Description

SHORTLISTED FOR THE COSTA BOOK AWARD 2020
SHORTLISTED FOR THE BOOKS ARE MY BAG READER AWARDS 2021

‘Brilliant and impactful’ – Pandora Sykes

This is the story of one family, one dreamy summer – the summer when everything changes. In a holiday house by the sea, in a big, messy family, one teenager watches as brothers and sisters, parents and older cousins fill hot days with wine and games and planning a wedding.

Enter the Goddens – irresistible, charming, languidly sexy Kit and surly, silent Hugo. Suddenly there’s a serpent in this paradise – and the consequences will be devastating.

From bestselling, award-winning author Meg Rosoff comes a lyrical and quintessential coming-of-age tale – a summer book that’s as heady, timeless and irresistible as Bonjour Tristesse and I Capture the Castle but as sharp and fresh as Normal People.

Featuring a bonus essay from Meg Rosoff on her experiences of summer, this is THE unmissable book of the summer.
From the author of How I Live Now, one of TIME magazine’s 100 Best YA Books of All Time.

Publisher Review

This smart and humorous novel is, from the first sentence, rapture to read. Each paragraph is crafted with a joke, insight or observation that makes you eager for more * Sunday Times CHILDREN’S BOOK OF THE WEEK * It wouldn’t be summer without a sun-drenched coming-of-age story, so beautifully realised in Meg Rosoff’s seductive and elegant The Great Godden. … The heady nostalgia and sweet ache of first love and lost innocence recall classics such as Bonjour Tristesse * Observer, YA BOOK OF THE MONTH * Rosoff brilliantly captures the loss of innocence on the cusp of adulthood in a dreamy, seductive coming-of-age story that echoes classics like I Capture the Castle * The Bookseller, Editor’s Choice * A brilliant short book for someone looking for a thoughtful, impactful summer read… It sounds like it’s going to be the quintessential holiday romance but it’s so much more than that * Pandora Sykes, The High Low Podcast * … far too good to be monopolised by the teenage market. My advice: buy it for the young person in your life and then sneak off with it yourself * The Times CHILDREN’S BOOK OF THE WEEK * A wonderful, captivating writer * Daily Telegraph * Meg Rosoff has the gift of being able to talk to the reader with a directness that goes like an arrow to the heart * The Times * No one writes the way Rosoff does – as if she’s thrown away the rules. I love her fizzy honesty, her pluck, her way of untangling emotion through words * Daily Telegraph * It is only occasionally that a writer comes along with a voice so stridently pure and direct and funny that you simply can’t question it – you tumble willingly into its thrall — Julie Myerson * Guardian * A wonderfully original voice * New Statesman * A magical and utterly faultless voice * Mark Haddon * Searingly well written, her books read like Samuel Beckett on Ecstasy * The Times * Like Ephron, Rosoff has a lightness of touch, and is also a clever comic writer: her dialogue is sharp, her characters keenly observed and ruthlessly well realised * The Sunday Times * The perfect read for an afternoon by the sea * NetGalley user * An irresistible summer read * NetGalley reviewer * I have never connected with a book so quickly. The atmosphere and the heady setting of summer and nostalgic longing was enticing from the first page… my heart was swept away with this book * NetGalley reviewer * I genuinely couldn’t put it down * NetGalley reviewer * A thoroughly captivating read that reels you in and won’t let you go * NetGalley Reviewer * Sophisticated, seductive and smoothly readable, this is a summer story par excellence, and a coming-of-age tale for all times * LoveReading4Kids * A wonderful, escapist coming of age novel * Suffolk Magazine * A classic summer, coming-of-age story, wonderfully done… Its hazy nostalgia tempered by a winning self-awareness, The Great Godden is a joyful, generous read * Novel of the Week, Sunday Telegraph * A touching coming-of-age novel that is perfect for summertime * Sunday Express S Magazine * A dreamy, atmospheric tale about love, sibling rivalry and family secrets * Irish Independent * As a coming of age story, it hits all the right notes when tackling frustrations, loneliness and sexuality during a turbulent time * Magic Radio Book Club * This brilliant, witty, very modern novel is the perfect summer coming of-age read… A perfectly-pitched look at adolescent loss of innocence, it balances dark manipulation with sharp humour * Daily Mail * Meg Rosoff returns with another astute and alluring YA tale, filled with intrigue, and the agony and humiliation of love. […] The Great Godden is totally absorbing, be it in describing sibling hostility, or the effort required to conceal your feelings. Rosoff perfectly captures the endlessness of summer, and the prickling uneasiness of desire when it’s tangled up in hope * Press Association * A study of narcissism, eternal adolescence and those indelible first loves — 20 children’s books for summer * The Times * Best known for the dreamy teenage cousin-romance How I Live Now, Meg Rosoff is a rare writer of young adult fiction who is also loved by grown-ups. The Great Godden is just as marvellous – a classic, summery, coming-of-age story about the confusion of adolescent lust * Daily Telegraph * A gift for apparently effortless prose usually betokens an author working long hours perfecting their craft. Meg Rosoff, whose latest novel further cements her place as a truly outstanding popular writer, is one such perfectionist * Books For Keeps * Full of lies, lust, manipulation and the agony of being young * Daily Mail * Rosoff’s dazzling, timeless novel is a delight * Independent *