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“A South Florida teenager who yearns for far horizons really gets his wish. Calejo delivers a time-travel tale rich in inventive twists. …14-year-old Antares de la Vega finds himself abruptly hustled away to a prison in the Bermuda Triangle, where he learns, among other things, that the Earth is actually flat and we spherers are all victims of a huge hoax, that lands like Atlantis actually exist and are full of magical creatures, and that his long-vanished parents may still be alive. …Antares, prone to panic attacks and foot-in-mouth disease, is a winning protagonist who is Mexican and Cuban on his father’s side and Indian and Irish on his mother’s.”

– Kirkus Reviews

The Shape of Time (Rymworld Arcana #1)

Written by Ryan Calejo
Illustrated by Julia Iredale
Published by Amulet Books

Fourteen-year-old Antares De La Vega is a natural born adventurer. He dreams of journeying across burning deserts, trekking through wild and uncharted jungles, sailing the furthest reaches of the seas—and yet, he’s never even stepped foot outside of South Florida . . . But that all changes when strange creatures come leaping out of lightning bolts to kidnap him. Locked away in a secret prison in the middle of the Bermuda Triangle, Antares meets 14-year-old Magdavellía, a mysterious and iron-willed girl who opens his eyes to a shocking truth: that this world is a far different place than he’s been led to believe. He learns of the existence of the Flat Earth Society, an ancient secret order, whose main function is to keep the world beyond the great Ice Wall a mystery—a land known as Rymworld. But Rymworld is in trouble. Led by a nameless evil, a sinister group of mystics seek to seize control over its only truly resource: time itself.

Antares and Magdavellía must set out beyond the edges of any map to discover the undiscoverable: a lost and forgotten island where there is rumored to exist a legendary artifact: a mythical compass that just might hold the key to foiling the mystics’ plans. Following a series of intricately concealed clues left behind by Magdavellía’s parents (clues Antares seems to be the key to unlocking), they must wield both geometry and alchemy, outsmart molemen and mermaids, and outrun fiendish outer space aliens—all while attempting to solve a riddle as old and mystifying as the sun.

Check out the sequel, The Secret of Matter.

Primary ISBN: 9781419759888
Publication Date: August 2023
Available As: Hardcover, Paperback, Audiobook, eBook
Middle Grade, Age 08 or older

Community Represented: , ,

Themes: , , , , , , , , ,

Setting: United States (Miami FL), Fictional Location

Character's Place in the Immigration Journey: 1st Generation

Book Creator(s) Connection to the Community Represented: Own Voices/Lived Experience

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