Synopses & Reviews
The sea has taken everything.Mau is the only one left after a giant wave sweeps his island village away. But when much is taken, something is returned, and somewhere in the jungle Daphne a girl from the other side of the globe is the sole survivor of a ship destroyed by the same wave.
Together the two confront the aftermath of catastrophe. Drawn by the smoke of Mau and Daphne's sheltering fire, other refugees slowly arrive: children without parents, mothers without babies, husbands without wives all of them hungry and all of them frightened. As Mau and Daphne struggle to keep the small band safe and fed, they defy ancestral spirits, challenge death himself, and uncover a long-hidden secret that literally turns the world upside down...
Internationally revered storyteller Terry Pratchett presents a breathtaking adventure of survival and discovery, and of the courage required to forge new beliefs.
Review
"In Carnegie Medalist Pratchett's (the Discworld novels; A Hat Full of Sky) superb mix of alternate history and fantasy, the king of England, along with the next 137 people in line to the throne, has just succumbed to the plague; the era might be akin to the 1860s or '70s. As the heir apparent is being fetched from his new post as governor of an island chain in the South Pelagic Ocean, his daughter, the redoubtable Ermintrude, still en route to join him in the South Pelagic, has been shipwrecked by a tsunami. She meets Mau, whose entire people have been wiped out by the great wave (he escaped their fate only because he was undergoing an initiation rite on another island). She and Mau each suffer profound crises of faith, and together they re-establish Mau's nation from other survivors who gradually wash up on shore and rediscover (with guidance from spirits) its remarkable lost heritage. Neatly balancing the somber and the wildly humorous in a riveting tale of discovery, Pratchett shows himself at the height of his powers. Ages 12 up." Publishers Weekly (Starred Review) (Copyright Reed Business Information, Inc.)
Review
"Broad in its scope and concrete in its details, this unusual novel strips away the trappings of two very different nations to consider what it is people value and why....Quirky wit and broad vision make this a fascinating survival story on many levels." Booklist (Starred Review)
Review
"Pratchett's latest masterpiece....A searching exploration of good and evil, fate and free will, both as broad and as deep as anything this brilliant and, happily, prolific author has produced so far." Kirkus Reviews (Starred Review)
Review
"The unique pleasure of this story is that all the serious subjects and juicy ethical questions...are fully woven into action and character....[I]t is hard to imagine a reader who won't feel welcomed into this nation." The Horn Book
Synopsis
The author of the phenomenally successful Discworld series delivers the mesmerizing story of a boy whose journey to manhood requires the strength to defy expectations and the courage to forge new beliefs.
About the Author
Terry Pratchett's books have sold more than 55 million copies worldwide (give or take a few million). In addition to his hit novels about the fantastical flat planet Discworld, he has written award-winning children's books, including the Johnny Maxwell trilogy and the bestselling Tiffany Aching Adventures. Mr. Pratchett received Britain's highest honor for a children's novel, the Carnegie Medal, for
The Amazing Maurice and His Educated Rodents. Mr. Pratchett has one grown-up daughter and lives in England with his wife and many cats.
As many of you know, beloved house author Terry Pratchett has been diagnosed with early onset Alzheimer's Disease. Terry has become active in fundraising efforts to support Alzheimer's research. Click here to read a speech Terry made to the Alzheimer's Research Trust Conference in the UK earlier this year. If you are interested in making a tax-free donation to to the Alzheimer's Association click here.