mind, and she’s a 6th grader taking 10th grade subjects, or something along those lines – utilising the physical attributes of the time travel system discovered in A Pair of Docks. The shift to a future world, which does not seem to be in line with the one they thought they would be visiting, causes all manner of new theories to assault Abbey’s mind, and she, her twin brother Caleb, and Mark, all end up in serious trouble in the bowels of a dam. That’s just half of it. There are some seriously hair-raising adventures in this episode, whether climbing down slippery mountainsides, rafting along whitewater rivers, or keeping your distance from a panther that’s stalking you in the woods. It’s fast-paced, with great tension, a confusing array of baddies – or are they, thanks to partial messages that Abbey has received in the past – and a mind-blowing description of particle physics.
And it all makes sense.
That’s the greatest strength of Ms Ellis’s creation – it could be so much gobbledygook, mashed together to make a fantastic story of no consequence. What Ms Ellis does is turn the fantastic into the maybe, the what-if, the ‘what could our futures be’, and ‘could it really be this easy to change it all – for the worse’?
If you haven’t started this series yet, do. And if you have – don’t leave too long between episodes. Book 4 Pair Alleles, is out now.
In this book Jennifer Ellis continues to explore the power of the mind – especially Abbey’s mind, and she’s a 6th grader taking 10th grade subjects, or something along those lines – utilising the physical attributes of the time travel system discovered in A Pair of Docks. The shift to a future world, which does not seem to be in line with the one they thought they would be visiting, causes all manner of new theories to assault Abbey’s mind, and she, her twin brother Caleb, and Mark, all end up in serious trouble in the bowels of a dam. That’s just half of it. There are some seriously hair-raising adventures in this episode, whether climbing down slippery mountainsides, rafting along whitewater rivers, or keeping your distance from a panther that’s stalking you in the woods. It’s fast-paced, with great tension, a confusing array of baddies – or are they, thanks to partial messages that Abbey has received in the past – and a mind-blowing description of particle physics.
And it all makes sense.
That’s the greatest strength of Ms Ellis’s creation – it could be so much gobbledygook, mashed together to make a fantastic story of no consequence. What Ms Ellis does is turn the fantastic into the maybe, the what-if, the ‘what could our futures be’, and ‘could it really be this easy to change it all – for the worse’?
If you haven’t started this series yet, do. And if you have – don’t leave too long between episodes. Book 4 Pair Alleles, is out now.
Displaying 1 - 4 of 4 reviews