About the Author:
Gary L. Blackwood sold his first story when he was nineteen, and has been writing and publishing stories, articles, plays, novels, and nonfiction books regularly ever since. His stage plays have won awards and been produced in university and regional theatre. Nonfiction subjects he's covered include biography, history, and paranormal phenomena. His juvenile novels, which include WILD TIMOTHY, THE DYING SUN, and THE SHAKESPEARE STEALER, are set in a wide range of times and places, from Elizabethan England to a parallel universe. Several have received special recognition and been translated into other languages. He and his wife and kids live outside Carthage, MO.
From School Library Journal:
Gr 5-8–Phileas Fogg made the voyage in 80 days, and in this imaginative historical adventure his son, Harry Fogg, has made a wager of his own. In 1891, the exuberant young man has bet that he can circle the globe in a steam-powered automobile–the Flash–in 100 days. There's much more at stake in this challenge than just the &`-pound-;6,000 prize. Free-spirited Harry is determined to prove that the automobile is the transportation mode of the future. His rigid and regimented father has reluctantly agreed to cover the cost of the wager, but there's a condition: if Harry wins, he can pursue his motorcar dreams, but if he loses, he must get serious and pursue a professional career that his father deems more befitting an English gentleman. Accompanied by his gifted but quirky mechanic; an abrasive, foppish “minder” who's there to make sure the rules of the wager are followed; and an intriguing female reporter, Harry and his crew face many obstacles. Some are natural, some mechanical, and some human. Most troubling is the fact that someone–most likely one of the passengers–is apparently trying to sabotage the Flash. Blackwood's steampunkish romp has a touch of humor and a great deal of heart, which brings readers fully onboard as they feverishly turn pages in this race against the clock.–Jeffrey Hastings, Highlander Way Middle School, Howell, MI. (c) Copyright 2010. Library Journals LLC, a wholly owned subsidiary of Media Source, Inc. No redistribution permitted.
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