This Dark Endeavor The Apprenticeship of Victor Frankenstein

Bravery, danger, and intense passion. How does obsession begin? Victor and Konrad are the twin brothers Frankenstein. They are nearly inseparable. Growing up, their lives are filled with imaginary adventures...until the day their adventures turn all too real. They stumble upon the Dark Library and discover secret books of alchemy and ancient remedies. Father forbids them from ever entering the room again, but when Konrad falls gravely ill, Victor is drawn back to the Dark Library where he uncovers an ancient formula for the Elixir of Life. Victor, along with his beautiful cousin Elizabeth and friend Henry, immediately set out to find a man who was once known for his alchemical works to help them create the formula. Determined to save Konrad, the three friends scale the highest trees in Strumwald, dive into the deepest lakes, and even make an unthinkable sacrifice in their quest for the elixir's ingredients. And as if their task was not complicated enough, a new realm of dangerthat of illicit lovethreatens to end the ordeal in tragedy.

Kenneth Oppel has published more than fifteen books for children. In 1995, he won the Air Canada Award for the best Canadian writer under the age of thirty. Formerly Books for Young People Editor at Quill & Quire magazine, he now writes full time. He lives in Toronto, Ontario, with his wife and children.