Printz Award Honoree and National Book Award finalist Deb Caletti debuts in middle grade with a tongue-in-cheek hero's journey set in a town full of magic, mayhem, lighthouses... and evil. The story takes place in a world much like ours, but at the same time not at all like ours, in which Vlad Luxor--a capricious, vain, infantile tyrant--rules over a town with an iron fist. He's an emperor with no clothes, but woe is the person who points that out--they could wind up turned into a squirrel or lizard or who knows what! For in this world, the evil leader also has magic, which he uses to punish anyone who speaks out against him. But in every classic tale with a despicable villain, there must also be a truly noble hero--in this case, four of them! Henry, Apollo, Pirate Girl, and JoJo must be their most brave and clever to break the spell Vlad Luxor has cast on Apollo's brother, Rocco. For we can't have Rocco remain a naked lizard for the rest of his life, now can we? Praise for A Flicker of Courage : “ The breathless plot . . is rich in riddle-solving, cliffhangers, hiding from bad guys, lock-picking, near-death experiences, riding bikes really fast, and comedy . . . [with] an original , deadpan touch that keeps the tone buoyant in this exhilarating , often poignant adventure .” — The   Horn Book Magazine “[T]his fast-paced middle grade debut from YA author Caletti ( A Heart in a Body in the World ) offers an allegorical message about activism and cooperation .” — Publishers Weekly “The hopeful tone [of this conversational series starter] is encouraging , and the focus on the power of knowledge and books may lead readers back to the stacks. . . This magical adventure is a good fit for fans of Brandon Mull’s Fablehaven and Karuna Riazi’s The Gauntlet .” — School Library Journal “[A] tongue-in-cheek middle-grade fantasy, [which] fans of the genre will enjoy [as the] sympathetic protagonist who, after years of self-doubt, is thrust into the role of hero.” — Booklist Deb Caletti is the award-winning and critically acclaimed author of over sixteen books for adults and young adults, including Honey, Baby, Sweetheart , a finalist for the National Book Award, and A Heart in a Body in the World , a Michael L. Printz Honor Book. Her books have also won the Josette Frank Award, the Washington State Book Award, and numerous other state awards and honors, and she was a finalist for the PEN Center USA Award. She lives with her family in Seattle. Chapter 1 The Backward Clock On this Saturday morning, the Saturday morning that changes everything, Henry Every opens his bedroom window. Still wearing his striped pajamas, he leans far out. Even Henry knows you shouldn’t do this, of course, but never mind that now. He sticks one ear toward the wind and listens as hard as he can. There are a few things you need to know about Henry. He’s a kind boy. He shudders when people are mean, and feels sorry for the losing team. He always says hello to dogs when he sees them sitting alone in cars, and when a cow is standing by herself in a field, he’ll give a friendly wave. But he’s also lonely. So lonely that he feels it like an actual ache in his heart. So lonely that he lifts his window like this every Saturday at sunrise, and every afternoon, and every evening, too. He lifts it even if the wind whips in or the rain drips down or the snow splats. In winter, when he sticks his head out, the end of his nose freezes, and on mornings like this, he breathes in the delicious smells of summer. He doesn’t lean out his window to take in the glories of nature, though. He leans out for a more important reason, a critical reason: to listen to the Dante family next door. And the best day to do this is Saturday, at a very early hour. If he sticks his head far out then, he can hear the Dante children watching an episode of their favorite show,  Rocket Galaxy . If he sits just so and barely makes a move, he can hear laser swords clashing with laser swords and the  clink-zip sound of shots fired from spaceships. He can hear Rex Xavier capturing the Rebels of Venus as a meteor smashes into a magnificent planet. Henry loves getting to listen to his favorite television show. But what he loves even more are the other sounds coming from the Dante house. The family sounds. The giggles and teasing of the Dante children, and even the shouts of GET AWAY FROM ME! and LEAVE ME ALONE! and YOUR LEG IS TOUCHING MY LEG! In the evenings, he can hear the low murmurs of Mr. and Mrs. Dante discussing important but mysterious things like mortgages and carburetors and gallbladders. He can hear the rattle and clank of pans at dinnertime as the fabulous smell of a Meat Mayhem Loaf drifts over to his window. And he can hear his classmate Apollo Dante just being Apollo Dante—practicing his spelling words with a confident voice, patiently explaining to his sister, Coco, how a radio works. He can hear the  thump, thump of a baseball hitting t