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Seven Wonders #2.5
The Orphan
The adventure continues in these two original novellas—The Select and The Orphan—based on the epic series Seven Wonders.
The Select tells the story of thirteen-year-old Burt Wenders, the first documented carrier of the G7W gene, and his fated voyage to the island that would eventually become home to the Karai Institute. Burt's account reveals his heroic efforts to navigate serpent-filled waters, save his father, and find a cure for the illness that curses him.
The Orphan tells the story of Daria, a twelve-year-old orphan abandoned among the Babylonians. It chronicles her valiant battle to rescue her best friend from certain death and to escape the only city she's ever called home.
Read the stories. Join the quest. The Seven Wonders await.
71 pages, Kindle Edition
First published October 1, 2013
22 people are currently reading
1402 people want to read
About the author
Peter Lerangis
151 books794 followersLerangis's work includes The Viper's Nest and The Sword Thief, two titles in the children's-book series The 39 Clues, the historical novel Smiler's Bones, the YA dark comedy-adventure novel wtf, the Drama Club series, the Spy X series, the Watchers series, the Abracadabra series, and the Antarctica two-book adventure, as well ghostwriting for series such as the Three Investigators, the Hardy Boys Casefiles, Sweet Valley Twins, and more than forty books in the series The Baby-sitters Club and its various spin-offs.[1] He has also written novels based on film screenplays, including The Sixth Sense, Sleepy Hollow, and Beauty and the Beast, and five video game novelizations in the Worlds of Power series created by Seth Godin.[2] As a ghostwriter he has been published under the name A. L. Singer.[3]
Lerangis is the son of a retired New York Telephone Company employee and a retired public-elementary-school secretary, who raised him in Freeport, New York on Long Island. He graduated from Harvard University with a degree in biochemistry, while acting in musicals[4] and singing with and musically directing the a cappella group the Harvard Krokodiloes,[5][6] before moving to New York. He worked there as an actor[7] and freelance copy editor for eight years before becoming an author.[8]
In 2003, Lerangis was chosen by First Lady Laura Bush to accompany her to the first Russian Book Festival, hosted by Russian First Lady Lyudmila Putina in Moscow.[9][10]Authors R. L. Stine (Goosebumps) and Marc Brown (the Arthur the Aardvark series) also made the trip with Bush.[9]
Also in 2003, Lerangis was commissioned by the United Kingdom branch of Scholastic to write X-Isle, one of four books that would relaunch the Point Horror series there.[11] A sequel, Return to X-Isle, was published in 2004.
In 2007, Scholastic announced the launch of a new historical mystery series called The 39 Clues, intended to become a franchise.[12] Lerangis wrote the third book in the series, The Sword Thief, published in March 2009.[13][14][15] On March 3, 2009, Scholastic announced that Lerangis would write the seventh book in the series, The Viper's Nest.[14][16]
Lerangis lives in New York City with his wife, musician Tina deVaron, and their sons Nick and Joe.[17]
Lerangis is the son of a retired New York Telephone Company employee and a retired public-elementary-school secretary, who raised him in Freeport, New York on Long Island. He graduated from Harvard University with a degree in biochemistry, while acting in musicals[4] and singing with and musically directing the a cappella group the Harvard Krokodiloes,[5][6] before moving to New York. He worked there as an actor[7] and freelance copy editor for eight years before becoming an author.[8]
In 2003, Lerangis was chosen by First Lady Laura Bush to accompany her to the first Russian Book Festival, hosted by Russian First Lady Lyudmila Putina in Moscow.[9][10]Authors R. L. Stine (Goosebumps) and Marc Brown (the Arthur the Aardvark series) also made the trip with Bush.[9]
Also in 2003, Lerangis was commissioned by the United Kingdom branch of Scholastic to write X-Isle, one of four books that would relaunch the Point Horror series there.[11] A sequel, Return to X-Isle, was published in 2004.
In 2007, Scholastic announced the launch of a new historical mystery series called The 39 Clues, intended to become a franchise.[12] Lerangis wrote the third book in the series, The Sword Thief, published in March 2009.[13][14][15] On March 3, 2009, Scholastic announced that Lerangis would write the seventh book in the series, The Viper's Nest.[14][16]
Lerangis lives in New York City with his wife, musician Tina deVaron, and their sons Nick and Joe.[17]
Ratings & Reviews
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Displaying 1 - 22 of 22 reviews
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April 23, 2013I think this is about Cass?
November 22, 2020
So this short book gave us more insight into the Babylonian character of Daria and how she came into service of the king and what her life was like in Babylon. She was a very loyal friend and came into the rebels and kings service to protect them. Poor girl had nobody but loved so much, and I hope Jack sees her again later in the story, as she was also a Select and heard the calling much like Jack does sometimes. It was pretty long for a short story but it was worth every minute.
August 5, 2024
This is actually a lot more interesting than the book this goes along with, it is longer than the other short stories and was really fun to read. I read this right with the second book, so I did not miss any context. It was a backstory for a side character that was a lot more likeable than the main characters.
Daria is the best, I cannot complain.
Daria is the best, I cannot complain.
April 21, 2019
It's so good when an author gives us a novella like this one! I am really intrigued by Daria and I'm happy that Peter wrote this novella to let us know who Daria is! I like her so much and I'm in love with this novella!
June 26, 2017
Okay
Okay book. I can't seem to get it off my good read account. Hate that I have to write a review.
