Before I get down to the brass tacks of the review, I want you to know how this all happened. Dianne offered the opportunity on her blog for anyone who was interested to receive Arcs or Galleys (that copy printed by the publisher before the "real" book comes out) from her publisher, HarperCollins, for review. I immediately stuck up my hand and said, "Me. Send one to me."
That book looks like this:
I settled in to read *just a bit* of The Eighth Day and finished it in one sitting. It is one of those books I simply could not put down. The story begins with 12 year old Jax Aubrey attempting to settle into his new life with his guardian, Riley Pendare. The unfortunate truth is that Jax doesn't care much for Riley and would rather be living with his mother's cousin. The next day he turns 13, and life as he knew it will never be the same. He goes to bed Wednesday night and the next day everyone is gone. Jax is certain that the zombie apocalypse, or something equally bad, devastated the world while he slept. 24 hours later Thursday dawns and everything is back to normal.
One week later it happens again.
This time, he runs into his guardian, Riley Pendare, and finds out that he is a Transitioner who lives in an extra day of the week: Grunsday. There are also people like his neighbor, Evangeline, who only live on Grunsday.
All of the people who live on Grunsday are descendants of the legendary King Arthur, Merlin, and the knights of the round table. Powerful magic created Grunsday and powerful magic is at work now to free the people trapped in that Eighth Day. If they succeed, everyone who lives in the other seven days will be lost.
The Eighth Day is targeted to Middle Grade readers, but it easily crosses over for YA readers. This story is so engaging that I think people of all ages will enjoy it!
I give The Eighth Day 5 Stars and an "A" grade.
