Scare Scape

by Sam Fisher

  First acknowledgments go to my lifelong friend Eddie (Hed!) Smith for the inspiring, mad conversations that started in the school yard and still go on today over the Internet and an occasional pint when we manage to be in the same country. I’m sure seeds for this story germinated in those school yard ramblings.

  I’d like to thank Lois O’Neill for her feedback with a very early draft of this book and for the encouragement that gave me the confidence to keep going. Margot, of course, who has been there since the beginning of everything, for the things that cannot be counted and for which words are utterly inadequate. Meghan Marentette, for her truly awe-inspiring editorial notes. Nick, my editor at Scholastic, for his infectious enthusiasm and sound guidance.

  My agent Rosemary Stimola and her editorial assistant, Allison Remcheck, I cannot thank enough for seeing the book you hold in your hands long before I ever did, and for patiently guiding me through many rewrites until I finally discovered it.

  And last, but not least, I’d like to thank Heather Young, my secret weapon, for her utterly honest and invaluable story advice and penetrating feedback on at least three drafts of this novel. Heather rocks!

  Sam Fisher was born in England, and decided at the age of five that he wanted to be a writer. He now lives in Canada, where he teaches screenwriting, invents gizmos, and builds things out of wood. He wrote Scare Scape for his three fantastic children.

  Text copyright © 2013 by Sam Fisher

  Illustrations copyright © 2013 by Sam Bosma

  All rights reserved. Published by Scholastic Press, an imprint of Scholastic Inc., Publishers since 1920. SCHOLASTIC, SCHOLASTIC PRESS, and associated logos are trademarks and/or registered trademarks of Scholastic Inc.

  Library of Congress Cataloging-in-Publication Data Available

  First edition, September 2013

  Cover art © 2013 by Sam Bosma

  Cover design by Phil Falco

  e-ISBN 978-0-545-52162-8

  All rights reserved under International and Pan-American Copyright Conventions. No part of this publication may be reproduced, transmitted, downloaded, decompiled, reverse engineered, or stored in or introduced into any information storage and retrieval system, in any form or by any means, whether electronic or mechanical, now known or hereafter invented, without the express written permission of the publisher. For information regarding permission, write to Scholastic Inc., Attention: Permissions Department, 557 Broadway, New York, NY 10012.