Held by Anne Michaels
As moving & haunting a book as you will ever read. The impact of war is felt but it is the beauty of human connection that resounds the loudest.
A story that spans the decades as chance encounters weave the characters together into one perfect tapestry. Desire, love & longing suffuse the pages as the author presses us to consider what happens when we are remembered. – Sue
There Are Rivers in the Sky by Elif Shafak
A story captured in the memory of single raindrop, Elif Shafak’s unique storytelling follows the lives of three characters, set on the banks of the Thames and of the Tigris. These rivers carry histories that resurface and return, just like the fabled poem of Gilgamesh.
This poem first obsesses Arthur, a young boy with incredible memory and academic obsession. It may save him from the poverty of the Victorian London slums, however the barriers of class forever separate him from both his own country and the lands that beguile him.
In modern London, Zaleekhah treads water as divorce, family pressure, childhood trauma and the isolation of her hydrology research drain both her sleep and happiness. She soon meets Nen, who introduces her to the tale of Gilgamesh. In this, Zaleekhah recognises something fundamental to her own life.
Meanwhile, a decade ago in Turkey, young Narin is listens to her Grandmother’s stories. Her magic and wisdom are an antidote to the encroaching threat of war and persecution of her Yazidi community.
The characters interlink in ways that feel unexpected yet inevitable. The research and historical detail enrich an incredibly moving story of belonging, legends and connection. – Katrina
The Twelve by Liz Hyder
I have been waiting for Liz Hyder’s return to teen novels since her incredible debut Bearmouth in 2019. Liz’s books sit outside the realm of any category, and that’s what I love about her and her writing.
The Twelve is another beautiful, spooky conundrum of a book filled with a love of the Welsh coast, hagstones, birding, stone circles and time slips. It plays with story and structure with an unprecedented skill.
Kit, her annoyingly lovable little sister Libby, and their mum are taking an extended caravan holiday on the Welsh coast near Tenby. When Kit wakes one night to her sister sneaking out after hearing a story about a mystical clock tower, she has no choice but to follow her to keep her safe. But as the clock tower bell chimes thirteen, Libby falls from the tower…
Before Kit can get down to her sister, SNAP! She’s back in her bed at home. It was just a dream, but as she describes her dream to her mum the next morning, her mum has no memory of Libby. Kit doesn’t have a sister. Her imagination is playing up again. But it seems Kit isn’t the only person in town who remembers Libby.
The Twelve is an extraordinary teen novel filled with beautiful writing, incredible relationships, and the storytelling of a master. Tom de Freston’s atmospheric artwork at the beginning of every chapter brings the story to life, and Hyder’s sense of place and ability to play on the mind is unmatched. I will forever be haunted by this gorgeous book! – Hannah