Synopses & Reviews
A friendship blossoms when 16-year-old Carly interviews feisty 93-year-old Leah for her local history project and Leah shares her fascinating life's story—of a girl whose rich imagination rescues her from a grim reality, and an unlikely boy who changes everythingThe boy sat in the branches of the fifth tree on the left, his scuffed boots dangling. Leah turned her eyes up. His face was heavily freckled, his eyes large, brown and almond-shaped. His hair stuck out at wild angles. 'Hello,' she said.
When Leah Cartwright was five years old her father went to the barn, put a shotgun in his mouth, and pulled the trigger. Soon afterwards a boy appeared to Leah, in a tree in the orchard—a secret friend. Leah called him Adam, and she grew to love him. As a child on an isolated farm with only her fierce yet loving mother and her dog, Pagan, for company, Leah treasured books—the stories within them and the places they could take her. Now she is old, and a gifted storyteller, so when 16-year-old Carly interviews her for her local history project, Leah uses the magic of story to draw Carly into her present, her past, her secrets, and her unique friendship with Adam. This beautifully told novel is a bittersweet tale of hope, faith, consequences, and true love.
Review
"Jonsbergs prose is spare, his pacing excellent, his plotting memorable." —Publishers Weekly on Dreamrider
Review
"From Australia comes another great piece of YA literature with wit, zing and depth. Plenty of on-the-spot humor. . . . Readers will laugh, cry and, without trying, learn." —Kirkus Reviews on Am I Right or Am I Right
Review
"It is beautifully told with rich images of flawed characters." — School Library Journal
Review
"The power of storytelling as a means to tackle fear, faith, love, loss, and aging." — Booklist Online
Synopsis
A compelling new young adult series set in a near-future post-pandemic world that is alive with action, intrigue, courage, betrayal, and retribution Pandora Jones wakes in a hospital—her body weak, her memory providing only flashes of horrific scenes of death. She soon discovers that her family has succumbed to a plague pandemic which has almost wiped out humanity. Pan is one of the lucky ones. She and other young survivors have been relocated to The School—a quarantined, heavily guarded facility where she is encouraged to hone her intuition and develop her survival skills. But danger is everywhere and Pan becomes convinced that the plague—and everyone’s memories about it—is a lie.
About the Author
Barry Jonsberg is the author of Being Here, Am I Right or Am I Right?, The Crimes and Punishments of Miss Payne, Dreamrider, and Ironbark.