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The Golden Swift

by Lev Grossman

Narrator Simon Vance

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Length 4 hours 11 minutes

Language English

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Bookseller recommendation

“I usually expect the 2nd book to fall short, not so with Lev Grossman. This is a perfect middle grade read. Any child with a curiosity for the natural world will devour this book. Grossman has found the perfect blend of fantasy and real life issues. When not traveling around the world on a magical, timeless steam train talking with animals, Kate is worried about where she fits in at school, if she is a good friend and sister, can she sing, and does she have a crush on Jag too? Great conversation starter about conservation and what role humans have had and can play in helping our world. Even as an adult reader, you are going to learn stuff! Simon Vance voices each character perfectly - whether they are human, animal or train!”
— Kristine • Buttonwood Books and Toys

Bookseller recommendation

“Just as good if not better than the first book, The Silver Arrow! Adults could learn a lot by reading this book, too. Kate and Tom grapple with relatable personal issues, along with trying to save the world and its creatures via their magical train. This time, they meet up with another pair of young conductors, and learn hard and important lessons along the way. Listening to the audio version was such a treat- audiobooks ARE reading, too!”
— Jen • Townie Books

Bookseller recommendation

“Just as good if not better than the first book, The Silver Arrow! Adults could learn a lot by reading this book, too. Kate and Tom grapple with relatable personal issues, along with trying to save the world and its creatures via their magical train. This time, they meet up with another pair of young conductors, and learn hard and important lessons along the way. Listening to the audio version was such a treat- audiobooks ARE reading, too! ”
— Jen • Townie Books

Summary
About the author

In this thrilling adventure in the New York Times bestselling Silver Arrow series, Kate and Tom must confront the limits of what even magic can do—all while trying to bring balance back to the world.

A lot has changed for Kate in a year. She and Tom are now full-fledged conductors of the steam-powered, animal-saving Great Secret Intercontinental Railway. Life is good!

Or good-ish, anyway. Her uncle Herbert has gone missing, and the worsening climate means that there are more and more animals that need help all the time. How many times does Kate have to save the world before it stays saved?

And her real life isn’t exactly perfect either. She flunked her audition for the junior high musical and got stuck in the chorus, while her archenemy Jag got a lead.

So, out of desperation, Kate breaks the rules and takes the Silver Arrow out on an unsanctioned mission, to find Uncle Herbert and bring back balance to the world. But she quickly discovers she’s not the only one on the Great Secret Intercontinental Railway. There’s a mysterious train called the Golden Swift out there too, with an agenda of its own. Is it an ally? A rival? An enemy? A bit of all three?

The question will turn Kate’s world upside down, take her from the Scottish Highlands to the Australian outback to the bottom of the Bering Sea, and lead her straight on a collision course with the mysterious masters of the Great Secret Intercontinental Railway itself. Because when you're a human being fighting to save nature, are you the hero or are you the villain? There are no simple answers.

Children's Fantasy

Lev Grossman is the author of five novels including The Silver Arrow, and the #1 New York Times bestselling Magicians trilogy, which has been published in thirty countries. A TV adaptation of the trilogy is now in its fifth season as the top-rated show on Syfy. Grossman is also an award-winning journalist who spent fifteen years as the book critic and lead technology writer at Time magazine, where he published more than twenty cover stories. In addition, he has written for the New York Times, the Wall Street Journal, Wired, the Believer, the Village Voice, NPR, Salon, Slate, and Buzzfeed, among many others. He lives in New York City with his wife and three children.