Review
'A real page-turner' DISNEY GIRL MAGAZINE 'This is a gripping, fast-paced and at times heart-stopping read...' -- Julia Eccleshare LOVEREADING 4 KIDS 'A lovely kitchen sink drama, easy to read, but with the level of underlying sophistication you will only find in the best of writers' THE BOOKBAG 'This is a haunting tale of a displaced boy trying to find an identity that's both enjoyable and realistic' FLIPSIDE 'Touching and enjoyable' TELEGRAPH & ARGUS Newbery conveys the teenage angst of not belonging with perception and sensitivity, and the story ends on a satisfying high note -- Sally Morris THE DAILY MAIL 'A gripping, fast-paced read' MIZZ MAGAZINE 'A good novel which establishes a solid and engrossing world full of characters you care about. From the gripping first sentence to the satisfying ending, it is a story to believe in ' WRITE AWAY 'A moving story... gripping' ANGELS & URCHINS 'Wonderfully atmospheric and moving' TBK MAGAZINE 'An Intense and excitingly paced story' BOOKS FOR KEEPS 'A wonderful story with lots of atmosphere' BOOKS FOR KEEPS 'A good novel which establishes a solid and engrossing world full of characters you care about... from the gripping first sentence to the satisfying ending, it's a story to believe in' WRITE AWAY 'You know that a book by Linda Newbery will be well crafted, with a compelling plot, well drawn characters, and evocative descriptions of place. She loves playing with words and ideas, and has the rare ability to get inside the head of a teenager and be fascinated by what happens there' CAROUSEL 'A touching and enjoyable read' WOMAN'S WAY 'An enjoyable read' THE SCHOOL LIBRARIAN 'Newbery creates a strong sense of place - you can smell the sea-weed-in this story as Hal makes discoveries that change his life' -- Jane Sandell THE SCOTSMAN 'A heart-rending and candid search for identity' OXFORD TIMES 'This is a tense, atmospheric, page-turning new novel' LITERACY TIME PLUS 'Linda Newbery's writing is engaging and addictive... a real page turner' READ BETWEEN THE LINES.CO.UK
Book Description
Excluded from school, Hal is desperate to learn about his father and find his own identity in this brilliant and tense drama from an award-winning author.
Product Description
Hal's life is in upheaval: trouble at school; problems at home; a quarrel with friends. Then Hal is sent to his grandfather's seaside home.
Soon, his anger is absorbed by the pull of the crashing waves, buffeted by the tides, smoothed by the endless sands. Yet thoughts of the father he has never known won't go away. In fact, soon his dad seems to be everywhere: in the sand figures Hal makes on the beach; in his dreams; in the shape of Wesley Prince, his mother's old boyfriend. Since no one will tell him the truth, Hal is determined to find out for himself. Will his elusive father ever come into his life? Or is he no more substantial than the sandfather, blurred and dissolved by the incoming tide?
From the Back Cover
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Ahead, the Sandfather walked, his outline blurred against the dazzle of sea. He was made of the same stuff as the beach. He belonged here.
Hal has never known his father. Now, in trouble at school and at home, Hal is exiled to the seaside - and suddenly his father is everywhere. Hal glimpses him in conversations, in the sand figures he makes on the beach. He even thinks he's found him for real at last. But is his dad any more substantial than the Sandfather, blurring and dissolving in the incoming tide?
A heart-stopping search for identity from an award-winning author.
www.orionbooks.co.uk
ISBN 978 1 84255 548 4
£6.99
About the Author
Linda Newbery is the award-winning author of CATCALL (Nestle Silver Prize) and of SET IN STONE, the Costa Children's Book of the Year in 2006. Author of over 30 books, she is widely acclaimed in many fields - from picture books to complex teenage fiction - across a variety of contemporary and historical subjects. A former teacher, she lives in a village but regularly travels to conduct writing workshops and visit schools.
