The Guardians of Zoone Read online

  “Did I?” Aunt Temperance asked. “Sometimes I wonder. There’s another way to look at it, you know. Maybe it’s not about what we lose. Maybe it’s about what we gain.”

  Ozzie thought of his parents, how they were always gone, always leaving him behind—but it lasted for only a fleeting moment because of the way Aunt Temperance had fixed her gaze on him. There was a glint in her eye.

  A magical glint, Ozzie thought.

  And he knew exactly what he had gained.

  Acknowledgments

  As Captain Traxx tells Ozzie, “Everybody needs a crew”—and I certainly needed mine to help bring this book to life.

  I’d like to thank my agent, Rachel Letofsky, who has had to go above and beyond this past year—your moral and emotional support kept me afloat. I’m really blessed to have one of the best editors in the multiverse, Stephanie Stein. Yes, I know all authors say that about their editors, but I’m still so thrilled that mine appeared on my favorite gameshow, Jeopardy! In addition to Stephanie, I’d also like to thank the entire team at HarperCollins, especially Maeve O’Regan in Toronto, who had to deal with my constant pestering as we launched The Secret of Zoone.

  Thank you to my family for your much-needed and meaningful support this past year, especially my sister who said The Secret of Zoone was so good that it didn’t even read like I was the one who wrote it! I also want to mention my Aunt Diana, whom I lived with my first year away from home at age seventeen. Her wonderfully eccentric spirit found its way into Aunt Temperance.

  I also want to acknowledge the members of my chosen family who swooped in to save the day so many times these past couple of years—in particular: Sarah Bagshaw, Rob Stock, Jeremy Tankard, Heather Fitzgerald, and kc dyer. Also, a big thank-you to Jeff Porter for helping me with 3D printing Zoone keys!

  Finally, I want to acknowledge all the different students I’ve worked with while I was building the worlds of Zoone. You often implore me to include you as characters in my books. So, I assure you, you are all in Guardians—you are various motos. Joanne, you’re the moto decapitated by Fidget in Chapter 11; Jaden, Ian, and Tyson, you’re the motos in the operating theater; Sion, you’re the moto whose arm gets sliced off by the door; Elly, Emily, Julia, Sarah, and Sunny, you’re the first motos to get blasted by Scoot’s blender gun; Aiden and Arisol, you’re the motos who take Ozzie and Fidget to the terrace. The rest of you can find yourselves among the army of those mechanical pests. These are important roles! Remember what I have always told you: It’s the job of an author to cause problems for fictional characters. Yes, Arisol, I can hear your retort already: “Mr. Wiz, it’s also your job to cause me problems.”

  You’re not wrong, Arisol. You’re not wrong.

  About the Author

  Photo by Shimon Karmel

  LEE EDWARD FÖDI is a children’s author, illustrator, and specialized arts educator—or, as he likes to think of himself, a daydreaming expert. He is the author of several books for children, including The Secret of Zoone and the Kendra Kandlestar series. In his spare time, Lee is a traveler, adventurer, and maker of dragon eggs. He especially loves exploring castles, mazes, tombs, and temples—the types of places where he can lose himself (sometimes literally). Lee lives in Vancouver, where he shares a creative life with his wife, Marcie, and son, Hiro. You can visit him at www.leefodi.com.

  Discover great authors, exclusive offers, and more at hc.com.

  Books by Lee Edward Födi

  The Secret of Zoone

  The Guardians of Zoone

  Copyright

  THE GUARDIANS OF ZOONE. Copyright © 2020 by Lee Edward Födi. All rights reserved under International and Pan-American Copyright Conventions. By payment of the required fees, you have been granted the nonexclusive, nontransferable right to access and read the text of this e-book on-screen. No part of this text may be reproduced, transmitted, downloaded, decompiled, reverse-engineered, or stored in or introduced into any information storage and retrieval system, in any form or by any means, whether electronic or mechanical, now known or hereafter invented, without the express written permission of HarperCollins e-books.

  www.harpercollinschildrens.com

  Cover art © 2020 by Evan Monteiro

  Cover lettering by David Coulson

  Cover design by Alice Wang

  Library of Congress Control Number: 2019944598

  Digital Edition FEBRUARY 2020 ISBN: 978-0-06-284531-3

  Print ISBN: 978-0-06-284528-3

  2021222324PC/LSCH10987654321

  FIRST EDITION

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