The Silver Crown

I first read this book--well listened to it--on a long road-trip to California.  I don't want to give too much away, but at one point Ellen gets chased through a dark forest by a man in a green mask.
We happened to be listening to this part while driving on a lonely highway through a dark forest late at night, and we were freaked out.  I was probably fourteen, but I still get a creepy yet pleasant shiver up my spine every time I remember that trip.   Since then, I've read this book again and again.  Eliza (my eleven year old sister) just finished it and called me to tell me how great it was, so it isn't too creepy for elementary readers.

 

The plot:  Ellen wakes up on her birthday to a silver crown on her pillow, and leaves the house to hold royal court in the park before her family wakes up.  She hears sirens and follows firetrucks back to her own house which has burned to the ground.  Her family is presumed dead (spoiler alert--they're not), and she sets off on her own to find her Aunt Sarah in Kentucky.

Now this is weird already--what kind of society lets a little girl hitchhike to Kentucky? But it gets weirder.  Ellen is chased by a man in a green mask, befriends an old woman and a little boy in the middle of the forest, and discovers the castle fortress of the Hieronymus cult, which is under the power of a black crown identical to Ellen's...

Anyway, because Ellen has the Silver Crown, she is the only one who can destroy the Hieronymus machine and save the world (I'm not even exaggerating--go read the book!).

This book is weird and exciting and slightly sinister, and it is just a great read, so please try out.