Into the Shadows
Sale price
$1797
Chapter Book · Ages 8–12 · 2025

Into the Shadows

Written by Angela Cervantes

Book #1 in the Anomalies 53 series

Two boys accidentally free magical creatures from a secret government lab and must recapture them.

224 pages· ~730L· AR 4.7 · 6 AR pts
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Bookroo's summary

Eleven-year-old Ollie Robles and his best friend Garen have grown up inside Area 53, the secret underground lab next to Area 51 where the government studies captured mythical creatures. When the boys accidentally free six anomalies, including two sprites, a wyvern, a baby manticore, a llamacorn and a golem named Henry, they must chase them down and bring them home before anyone finds out, even if it means leaving the only world they've ever known.

From the publisher

A Junior Library Guild Gold Standard Selection!It’s one thing to leave the world behind; it’s another thing when you can never return. Next door to the notorious Area 51 sits Area 53, the underground lab where the government secretly holds “the anomalies.” These are the Earth-born mythical and magical creatures–fairies, wyverns, manticores, and more–that have been captured and brought in for careful study. It’s also where eleven-year-old Ollie Robles and his best (and only) friend, Garen Jackson, the kids of Area 53’s lead researchers, have grown up. They’ve lived safely within these cement-and-steel halls their whole lives . . . that is, until the day that Ollie and Garen accidentally free six anomalies: two sprites, a wyvern, a baby manticore, a llamacorn, and a golem named Henry. Now it’s up to Ollie and Garen to chase down the anomalies and bring them back home. It’s a daring, high-stakes adventure into a world full of magical creatures, dark corners, and surprising revelations as told in the way only Pura Belpré Honor-winning author and master storyteller Angela Cervantes can.

At a glance
Format
Hardcover
Pages
224
Reading age
8–12
Audience
Middle Grade
Lexile
~730L
AR book level
4.7
AR points
6
AR quiz
557333
The author

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The fine print

Book details

Reading levels
F&P level
~Q
AR interest level
MG
Publication
Published
August 12, 2025
Publisher
HarperCollins
Edition
Language
English
Type
Chapter Book
Identifiers
ISBN
9780063245884

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