The Keeping Place by Isobelle Carmody

The Keeping Place by Isobelle Carmody

The fourth title in this bestselling series featuring the intrepid adventures of Elspeth Gordie.

After a kidnapping, Elspeth Gordie and the Misfits are forced to join the rebellion against the oppressive Council, using their extraordinary mind powers. But Elspeth must also seek out clues left by the long-dead seer, Kasanda, vital to her quest to destroy the Beforetime weaponmachines.

One clue is lost in the past, forcing Elspeth to travel the Dreamtrails, stalked by a terrifying winged beast, with the cat, Maruman, as her guide and guardian. Only there can she learn more of the Beforetimer Misfits and their enemy, Govamen. Gradually Elspeth realises that her quest is intimately linked to the Misfits' refuge Obernewtyn - its past and its future.

Isobelle Carmody is the oldest of eight children, and she grew up controlling her siblings by telling them stories while her mother worked. She started writing the first book in the award-winning Obernewtyn Chronicles while still in high school, when she was 14 years old. The series has gone on to win or be nominated for numerous prizes, and her novel The Gathering received both the distinguished Book of the Year and the coveted Peace Prize. She's also won a number of honors for her short stories, including the Marcus Clarke Award for The Monster Game and the Aurealis Award for the title tale from her book Green Monkey Dreams. Her graphic novel Dreamwalker, published in recent years, is her first foray into picture book terrain.

She lives in Australia with her daughter and partner on the dramatic Great Ocean Road, and spends every other year in Prague, Central Europe. She's now working on the final installment of the Obernewtyn Chronicles series.