Spotlight: Bertie’s Book of Spooky Wonders by Ocelot Emerson
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Twelve-year-old Bertie Blount is great at causing trouble. When she's forced to leave behind her dad and friends in North Carolina so her mom can marry the most boring optometrist in the world, Bertie has a chance at a fresh start.
But when Bertie arrives in Pennsylvania, she doesn’t just bring trouble; she brings disaster. In a moment of anger, Bertie unwittingly triggers an accident that puts her future stepbrother in a coma.
Broken and desperate to make things right, Bertie prays for a miracle. Instead, the universe gives her a pair of supernatural sunglasses, a wise-cracking doppleganger, and a terrifying ghost that sends Bertie on a dangerous mission to find the one thing that just might save her stepbrother’s life.
Excerpt
“When I was your age, I remember your great-aunt Tillie telling me an old world legend about how we shape our fates,” Mom said, switching to her softer storytelling voice. “According to the legend, every person is born with two wolves inside them.”
“So that would mean I have two wolves inside me right now?” I said.
“Are you going to ruin the legend for me? Can I finish the story, please? Yes, you have two wolves inside you, and they are fighting to survive. One wolf is kind and loving and generous. The other wolf is mean and angry and selfish. The person you become, Bertie, depends upon which wolf you feed.”
“You’re done, right?” I asked, trying to keep fear out of my voice.
Mom nodded.
“Cool. It’s a nice legend, Mom, but there’s one problem. If I really have two wolves inside me, I’m pretty sure I’ll have to buy bigger pants…” Before I could finish my smart-aleck remark, Mom shouted a swear word she told me to never say, and cut the steering wheel hard to the right.
Through the windshield I spotted two huge dogs in the middle of the road looking straight at us. Wait, no, not dogs—wolves. One was grayish and white with icy diamond blue eyes, and the other was grayish and black with hot ruby red eyes. The wolves were big and scary and beautiful, and they were about to become furry road pizzas.
“AHHH!” Mom and I screamed.
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About the Author
Ocelot Emerson is the freakish result of a mad scientist's experiment gone horribly wrong. Born half magnificent cat, half malicious human, Ocie escaped from the secret International Prison For Wayward Creatures, and into a deep dark woods, only to be captured by a pack of ravenous ghost wolves. In a stroke of good fortune, the Great Spirit Wolves set aside their natural disdain for all things feline and accepted the cat person into their pack, where they taught Ocie how to hunt and tell bizarre yet heartwarming tales. Bertie’s Book of Spooky Wonders is Ocelot’s first novel aimed at feral and phenomenally gifted children. That means you, kid!
