The Fog Diver

by Joel Ross

Overview

Joel Ross debuts a thrilling adventure series in which living in the sky is the new reality and a few determined slum kids just might become heroes. This Texas Bluebonnet selection—a fantasy filled with daring and hope and a wonderfully imaginative world—is perfect for fans of Rick Riordan and Brandon Mull.

Once the Fog started rising, the earth was covered with a deadly white mist until nothing remained but the mountaintops. Now humanity clings to its highest peaks, called the Rooftop, where the wealthy Five Families rule over the lower slopes and floating junkyards.

Thirteen-year-old Chess and his friends Hazel, Bea, and Swedish sail their rickety air raft over the deadly Fog, scavenging the ruins for anything they can sell to survive. But now survival isn't enough. They must risk everything to get to the miraculous city of Port Oro, the only place where their beloved Mrs. E can be cured of fogsickness. Yet the ruthless Lord Kodoc is hot on their trail, for Chess has a precious secret, one that Kodoc is desperate to use against him. Now Chess will face any danger to protect his friends, even if it means confronting what he fears the most.

Product Details

ISBN-13:	9780062352941
Publisher:	HarperCollins
Publication date:	05/24/2016
Series:	Fog Diver , #1
Edition description:	Reprint
Pages:	352
Sales rank:	207,762
Product dimensions:	5.10(w) x 7.60(h) x 0.40(d)
Lexile:	630L (what's this?)
Age Range:	8 - 12 Years

About the Author

Joel Ross is the author of The Fog Diver, which received the Cybils Award and the YouPer Award from the Michigan Library Association and was named to the Texas Bluebonnet Award Master List. He is also the author of The Lost Compass as well as two World War II thrillers for adults (Double Cross Blind and White Flag Down). He lives in Santa Barbara, California, with his wife, Lee Nichols, who is also a full-time writer, and their son, Ben, who is a full-time kid. To find out more information, go to www.fogdiver.com.

Editorial Reviews

“Ross wastes no time with his worldbuilding, establishing Chess and his crew as a misfit found family working the Fog by day and sharing stories by night. It’s a fresh approach, reminiscent of Dickens…the only thing missing is a sequel, which readers hope won’t be far behind. ” — Kirkus Reviews (starred review)

“With plenty of action, and characters who are as precocious as they are prodigious at their airship duties, this is a fun beginning to a unique new series. An abundance of pop culture references gone hilariously wrong add appeal for reluctant readers. Oh, and there are air pirates!” — School Library Journal

“Complex, lovable characters; a magical, dangerous world; and a struggle to survive against overwhelming odds. I couldn’t put it down!” — Sage Blackwood, author of the Jinx trilogy

“Fast-paced and clever, filled with brave, talented characters—my favorite! It’s a classic adventure novel with a postapocalyptic flair and witty reimaginings of modern folklore.” — Merrie Haskell, author of The Castle Behind Thorns

From the Publisher

Fast-paced and clever, filled with brave, talented characters—my favorite! It’s a classic adventure novel with a postapocalyptic flair and witty reimaginings of modern folklore.

Merrie Haskell

Complex, lovable characters; a magical, dangerous world; and a struggle to survive against overwhelming odds. I couldn’t put it down!

Sage Blackwood

03/01/2015
Gr 4–6—It's been years since the formation of the deadly Fog that drove the last people from the surface of the Earth. The only remaining humans live in towns high in the mountaintops. With few resources, it's a hard life. For a slum kid like Chess, working on a salvage airship is the best way to keep from starving. As his ship's tetherboy, Chess must dive into the Fog and recover relics from Earth that can be traded for food for his crew. Most tether boys don't last a year. Those who avoid the Fog sharks eventually succumb to Fog sickness in the end. All except Chess. For Chess, the Fog never hurts. Chess's deepest secret is that he was born in the Fog, and it has marked him. His whole life, Chess has kept his head down and avoided notice. Now things are changing. Mrs. E., Chess's guardian, is dying of Fog sickness, and Chess and his friends must race against the clock to get her to the cure. Unfortunately, the greedy Lord Kodoc has found out about Chess's affinity for Fog and has made other plans. With plenty of action, and characters who are as precocious as they are prodigious at their airship duties, this is a fun beginning to a unique new series. An abundance of pop culture references gone hilariously wrong add appeal for reluctant readers. Oh, and there are air pirates! VERDICT A solid choice for fans of adventure series or speculative fiction.—Liz Overberg, Darlington School, Rome, GA

School Library Journal

★ 2015-02-23
Adult novelist Ross (White Flag Down, 2007, etc.) makes his middle-grade debut with a boy's desperate search to save himself and his crew from a horrible fate in a post-apocalyptic future. Scientists didn't realize the nanites they invented to eat smog would decide humans were a sort of pollution too, pushing them to the mountaintops and covering the rest of the land with a white fog. After hundreds of years, the highest heights are now controlled by the Five Families, with everyone else consigned to the slums below. Chess and his scavenger crew patrol the margins of the Fog by airship, "diving" to retrieve anything of value within reach of his tether. They've managed to scrape by, but Lord Kadoc has heard about his abilities to dive into the Fog and wants to enslave Chess to scavenge only for him…for as long as Chess can last. Ross wastes no time with his worldbuilding, establishing Chess and his crew as a misfit found family working the Fog by day and sharing stories by night. Readers will chuckle at the garbled remnants of their times in such tales as "Skywalker Trek," in which the Klingons battle the Jedi when they are not fighting Tribbles and Ewoks. It's a fresh approach, convincingly delivered, with overtones reminiscent of Dickens…the only thing missing is a sequel, which readers will hope won't be far behind. (Science fiction. 8-12)

Kirkus Reviews