Brad Riddell

Billy Rainwater and the Golden Grapefruit Brad Riddell

The Goonies meets Louis Sachar's classic Holes in this action-adventure story. Billy Rainwater's hometown, Serendipity Springs, once bubbled with hope. The Tokalon nation once lived happily on the far side of the river, frontier settlers on the near. Visitors came in droves to dip in the healing waters, to experience the natural wonders and to taste the most delicious grapefruit in the world. But the Serendipity Springs that Billy Rainwater knows is far different, a place of heat, dust, desperation and death. The passing of his grandfather leaves Billy as the last member of the Tokalon nation - and so he makes a break for it. Only Billy's escape isn't so simple. As he packs up his life, he begins to unravel the secrets of Serendipity Springs. He finds a mysterious golden grapefruit just about the same time two strangers show up on the noon train: a new teacher who provides an unexpected glimpse into the town's past, and a military man who shares a foreboding vision for its future. Rather than escaping to a new life in a new place, Billy is drawn by the town's secrets into an underground adventure. Alongside three unlikely companions, he battles supernatural elements and creatures, navigating a world turned inside-out. Billy ultimately sacrifices what he wants most of all to save his newfound friends and restore Serendipity Springs to its former glory.