Middle Grade Books by Jacqueline West

The Books of Elsewhere

Beginning with New York Times best seller The Shadows, these five award-winning volumes follow the adventures of eleven-year-old Olive Dunwoody as she travels to Elsewhere: the world inside the antique paintings on the walls of the old stone house on Linden Street. Danger and mystery are around every corner as Olive encounters evil magic, talking cats, and a small boy trapped inside the painted world.

☆ “The house is as much a character as are Olive, Morton, and her family, and a wicked sense of humor tempers the book's creepiness. A suspenseful plot and insight into childhood loneliness - handily amplified by b&w illustrations - will have readers anxiously awaiting the next book.”
-Publishers Weekly, Starred Review

☆ “West creates a delightful concoction of quirky humor blended with a rumbling ominous undertone...”
-Bulletin of the Center for Children's Books, Starred Review

☆ “Olive’s efforts bring great rewards for herself and her readers. Order the series.”
-VOYA, Starred Review

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Long Lost

ONCE there were two sisters who did everything together. But only one of them disappeared. New York Times-bestselling author Jacqueline West’s Long Lost is an atmospheric, eerie mystery brimming with suspense. Fans of Katherine Arden’s Small Spaces and Victoria Schwab’s City of Ghosts series will lose themselves in this mesmerizing and century-spanning tale.

  • Minnesota Book Award Winner

  • Winner of the Prix Enfantaisie (Le Secret de Lost Lake)

  • Junior Library Guild Gold Standard Selection

  • Indie Next List pick

★"... A captivating narrative that draws the reader into two stories of two sisters living over a century apart... A spooky sisterhood mystery that is sure to be a hit with readers who enjoy titles such as Katherine Arden’s Small Spaces, Ellen Oh’s Spirit Hunters, or Lindsay Currie’s Scritch Scratch."
- School Library Journal, starred review

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More about Long Lost

The Collectors

Van has always been an outsider. He’s hard of hearing, collects trinkets, and lives with his single mother—an opera singer with a huge personality. Then one day, Van notices a girl stealing pennies from a fountain, and everything changes. He follows the girl, Pebble, and uncovers an underground society full of wishes and the people who collect them. Not all wishes are good and even good wishes often have unintended consequences, and the Collectors have made it their duty to protect us. But they aren't the only ones who have their eyes on the world’s wishes—and they may not be the good guys, after all. 

Jacqueline West spins a story about friendship, magic, and the gray area between good and evil. The Collectors is for fans of Cassie Beasley’s Circus Mirandus and Jonathan Auxier’s The Night Gardener. Booklist calls it, “A brilliant fantasy adventure exploring the consequences of getting what you wish for.”

  • Schneider Family Honor Book

  • Minnesota Book Awards finalist

“A fast-paced and engrossing tale... Readers may not wish to leave this magical world.”
- Kirkus

“A brilliant fantasy adventure exploring the consequences of getting what you wish for.”
- Booklist

“West has created a captivating mythology around wishes...as well as thoughtful explorations of power and the unexpected, sometimes negative, consequences of good intentions. West’s magical adventure offers humor and warmhearted adventure.”
- Publishers Weekly

Digging Up Danger

Eliza loves hunting ghosts — too bad she's spending the summer helping her scientist mother study weird plants instead. But when a mysterious plant goes missing, things go from strange to downright spooky. Eliza is convinced something—or someone—is haunting the plant shop. Is she digging into dangerous ground? 

Like Stuck in the Stone Age, the first in the Story Pirates Present series, this spine-tingling mystery doubles as an introduction to the basics of creative writing. With the help of Story Pirate Captain Vincent Rolo and the Mystery Creation Zone, kids can use this kid-generated story as inspiration to create their OWN great mysteries!

An Amazon Editors' Best Book of the Month, January 2019

☆ “West’s tale, decorated with Aly’s eerie, cartoon art, is well worth reading on its own—the writing manual takes it to a whole other level.”
- Kirkus, starred review

“What a fantastically fun way to learn about writing a story!”
- Chris Grabenstein, #1 New York Times bestselling author

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