A pacy historical time-slip adventure for middle grade readers, from the Carnegie Medal-winning author of Apache and Buffalo Soldier.
Haunted by the past, can Anna rewrite the future?
1976: Twelve-year-old Anna, bored and lonely away from her friends for the summer, finds herself dreaming about a girl from 1919 – a neglected and lonely girl living in a mansion with an austere and unloving grandfather. As Anna’s dreams grow more vivid, she realizes that the girl from the past is calling out to her – and that Anna must cross time to save her from an untimely death...
Carnegie Medal winning Tanya Landman is the author of more than thirty books for children and young adults.
Born and brought up in Kent, Tanya had no intention of becoming a writer until the idea for Waking Merlin popped into her head. "It came from nowhere. It was completely out of the blue."
Tanya now lives and works in Bideford and the nearby coastline was the inspiration for her Flotsam & Jetsam series.
Tanya's first books were "adventure stories with a sprinkling of magic and spoonful of humour." But then Tanya turned to crime, writing Mondays are Murder (winner of a Red House Book Award) - the first in a series of ten "Agatha-Christie-for-kids" featuring child sleuth Poppy Fields and her friend Graham. Her new highly illustrated books for younger children feature Sam Swann, an accident-prone boy sleuth and his faithful canine sidekick Watson.
Although she writes across a broad age range, Tanya is probably best known for her historical novels for young adults. Apache - set in 19th century America - was shortlisted for several UK awards including the Teenage Book Trust and the Carnegie Medal (where it was voted the Shadowing Groups favourite). The US edition won a Borders Original Voices prize and a Spur award from the Western Writers of America. The Goldsmith's Daughter - set in the Aztec empire during the Spanish invasion - was nominated for the Carnegie Medal and the Guardian Children's Fiction prize. Buffalo Soldier won the 2015 Carnegie Medal. Hell and High Water - a swashbuckling thriller set in 18th century Devon - was shortlisted for the 2016 Guardian Children's Fiction Prize and nominated for the Carnegie Medal. Her latest book Beyond the Wall is set in Roman Britain. Passing for White comes out later this year.
1976: Twelve-year-old Anna, bored and lonely away from her friends for the summer, finds herself dreaming about a girl from 1919 – a neglected and lonely girl living in a mansion with an austere and unloving grandfather. As Anna’s dreams grow more vivid, she realizes that the girl from the past is calling out to her – and that Anna must cross time to save her from an untimely death...
This is so different from what I usually read, but I was hooked. I couldn’t leave the book alone until I knew what had happened to Etty. I become so invested in the 2 characters and how their lives come together. This was well written and the research the author did shines through. She was able to describe both era’s really well.
"is your world broken as mine was? let me assure you that because of your courage my world truly did become lovely again, as my motherhad once promised it would."