The Crows' Warning

By Amerigo Pinelli and Sophia Graves

Twins Samantha and Dean are staying at their uncle Aldus’s Reptile House in Ravens Pass. Almost immediately, strange things happen. After Uncle Aldus locks the twins in the upstairs apartment, they hear loud footsteps and glass shattering on the first floor. When all is quiet, they break out of the apartment to find their uncle badly hurt. Set back in the woods and with no cell signal, Sam and Dean must help their uncle on their own. With the protection of a murder of crows, will they be able to get to figure out what—or who—has attacked their uncle and why?

• Language: English
• Publisher: Capstone Young Readers
• Release date: Aug 1, 2023
• ISBN: 9781669033936

Amerigo Pinelli

Long ago, Amerigo Pinelli met a pencil when he was a child living in the heart of the city of Naples, Italy. From that moment on he started to play, joke, fight, and make peace with it. Today, he works in animation and publishing, and he also teaches kids in the comics school of Naples. He thinks making a living doing the thing he enjoys the most is a great gift, and he considers himself very lucky. His three daughters Chiara, Teresa, and Irene fill his life with color and joy. They are really unpredictable! For him and his wife,Giulia, it's impossible to get bored!

Book preview

You tried to get away, but you couldn’t help returning to this odd little town. Every time you wandered, you stumbled onto its streets. It sits along the highway, and off the beaten path. It’s in the depths of a forest, and in the middle of a desert. It’s surrounded by mountains, and balanced on the edge of a deadly cliff. It’s the place where weird things happen, where the unreal becomes real.

Welcome back to RAVENS PASS. It’s been waiting for you.

A full moon shines behind ravens perched on a twisted tree. Mountains are in the background. Fog fills the scene.

CHAPTER 1

THE BEGINNING

A bell clanked as twelve-year-old twins, Sam and Dean, walked into a convenience store in Ravens Pass. A grizzled man with a shaggy beard and bald head nodded at them from behind the counter.

The only sound was the hum of the ice machine. A light flickered overhead as Sam filled her cup with ice. Dean bumped her shoulder and pointed near the register. On a stool, a scraggly cat with missing patches of hair hissed at them.

That cat is creepy, he whispered.

I’m sure it’s nice, Sam said. The cat hissed back. Or maybe not. Let’s get going. Mom’s waiting.

As they placed their snacks on the counter, the gruff man said, We don’t get many visitors out here. Where are you two headed?

"We’re visiting our uncle this summer at his herpetarium," Sam replied.

The man paused. Herpetarium?

The Reptile House in the woods, Dean said. My sister likes fancy words.

Those woods are thick. They have secrets, he said.

Like what? Sam asked.

Heard some stories, seen some things, he said.

Just then, the door creaked open. Mom stood in the doorway and yelled, Let’s go! It’s getting dark.

The cat hissed again as they walked out the door.

---

The sun was setting as Sam stepped out of the car with Dean behind her. A crow cawed overhead. Followed by another. Then another. The three crows circled above them three times and then disappeared into the woods.

That’s a strange welcome,