Misty Heights Authors Marta Magnadóttir and Birgitta Hassell have always loved
Near the top of the hill are The Ruins (Rústirnar), built decades ago as a luxury
books with mystery, horror and fantasy elements. Their academic research
development with apartments and the foundations for sprawling mansions
revealed a limited selection for this kind of book for young readers in Iceland.
with a spectacular view of the bay. Now they lie in ruins that nature does its
Brainstorming about what they would have read themselves at that age led
best to erase from sight and memory. The children of Misty Heights are
them to the small town of Misty Heights (Rökkurhæðir), the fictional
forbidden to explore there, but they have all made a secret visit at one time or
home of their characters.
other. Something momentous, strange and terrifying happened there. Many people do not dare mention it, others allude to terrorism or to the supernatural. Some try to explain it away with comfortable, logical explanations. But the kids
Misty Heights – the suburb
know better.
Misty Heights is a small, picture-perfect neighborhood on the outskirts of the
Misty Heights – the series
town of Sunnyvale (Sunnuvík). Once it was just a small village nestled under the hill. Today, in this old part of Misty Heights, winding streets are fringed with crooked houses, mostly hidden behind tall sheltering trees. The new part of town is very different. The trees are too small to shade the houses from the sun and the hill is too distant to offer shelter.
Seven of the books can stand alone, as each tells a story that begins and ends in the book. Yet all the stories are connected, located in the same small neighborhood–Misty Heights. Except for a few youngsters from Sunny vale, the main characters all attend the local high school, their siblings attend the
At the foot of the hill lies an apartment complex called Shadow vale
local kindergarten, schools or college, and their parents work in town–at the
(Skuggadalir), an apt name, as it is shaded most of the day, all year round.
kindergarten, coffee shop, post office. Everyone is interconnected.
The main character of one book may appear as a minor character in other books.
Misty Heights 3:
Christopher
As the stories all take place during the same time frame, an event in one book may appear in another book from the another character’s viewpoint.
It is springtime in Misty Heights and Christopher, who is just finishing grade 9, can finally take his
Each book can be read alone, but the big picture emerges when it is read as a piece
parkour-practice outside with his teammates.
of a larger puzzle.
Looking for a suitable place to train, he finds the
After book seven is published, the series will conclude with a trilogy that ties all
ideal spot–the forbidden Ruins!
the loose ends and reveals what is actually happening in Misty Heights.
While exploring, Christopher finds the perfect birthday present for his little sister, but he has no idea how it will change his life and the lives of everyone he loves.
Misty Heights 1:
Misty Heights 4:
Fourteen-year old Anna Þóra, a grade 8 pupil at
Misty Heights is aflame with discord and
Misty Heights High School, is on student council,
violence.
plays handball, takes dance, and goes skiing
Matthew recently moved to Misty Heights. He
whenever she can. What suffers is her homework
is having a hard time adjusting to his new
and her grades.
school and feels that the other students and
When a mysterious girl offers to help her out,
teachers are overly nice, bending over
doing her homework and sometimes going to
backwards to welcome him. But at the same
class for her, Anna Þóra agrees to her part of the
time, he experiences an escalation of fights,
bargain, to guess the “girl’s” name before spring
violence and unexplained accidents.
The Ruins
Unrest
exams. She thinks she knows the name and what is going on, as it is all told in an
Ingibjörg is used to life in Misty Heights but when she meets Matthew, she
ancient folk tale. Of course things do not go as planned and she finds herself in
starts to see her town through his eyes. Together they make connections
way over her head.
between the incidents and a bigger picture emerges that is more horrifying than they could have imagined.
Misty Heights 2:
Dusky Lane Vigdís, a grade 9 pupil in Misty Heights High, is an only child, living alone with her mother since her father passed away some years before. Grandma’s house in Duskylane has always been her second home, but suddenly she feels she is not entirely welcome there, as if something in the house wants her gone. Haunted by strange dreams and evil eyes, for the first time in her life she is afraid. A secret from her childhood unravels. But is it safe for her to know?
