Bestseller and author of the popular middle grade series Confectionately Yours Lisa Papademetriou is back with a magical, page-turning adventure for readers of all ages—a touching tale about destiny and the invisible threads that link us all, ultimately, to one another.
Kai and Leila are both finally having an adventure. For Leila, that means a globe-crossing journey to visit family in Pakistan for the summer; for Kai, it means being stuck with her crazy great-aunt in Texas while her mom looks for a job. In each of their bedrooms, they discover a copy of a blank, old book called The Exquisite Corpse. Kai writes three words on the first page—and suddenly, they magically appear in Leila's copy on the other side of the planet. Kai's words are soon followed by line after line of the long-ago, romantic tale of Ralph T. Flabbergast and his forever-love, Edwina Pickle. As the two take turns writing, the tale unfolds, connecting both girls to each other, and to the past, in a way they never could have imagined.
A heartfelt, vividly told multicultural story about fate and how our stories shape it.
Greetings salutations and welcome to The Exquisite Corpse!
All it takes is one person bold enough to set the story in motion—let the magic begin!
Kai is in Texas, visiting her truck-driving, hip-hop loving, Sherman tank of a great-aunt. Leila has finally escaped the suburbs and is ready for a glamorous summer of international adventure and royal treatment with her father's family in Pakistan. They have no idea that their utterly different worlds are about to collide.
Each of them finds a copy of a mysterious old book, and when Kai writes three words on the blank pages, they magically appear in Leila's copy on the other side of the globe. Kai's words are soon followed by line after line of the long-ago, romantic tale of Ralph T. Flabbergast and his forever-love, Edwina Pickle. When Leila adds a sentence, more story appears. Every sentence they write—whether it's inspired by a Chihuahua attack (Kai) or a misunderstanding with a goatherd (Leila)—inspires a reaction from the book. And so it goes until the fable is unspooling madly, connecting both girls to each other and to Ralph and Edwina in ways they never could have imagined.
This hilarious, inventive, and deeply touching story about destiny—how we shape it, and how it in turn shapes us—carries readers along as Kai, Leila, Ralph, and Edwina begin the search for their true selves, and discover the invisible threads that link us all, ultimately, to one another.
"I, for one, did not want the story to end."
