- Paperback: 208 pages
- Publisher: Walker Books Ltd (6 Jan 2003)
- Language English
- ISBN-10: 0744590930
- ISBN-13: 978-0744590937
- Product Dimensions: 21.2 x 13.4 x 2 cm
- Average Customer Review: 3.7 out of 5 stars See all reviews (3 customer reviews)
- Amazon Bestsellers Rank: 302,542 in Books (See Top 100 in Books)
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More About the Author
Product Description
Product Description
On a late autumn day in 1977 a fishing boat dredges the carcass of a huge sea monster from the black waters of the Pacific. In a peaceful suburban neighbourhood, three children go to the shop to buy ice cream and never return home. These events trouble Adrian, but then most things do. He's afraid of quicksand, tidal waves, self-combustion, shopping centres...A timid boy, who says little and does what he's told, he finds there is much in his world that he cannot understand. He lives with his gran and his Uncle Rory; his only friend is Clinton Tull, his one talent is for drawing. The routine of his life rarely changes...until the day the new children arrive in the house across the street. Then everything changes. Sonya Hartnett's dark, poignant and suspenseful novel perfectly captures the tenderness, cruelty and skewed perceptions of childhood.
About the Author
Sonja Hartnett was born in Melbourne in 1968, the second of six children. Her first book, Trouble All the Way, was written when she was just thirteen and published two years later. Since then she has gone on to write numerous successful novels, many of which have received awards in her native Australia, in particular Wilful Blue, which won an IBBY (International Board on Books for Young People) Award and was adapted for theatre. Another of her titles for Walker Books is the acclaimed Thursday's Child.
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Customer Reviews
Most Helpful Customer Reviews
2 of 2 people found the following review helpful
Format:Hardcover
Having just finished this beautiful poignant novel, I had to remind myself it was aimed at young adults - it succeeds easily as adult fiction. Nine year old Adrian is lonely - rejected by his only friend he befriends the strange new children who have moved nearby. Ironically he is surrounded by the affection of those unable to demonstrate it - his young agrophobic uncle, whose attempts at consoling Adrian are so touching, is too damaged himself to ultimately be of help to the boy; his bad-tempered grandmother's love for the child too often masked. Hartnett makes you care for Adrian, and hope against all the evidence that things will turn out right for him. I couldn't put this book down and am relieved to find there are more by the same author.
2 of 2 people found the following review helpful
Format:Paperback
This is one of the saddest children's books I have ever read. Poor Adrian is only nine but has already seen too much. Passed from one inadequate parent to another he ends up living with a grandmother incapable of showing him any affection. Every aspect of life is difficult for him; he is confused by signals people give off and yet highly perceptive of their motives. I'm not sure what age child would read this but I had to finish it in one sitting.
0 of 2 people found the following review helpful
Format:Paperback
When I got this book I thought it was a horror or something because it mentioned so many fantasy and bazaar things on the back.I thought he would discover a monster or the location or some thing. As I read It soon left all relevance and started talking about his life. Near the end, with all mention of ,what the birds see, etc I thought it might finally reach some sort of supernatural solving of puzzle and.................... The main caricature and his best friend randomly drowned in a swimming pool and thats the end of the book. this left me baffled to what the hell the plot was supposed to be. So unless you are obsessed by fictional and irrelevant child phycology, DON'T BOTHER BUYING THIS BOOK!
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