Waiting On Wednesday: The Books of Elsewhere, Vol. 1: The Shadows

"Waiting On" Wednesday is a weekly event, hosted by Jill at Breaking the Spine, that spotlights upcoming releases that we're eagerly anticipating.

The Books of Elsewhere, Vol. 1: The Shadows
by Jacqueline West
Releases on June 15, 2010
 
This sounds like a fun new series! Here's the description from The Books of Elsewhere website:
 

Old Ms. McMartin is definitely dead. Now her crumbling Victorian mansion lies vacant. When eleven-year-old Olive and her dippy mathematician parents move in, she knows there's something odd about the place - not the least the walls covered in strange antique paintings. But when Olive finds a pair of old spectacles in a drawer, she discovers the most peculiar thing yet: She can travel inside these paintings to a world that's strangely quiet... and eerily like her own. Yet Elsewhere harbors dark secrets - and Morton, an undersize boy with an outsize temper.
 
As she and Morton form an uneasy alliance, Olive finds herself ensnared in a plan darker and more dangerous than she could have imagined, confronting a power that wants to be rid of her by any means necessary. It's up to Olive to save the house from the dark shadows, before the lights go out for good.

Jacqueline West weaves a tale at turns haunting, moving, and darkly funny, full of characters you won't soon forget.

A two-time Pushcart nominee for poetry, Jacqueline West lives in Red Wing, Minnesota. This is her first novel. 

For more information, see Jacqueline West's website