Description

There is at least one thing on which eighth grader Marcus Gross and his brother, sixth grader Oliver, have always agreed: “Nothing ever happens in Everton.” That is about to change, however, with the accidental discovery of a strange box – engraved with the words “Use at Your Own Risk” – buried in their backyard.

Outlawed in 1850 by U.S. President Zachary Taylor, the Phantasmic Gumball Machine presents the idealistic Oliver and the skeptical Marcus with a design and construction puzzle and a series of ancient riddles, leading them on an epic search for answers. As Marcus and Oliver begin to wonder whether their discovery of the Phantasmic Gumball Machine was really an accident after all, they’ll have to dig deeper to unearth the roots of the mystery.

The Phantasmic Gumball Machine is (or will soon be) available at the following super cool independent bookstores (if you can support them by buying it there in person instead of online here, we’re down with that – viva brick and mortar!):

Alice, Ever After Books – Buffalo, NY
Amherst Books – Amherst, MA
Andover Bookstore – Andover, MA
The Bookstore Plus – Lake Placid, NY
Broadside Bookshop – Northampton, MA
Buttonwood Books & Toys – Cohasset, MA
The Chatham Bookstore – Chatham, NY
Copper Dog Books – Beverly, MA
Hipocampo Books – Rochester, NY
Little Bee Bookshop – Ayer, MA

MainStreet BookEnds – Warner, NH
Molly’s Bookstore – Melrose, MA
Odyssey Bookshop – South Hadley, MA
The Open Door Bookstore – Schenectady, NY
Rozzie Bound Co-op – Roslindale, MA
Tatnuck Bookseller – Westborough, MA
Toadstool Bookshop – Peterborough, NH