MAX IN THE HOUSE OF SPIES

Bestselling author Adam Gidwitz was a teacher for eight years. He told countless stories to his students, who then demanded he write his first book, A Tale Dark & Grimm. Adam has since written two companion novels, In a Glass Grimmly and The Grimm Conclusion. He is also the author of The Inquisitor’s Tale, which won the Newbery Honor, and The Unicorn Rescue Society series. Adam still tells creepy, funny fairy tales live to kids on his podcast Grimm, Grimmer, Grimmest—and at schools around the world. He lives in Brooklyn with his wife, daughter, and dog, Lucy Goosey.

Photo Credit: Lauren Mancia

“Espionage! Secrets! Suspense! If you’ve ever dreamed of being a spy, this book is for you.” —Alan Gratz, #1 New York Times bestselling author of Refugee and Projekt 1065

“Max in the House of Spies is everything you could hope for in a book.” —R. J. Palacio, #1 New York Times bestselling author of Wonder, White Bird, and Pony

“Clever Max plays the long game with determination, and his agency is refreshing…. This heartfelt historical novel explores big questions of autonomy and allegiance with an admirable protagonist readers will respect and adore.” —Booklist, starred review

“Gidwitz imbues Max’s first-person voice with plentiful charm and intellect, making him an irresistible and irrepressible protagonist…. An exciting mixture of triumphs and perils, leading up to a cliffhanger ending that will have readers clamoring for the sequel.” —Publishers Weekly, starred review

“A duology opener with a truly likable hero and clever puzzling. Max in the House of Spies—packed with sideways thinking, sociopolitical insights, and a Marmite-eating kangaroo named Kathy—delights.″ —Kirkus

Once there was a boy who had two immortal creatures living on his shoulders.

This was the fourth most interesting thing about him.

The first most interesting thing about Max—that was his name—was that he was a genius. He could make a working radio from the junk at the bottom of a trash can, and he could usually predict what someone was going to say ten minutes before they said it.

The second most interesting thing about Max was that, when he was eleven years old, his parents sent him away from Germany, where he was born and grew up, to England. All by himself. Even though he’d never been there, didn’t know anyone there, and barely spoke any English.

The third most interesting thing about Max was that, when he got to England, he fell in with spies. Real, honest-to-goodness spies. A lot of them.

And the fourth most interesting thing about him was that he had two immortal creatures living on his shoulders.

But that’s probably what you have the most questions about, so let’s start there.

The two immortal creatures appeared the day his parents sent him to England.

His family had been arguing about it for weeks. Their small Berlin apartment shook as Max had stomped from the living room to his bedroom to the kitchen and back again, shouting things like:

“You can’t make me go!”

“Everything is fine! Who cares about the stupid Nazis?! They don’t matter!”

“What if you need me?!”

And, more quietly, alone in his room, “What if I need you?”

But no matter what Max said, his parents had refused to change their minds. His mother had held him at the train station against her soft stomach, while his small, thin father had stroked Max’s hair. They’d waved as the train pulled out, taking Max and the 198 other Jewish children to Holland and the ferry. Max hadn’t waved back. He’d just stared at them and thought, How could you do this?