Published by Dial
ISBN 0803736827 (ISBN13: 9780803736825)

SYNOPSIS:
“Sixteen-year-old Thomas has always been an outsider. The first child born without the power of an Element—earth, water, wind or fire—he has little to offer his tiny, remote Outer Banks colony. Or so the Guardians would have him believe.
In the wake of an unforeseen storm, desperate pirates kidnap the Guardians, intent on claiming the island as their own. Caught between the plague-ridden mainland and the advancing pirates, Thomas and his friends fight for survival in the battered remains of a mysterious abandoned settlement. But the secrets they unearth will turn Thomas’ world upside-down, and bring to light not only a treacherous past but also a future more dangerous than he can possibly imagine.” 

ABOUT THE AUTHOR:
Antony John won the Schneider Family Book Award for Five Flavors of Dumb. He lives in St. Louis, Missouri, with his family.