What a compelling read, full of darkness, strangeness and almost fairy tale elements; and yet set in today’s world and entirely believable. Written with such style and beauty and full of dark, brooding, beautiful illustrations – all black and white pencil drawn – adding depth and beauty to the experience.
A group of friends and their siblings are all pulled into a vortex of wicked magic that can alter the world, as if certain elements of it had never existed – wiping out friends, family, and memories – except for those little flashes of déjà vu we all get. A very philosophical look at what it is like to be a pre-teen and young teenager, dealing with life without necessarily thinking through the consequences. A story that wraps around all the characters as they act and react to friendship, bullying, family breakdown and everyday life – and the consequences of actions – either unintended, planned, or thoughtless. A powerful read that will live with readers for days. I can see this book winning prizes in the future – for writing and illustration.
I do not intend to summarise the plot, that would be just too prosaic an approach for a book that definitely needs reading and sinking into to appreciate it!
You can watch AF Harold in conversation here in this exclusive LoveReading LitFest event.
Now available in paperback - an extraordinary story about friendship and betrayal, revenge and retribution, but also redemption. Ideal for 11+ readers who enjoy Stranger Things. Shortlisted for the Yoto Carnegie Medal for Illustration in 2023.'Luxuriantly illustrated by the fabulous Levi Pinfold. This exceptional book about friendship and paths not taken should rake in awards.' Observer
Hex never meant for the girl to follow him and his best friend Tommo into the woods. He certainly never meant for her to fall off the rope swing and break her arm. When he gets blamed for the accident, Hex runs deep into the woods, ending up in a strange clearing that he has never come across before. There he meets an old woman who offers him a deal. She'll rid the world of those who wronged him and Hex can carry on his life with them all forgotten and as if nothing ever happened. But what Hex doesn't know is someone else has been offered the same deal.
When Tommo wakes up the next day, he is in a completely different world, with only the vaguest memories of the world before. Can Tommo put the world right again? Back to how it was? Or can he even find a way to make a new world that could be better for them all?
This is a gripping and surreal contemporary fairytale that fans of David Almond will love.
