Published: 08/02/2018
Shortlisted for The CILIP Carnegie Medal 2018
Scottish Children's Book of the Month July 2018
Something had happened on Hirta. End of the world or not, their people were not coming to fetch them off the Stac. They would come if they could, but they could not. No one was coming. No one would ever come… unless it was God’s angels and Judgement Day.
In the summer of 1727, a group of men and boys are put ashore on a remote sea stac to harvest birds for food. No one returns to collect them.
Why?
Surely nothing but the end of the world can explain why they have been abandoned to endure storms, starvation and terror.
How can they survive, housed in stone and imprisoned on every side by the ocean?
Publisher: Usborne Publishing Ltd
ISBN: 9781474943437
Number of pages: 336
Weight: 280 g
Dimensions: 199 x 139 x 23 mm
MEDIA REVIEWS
It's a rare book that can transport us back into the rapture of childhood reading, but this is one. - The Guardian
Harshly beautiful, and stark with near-despair, this is an unsettling, deeply original historical novel. - The Guardian
McCaughrean writes extraordinary books: emotionally thunderous stories that evoke place and atmosphere with uncommon vigour, and are expressed with exhilarating precision of language... - The Sunday Times
Everything Geraldine McCaughrean touches turns to gold. - The Sunday Times
An awe-inspiring writer. - Sunday Telegraph
You may also be interested in...
“compelling novel from beloved author”
"In the summer of 1727, a group of men and boys are put ashore on a remote sea stac to harvest birds for food. No one returns to collect them. Why?"
I am always on the look out for great Scottish fiction...
More
“A story as wild and beautiful as the landscape it describes”
I received a reading copy of this book from the publishers in exchange for a review and to be honest, it did take me a couple of chapters to get into the story.
The initial blurb is reminiscent of The Lord of the...
More
“Bleak but beautiful, harsh but hopeful”
It took me a few pages to get into this, but it was well worth it once I did. Set in the remote isles of the Outer Hebrides hundreds of years ago and based on a true story, this is a really unique and cleverly crafted... More
Please sign in to write a review
Sign In / Register
Sign In
Download the Waterstones App
Would you like to proceed to the App store to download the Waterstones App?