Straight Browsing from the Library: No Ordinary Thing by G.Z. Schmidt

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READ THE BLURB

Twelve-year-old Adam is whisked away from his imperfect but quiet life with the arrival of a stranger and a magical promise in this time travel mystery.

It's 1999 and Adam doesn't mind living at his uncle's bakery, the Biscuit Basket, on the Lower East Side in New York City. The warm, delicious smells of freshly baked breads and chocolate croissants make every day feel cozy, even if Adam doesn't have many friends and he misses his long dead parents very much.

When a mysterious but cheerful customer shows Adam a snow globe and says that adventures await him, it's too strange to be true. But days later, an unbelievable, incredible thing happens. Adam finds a similar looking snow globe and immediately travels back in time, first to Times Square in 1935, then a candle factory fire in 1967.

But how are these moments related? What do they have to do with his parents' death? And why is a tall man with long eyebrows and a thin mustache following Adam's every move?

In her debut novel G. Z. Schmidt has crafted a world filled with serendipity, mystery, and adventure for readers of Roald Dahl and Lemony Snicket.

READ AN EXCERPT

Adam was about to head back upstairs when, to his surprise, the man in the raincoat turned to address him.

“You must be Adam Lee Tripp.”

Growing up in a city as large as New York had taught Adam not to share personal information with strangers. He didn’t answer, but stared blankly at the man, who stared back with a big smile.

“It’s been a while,” said the stranger, his voice softening.

The man reached into his pocket and held up a snow globe. Inside the glass sphere was a miniature cityscape that looked just like Manhattan, sprinkled with bright snow confetti. The man gazed at the snow globe in a sort of admiration.

“The one in which past days unfold,” he murmured. Then, as if he suddenly remembered Adam was there, he raised his head and said, “Speedy is sick and dying, but great things are in store for you.”

Adam gaped at the man. He had no idea how the stranger knew about Speedy. Could he be a fortune-teller? Adam wondered. Uncle Henry always said that fortune-tellers were con artists wrapped in glitzy shawls who charged twenty dollars per reading, and whose predictions were most of the time as wrong as two left feet.

“Speedy’s not dead yet,” Adam said hoarsely, but he said it so quietly he doubted the man heard.

“Hear me, Adam?” the man persisted. “Great things await you. Fantastic things. You will find new friends in new places, and go on journeys more magical than you could have ever imagined.”

Copyright © 2020 by G.Z. Schmidt

MEET THE AUTHOR

G. Z. Schmidt was born in China and immigrated to the United States when she was six. She grew up in the Midwest and the South where she chased fireflies, listened for tornado warnings, and pursued a love of reading. In the third grade, she began writing stories in a spiral-bound notebook, and never looked back. No Ordinary Thing is her debut novel. She currently lives in Switzerland with her husband and their tuxedo cat.

Amazon buy link:https://www.amazon.com/No-Ordinary-Thing-G-Schmidt-ebook/dp/B0841N3YSY/

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