Hugely original, this is an utterly gripping and deeply moving story set in Haiti after the 2010 earthquake. Trapped and bleeding in a bombed out hospital, Shorty tells the story of his brief life. Brought up in a slum city notable for its violence and poverty, Shorty and his twin sister are the children of the complex cultural history of Haiti. In his semi-delirium, Shorty recounts their lives which have been a strange mix of modern gang warfare, revolution and the old, old voodoo traditions of the island. Shorty’s story runs in parallel with to story of Toussaint, the great Haitian revolutionary who forced the French from Haiti and set the slaves who worked the land free. Simultaneously bleak and uplifting this is a stirring read that uncovers an important moment in history.

Synopsis

In darkness I count my blessings like Manman taught me. One. I am alive. Two. There is no two.

Haiti 2010: in the aftermath of the earthquake a boy lies trapped beneath the rubble: terrified, thirsty and alone. Shorty is a child of the slums, a teenager who has seen enough violence to last a lifetime and who has been inexorably drawn into the world of the gangsters who rule his broken city: men who dole out money with one hand and death with the other. But Shorty has a secret: a flame of revenge that burns inside him, fuelling his determination to find his beloved twin sister, stolen from him five years ago. In the darkness the lines between the present and the past begin to blur and, as Shorty fights for life, his struggle becomes part of a two-hundred-year-old story - a story of courage and betrayal, of freedom and of hope. Shorty may not be quite as alone as he believes...

About the Author

Nick Lake is an editorial director at HarperCollins Children's Books. He received his degree in English from Oxford University. Blood Ninja was inspired by his interest in the Far East, and by the fact that he is secretly a vampire ninja himself. Nick lives with his wife in Oxfordshire. More books by this author Author 'Like for Like' recommendation