The Lifters, Dave Eggers
The Lifters, Dave Eggers
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The Lifters

Author: Dave Eggers

Narrator: Dion Graham

Unabridged: 5 hr 18 min

Format: Digital Audiobook Download

Published: 04/24/2018


Synopsis

From the Newbery Award-winning author of The Eyes and the Impossible come the story of a mysterious underground world where nothing is as it seems.

What if the ground beneath your feet was not made of solid earth and stone but had been hollowed into hundreds of tunnels and passageways? What if there were mysterious forces in these tunnels? What would it feel like to know the fate of an entire town rested on your shoulders? Twelve-year-old Gran Flowerpetal is about to find out.

When Gran's friend, the difficult-to-impress Catalina Catalan, presses a silver handle into a hillside and opens a doorway underground, Gran knows that she is extraordinary and brave. He will have no choice but to follow her and help save the town (and the known world). With luck on their side, and some discarded hockey sticks for good measure, they might just emerge as heroes.

About The Author

Dave Eggers grew up near Chicago and graduated from the University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign. He is the founder of McSweeney’s, an independent publishing house in San Francisco that produces books, a quarterly journal of new writing (McSweeney’s Quarterly Concern), and a monthly magazine, The Believer. McSweeney’s publishes Voice of Witness, a nonprofit book series that uses oral history to illuminate human rights crises around the world. In 2002, he co-founded 826 Valencia, a nonprofit youth writing and tutoring center in San Francisco’s Mission District. Sister centers have since opened in seven other American cities under the umbrella of 826 National, and like-minded centers have opened in Dublin, London, Copenhagen, Stockholm, and Birmingham, Alabama, among other locations. Eggers's work has been nominated for the National Book Award, the Pulitzer Prize, and the National Book Critics Circle Award, and has won the Dayton Literary Peace Prize, France’s Prix Médicis, Germany’s Albatross Prize, the National Magazine Award, and the American Book Award. Eggers lives in Northern California with his family. His novels include The Circle, A Hologram for the King, and Heroes of the Frontier.Dion Graham, from HBO’s The Wire, also narrates The First 48 on A&E. A multiple Audie Award–winning and critically acclaimed actor and narrator, he has performed on Broadway, off Broadway, internationally, in films, and in several hit television series.


Reviews

Goodreads review by Karen on January 12, 2024

Catching up… This is the author’s first children’s book. He is most well-known for The Circle, which was also made into a movie in 2017 starring Emma Watson and Tom Hanks. This book is a fantasy story that will probably appeal to children ages 8-12 years old. And… Even though the premise might feel fa......more

Goodreads review by Bart on August 06, 2018

Schrijver Dave Eggers, die je kunt kennen van de bestsellers ‘Wat is de Wat’ en ‘De cirkel’, droomde ervan een kinderboek te schrijven dat hij zelf als tienjarige had willen lezen. Hij zegt dat hij ongeveer tien jaar heeft nodig gehad om ‘The Lifters’ uit te werken. Na zo’n dubbel statement zou het f......more

Goodreads review by Sarah on February 17, 2019

So I grabbed this book to read on a whim. And though it's obviously for children (years 8-12) it wasn't that bad. The writing style could be grouped with Lemony Snicket and Roald Dahl where everything is cleverly written but humorous in a fake serious way. Would I normally seek this book out? No. Bu......more

Goodreads review by Chloe on September 15, 2019

This book is amazing! It is full of mystery and cliff hangers. It will take you on all the mysterious adventures underground with Gran and Catalina Catalan. Gran and his family have just moved to Carousel. He thinks that Carousel is just an ordinary little town but little does he know that it is fu......more

Goodreads review by Pretty Peony Reads on July 05, 2020

This was a fun read.......more


Quotes

“This book is a ripper, full of all the good stuff: adventure, mystery, and lots of great jokes.” 
—Mac Barnett, Caldecott Honor–winning author of Extra Yarn

"Full of surprises, magic, and heart." --Rebecca Stead, Newbery Award-winning author of When You Reach Me

"A heart-gladdening work of allegorical genius . . . brilliantly rendering the bewildering stupidity of the adult world as seen by children." —The Guardian

"Eggers performs a marvelous sleight of hand, producing a first-rate middle grade adventure that doubles as a political parable for our times." —The Buffalo News

“[A] cozy contemporary novel about lifting spirits and rebuilding community through teamwork and imagination.” —Publishers Weekly

"A warm and rewarding read . . .Eggers skillfully handles the trope of the kids who save the town, with plenty of humorous adult cluelessness but an equal measure of compassion." —The Bulletin of the Center for Children's Books

"Original . . . and always intriguing. . . . Eggers's story moves along briskly thanks to mounting suspense and bite-size chapters." —Booklist

"A whimsical, fantastical story with elements of realism. . . . This atmospheric story's detailed plot moves quickly, and all the characters experience growth." —School Library Journal 


Awards

  • Arizona Young Reader's Award