Reunion Crossing by Terry Overton
The Underground Book Readers series received the Bookfest Award Gold Medal for a book series in 2024. Although the series is a middle-grade/YA book, readers of all ages have enjoyed it. This month, the seventh book in the series, Reunion Crossing, was released on January 10th.
The series begins in the Blue Ridge Mountains of Virginia. In a world without books, schools, churches, and parents, how can teens and preteens find each other and work to bring back a world like the one before? Ever watchful, this group of friends meets in an underground cavern in the mountains of Virginia. Rumors of spies and enemy soldiers and the possibility of finding their parents keep these friends searching to make a better life for everyone.
In book one, readers find a world where the four original teenage members of the group, discover each other. This group of teens has lost their parents and older siblings. The new friends bond together and form a strong family. They discover documents, clues, and tools to assist their adventures.
In books one through six, the group meets new friends, encounters new threats, takes wrong turns, finds unknown caves, towns, and villages, and receives help from a Native American tribe, the Cherokee Indians of North Carolina, to continue toward the free land.
In book seven, Leena, Kahn, Casey, and the other Underground Book Readers continue their journey to the free land. They encounter strangers in the forest, discover mysterious towns, and face new challenges for their safety. Their travels lead them across treacherous landscapes and through enemy territory, where danger hides deep in the forest and valleys. Weathering harsh conditions, encountering unexpected allies, and enduring long, perilous paths, the Underground Book Readers rely on their faith and each other to persevere. Their goal is to reach parts of the United States not yet under the control of the World Force. They long to find a place to live in peace and join their families. But as the group approaches the mysterious Reunion Crossing, one question remains: will they finally reach the free land—and what will they find waiting for them when they arrive?
Next month, a teaching guide will be released to accompany the whole series. This teaching guide will be an excellent resource for homeschooling parents and church schools who use the series. Students can access free downloadable worksheets to build vocabulary and learn about world history and Scripture. Watch for more news about these resources by following my links and signing up for my newsletter.
Book seven of The Underground Book Readers, Reunion Crossing, is sold on Amazon: https://a.co/d/atQI0J0
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Terry Overton is a retired university professor of educational and school psychology. She has an Ed.D. in Special Education and a Ph.D. in Psychology.
Her professional experience includes teaching public school, teaching at the university level, and being a college dean.
She has two children, seven grandchildren, and one great granddaughter.
Her previous writing and publication experiences include textbook and journal articles in the fields of special education and school psychology. She now seeks to answer God’s call to share the good news and grow the church by writing Christian books and devotionals.
Over the years, Terry’s books have won the Mom’s Choice Award, Christian Indie Award, Firebird Book Awards, American Writing Winner Awards, Bookfest Winner Awards, Pencraft Award, Reader Views Silver Reviewers Award, and International Book Award Finalist. Her writing examines real world events with a Christian worldview. She enjoys writing for young children, middle grade readers, YA fiction, and adult level novels.
Terry’s background in teaching adults and children shine through her stories that often include a character with educational or learning challenges. Her Christmas series, The Oddball Ornaments, features a box of misfit ornaments who first learn the meaning of Christmas and then discover the meaning of forgiveness. In The Underground Book Readers series, one of the main characters is on the autism spectrum yet is one of the leaders of the group of teens. Book one of a new series, The Messiah Brigade, features an awkward middle school nerd who helps his school turn around a bully gang of kids. Adoption and family issues are the focus of her new book, Charlotte McMaster and the Messenger Angel.
