First Light

Author Rebecca Stead

Grades 6-8 Ages 8-12

This remarkable and acclaimed debut novel, by the Newbery-winning author of When You Reach Me and the new instant classic The List of Things That Will Not Change, introduces readers to a captivating, hidden world below the ice. 
 
Peter is thrilled to join his parents on an expedition to Greenland. But when they finally reach the ice cap, he struggles to understand a series of frightening yet enticing visions.
 
Thea has never seen the sun. Her extraordinary people, suspected of witchcraft and nearly driven to extinction, have retreated to a secret world they’ve built deep inside the arctic ice.
 
As Thea dreams of a path to Earth’s surface, Peter’s search for answers brings him ever closer to her hidden home in this dazzling tale of mystery, science, and adventure at the top of the world.
 
“A mystic thriller.” —Entertainment Weekly
 
“Optimistic science fiction that highlights human ingenuity and survival under dire conditions.” —The Wall Street Journal

Available Formats

Trade Paperback 9780440422228
eBook 9780307495471
Unabridged Audiobook Download 9780307710666

Awards

Texas Lone Star Reading List - SELECTION 2008

Oklahoma Sequoyah Children's Book Award - NOMINEE 0

Illinois Rebecca Caudill Young Readers Award - NOMINEE 0

Rhode Island Children's Book Award - NOMINEE 0

New York Public Library Books for the Teen Age - SELECTION 0

IRA Children's Book Award for Younger Readers - NOMINEE 0

Bank Street Child Study Children's Book Award - WINNER 0

Washington Sasquatch Reading Program Master List - NOMINEE 2011

Book Sense Children's Pick List - SELECTION 2007

Parents' Choice Award - WINNER 2007

Random House Children's Books Teachers and Librarians