The Only Ones - Hardcover

Starmer, Aaron

Hardcover

ISBN 10: 0385740433 ISBN 13: 9780385740432

Publisher: Delacorte Books for Young Readers, 2011

Synopsis

"Call it coincidence, call it fate. This is the place you come. There's nowhere else. There's no one else. This is the entire world."
These words welcome Martin Maple to the village of Xibalba. Like the other children who've journeyed there, he faces an awful truth. 
He was forgotten.
When families and friends all disappeared one afternoon, these were the only ones left behind. There's Darla, who drives a monster truck, Felix, who uses string and wood to rebuild the Internet, Lane, who crafts elaborate contraptions, and nearly forty others, each equally brilliant and peculiar.
Inspired by the prophesies of a mysterious boy who talks to animals, Martin believes he can reunite them with their loved ones. But believing and knowing are two different things, as he soon discovers with the push of a button, flip of a switch, turn of a dial . . .

About this title

Review

Amazon Exclusive: A Letter from Author Aaron Starmer

The Only Ones started with a simple idea. A boy grows up on an island. He knows nothing of the world beyond the ocean. When he finally builds up the courage to leave the island, he finds the world is gone. Everybody else has disappeared.

It was enough to get me writing, but simple ideas rarely stay simple. Soon this empty world had a handful of inhabitants, an extraordinary band of kids with odd talents and obsessions. It was a little bit Lord of the Flies. It was a little bit The Little Rascals. It was a lot different than anything else out there. Famine and disease and war and oppressive governments and natural disasters make for riveting stories, but they had no place in this book. Sure, we were talking about the apocalypse, but there had to be mystery, magic and bouts of emotion. Kids left to rule the earth? How could it be any other way? As an author, I hesitate to give much plot away, but I will make a few promises about The Only Ones. I promise a resolution that's both satisfying and unpredictable. I promise shocking moments, and tender moments, and funny moments. I promise a komodo dragon and a box full of kittens. I promise that if you read the sample chapter and find yourself hooked, then you'll be hooked all the way to the very end. And I promise that you will put the book down and know you have read something entirely unique.

When I started this story two years ago, I was hoping it would land in the hands of enthusiastic readers who would spread the word to friends. I still hope that's the case. So the only promise I ask you to make is this: If you read The Only Ones and like it, then tell someone. It will make me forever grateful and undeniably happy.

All the best,

--Aaron Starmer

From the Author

An apocalyptic fable...

The Only Ones started with a simple idea. A boy grows up on an island. He knows nothing of the world beyond the ocean. When he finally builds up the courage to leave the island, he finds the world is gone. Everybody else has disappeared.
 
It was enough to get me writing, but simple ideas rarely stay simple. Soon this empty world had a handful of inhabitants, an extraordinary band of kids with odd talents and obsessions. It was a little bit Lord of the Flies. It was a little bit The Little Rascals. It was a lot different than anything else out there. Famine and disease and war and oppressive governments and natural disasters make for riveting stories, but they had no place in this book. Sure, we were talking about the apocalypse, but there had to be mystery, magic and bouts of emotion. Kids left to rule the earth? How could it be any other way?
 
As an author, I hesitate to give much plot away, but I will make a few promises about The Only Ones. I promise a resolution that's both satisfying and unpredictable. I promise shocking moments, and tender moments, and funny moments. I promise a komodo dragon and a box full of kittens. I promise that if you read the sample chapter and find yourself hooked, then you'll be hooked all the way to the very end. And I promise that you will put the book down and know you have read something entirely unique.
  
All the best,
 
Aaron Starmer

About this edition

• Publisher: Delacorte Books for Young Readers
• Publication date: 2011
• ISBN 10: 0385740433
• ISBN 13: 9780385740432
• Binding: Hardcover
• Number of pages: 336