THE DOOR IN THE ALLEY (Explorers book #1) by Adrienne Kress

The story: Sebastian likes things to be orderly, so it's weird when he finds a door in an alley that belongs to the Explorers' Society. It's even stranger when he ends up inside--and before he knows it, he's helping a girl named Evie find a mysterious key that might lead them to her long-lost grandfather...if the bad guys don't find it (and them!) first.

June Cleaver's ratings: Language G; Violence PG; Sexual content G; Nudity G; Substance abuse G; Magic & the occult G; GLBT content G; adult themes (being orphaned; deceiving parents) PG; overall rating PG.

Liz's comments: I liked this one all right, although it seemed to take too long to get going (the descriptions of the various rooms of the club were ho-hum and seemed to be trying too hard to be amusing); Sebastian is a little annoying with his OCD tendencies, although he does grow as a character while trying to help Evie. Reminiscent of "The Story Thieves" and "The Map to Everywhere", but without the magic components. So maybe you could call it an action/adventure story for kids who aren't down with elements of fantasy.