Misty Heights 5:
The Gift
Thor, in grade 9, lives in a small apartment with his mother. He is not very happy since his parents’ recent divorce. As Christmas approaches, he hopes they will make amends by giving him the presents he deserves, but he is sorely disappointed. Soon, he realizes there is a lot more to the gift from his mother than he first thought–and suddenly, he is knee-deep in something that is totally beyond his control.
Misty Heights 6:
The Watchman Peter Christian has just moved into one of Misty
–t ob er ele place shortly before. Although the house itself ase di nO welcomes the family, he notices strange goings-on cto be r in his backyard and meets a girl who is invisible to Heights’s oldest houses, where horrible events took
everyone else.
20 14
The End
history and what might be at the root of all the
The End, part 1: The Guardians (Útverðirnir)
strange happenings there.
The first in the trilogy that concludes the Misty Heights
He uncovers more of Misty Heights’s strange
Saga. Hannah moves to Misty Heights with her
Misty Heights 7:
The Event Since Margaret’s horrific disappearance at the end
–t ob er ele ase d
of book 1, she has reappeared in strange situations in other books.
in Oc tob er 20 15
reporter mom. While researching the town’s history she discovers a secret sect that meets regularly in the old Church. The events of books one to seven are cast in a new light and the big picture is emerging.
in previous books will be andsered. Margaret‘s
The End, part 2: Blizzard (Gjörningaveður)
actions will shed a lnew ight on what happened
Most of the high school students, along with some kids
during the Event.
from Sunnyvale and a few teachers, are on a ski trip. A
In this last book of the seven, some questions raised
sudden storm leaves them trapped on the hill. Unwittingly, the kids tamper with things best left undisturbed. What has been slowly brewing in Misty Heights suddenly escalates into an all-out war. „Þú ert eina von Helvítis. Þú, Filip Engils,“ Fjandinn lyfti fingri og benti á hjarta Filips, sem sló ótt og títt, „átt að verða eftirmaður minn.“
The End, part 3: The End (Endalokin)
„Ég?“ Filip leit niður eftir sjálfum sér, eins og til að fullvissa sig um að það væri hann sem Fjandinn benti á. „Viltu að ég verði …“ „Já, drengur minn! Lúsífer II! Hljómar það ekki vel?“ ilip er ósköp venjulegur strákur. Reyndar er hann ekkert svo venjulegur því að hann er alltaf kominn aðeins á undan í skólabókunum sínum, hann vaskar alltaf upp og fer út með ruslið þegar mamma hans biður hann um það og hann lýgur aldrei. Aldrei. Ekki einu sinni til að hylma yfir með eina vini sínum. En þessa vikuna er það hann sem lendir í klónum á versta hrotta skólans. Í átökunum lendir Filip undir bíl og deyr. Og hvar lendir hann, þetta gæðablóð? Jú, hann lendir nefnilega í Helvíti, hjá þeim svarta sjálfum.
This book recounts the final battle between the Guardians, the kids and the evil forces that are trying to
„LESTU BÓKINA!!!“
- HANS HÁTIGN LÚSÍFER, FURSTI MYRKURSINS
„Ég mæli með þessari bók. En þú skalt bara lesa hana ef þú þorir, hún er svolítið svakaleg á köflum.“
gain control in our world. As if battling evil isn’t
- FILIP ENGILS, 7.A
„Þetta er gómsæt bók.“ - RAVÍNA, MATRÁÐSKONA HELVÍTIS
„Mér er drullusama hvort þú lest þessa bók. Aumar mannverur koma mér ekki við. Kaflarnir um mig eru samt ágætir.“
enough, the kids don’t know who to trust. Some people
- AZIEL STOFELES, DJÖFULL
„Ég ráðlegg þér eindregið að lesa þessa bók. Það myndi gleðja herrann.“
they thought were on their side have other plans entirely.
