Description

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Remember what Dad said? Don’t call it a dream, call it a plan. There’s always a way, Maud, there has to be.

Arthur and Maudie Brightstorm are devastated to learn that their famous explorer father has died in a failed attempt to reach South Polaris, the southernmost point in the world. To make matters worse, the Lontown Geographical Society finds Ernest Brightstorm guilty of sabotaging the expedition of his competitor, Eudora Vane, a respected and powerful member of the Society. But then a mysterious clue leads the twins to question the story they’ve been told. Joining the ragtag crew of the Aurora, a homemade sky-ship captained by the intrepid Harriet Culpepper, Arthur and Maudie race to South Polaris to salvage their family’s reputation. As the sky-ship sets sail, the twins must keep their wits about them if they are to uncover the truth about what happened on their father’s doomed expedition, and to prove themselves worthy explorers. Brightstorm is a propulsive, vividly imagined fantasy adventure set among vibrant landscapes and peopled with dynamic and unforgettable characters.

About the Author

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Vashti Hardy is a children’s book author who lives near Lancashire, England, with her husband and three teens. She has an honors teaching degree and an MA in creative writing from the University of Chichester.

Praise For…

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A novel of grandeur and action.
— Bulletin of the Center for Children's Books

Enjoyable… Arty’s determination and Maudie’s engineering skills both prove vital in the journey across the varied terrain of Hardy’s marvelously imagined world and its surprising allies, from desert kings to thought wolves.
— Publishers Weekly

A narrative with overtones of both Charles Dickens and Philip Pullman… A ripsnorting yarn.
— School Library Journal

Hardy has drunk from the same cup as Philip Reeve and Philip Pullman. This is a skillful, gripping and hugely enjoyable account of the bonds that keep families together despite the most awful adversities.
— Literary Review

[A] pacy tale of lies and greed versus loyalty and derring-do.
— Guardian

Stand[s] out.
— Kirkus Reviews