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Totally, completely, and utterly gorgeous, this is a beautifully written historical relationship tale with real bite. And can I just qualify the word relationship - this is about the relationships with family, community, fear, nature, as well as the more obvious love. A work of fiction inspired by history, the story begins on Christmas Eve in 1617 when a sudden and violent storm takes the lives of forty fishermen, leaving the stunned women folk learning to survive on their remote northerly Norwegian island. Still reeling from the tragedy, their lives turn in the most frightening direction when the King brings in sorcery laws and a commissioner is installed to root out evil. This is Kiran Millwood Hargrave’s debut adult novel, and I feel as though I have been waiting my reading life for it. The prologue hits with a huge sad inevitability. Kiran Millwood Hargrave writes with a sensitive and considerate pen, the descriptions are truly breathtaking. While there are some savage shocks in store, The Mercies is still a warm, thoughtful and touching read. Chosen as a Liz Robinson pick of the month, we also just had to include The Mercies as a LoveReading Star Book too. Visit our 'Women's Words - 60+ works of feminist-minded fiction' to explore our collection of feminist-minded fiction from around the world, and across centuries.
Shortlisted for the Costa Book Awards 2017, Costa Children's Book Award Longlisted for the UKLA 2018 Book Award In a nutshell: beautifully told story of courage and hope and an unforgettable setting Kiran Millwood Hargrave follows up her award-winning debut The Girl of Ink and Stars with a story set in the real world, though one still filled with a sense of wonder and the extraordinary. Set in the Philippines at the beginning of the last century it tells the story of a girl forcibly removed from her mother, as many were, because her mother has leprosy, or as those with the disease preferred, is touched. With the help of her friends Ami makes her way back to her mother and it’s a story of love, courage and hope, all of these symbolised by the butterflies that fill the pages and that are so important to the story. It’s passionately told, full of memorable scenes and characters, and the writing is beautiful. ~ Andrea Reece The Costa Judges say: ‘Entirely original with not a word out of place – as vivid and beautiful as the butterflies themselves.’ A message from the author: ‘At a time when the world seems to be moving deeper towards intolerance, the message that we should be together but not the same, was at the forefront of my mind when writing this book. It’s easy to label people, and labelling means reducing them to one attribute, which in turn makes it easier to dismiss, dehumanise, and persecute. In The Island at the End of Everything, it is down to Ami, and her friend Mari, to find a way home in a society that tells them they are only children, only girls, and so are not in control of their own lives. But of course, this is far from the truth.’
Gothic, intoxicating, feminist, darkly provoking and deeply romantic - this is the breathtakingly imagined untold story of the brides of Dracula, by bestselling author Kiran Millwood Hargrave in her much-anticipated YA debut. 'A Chilling and breathlessly paced thriller... Feminism, spirituality, legend and desire are beautifully interwoven in this mesmerising tale of independence and resistance' - The Daily Mail They say the thirst of blood is like a madness - they must sate it. Even with their own kin. On the eve of her divining, the day she'll discover her fate, seventeen-year-old Lil and her twin sister Kizzy are captured and enslaved by the cruel Boyar Valcar, taken far away from their beloved traveller community. Forced to work in the harsh and unwelcoming castle kitchens, Lil is comforted when she meets Mira, a fellow slave who she feels drawn to in a way she doesn't understand. But she also learns about the Dragon, a mysterious and terrifying figure of myth and legend who takes girls as gifts. They may not have had their divining day, but the girls will still discover their fate... 'A feminist origin story of sisterhood, fate and survival certain to bewitch teenage readers and beyond' - Observer
A captivating, powerful and luminous story from a bestselling, award-winning author about a mother, a daughter, and the great Greenland shark. With mesmerising black and yellow illustrations and presented as a deluxe hardback with tracing paper inserts, this is a perfect gift for 9+ fans of Philip Pullman, David Almond and Frances Hardinge. 'Tom de Freston's stunning illustrations perfectly complement the poetry of Kiran Millwood Hargrave's story' Cressida Cowell 'A truly beautiful book, with text and illustrations in perfect harmony. A book to treasure!' Jacqueline Wilson 'Julia and the Shark is deep, beautiful and true. The art shines and the writing soars - a classic from cover to cover' Eoin Colfer 'A rich, immersive and wondrous journey, through deep darkness to hope and light' Sophie Anderson, author of The House with Chicken Legs The shark was beneath my bed, growing large as the room, large as the lighthouse, rising from unfathomable depths until it ripped the whole island from its roots. The bed was a boat, the shark a tide, and it pulled me so far out to sea I was only a speck, a spot, a mote, a dying star in an unending sky... Julia has followed her mum and dad to live on a remote island for the summer - her dad, for work; her mother, on a determined mission to find the elusive Greenland shark. But when her mother's obsession threatens to submerge them all, Julia finds herself on an adventure with dark depths and a lighthouse full of hope... A beautiful, lyrical, uplifting story about a mother, a daughter, and love - with timely themes of the importance of science and the environment.
Un maravilloso viaje a un mundo de fantasia, magia y grandes aventuras La joven Isabella suena con escapar a las tierras lejanas que su padre, un celebre cartografo, dibujo en mapas, pero no puede porque el Gobernador Adori oprime a todos los habitantes de la isla de Joya. Cuando su mejor amiga desaparece, se presenta como voluntaria para participar en la busqueda. El mundo que queda mas alla de su pueblo es una tierra baldia habitada por monstruos, y bajo los rios secos y las montanas humeantes, un demonio de fuego vuelve a despertar. Isabella seguira su mapa, su corazon y una antigua leyenda para dar con su amiga y, pronto, descubrira el verdadero fin de su viaje: salvar a toda la isla de un horrible destino. "e;Kiran Millwood Hargrave me recuerda a la mejor narrativa de fantasa clsica, como Philip Pullman. Es un libro que la gente seguir leyendo a lo largo de muchos aos."e;James Daunt, librero de Daunt Books y director de Waterstones"e;Una novela mgica con una hermosa y fascinante historia de mapas, mitos y amistad. Una lectura deliciosa."e;The Guardian"e;Hargrave posee el envidiable don de contar aventuras con un estilo narrativo lrico y cautivador."e;The BooksellerGanadora del premio Waterstones Children's PrizeGanadora del premio British Book of the Year de Literatura Juvenil
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