- LÚSÍFAX, KÖTTUR LÚSÍFERS
In the first book, Camille Windmill and the blown ups (Kamilla Vindmylla og bullorða fólkið), the kids face evil scientist Elias Emil, whose greatest wish is to make life as much fun as when he was young. His solution is to make everyone behave like children, with funny and sometimes sad results. In book two, Camille Windmill and the boredom from the mountain, (Kamilla Vindmylla og leiðinn úr Esjunni ) Camille and her friends face a new threat. Driven by his ambition to be accepted into the Bad Guys Inc., Julius Janus steals Elias Emil’s mind converter. Instead of making people behave as kids, he uses it to leech all the fun out of the world.
Camille Windmill (Kamilla Vindmylla) is an Icelandic series by Hilmar Örn Óskarsson, illustrated by Erla María Árnadóttir, about an 11-year old girl and her friends who repeatedly save the world from terrible threats. The books are hilarious and imaginative. Ingenious wordplay is a big part of the humor, as the author explores “I laughed so hard that I sprayed coffee all over page 47.” KENNETH BØGH ANDERSEN
- Brynhildur, Fréttablaðið
language and how meaning often depends on context, not the words
Book three, Camille Windmill and the imposters (Kamilla Vindmylla og svikamillurnar) will be released before Christmas 2014. Camille faces an old foe who has brought reinforcements to make things extremely unpleasant for our heroine and her friends.
themselves.
Joe’s Story
(Sagan af Jóa) by Þröstur
Jóhannesson Joe is an eleven-year old boy
„Þetta er æðisleg bók. Lestu hana. Þú veist þig langar til þess. Láttu það eftir þér…“
Saga in the night
Eva Einarsdóttir og Lóa H. Hjálmtýsdóttir
KENNETH BØGH ANDERSEN
Eva Einarsdóttir og Lóa H. Hjálmtýsdóttir
„Myrkrið og nóttin eru full af ævintýrum!“ Þessi fallega saga Evu Einarsdóttur er listilega myndskreytt af Lóu Hlín Hjálmtýsdóttur. Í sameiningu búa þær til fallegan töfraheim sem er fullkomin umgjörð utan um notalega samverustund fyrir háttinn.
with a big imagination. His dad gave him two pirate dolls when he was born and when things get rough at home, he sails the sky with
- SATÍNA, FREISTARI
them on the pirate ship Algata. They go on a
Bókaútgáfa
3 mm
(Saga um nótt) by Eva Einarsdóttir and Lóa Hlín Hjálmtýsdóttir (illustrator).
mission to rescue Joe’s father from his
Little Saga is afraid of the dark but Mom reassures her, weaving a magical
drinking problems and to Joe’s surprise,
world of stories that lulls Saga to sleep and carries her into the land of dreams.
reality and the dream world collide with
The book won the IBBY’s Spring Winds Award 2014 for exceptional interplay
unforeseen consequences.
between pictures and words.
Bókabeitan publishes titles from leading publishers world wide such as
Harper Collins · Little and Brown · St. Martin's Press · Gyldendal · Abrams Books
Bókabeitan is a progressive new publisher
publishing Iceland was focused on adults or
with a mission to promote reading for children,
young children, with limited offerings for
teens and young adults (ages 2-18) by publishing
readers aged 10 to 16.
quality books for this audience.
In 2013, Bókabeitan created two new labels
Founding partners Marta Hlín Magnadóttir
Töfraland, which focuses on books for children
and Birgitta Elín Hassell believe that “the key to
aged six and under, and Björt, which targets
engaging children and teens in reading is to offer
young readers eighteen and under.
them a wide choice of books. This led to the founding of Bókabeitan in 2011.” The partners both have degrees in education and their research for their Masters theses revealed that Marta Hlín Magnadóttir and Birgitta Elín Hassell
Bókabeitan ehf. · Dugguvogi 17-19, · 104 Reykjavík · Iceland. · Tel: +354 5886609 · E: bokabeitan@bokabeitan.is · www.bokabeitan.is