The Book of Fatal Errors

Ages 8 to 12

From the award-winning author of The 57 Bus and Escargot comes a funny and fast-paced middle-grade fantasy, the first book in a duology, about a boy on a hero's journey.

Rufus doesn’t just make mistakes—he makes fatal errors. Clumsy and awkward, he feels entrapped by his teasing classmates and their constant laughter. But now it is summer. Rufus is free. He roams the wildlands of his grandfather’s mysterious homestead, blissfully unaware of the danger up ahead.

And there is much danger. Rufus and his snooty cousin Abigail soon become entangled in the tantalizing world of the feylings, mischievous fairly-like creatures desperate to find their way home. In helping the feylings, Rufus tumbles down a dark path rich with age-old secrets and difficult truths. Any move he makes might be his final fatal error. Or perhaps, his most spectacular beginning.

About the Author

Dashka Slater has written many books, including her nonfiction title for young adults, The 57 Bus, which won the Stonewall Book Award and was a YALSA Nonfiction finalist among many other honors. She also wrote Escargot, which won the Wanda Gag Book Award, and the forthcoming A Book for Escargot. She lives in California. Find her at dashkaslater.com.