
A shadow moved in the doorway of the building. It was a boy. As he hesitated, someone must have pushes him from behind. He stumbled down the short stairway and fell heavily to his knees.
He couldn't break his fall, Hector realized, because his arms were tied behind him.
A mysterious talisman transports a boy back to ancient Italy
No one ever listens to Hector. He wanted to hang out with his friends this summer, but instead he's stuck in Italy at an archaeological dig with his mom. The ancient Etruscan artifacts are interesting, but no one has time for him.
Then he makes a discovery of his own-a strange, unsettling stone that looks like an eye. The stone brings nightmares about Arath, an Etruscan boy who died thousands of years ago but now begs for Hector's help. Are these just dreams, or is Arath really in danger? As Hector unearths the truth, he realizes that he can make himself heard when it counts.
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Born 1955
Tracy Barrett is the author of numerous fiction and nonfiction books for young readers, including the award-winning YA biographical novel, Anna of Byzantium (Delacorte, 1999). Her most recent publications are The 100-Year-Old Secret (Book 1 of “The Sherlock Files,” Henry Holt Books for Young Readers, 2008), The Ancient Chinese World (Oxford University Press, 2005) and On Etruscan Time (Henry Holt Books for Young Readers, 2005). Under contract with Holt are three more novels in “The Sherlock Files” and a young-adult novel with the working title King of Ithaka. Some of her past publications include: Growing Up in Colonial America (The Millbrook Press, 1995); Virginia, Tennessee, and Kentucky, in the series Celebrate the States (Benchmark Books, Marshall Cavendish, 1997-1999); The Trail of Tears: An American Tragedy (Perfection Learning Corporation, 2000); “The Children’s Crusade” (AppleSeeds Magazine, December 2001); and Cold in Summer (Henry Holt Books for Young Readers, 2003). Tracy is Regional Advisor for the Midsouth chapter of the Society of Children’s Book Writers and Illustrators (SCBWI) and was awarded the SCBWI Work-in-Progress Grant in 2005. She holds a B.A. from Brown University, and an M.A. and Ph.D. from the University of California at Berkeley. She is married and has two young-adult children. She lives in Nashville, TN, where she teaches at Vanderbilt University. Visit her at www.tracybarrett.com.
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