Sanctuary Bay by Laura J. Burns and Melinda Metz Blog Tour!
SANCTUARY BAY: A Novel
By Laura J. Burns and
Melinda Metz
St. Martin’s Griffin
Publication Date:
January 19, 2016
Hardcover:
978-1-250-05136-3 / $18.99 USD
eBook:
978-1-466-86917-2 / $9.99 USD
Excerpt:
Daddy pressed
his finger to his lips, shushing Sarah quiet as he slid the door to the tunnel
back on. She wrapped her arms tightly around
her knees and pressed her cheek against her arm, trying to pretend she
was back in her own room.
But it didn’t smell like her room. Even the spicy smell of Daddy’s
cologne had faded now that the tunnel
was closed. And grayness was all around her. She was almost
four, and that was too old to be scared of the dark. But it wasn’t all dark. It
was just gray dark.
She tried not to think of monsters crawling toward
her. Daddy said there were no monsters. But monsters liked tunnels. They liked little girls.
Sometimes when she was scared she liked to sing the
Maggie song. But that was against the rules. She had to be quiet. She had to be
still. She had to wait until Daddy or
Mommy opened the door and got her.
Thinking
about the rules helped.
She could almost hear Daddy saying them, as if he was hiding in the
tunnel with her. Even though he was way too big. If something bad happens, wait
until the room is safe. If you leave the tunnel, put the funny slit- ted door back
on. Run fast. Find a lady with kids. Tell her your name is Sarah Merson.
Merson. Merson. Merson. Merson. Ask for help.
Her nose started twitching, itching from the thick
air. Mak- ing her want to sneeze. But she had to be quiet.
Then she heard Mommy screaming. Mommy never screamed.
Were the monsters out there and not in the tunnel?
On hands and
knees she started creeping toward the
slits of light, heart pounding.
“Kt85L is our property,” a man said. “You had no
right!”
Out there. Mommy
on her knees facing the hotel room wall. Someone’s legs. A hand reaching
down. A silver bird stared at
Sarah from a ring on the finger. Stared with a horrible little black eye. The finger pulled the trigger of a gun.
A bang. Her ears filling with bees. Mommy collapsing on the floor. Red spilling out.
Sarah shoved her fingers into her mouth. Quiet. The
rule was be quiet.
Shouting. Daddy’s legs running by, out of the room.
The bird man chasing. The door banging closed.
Something bad happening.
The room was safe. The
bird man was gone. So she had to get out. Mommy was on the floor. Daddy was gone.
She shoved the door and it fell out onto the floor.
Near Mommy. Near the red. But the rule
was to put the funny door back on. She picked it up and shoved it over the tunnel like Daddy had shown her.
Sarah
didn’t want to look at
Mommy. She looked out the window instead. The window was always open and there was never a screen. Daddy’s voice
came from the hallway, yelling. Screaming.
Another bang.
Sarah pressing her hands over her eyes. Not looking.
Not look- ing. Something bad happening.
Daddy was quiet
now. Something bad. She had to run fast.
Sarah climbed
on the chair under the
window. The chair al- ways went
under the window. She stuck her legs through the window and jumped down. Now run fast.
She ran fast, looking for a lady with a stroller or a
kid her age. A mommy would help
her. She would say she was Sarah Merson.
Sarah Merson, and something bad happened.
Review:
I loved this novel!!
It was completely different from what I was expecting, which made it all the more entertaining to read. At the beginning, I was unsure if this would be the book for me. After a couple chapters, I was hooked.
This book tells the story of Sarah, an orphaned girl who receives a scholarship to the Sanctuary Bay Academy. This academy is located on an island and the students do not go home while they are enrolled in the school. Sarah's parents were murdered and although she was young, she remembers what happened. How can she remember? Well, she has a condition that allows her to go back to her past memories with great detail.
When she gets to the high school, she realizes things aren't like they should be. Thus, Sarah begins to uncover bigger things than she ever thought possible.
Overall, I highly recommend reading this novel!
4 Stars!
ABOUT THE BOOK
When Sarah Merson
receives the opportunity of a lifetime to attend the most elite prep school in
the country—Sanctuary Bay Academy—it seems almost too good to be true. But,
after years of bouncing from foster home to foster home and struggling with the
memory of her parent’s murder, escaping to the school’s tranquil setting,
nestled deep in Swans Island, couldn't sound more appealing. Swiftly thrown
into a world of privilege and secrets, Sarah quickly realizes finding herself
noticed by class charmer, Nate, as well as her roommate's dangerously attentive
boyfriend, Ethan, are the least of her worries. When her roommate suddenly goes
missing, she finds herself in a race against time, not only to find her, but to
save herself and discover the dark truth behind Sanctuary Bay's glossy
reputation.
ABOUT THE AUTHORS
Laura J. Burns and
Melinda Metz have written many books for teens and middle-grade readers,
including the Edgar-nominated mystery series Wright and Wong and the YA novels Crave and Sacrifice. They have also written for the TV shows Roswell, 1-800-Missing, and The Dead
Zone. Laura lives in New York and Melinda lives in North Carolina, but
really they mostly live on email, where they do most of their work together.
SOCIAL LINKS
St. Martin’s Griffin
BUY LINKS
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