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Allie Argos, her parents long ago imprisoned, has grown up under the dubious care of her nasty foster mother, Oda Friendly, and her horrible sons, in Baltimore's crumbling, long ago abandoned, and somehow ever-shifting Greaser Hotel. The arrival of the hotel's owner, ageless capitalist Marvin Greaser, prompts Allie's closest friend, the magical and somehow talking cat Jerome, to engineer her escape. The first of a planned trilogy, award-winning young adult author J Scott Fuqua's urban fantasy is a thrilling and surreal adventure, bolstered by 115 remarkable and vivid illustrations.
About the author
Jonathon Scott Fuqua is the author of four multi-award-winning young adult novels ("The Reappearance of Sam Webber, Darby, The Willoughby Spit Wonder," and "King of the Pygmies"). He has also written two highly acclaimed literary novels ("In the Wake of the Boatman," and "Gone and Back Again") and the award-winning graphic novel "In the Shadow of Edgar Allan Poe." He s penned and illustrated a children s book on the history of the Baltimore & Ohio Railroad. For elementary students, he wrote the graphic chapter book "Catie and Josephine." His most recent children s book, "Calvert the Raven in the Battle of Baltimore," was the Library of Congress National Book Festival Selection for Maryland as well as Maryland s Center for the Book s 2013 Selection for kids, and has been added to the Maryland State elementary school social studies curriculum. He currently teaches at the Maryland Institute College of Art (MICA), including his new specialty, illustrated narratives."
