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Secret Heart
 
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Secret Heart (Hardcover)

by David Almond (Author)
3.9 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (8 customer reviews)

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Product details

  • Hardcover: 202 pages
  • Publisher: Hodder Children's Books (15 Mar 2001)
  • Language English
  • ISBN-10: 0340764821
  • ISBN-13: 978-0340764824
  • Average Customer Review: 3.9 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (8 customer reviews)
  • Amazon.co.uk Sales Rank: 973,086 in Books (See Bestsellers in Books)

    Popular in this category:

    #48 in  Books > Children's Books > Authors & Illustrators > A > Almond, David

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Product Description

Amazon.co.uk Review

Secret Heart is the fourth novel from David Almond: an author who always hits the mark. This time he surpasses himself with a tale of lost souls and lonely hearts, set against the backdrop of a visiting circus and the dream of a beautiful tiger.

Young Joe Maloney's dreams are invaded by the footsteps of a tiger, so real, so near, yet too far away to touch. When he meets the visiting circus people, he makes a connection that will change his life forever. Almond's writing is, as ever, almost perfect: few authors have the ability to capture mystery and beauty so perfectly, bringing the strangeness of reality and the normality of the obscure so vividly to life.

His award-winning Skellig, the beautiful Heaven Eyes and the rich and unforgettable Kit's Wilderness have left an indelible mark on children's literature, and Secret Heart is set to join them in the ranks of the truly great, appealing to children, parents and teachers in equal numbers. (Age 10 and over)--Susan Harrison



The Sunday Times

A life-changing story of hope, love and encouragement for a boy who's been all but written off.
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Customer Reviews

8 Reviews
5 star:
 (4)
4 star:
 (1)
3 star:
 (1)
2 star:
 (2)
1 star:    (0)
 
 
 
 
 
Average Customer Review
3.9 out of 5 stars (8 customer reviews)
 
 
 
 
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Most Helpful Customer Reviews

 
3 of 3 people found the following review helpful:
2.0 out of 5 stars Disappointment, 17 Jun 2003
By Tigerrtje "Tigerrtje" (Antwerp, Belgium) - See all my reviews
This review is from: Secret Heart (Paperback)
I really loved "Skellig" and liked "Kit's wilderniss" even better - they are two great books. But "Secret heart" was a major disappointment for me.

It felt like Almond took his themes too far this time. From the beginning, it was obvious how it was going to end, it was all too clear. The book never questions its mysteries. Furthermore, the good characters were too good and the bad ones simply too bad. A weak boy with a speech impediment, bullied by the others, is not what he seems? That was a major cliché and a huge turn-off for me.

I hope David Almond takes another direction in "The Fire-eaters." Searching for other themes, maybe even a new style, might do him some good.

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3 of 3 people found the following review helpful:
2.0 out of 5 stars No magic this time, 7 May 2003
By Tigerrtje "Tigerrtje" (Antwerp, Belgium) - See all my reviews
This review is from: Secret Heart (Paperback)
Although I am a big Almond-fan, his latest just did not work for me. The characters were too clearly good vs. bad and they lacked depth. I thought Joe was a bit too 'simple', the people in the village too rough, which made the story thin and predictable.

The magic was too obvious as well, it sounded like new age talk to me, it just didn't go anywhere, remained too vague, had no body. Give me the subtle and exciting "Kit's Wilderniss" instead, still Almond's best to me.

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2 of 2 people found the following review helpful:
5.0 out of 5 stars Back to brilliant form..., 15 Feb 2001
By A Customer
I wouldn't say that David Almond had 'lost it' with Heaven Eyes -- any new book from him is worth reading for its magic, transparency and deep feeling... -- but Secret Heart is definitely up there with Skellig and Kit's Wilderness as a children's classic (even when you're a child aged nearly 40!).

So utterly believable; with the 'magic' totally integrated into a heartfelt and tangible 'realism'. Unputdownable, as always; providing a great insight into the heart and minds of very special places and characters.

Thank you, again, David Almond....

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Most Recent Customer Reviews

4.0 out of 5 stars Profound but Very Readable
Once again David Almond writes a story that is at once accessible and profound. Once again his prose blurs the distinctions between the real and the imagined, and we enter into a... Read more
Published 1 month ago by Sir Furboy

3.0 out of 5 stars a bit carried away?
I read this book in preparation for reading it with my 12 year old. Previously she had very much enjoyed Skellig, which I feel is more approachable, since the fantasy element has... Read more
Published on 18 Oct 2002 by Ingrid Panayi

5.0 out of 5 stars Another emotional, gripping story by David Almond
The tiger visits him every night. The sound of its footsteps, the smell of its dung.

Joe is different to other people. He feels more, thinks more, and dreams more. Read more

Published on 26 Feb 2002

5.0 out of 5 stars excellent story. David Almond at his best!!
After reading Counting Stars I could hardly bear to say I did not like it. However after reading Secret Heart I can now see why he wrote it. Read more
Published on 17 Feb 2001

5.0 out of 5 stars realy great
this book is realy great-it has a strong story to it,its got lots of twists and its a story that is based on real life. Read more
Published on 12 Feb 2001

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