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Author Event with Scott Reintgen and Kwame Mbalia/The Last Dragon on Mars and Jax Freeman and the Phantom Shriek

Anderson's Bookshop Naperville

location_on 123 West Jefferson Avenue, Naperville, IL, USA
schedule 10/2/2024 7:00 PM to 07:00 PM
Registration Closed
Author Event with Scott Reintgen and Kwame Mbalia/The Last Dragon on Mars and Jax Freeman and the Phantom Shriek

Join Anderson’s Bookshop for an event with authors Scott Reintgen and Kwame Mbalia, to celebrate the releases of The Last Dragon on Mars and Jax Freeman and the Phantom Shriek, on Wednesday, October 2nd at 7:00 pm in our Naperville store.


Event Format

We will begin checking you in approximately 30 minutes before the start time. After a presentation and Q&A with the authors, the line will form in numbered order with the following guidelines:


  • Posed photo with your camera taken by our staff

  • There is a limit of 2 books from home to be signed per author (unless otherwise stated)

  • There is a limit of 1 personalization of the new book only per author (unless otherwise stated)


All events have open seating. The “Order Line Number” on your pdf ticket is your reserved place in the signing line. You will line up to meet the authors based on that number.


If you cannot attend, you must pick up your book (if included with ticket) at the hosting store within 30 days of the event.  We can ship that book to you for an additional charge of $9.99; please call the store to arrange that.


Pre-registration is required for this event because space is limited.


More about The Last Dragon on Mars:  

For the first printing only! This hardcover features sprayed edges and a reverse jacket image while the special edition supply lasts.

A boy living on Mars unexpectedly becomes a dragon rider in this first book in the sci-fi and fantasy mash-up The Dragonships series, sure to delight fans of Skandar and Eragon.

Keep your eyes down and your feet moving, or this planet will rust you.

That’s what Lunar Jones tells the other kids at the relocation clinic. All of them were born on Mars, a planet that never wanted people in the first place. With resources scarce and hope even scarcer, it’s easy to get distracted looking up. After all, their ancestors descended from the stars.

Martian history always starts with Earth. The first astronauts discovered that space was already occupied. Not by little green men or flying saucers. It was full of dragons. One for every moon, every planet, every star. When humanity discovered that Earth’s dragon had sacrificed herself to make their home planet habitable, they set their sights on Mars. If one dead dragon could breathe life into a world, why not create another one? Mankind won the war that followed, but with one catch. As the dragon died, he whispered a curse over Mars. The first settlers found their crops wouldn’t grow. Animals hunted them. Storms raged endlessly. It took three generations to figure out the truth: Mars was doomed.

Lunar knows all the old stories about dragons and space, but no one up there’s planning to help him or his crew. Instead, he focuses on scrapping valuable gear that the storms uncover in the war zone. Until one day, a salvaging run goes wrong. Desperate to find shelter, Lunar goes underground in a restricted zone. What he finds there, buried in the Martian dust, might just be the only hope left for a dying planet.


More about Jax Freeman and the Phantom Shriek:

The award-winning author of the best-selling Tristan Strong trilogy has created a secret world where kids can wield magic by summoning the power of their ancestors

What do you get when you combine Kwame Mbalia's incredible imagination and world-building talent with trains, history, and ghosts? Nothing less than middle grade magic. 

On his twelfth birthday, Jackson "Jax" Freeman arrives at Chicago's Union Station alone, carrying nothing but the baggage of a scandal back in Raleigh. He's been sent away from home to live with relatives he barely knows. But even worse are the strangers who accost him at the train station, including a food vendor who throws dust in his face and a conductor who tries to steal his skin.

At his new school, Jax is assigned to a special class for "summoners," even though he has no idea what those are . . . until he accidentally unleashes an angry spirit on school grounds. Soon Jax is embroiled in all kinds of trouble, from the disappearance of a new friend to full-out war between summoning families.

When Jax learns that he isn't the first Freeman to be blamed for a tragedy he didn't create, he resolves to clear his own name and that of his great-grandfather, who was a porter back in the 1920's. By following clues, Jax and his schoolmates unlock the secrets of a powerful Praise House, evade vengeful ghosts, and discover that Jax may just be the most talented summoner of all.

A unique magic-school fantasy from the best-selling and award-winning author of the Tristan Strong trilogy has just pulled into the station.


About the Authors

Scott Reintgen is a former public school teacher from North Carolina. When he’s not writing, he uses his imagination to entertain his wife, Katie, and their three children. Scott is the New York Times bestselling author of the Waxways series, the Nyxia trilogy, the Dragonships series, and the Celia Cleary series for younger readers. You can find him on Instagram @Reintgen, on X (previously known as Twitter) @Scott_Thought, or on his website at ItsPronouncedRankin.com.


Kwame Mbalia is a #1 New York Times best-selling author and the publisher of Freedom Fire, an imprint of Disney Hyperion devoted to stories about the Black diaspora by Black creators. His debut middle-grade novel, Tristan Strong Punches a Hole in the Sky, was awarded a Coretta Scott King Author Honor, and it was followed by Tristan Strong Destroys the World and Tristan Strong Keeps Punching. Kwame lives with his wife and children outside Raleigh, North Carolina, where he is currently working on the next Jax Freeman adventure. For more information, go to www.KwameMbalia.com.



Please read these Event Policies carefully:

Anderson’s Bookshop reserves the right to change the format of this event at any time in coordination with the author and publisher. Anderson’s Bookshop assumes no responsibility or liability for any personal injury or other loss you may incur as a result of your decision to attend an event, including the transmission of Covid-19 or related illnesses. 

Failure to treat all participants and staff with courtesy and respect may result in your expulsion from the event.  


Accessibility:

We strive to host inclusive, accessible events that enable all individuals to engage fully. To request an accommodation or for inquiries about accessibility, after purchasing your ticket(s), please contact us at andersons@andersonsbookshop.com.

Refund Policy
Please note that tickets are non-refundable. Once your payment has been submitted, your purchase is final. This includes changes to the status of signed books and instances where you cannot attend an event at the scheduled time.
Anderson's Bookshop

Anderson's Bookshop

Author Event with Scott Reintgen and Kwame Mbalia/The Last Dragon on Mars and Jax Freeman and the Phantom ShriekAuthor Event with Scott Reintgen and Kwame Mbalia/The Last Dragon on Mars and Jax Freeman and the Phantom Shriek
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