A coming-of-age novel about grief and hope for upper middle-grade readers from former Children’s Laureate Anne Fine.
A family mix-up means Louie has to tag along with his engineer father and his team as they head for a routine job in the farthest flung and most neglected province of the Federation. A massive earthquake, with ensuing tsunami, devastates the entire isolated coastal region, laying bare the other-worldly manner in which the silent and strange Endlanders deal with life, death, and the hinterlands of memory and loss. Their curious and unsettling ways raise ghosts for Louie, who has recently lost his own brother.
This modern fable - part ghost-story, part coming-of-age novel, and part astute social and family observation - explores the ways in which grief can affect not only individuals, but communities at large
A distinguished writer for children of all ages, and former Children’s Laureate, Anne Fine has written over 70 books for children, including two Carnegie Medal winners, Goggle-Eyes (1990) and Flour Babies (1994). Adaptations of Bill’s New Frock and Goggle-Eyes have been screened by the BBC and Twentieth Century Fox filmed her novel Madame Doubtfire as Mrs Doubtfire. Her works have been translated into more than 25 languages.
<aside> 🌊 "Anne Fine seems to have the knack of reaching straight to the heart of young readers" — Sunday Times
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<aside> 🌊 "a children's writer of rare gifts" — Times Educational Supplement
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<aside> 🌊 "A weird and wonderful triumph…A challengingly powerful book - this is Fine at her very best” – The Times (Children’s Book of the Week)
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<aside> 🌊 "Compelling…fast-paced and vivid” – The Independent
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<aside> 🌊 "Thought-provoking…a startlingly original concept…you are in the hands of an expert who writes without a wasted word…This author always takes great care to leave the reader with hope and generally, most definitely in this case, with a deeper understanding of the human condition. A brilliantly rewarding read” – LoveReading4Kids
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WEL Publisher: Old Barn Books, February 2022
Editor: Ruth Huddleston
Primary Agent: Georgia Glover
Film/TV Agent: DHA (Clare Israel)
Extent : 288 pages
Co-Agents: Chinese - Andrew Nurnberg Associates; Japanese - Tuttle-Mori
Rights Sold: ****All rights available
<aside> 🌊 "“Aftershocks …will only add to her reputation as one of the finest contemporary writers of fiction for young people… Anne Fine has crafted as story which is gripping, atmospheric, deeply moving and full of wisdom” – V’s View From the Bookshelves
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<aside> 🌊 "Fine couldn't write an unengaging novel if she tried...this is supremely professional writing." — Independent, on The Devil Walks
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<aside> 🌊 "The work of a true artist." — Guardian, on Blood Family
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