THE LOSTING FOUNTAIN

Three teens from different times enter another world in this dark portal fantasy.

Ember, Sam, and Miles all come from different whens; Ember is a neglected and abused farm girl in 1913, Sam is a boy haunted by voices in 1989, and Miles is a track star in the present day. Following strange events, they’re each called toward a mysterious island where time moves differently. At the center sits the Losting Fountain, a body of water in which lost things can be found. The Fountain and the monsters within it are presided over by the Jury, who decides whether to grant the desires of those seeking what they have lost. But the Jury has gone missing, and in her absence, the boundary between worlds has grown porous, and the monsters within the Fountain have started to escape and wreak havoc in both worlds. Ember, Sam, and Miles have been called into the fray for a reason: Though they may not realize it, they each possess the power to help set things right or to cause further destruction. There’s plenty of unsettling imagery and monstrous gore in the second half of this tale for those who like their fantasy worlds dark, but the narrative takes its time building to this point and may lose readers before the action picks up. Racially ambiguous Sam has “quick-to-tan skin,” dark hair, and “darker eyes,” while Ember and Miles are cued white.

A painstakingly slow pace eventually culminates in a high-stakes showdown.