By Steven L. Layne
Something wicked this way comes; in this case it’s high schooler Jack Barrett’s father, whose inherent drive for perfection has spiraled into a raging obsession ever since he began working for the mysterious Eden Corporation. When his father forcibly relocates the family to Paradise, a village that is literally owned by Eden’s enigmatic CEO, Jack uncovers a sinister plot that threatens the lives of everyone he loves. Delving even further into the secrets of the village, he soon learns just how high the price for perfection can be . . . and to what lengths some people are willing to go to obtain it.
About the Author
Steven L. Layne is a faculty member in the Department of Education at Judson University in Elgin, Illinois, where he teaches courses in literature and pedagogy. He also serves as a national literacy consultant, featured author, and keynote speaker at conferences and workshops throughout the United States and Canada. He is the author of five picture books published by Pelican, including the International Reading Association/Children’s Choices selection My Brother Dan’s Delicious, as well as Thomas’s Sheep and the Great Geography Test, Thomas’s Sheep and the Spectacular Science Project, and The Principal’s Night Before Christmas. He has also written a collection of poems in tribute to fathers, Verses for Dad’s Heart.
2001 Hal Clement Award Winner for Best New Science Fiction Novel for Young Adults
2001-2002 Best of the Best for Young Adults, Missouri Library Association
2002-2003 Read Aloud Books, Too Good to Miss, Indiana Library Federation
2003-2004 Texas Lone Star Top 20 List
2003 Young Adult Choice Title, International Reading Association
Accelerated Reader and Scholastic Reading Counts! Selection
“An entertaining, suspenseful thriller with a genuinely chilling villain. Good fun.”
––Kirkus Reviews
“Layne’s tale is a heady mix of conspiracies, alternate identities, and sinister underground laboratories with a creepy schitzophrenic villain that readers will love to hate. Recommend this title to thriller fans who will enjoy the ride.”
––VOYA
“What will hold teen readers is the horror of a parent prepared to do anything, even kill, in order to clone the perfect family.”
––Booklist
THIS SIDE OF PARADISE (pb)
By Steven L. Layne
224 pp. 5½ x 8½
ISBN: 1-58980-254-3
EAN: 978-1-58980-254-4 pb
