Eleven-year-old Tris is a loner who enjoys playing in the fields around his rural New Zealand home with his imaginary friend Selsey Firebone. Unlike Tris, Selsey Firebone is daring, strong, adventurous and more than ready to take on invaders from outer space that seem to plague Tris's backyard. Tris himself is having to deal with very real, and even more threatening invaders -- his father's new girlfriend, Victoria, and her young daughter, Rosie. And then there's Winola, a new girl from the neighboring children's home who has an immediate and uncanny understanding of Selsey Firebone and who is fighting off some invaders of her own. This fast-paced, funny novel presents a realistic portrait of two children who are awkward outsiders in the real world, but self-confident, creative insiders in the world of imagination. (Ages 9-12)

When he wants to forget about his life, Tris visits the underrunners, the vast network of underground tunnels near his home. It's a fantasy world he tells no one about--until he meets Winola, whose escape from the Children's Home makes her Tris's perfect partner. Then they discover someone is watching them--suddenly their imaginary adventure turns horrifyingly real. An ALA Notable Children's Book and Booklist Editor's Choice.