ArchitectThe Architect

Phantom City runs on one rule that every resident knows: stay indoors whenever the Zeppelin is in the sky. Twelve-year-old Charlie Crane breaks that rule one night when she comes face to face with the airship, and the encounter wakes something in her rather than landing her in trouble.

In a city where almost nothing is what it seems, Charlie is determined to find the truth. She teams up with an odd assortment of improbable allies to loosen the hold a shadowy, wicked villain has over the people of the city. Their efforts are guided by an Architect no one has seen, who speaks only over the radio and by telephone.

As the mission unfolds, Charlie keeps asking herself two hard questions. Can she trust a guide she has never laid eyes on? And is the truth really worth the danger it brings? Along the way the story offers scheming villains, clumsy superheroes, friendships that form in unlikely places, plenty of humor, and twists that keep the pages turning.

The city's steampunk setting, with touches reminiscent of Gotham City, is meant to appeal to boys and girls alike, and readers are likely to find themselves rooting for the heroes as they take on evil.