Boasting richly atmospheric illustrations from the award-winning Levi Pinfold, this masterful story of betrayal and friendship revolves around a mysterious old lady with the ability to grant fresh chances.
Now available in paperback – an extraordinary story about friendship and betrayal, revenge and retribution, but also redemption. Ideal for 11+ readers who enjoy Stranger Things. Shortlisted for the Yoto Carnegie Medal for Illustration in 2023.'Luxuriantly illustrated by the fabulous Levi Pinfold. This exceptional book about friendship and paths not taken should rake in awards.' Observer
Hex never meant for the girl to follow him and his best friend Tommo into the woods. He certainly never meant for her to fall off the rope swing and break her arm. When he gets blamed for the accident, Hex runs deep into the woods, ending up in a strange clearing that he has never come across before. There he meets an old woman who offers him a deal. She’ll rid the world of those who wronged him and Hex can carry on his life with them all forgotten and as if nothing ever happened. But what Hex doesn’t know is someone else has been offered the same deal.
When Tommo wakes up the next day, he is in a completely different world, with only the vaguest memories of the world before. Can Tommo put the world right again? Back to how it was? Or can he even find a way to make a new world that could be better for them all?
This is a gripping and surreal contemporary fairytale that fans of David Almond will love.
Publisher: Bloomsbury Publishing PLC
ISBN: 9781526623874
Number of pages: 272
Dimensions: 198 x 150 mm
A 'what if' story about alternative versions of lives, and the consequences of our actions. Levi Pinfold adds dark, realist, atmospheric illustrations that heighten the drama - Children’s Book of the Week, The Sunday Times
A beautifully written dark and twisty book which lingers long after the final page has been turned. Levi Pinfold’s haunting illustrations add to the magic - Hannah Gold, author of The Last Bear
Yet again A.F Harrold and Levi Pinfold have produced a near-perfect work of art. Harrold's words bring wit and wonder together, and their spirit is beautifully caught by Pinfold’s images - Carnegie-winning author Anthony McGowan
A.F. Harold is an astonishing writer and this story of lost and found friendships is brimming over with dark imagination and magical storytelling. No one will be able to forget spending time in his world - Keith Gray
A dark and intriguing mystery, full of Pinfold’s breath-taking artwork - Editor's choice, The Bookseller
Broodingly atmospheric … A fantasy blending the strange and the everyday - Sunday Times
Luxuriantly illustrated by the fabulous Levi Pinfold. This exceptional book about friendship and paths not taken should rake in awards - Observer, The New Review
This spellbinding story asks what you would do if you could rewrite history and wipe clean everyone’s memory of events — and even of people. This is the dilemma confronting troubled Hex when a menacing old woman offers to ‘disappear’ those who accuse him of causing an accident. Beautifully written and illustrated, this is poignant, dark and thought-provoking - Daily Mail
With darkly beautiful monochrome illustrations by Levi Pinfold, this is a story about best friends Hex and Tommo who find themselves caught up in a bargain that changes their world. With classic Grimm-esque fairytale vibes, this is a Stranger Things style tale that’s utterly spellbinding - Gift Inspiration 2022: the best books to give to children, teens and young adults, Culturefly
Extraordinary … as moving, strange and profound as Skellig - Guardian on THE SONG FROM SOMEWHERE ELSE
Poet A.F. Harrold’s The Worlds We Leave Behind (Bloomsbury) – a contemporary fairytale about accidents, decisions and alternate realities – was dizzying in its scope. Levi Pinfold’s sensationally dark, atmospheric illustrations only amplified - The best children’s books of 2022, Observer New Review
An impeccably crafted, cerebral fantasy - Booklist, starred review
This is a beautifully written, at times a little scary, thought-provoking (and not to mention profound) story. I was engrossed by merely the first few pages and found it hard to put the book down. The illustrations... More
I received an advanced copy of this book from NetGalley in exchange for an honest review.
The Worlds We Leave Behind is a story about friendship, retribution, and finding the strength to face down monsters, aimed at...
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A gorgeous read on so many levels...Hex and Tommo are a couple of boys who seem to have always been best friends. But an innocent day in the woods on a rope-swing leads to an accident for a young girl and the incident... More
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