Book description
On Gullstruck Island the volcanoes quarrel, the jungles sing and
occasionally a Lost is born - a child seemingly a halfwit but with the
power to depart its body and mind-fly with the winds. Hathin and her
sister Arilou are members of the Lace - a tribe ostracized for terrible
ancient crimes. However, Arilou is also a Lost, the clan's most precious
commodity. The other islanders will give anything to see what she sees.
But Hathin and her people have a secret - in truth, Arilou's mumblings
make no sense. Only Hathin's trickery keeps the pretence alive. So when
the lie that has protected Hathin's village for so long threatens to
turn against them, what else can Hathin do but take her halfwitted
sister and run? With a cast of larger-than-life characters, this is a
richly imagined adventure no child will be able to put down - or ever
forget!
Frances Hardinge spent her childhood in a huge old house that
inspired her to write strange stories from an early age. She read
English at Oxford University, then got a job at a software company.
However, by this time a persistent friend had finally managed to bully
Frances into sending a few chapters of FLY BY NIGHT, her first
children's novel, to a publisher. Macmillan made her an immediate
offer. The book went on to publish to huge critical acclaim and win
the Branford Boase First Novel Award. GULLSTRUCK ISLAND is Frances's
third novel.
