Full Tilt
Authors: Neal Shusterman
S
ixteen-year-old Blake and his younger brother, Quinn, are exact opposites. Blake is the responsible member of the family. He constantly has to keep an eye on the fearless Quinn, whose thrill-seeking sometimes goes too far. But the stakes get higher when Blake has to chase Quinn into a bizarre phantom carnival that traps its customers forever.
In order to escape, Blake must survive seven deadly rides by dawn, each of which represents a deep, personal fear—from a carousel of stampeding animals to a hall of mirrors that changes people into their deformed reflections. Blake ultimately has to face up to a horrible secret from his own past to save himself and his brother—that is, if the carnival doesn’t claim their souls first.
“A surreal, scary fantasy, packed with suspenseful psychological drama. Readers will savor the page-turning thrills in this wonderfully eerie story.”
—
Booklist
“An unusual quest adventure.”
—
School Library Journal
“A roller-coaster ride of a book.”
—
KLIATT
READ MORE THRILLING TALES FROM MASTER STORYTELLER
NEAL SHUSTERMAN
Series design by Chloe Foglia; cover design by Sammy Yuen Jr.
Cover photograph of ferris wheel copyright
© 2003 by John Madere
Simon & Schuster, New York
Ages 12 up 1109
ALSO BY NEAL SHUSTERMAN
Novels
The Dark Side of Nowhere
Dissidents
Downsiders
The Eyes of Kid Midas
The Schwa Was Here
The Shadow Club
The Shadow Club Rising
Speeding Bullet
Unwind
What Daddy Did
The Skinjacker Trilogy
Everlost
Everwild
The Dark Fusion Series
Dreadlocks
Red Rider’s Hood
Duckling Ugly
Story Collections
Darkness Creeping
Kid Heroes
MindQuakes
MindStorms
VISIT THE AUTHOR AT
storyman.com
and
MySpace.com/NealShusterman
ACKNOWLEDGMENTS
A roller coaster is only as good as its support, and this one would not have been possible without an infrastructure of exceptional people. Thanks to Danny Greenberg and Ginee Seo for believing in
Full Tilt
from the very beginning. Thanks to my assistant Sharon McKeag for work beyond the call of duty. Thanks to my parents for always being there with love and wisdom. And thanks to Patricia, Maureen, Michelle, Jean, and all the fictionaires, who have crossed the line from friends to family.
An imprint of Simon & Schuster Children’s Publishing Division 1230 Avenue of the Americas, New York, New York 10020
www.SimonandSchuster.com
This book is a work of fiction. Any references to historical events, real people, or real locales are used fictitiously. Other names, characters, places, and incidents are products of the author’s imagination, and any resemblance to actual events or locales or persons, living or dead, is entirely coincidental.
Copyright © 2003 by Neal Shusterman
All rights reserved, including the right of reproduction in whole or in part in any form.
is a trademark of Simon & Schuster, Inc.
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Also available in a hardcover edition.
Book design by Daniel Roode
The text for this book is set in Aldine.
This Simon & Schuster Books for Young Readers paperback edition November 2009
2 4 6 8 10 9 7 5 3 1
The Library of Congress has cataloged the hardcover edition as follows:
Shusterman, Neal.
Full Tilt/Shusterman, Neal.—1st ed.
p. cm.
Summary: When sixteen-year-old Blake goes to a mysterious, by-invitation-only carnival he somehow knows that it could save his comatose brother, but soon learns that much more is at stake if he fails to meet the challenge presented there by the beautiful Cassandra.
ISBN 978-0-689-80374-1(hc)
[1.Carnivals—Fiction. 2. Brothers—Fiction. 3. Self-perception—Fiction. 4. Near-death
experiences—Fiction. 5. Horror stories.] 1. Title.
PZ7.S55987Fu 2003
[Fic]—dc21
2002013867
ISBN 978-1-4169-9748-1 (pbk)
ISBN 13: 978-1-4391-1525-1 (eBook)
For Brendan, Jarrod, Joelle, and Erin, who always remind me how much fun the ride is!
Chapter 1: “I Go Places Sometimes”
Chapter 2: An Invitation to Ride
Chapter 8: Our Lady of Perpetual Reflection
“I Go Places Sometimes”