Okay book. I can't seem to get it off my good read account. Hate that I have to write a review.
January 26, 2021
Darrias story
October 29, 2021
I like Daria.
March 14, 2024
Can be skipped.
October 31, 2019
It has been about three years since I had read Book 2 of this series. So this prequel story about a secondary character in the second book was not as impactful for me. Still, it was a well told tale.
July 24, 2018
If you've read Lost in Babylon, you've been introduced to Daria. I loved Daria. She's like my most favorite out of them five and this novella is all about her.
I liked this more compared to the first one. This novella takes place years (I think?) before the four even visited Babylon. It's nice to see Daria's backstory.
And that ending got me like "omg" because I was not expecting it. I hope to see more of her in the next books!
I liked this more compared to the first one. This novella takes place years (I think?) before the four even visited Babylon. It's nice to see Daria's backstory.
And that ending got me like "omg" because I was not expecting it. I hope to see more of her in the next books!
April 25, 2016
This really lets you get to know the character of Daria, but it doesn't quite fit chronologically without spoiling parts of book two.
The story takes you back to long before the Select ever came to Babylon, and explains how Daria came to be a singer in the king's court, how she became both his slave and part of the rebellion against him.
Again this isn't really necessary to the main series. While it's interesting and provide some back story on an interesting character, it's also really depressing.
The dark short story explains what it was like to live in Babylon under the rule of the king also introduced in the second book. It's a tale of a harsh, brutal lifestyle of a street rat and the loyalties among those people considered the bottom dwellers of Babylon.
I'm not quite sure if I'd recommend it or not because it's definitely dark in my opinion, but I will say it's interesting.
The story takes you back to long before the Select ever came to Babylon, and explains how Daria came to be a singer in the king's court, how she became both his slave and part of the rebellion against him.
Again this isn't really necessary to the main series. While it's interesting and provide some back story on an interesting character, it's also really depressing.
The dark short story explains what it was like to live in Babylon under the rule of the king also introduced in the second book. It's a tale of a harsh, brutal lifestyle of a street rat and the loyalties among those people considered the bottom dwellers of Babylon.
I'm not quite sure if I'd recommend it or not because it's definitely dark in my opinion, but I will say it's interesting.
June 15, 2021
This installment of the series delves into the background of Daria and how she came to be a rebel spy while working as one of the king's slaves. Beautifully descriptive, maybe even more so than the previous books. Although it does not reveal any clues behind the mystery of the Select, I like how it highlights different powers and how incredible a Select can be. I also appreciate the female perspective as it balances out the three-to-one ratio in the books thus far. Reading this book makes me really hope Daria makes a reappearance in future volumes.
A quick listen on audiobook. It has a different narrator than the main volumes in the series, but it's appropriate because it's coming from a different perspective. Highly recommend, especially for young ladies looking for tough and inspirational female characters to look up to.
A quick listen on audiobook. It has a different narrator than the main volumes in the series, but it's appropriate because it's coming from a different perspective. Highly recommend, especially for young ladies looking for tough and inspirational female characters to look up to.
April 23, 2016
"There is one cure for fear. Insanity."
The Orphan is about the story of Daria as she battled to saved the life of her best friend and struggled to escape the city she had known for her whole life. A story which makes more sense than the sotry Burt Wenders in the first novella, The Select.
How nice it would be to have such a beautiful voice that can make the whole city stop and sleep into oblivion. I'm jealous Daria!
The Orphan is about the story of Daria as she battled to saved the life of her best friend and struggled to escape the city she had known for her whole life. A story which makes more sense than the sotry Burt Wenders in the first novella, The Select.
How nice it would be to have such a beautiful voice that can make the whole city stop and sleep into oblivion. I'm jealous Daria!
June 29, 2016
Sad but wonderfully inspirational.
Daria’s story. The girl from the time-suspended Babylon in the book ‘Lost in Babylon’ of the “Seven Wonders’ series. We learn how she grew up and came to be in a position to be instrumental in helping the four Select find the Babylonian Loculus.
Footnotes: 1) Some call this story is dark, I say it’s more realistic, but definitely not light-hearted children’s fare.
Fave scenes: escaping the garden, collecting the rotten fruit and pretending to be sick.
Daria’s story. The girl from the time-suspended Babylon in the book ‘Lost in Babylon’ of the “Seven Wonders’ series. We learn how she grew up and came to be in a position to be instrumental in helping the four Select find the Babylonian Loculus.
Footnotes: 1) Some call this story is dark, I say it’s more realistic, but definitely not light-hearted children’s fare.
Fave scenes: escaping the garden, collecting the rotten fruit and pretending to be sick.
July 19, 2015
It was nice to learn Daria's story but I don't really see a point in revealing her story and the other short stories of different Select (who die) unless they will somehow be united and come to know Cass, Jack, Aly and Marco in future books in the series.
October 18, 2015
Pretty good story that showed mistreatment of orphans and many others.
January 8, 2015
This is a novella. I think it may be a first for me. It kept my interest and I enjoyed it, but wouldn't rush out to get another one.
February 9, 2016
Boring.
June 13, 2016
Short story added to the Seven Wonders series.
October 11, 2016
Stands alone from the series. I enjoyed this one although I'm finding the series it spins off of lacking.
July 10, 2014
review to come.
January 3, 2015
Daria's story is heart-touching. I always knew it she was a select.
Displaying 1 - 22 of 22 reviews