Claire North has made a quick and special reputation as an author who writes speculative thrillers that, via the experience of a sympathetically and closely drawn central character, examine an aspect of how we see or interact with the world around us. The Fifteen Lives of Harry August and Touch were thought-provoking in the best way and never less than engaging and gripping stories. Hope follows in their steps. Fans of Matt Haig will find themselves drawn to her story.
Hope isn’t remembered. Starting when she was sixteen people simply stopped remembering her. Once she was out of sight she was literally out of mind for them. This is distressing and isolating for her but Hope is resourceful and smart and soon begins to use her enforced status as an outsider to her advantage, becoming a lone thief. Tautly described thefts follow. Along the way she encounters people who have inflicted another sort of loneliness on themselves, pursuing the illusion of Perfection; a self-improvement App. North has plenty to say here about how we exist or don’t exist in our digital world but it is the troubled Hope that gives us the story to care about. ~ Simon Spanton
My name is Hope Arden. I am the girl the world forgets. It started when I was sixteen years old. A father forgetting to drive me to school. A mother setting the table for three, not four. A friend who looks at me and sees a stranger. No matter what I do, the words I say, the crimes I commit - you will never remember who I am. That makes my life tricky. It also makes me dangerous ...
'Well-paced, brilliant and balanced' New York Times
'Wonderful' NPR
'Claire North is a true original, a master of ingenious plotting and feats of imagination' -- Alex Marwood, author of THE WICKED GIRLS
'Fantastic' Kirkus
Author
About Claire North
Claire North is a pseudonym for British author Catherine Webb. The First Fifteen Lives of Harry August was her first novel published under the Claire North name, and was one of the fastest-selling new SFF titles of the last ten years. It was selected for the Richard and Judy Book Club, the Radio 2 Book Club and the Waterstones Book Club promotions. Her next novel Touch was published in 2015 to widespread critical acclaim and was described by the Independent as 'little short of a masterpiece'. Catherine currently works as a theatre lighting designer and is a fan of big cities, urban magic, Thai food and graffitispotting. She lives in London.
