The Storyteller

Chapter One
Fine as Gossamer, Hard as Iron
 
Sefia sat up in the shadows of the sick bay, startled out of some half-remembered dream.
 
The ship rocked and plunged beneath her, making the jars of ointment and bottles of tonic rattle on their shelves. Outside, rain spattered the portholes, blurring her view of the waves, high as rolling hills.
 
A storm. They must have come upon it in the night.
 
Sefia shivered, hugging her knees to her chest. In the four days since she'd returned to the Current with Archer, she'd had the same dream again and again. She was back in the house on the hill, and ink was seeping no, flooding from the secret room in the basement where her parents had kept the Book, the dark waves reaching across the floor to grasp them by the ankles and crawl up their calves. In the dream, Lon and Mareah scooped her up. In the dream, they shoved her out the door. But they were always too slow to save themselves, always too slow to escape the growing pool of ink that drew them, screaming, into its black depths.
 
Destiny. Her parents had been destined to die young, their futures recorded in the Book with everything that had ever been or would ever be, from the flicker of a mayfly's wings to the life spans of the stars overhead.
 
Somewhere in the Book was the passage where her mother got sick.
 
Somewhere were the paragraphs that described her father being tortured.
 
It had been written, so it had come to pass.
 
But they'd fought it. They'd betrayed the Guard, the secret society of readers to which they'd sworn their undying allegiance. They'd stolen the Book, the Guard's most powerful weapon, to protect their daughter from her own future. They'd run.
 
They'd lost, in the end, but oh, how they'd fought.
 
As Sefia had to fight now. Fight and win, or she'd lose Archer to destiny too.
 
Beside her, he lay curled beneath the

Traci Chee is an all-around word geek, she loves book arts and art books, poetry and paper crafts. She studied literature and creative writing at the University of California, Santa Cruz, and earned a master of arts degree from San Francisco State University. Traci grew up in a small town with more cows than people, and now feels most at home in the mountains, scaling switchbacks and happening upon hidden highland lakes. She lives in California with her fast-fast dog. The Storyteller is the final book in the trilogy that began with the New York Times bestseller, The Reader.

Praise for The Storyteller:

With an assurance that equals her sorcerer protagonist's, Chee constantly interrogates her central question: "who controls the story." At one point hers reaches the high-fantasy equivalent of The Monster at the End of This Book (though with significantly more elegance) Thoroughly immersive, thoroughly satisfying. Kirkus, starred review

In this richly realized novel, Chee has masterfully converged all of her characters into one final confrontation as Chee pulls out all the stops to beautifully obliterate her readers' hearts. Booklist, starred review

This is a fast-paced adventure with fully developed characters that explores memory and the power of the written word [A] beautiful love story at its core. School Library Journal, starred review 


Praise for The Speaker:

"Filled with even more magic and intrigue than its predecessor, this is a gripping follow-upthat will leave readers speculating and wanting more." Kirkus Reviews, starred review

 "Strategically written with elements from the previous volume, this entry is rich with twists and turns that will leave readers in constant shock while reminding them that there are no coincidences in this narrative." School Library Journal, starred review 

"Fans will be knocking down the door to read this exciting sequel." Booklist 

Chee has once again created an unforgettable story. Filled with secrets and surprises, this fast-paced storyline draws readers in and keeps them on their toes. VOYA


Praise for The Reader:

A School Library Journal Best Book of the Year 2016
Finalist for the 2016 Kirkus Prize
A Kirkus Best Book of the Year 2016