2012 Puddly Awards
 
 
Follow us on TwitterFollow us on FacebookFollow us on TumblrSubscribe to RSS

Recently Viewed clear list

Interviews | Today, 2:26pm

Jill Owens: IMG Stephen Dau: The Powells.com Interview

0 comments By Jill Owens

Stephen DauStephen Dau's The Book of Jonas is a marvelous, lyrical debut that examines the effects of war on everyone involved. Dau weaves together the stories... Continue »
  1. $17.47 Sale Hardcover add to wish list

    The Book of Jonas

    Stephen Dau 9780399158452
spacer
Free Shipping!

Ships free on qualified orders.
$16.99
New Hardcover
Ships in 1 to 3 days
Add to Wishlist
Qty Store Section
6 Local Warehouse Children's- Fables
2 Remote Warehouse Children's- Science Fiction and Fantasy

More copies of this ISBN

This title in other editions

The Ghost's Child

by Sonya Hartnett

The Ghost's Child Cover

ISBN13: 9780763639648
ISBN10: 0763639648
All Product Details

 

Synopses & Reviews

Publisher Comments:

This enchanting fable of a young woman and a wild boy is a haunting

meditation on the nature of love and loss.

Maddy, an old lady now, arrives home one day to find a peculiar boy waiting for her. Over tea, she tells him the story of her life long ago, when she wished for her days to be as romantic and mysterious as a fairy tale. It was then that she fell painfully in love with a free spirit named Feather, who put aside his wild ways to live with her in a little cottage, conceived with her a child never to be born, and disappeared leaving an inconsolable Maddy to follow after him on a fantastical journey across the sea. In a beautifully crafted tale, currently shortlisted for a 2008 Commonwealth Writers Prize, Sonya Hartnett masterfully explores the mysteries of the heart, the sustaining power of memory, and the ultimate consolation that comes to souls who live fully and fearlessly.

Review:

"Hartnett (Surrender) introduces an unlikely protagonist for a one-of-a-kind love story. When 75-year-old Matilda Victoria Adelaide, or Maddy, comes home to find a mysterious boy awaiting her, she thinks it 'odd, but also somehow flattering, as when a stray cat chooses your house to call home.' She tells him about her youth and about falling in love. Thus begins a tale that revels in profound questions ('How... does one craft sturdy happiness out of something as important, as complicated, as unrepeatable and as easily damaged as a life?'; 'What is the world's most beautiful thing?'; is life 'settling for what you can get, if you can't have what you really want?') and Maddy's tireless pursuit of their answers as they unfold through her relationship with Feather, a youth who captures her heart so totally that she is forever changed. Those who enjoy fables or magical realism will be spellbound by this redemptive story of a search for love, love lost and love (of a sort) found again. If the emotional distance created by the narrative frame proves a barrier for other readers, the exquisite prose may yet hold them. Ages 14 — up." Publishers Weekly (Starred Review) (Copyright Reed Business Information, Inc.)

Synopsis:

In a beautifully crafted tale of a young woman and a wild boy, Hartnett masterfully explores the mysteries of the heart, the sustaining power of memory, and the ultimate consolation that comes to souls who live fully and fearlessly.
back to top

About the Author

Sonya Hartnett is the author of THURSDAY'S CHILD, WHAT THE BIRDS SEE, STRIPES OF THE SIDESTEP WOLF, THE SILVER DONKEY, and SURRENDER, a Michael L. Printz Honor Book. She lives in Australia.
back to top

What Our Readers Are Saying

Add a comment for a chance to win!
Average customer rating based on 1 comment:
ls, February 7, 2010 (view all comments by ls)
I picked this book out at my local library. I have to say this is my favorite book ever.(at least so far)I, at times, had difficultly understand some of the relations. I had to keep a dictionary close by. The story is so touching. I found myself crying at parts of the book. I also love a book with a touching ending, and I think this is one of the best endings I have ever read. I sometimes found it fairy tailish, with Maddie talking to the fish, and the wind. But it added to the story making you, well at least me, wonder if Feather really existed. I thought maybe he was her imagination. Whatever he was, the book touched me and left me wanting more.
Was this comment helpful? | Yes | No
(1 of 1 readers found this comment helpful)
report this comment
back to top

Product Details

ISBN:
9780763639648
Author:
Hartnett, Sonya
Publisher:
Candlewick Press (MA)
Subject:
Legends, Myths, & Fables - General
Subject:
Self-acceptance
Subject:
Voyages and travels
Subject:
Legends, Myths, & Fables - Other
Subject:
Ghosts
Subject:
Children s-Fables
Publication Date:
20081031
Binding:
Hardcover
Grade Level:
Young adult
Language:
English
Illustrations:
1-COLOR
Pages:
176
Dimensions:
7.74x5.42x.77 in. .62 lbs.
Age Level:
14-17
back to top

Other books you might like

  1. $5.99 Google eBooks add to wish list

    The Last Invisible Boy

    Evan Kuhlman 9781416999089
  2. $12.99 New Trade Paper add to wish list

    Lincoln Shot: A President's Life Remembered

    Barry Denenberg 9780312604424
  3. $7.99 Google eBooks add to wish list

    The Dragonfly Pool

    Eva Ibbotson 9781101098028
  4. $5.95 Used Hardcover add to wish list

    Danger Zone #01: The Devil's Breath

    David Gilman 9780385735605
  5. $5.99 Google eBooks add to wish list

    Palace of Mirrors

    Margaret Peterson Haddix 9781442402508
  6. $16.99 New Hardcover add to wish list

    Hansel and Gretel

    Cynthia Rylant and Jen Corace 9781423111863
back to top

Related Aisles

The Ghost's Child New Hardcover
0 stars - 0 reviews
$16.99 In Stock
Product details 176 pages Candlewick Press (MA) - English 9780763639648 Reviews:
"Publishers Weekly Review" by , "Hartnett (Surrender) introduces an unlikely protagonist for a one-of-a-kind love story. When 75-year-old Matilda Victoria Adelaide, or Maddy, comes home to find a mysterious boy awaiting her, she thinks it 'odd, but also somehow flattering, as when a stray cat chooses your house to call home.' She tells him about her youth and about falling in love. Thus begins a tale that revels in profound questions ('How... does one craft sturdy happiness out of something as important, as complicated, as unrepeatable and as easily damaged as a life?'; 'What is the world's most beautiful thing?'; is life 'settling for what you can get, if you can't have what you really want?') and Maddy's tireless pursuit of their answers as they unfold through her relationship with Feather, a youth who captures her heart so totally that she is forever changed. Those who enjoy fables or magical realism will be spellbound by this redemptive story of a search for love, love lost and love (of a sort) found again. If the emotional distance created by the narrative frame proves a barrier for other readers, the exquisite prose may yet hold them. Ages 14 — up." Publishers Weekly (Starred Review) (Copyright Reed Business Information, Inc.)
"Synopsis" by , In a beautifully crafted tale of a young woman and a wild boy, Hartnett masterfully explores the mysteries of the heart, the sustaining power of memory, and the ultimate consolation that comes to souls who live fully and fearlessly.
spacer
spacer
  • back to top
Follow us on...


Powell's City of Books is an independent bookstore in Portland, Oregon, that fills a whole city block with more than a million new, used, and out of print books. Shop those shelves — plus literally millions more books, DVDs, and eBooks — here at Powells.com.