No Passengers Beyond This Point - by Gennifer Choldenko

Well, this was an unexpected book!  I expected another ho-hum story like the author's popular Al Capone Does My Shirts, but NO!  This ended up being a sibling story that became a fantasy adventure that became a shocking mystery.  At the end of the story, I just kept shaking my head, wondering how the author pulled that off.  This is a book that will keep you thinking long after you finish the last page.

Each chapter is narrated by a different sibling: Teenage brat India, Serious worrywart Finn, or brilliant but odd six-year old Mouse.  One of the things this author does incredibly well is to describe the relationships between these siblings, and how it changes over the course of the story.  When their house in California is foreclosed on and their mother sends them to live with Uncle Red outside of Denver, the children's lives seem poised to change forever.  It's not until they are swept away in a strange taxi to an unusual city that things get weird.  And boy do they get weird!! The city of Falling Bird seems like a dream when they get there, but what if they're never allowed to leave?

This is a quick-paced, tightly-written realistic (with some fantasy) adventure that will keep you laughing and cheering throughout, but that will leave you stunned at the end.  This author has finally won me over for good.