Off the Bookshelf: THE TETHERED WORLD, by Heather Fitzgerald

Sadie and her siblings have a problem -- Mom and Dad have disappeared. They're not going to get much help from the local authorities because Mom and Dad aren't ... normal, boring parents. Mom is the world expert on the weird and wonderful and mythical, such as Yetis and Bigfoot and other quasi-mythical creatures.

As Sadie, Brady, Brock, and Sophie find out quickly, Mom is an expert because Bigfoot and the other strange creatures such as gnomes, leprechauns, dwarves, trolls and ogres are real. Not just real, but their mother's family are hereditary guardians of a magical world hidden beneath the world.

And oh, yeah, Mom and Dad have probably been kidnapped by some of the not-so-friendly denizens of this subterranean world. Guess who gets the job of going underground and finding and rescuing them? You got it -- Sadie and company.

What I really like about Sadie as the point-of-view character is that she isn't all, "Hurrah, we're going on a Lord of the Rings adventure!" Nope, that joy is left for her little sister, Sophie. Sadie is the one who is holding on by her fingernails, worrying about everyone and trying not to freak out and wishing she could go back home to her boring homeschooled life. She faces her dangers and responsibilities and admits when she's a pain to everyone around her. One tough chick in her own right.

Of course, the story doesn't end with the return to Earth's surface. There are more books in the Tethered World Chronicles. Which is a good thing, because this is a story I wish I had thought to write. Keep the good stuff coming!