Fawthright
Coming-of-Age Mystery Middle-Grade Adventure Coastal Fantasy Eco-Fiction Drama Secret Society Thriller
First-edition hardcover of Fawthright by Adj Chadwick (Footprints, 2023) – a fast-moving 190-page blend of adventure, drama, and mystery that works for middle-grade readers, teens, and adults who like their fiction lean and layered. The story drops you into the fog-shrouded coastal town of Fawthright, where an ancient book bound in iron links is discovered in a sealed sea-cave. One act of curiosity—opening it—sets three unlikely allies racing against a secret society that wants the volume back and will sink the whole village to keep its final page unread. Chadwick keeps the tension high without graphic content, making the novel a safe crossover choice for family libraries and YA classrooms alike.
What makes this copy collectible is the pristine first-edition status: the debut printing in Footprints’ sturdy laminated boards, still tight and square after a single careful read. Light cover scuffing and a few flecks on the front endpaper are noted, but every story page is clean, unmarked, and dog-ear-free—ideal if you want a reader’s copy that can also live on the shelf. No previous owner names, ex-libris plates, or inscriptions mar the book, so it presents as “gift-ready” for the collector who prizes untouched text blocks.
Chadwick’s prose balances cinematic set-pieces (rowboat chases through moonlit kelp forests, a library that rearranges itself at midnight) with quieter character beats on grief, loyalty, and the ethics of hidden knowledge. Early reviews compare the atmosphere to The Mysterious Benedict Society and Over Sea, Under Stone, but with a modern eco-twist: the real treasure may be the coastal ecosystem the villains are prepared to destroy. For educators, the 190-page length fits neatly into a semester reading list, while adult genre fans will appreciate the tight pacing and clues seeded for a possible sequel—making this first edition the cornerstone of a new collectible series.
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