Desert Whispers
by
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Taking a quick breath, I tried to turn the key. But nothing happened. Nothing. "I give up," I sighed, seven steps beyond disappointed. "Wrong key!" "Let me try it!" Sam cried. "I'll try it!" Pushing me aside, he began crashing his shoulder against the door. Wildly. Again and again. Over and over. "¡Basta!" I yelled, at last. "Enough!"
For once, he did what I said. He stopped crashing. Instead, he started jiggling the key. But gently. Very, very gently. Then he stopped jiggling and tried turning. It moved! The key moved! "E-Z," Sam whispered. The closet door was unlocked. Finally. For the first time in a hundred years. "Open it," he said quietly, backing away. "Go ahead." "You go ahead," I said. "No, you go ahead," he argued. "They asked for you." "They did not!" I sputtered, But I reached for the doorknob. And turned it. And pulled. And pulled harder. "It's stuck," I complained. "Open up!" Sam shouted, grabbing the doorknob and tugging with both hands. "Come out of the closet!" Suddenly the door popped opened and they did! Come out of the closet, I mean. Dozens of them! Hundreds! We had not been expecting this! Neither one of us had been expecting this! "Run!" I shrieked. "Run for your life!" Sam shouted. Then we were racing down the hall. Stumbling down the stairs. Speeding toward the kitchen. I don't know why we rushed to the kitchen. Garlic and onions wouldn't help. Kitchen knives wouldn't help either. Not this time! This time it wasn't the skeletons of our imaginations that were after us! Not this time! This time it was worse!
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About the Book
Adventure-crazed, city dwelling Sam pays an unexpected visit to Nevahcaep, the desert home of Mary A. whose family is involved in plant research. Despite her efforts to convince him that her home and everything about it is "normal," Sam manages to discover mysterious situations that cause her to take a second look at her surroundings. Sam’s visit also caused Mary A. to experience jealously and envy as well as the joy of peer companionship. From shaky beginnings, the two twelve-year-olds learn to accept each other’s "quirks" and become friends. After helping Mary A. face circumstances she has been ignoring, Sam’s visit culminates in the solving of a mystery that has haunted her for years. Told from Mary A.’s point of view, this Southwestern adventure is fast-paced and humorous. Although set in the modern world, it contains echoes of the Old West.
About the Author
Pat Seawell grew up on a ranch in Texas and celebrates her southwestern childhood in her stories. As a lifetime lover of books, she has sparked many others with her enthusiasm for reading, and her joy is in watching a youngster connect with just the right book. This, her second book for juveniles, follows Canyon Secrets, which was published in 2000. The author now lives in San Antonio, Texas, with her husband and kitties. She is working on a collection of Newfoundland dog stories, Ninety-nine Newfies, which will be available later this year.