Elsewhere

At the outbreak of World War I, eleven-year-old Elsie Clarke is shipped off to Wales to attend Miss Coleridges Academy for Gifted Youths. What at first appears to be an institution for talented academics soon reveals that Gifted means something else entirely, and only the mysterious Madam Tryll holds the answers. Only she can open the Gateway to The Place Where Lost Children Go a sentient forest called Elsewhere with the power to enhance the talents, desires, and fears of unique souls. And then theres Elsie, the newest Guardian, with the power to open the Gateways into Elsewhere, borrow Gifts in emergencies, and enhance other Gifts with her touch so that her Gifted friends can grow stronger. But Elsies powers are unpredictable and her new role as mentor comes with a lot of responsibility. Meanwhile, the war rages on, and the headmistress believes the students are the solution. She intends to push them to their academic limit, training them in the art of war, stripping them of their childhood. The Gifted must use their newfound talents to bring down her awful regime and win a battle of their own. But with the war growing ever closer to home, Elsie cant help but feel like Elsewhere has been recruiting them too, training them for something bigger than just school.