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Season of Secrets
On a wild and stormy night Molly runs away from her grandparents' house. Her dad has sent her to live there until he Sorts Things Out at home.
In the howling darkness, Molly sees a desperate figure running for his life from a terrifying midnight hunt. He has come to help her. But why? And who is he?
"Season of Secrets" weaves the tale of a heartbroken child and an age-old legend into a haunting story of love, healing and strange magic.
In the howling darkness, Molly sees a desperate figure running for his life from a terrifying midnight hunt. He has come to help her. But why? And who is he?
"Season of Secrets" weaves the tale of a heartbroken child and an age-old legend into a haunting story of love, healing and strange magic.
272 pages, Paperback
First published April 6, 2009
14 people are currently reading
604 people want to read
About the author
Sally Nicholls
44 books280 followers Sally Nicholls is a prize-winning British children's author. She was born and grew up in Stockton-on-Tees. On finishing school, Nicholls chose to travel around the world. Her first novel was Ways to Live Forever.
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Displaying 1 - 30 of 95 reviews
March 5, 2011
There is just something about British authors. Is it the misty, moisty climate, or the influence of past greats in fantasy for children, that makes their stories so compelling? Sally Nicholls is a relative newcomer (with just one other highly praised children's novel), but from her references to well-known British author Enid Blyton, and her familiarity with ancient Celtic myths, she has obviously drunk deeply of this British elixir. This story grabbed me right from the start. Molly and her sister, Hannah, have been sent to a rural town to live with their grandparents after the sudden death of their mother. Their father initially said the move was temporary, but, as time goes by, we (and the sisters) see that their father is not coping well with his grief. The older sister, Hannah, is also unhappy with the change in her situation and acts out her disquiet in dramatic ways. Molly is the quiet, introspective child and is is very close to her grandfather. The girls' grandma is a bit acerbic and not at all warm and fuzzy. The girls realize she is not happy with the fact that their "temporary" stay is dragging on. The grandparents run a shop in this small town and Molly helps out there after school. School is a tiny (idyllic-sounding), one-classroom arrangement down the hill from the shop.There are fewer than a dozen students, allowing for great flexibility in their curriculum. You can sense the difficulty the sisters have in fitting in in a small town where all the children have grown up knowing one another. One wild, rainy autumn night, Hannah, in despair, decides to run away, back to their home in Newcastle. Molly follows, but loses Hannah in the dark night. Down the lane, she witnesses a man fleeing hunters on horseback. He is eventually caught and mauled by their dogs. The hunters disappear and Molly rushes to help him, but he is a mysterious character and has disappeared when she returns with help. Soon after, on a school field trip to an ancient little village church, she sees the image of his face in stone in the church. Her teacher explains that he is the "green man", or "Oak King", a symbol of death and rebirth. The rest of the book is an interplay between the drama of the changing seasons, with its battles between the Oak King and the Holly King (symbol of winter), and the progression of grief and healing through which the girls and their father go. The overriding theme of the book is death, healing, and rebirth. I found the story to be engrossing and well-written. Some of the author's language is quite evocative, almost poetic, as for example this quote from p. 110: "You can even get used to having a hole in your life where someone used to live. A hole where you thought they'd live for always, except that one day they just step sideways, without looking back or saying good-bye, and vanish forever."
The cover of the edition I read, published by Scholastic, has a much better cover than the one shown above. It shows a young girl running down a woodland lane. It took me awhile to notice that the leaves on the tree branches over her head contain the image of eyes, of a face, watching.
The cover of the edition I read, published by Scholastic, has a much better cover than the one shown above. It shows a young girl running down a woodland lane. It took me awhile to notice that the leaves on the tree branches over her head contain the image of eyes, of a face, watching.
May 24, 2020
I've had this book for years and I've been apprehensive about reading it for a long time, but this is a really beautiful book. It was such a beautiful depicition of the changing of the seasons and of broken families. There were a few little racist remarks that are honestly quite shocking to find in a book published in 2009, but alas here we are.
February 1, 2011
Sally Nicholls is not a household name here in America. She is possibly not even a name that most children's librarians, booksellers, and teachers would recognize right off the bat. This, in spite of the fact that her previous book Ways To Live Forever was a stunning success. Folks became quite fond of that story about a boy with a terminal disease, and I suppose they expected Ms. Nicholls to do more of the same. That's the trouble with starting off your career with realism. Move into fantasy and you'll find that the fantasy fans don't really know who you are and the realism fans are disgusted that you haven't produced more of the same. Separate Season of Secrets from its predecessor, however, and what you have is a hearty little novel about a girl learning about the cruel war between the seasons, in the midst of her family's own personal tribulations.
Since Molly and Hannah's mother died they've been handling it as best they could. Their father, however, has not been handling it well. Not a jot. So distraught is he by the loss of his wife, in fact, that he sends his two daughters off to live with their grandparents in the country. One night Molly is witness to a frightening vision of a man run down by a pack of dogs and a horned man on a horse. In the ensuing days she tries to tell others, to no avail, then discovers the man in a nearby shed. She cannot nurse or help him, but she can learn as much as she can about him and what exactly he is. As she does, her father is drawn more and more into her life with her sister, though it takes him many tries and many mistakes before any progress can be made. The return of her father and the eventual destruction of the man come together in such a way as to give rise to winter, and the ensuing, beautiful, spring.
I've been reading so many books lately that don't give a fig for beautiful language. Coming across Ms. Nicholls felt like a gulp of cool water then. I wasn't two pages in when Molly let loose with the descriptive, "Hannah is one and half years older than me, yet she takes up about one and a half million times more space." And later, "My dad's shirts are always stiff and clean and white; you button him up all the way to his throat and there he is, locked up safe and going nowhere." I love a book that gives everyday descriptions real personality and flair. It's the signature style of Ms. Nicholls. It's something you can count on in every book she writes.
And then there was an element to this title that I found simultaneously clever and frustrating. Age. Here we have a tale of two sisters, one older, one younger, and there's not a moment in this story when we've a clear sense of how old they are. This is frustrating to a reviewer like myself since you judge how believable you find a character based, in large part, on whether or not they accurately act their age. I would have thought that Molly was acting a bit young for her age at quite a few points in the story, except that for all I know Molly could be seven or she could be ten. My suspicion is that Ms. Nicholls gave Molly a younger age, but then realized something. If you write a middle grade novel for 9-12 year-olds and you make your heroine only eight years of age, children aren't going to want to read that story. Truth be told, kids like to read about children that are older than themselves. I don't care how many horned baddies you throw in there, the minute they realize that they're sympathizing with someone the age of their little brother or sister, they may abandon the novel tout suite. The solution then would be to eliminate ages altogether. A clever solution then, if a bit frustrating for those of us trying to get a firm grasp on whom these characters really are.
It's such a strange novel that for a moment there you just have to wonder if this is all entirely in Molly's head. She certainly believes that the man and the Holly King (a.k.a. the dude with the horns) are real, but might we take this book as a story that is just the wild fever dream of a girl desperately trying to recreate a strong male figure in the absence of her own father? You can get fairly far in with this interpretation, but at some point it's just not possible anymore. What happens here is real, to a certain extent. For good or for ill.
I've always had a bit of interest in books for children that are brave enough to meld religions in some fashion. For example, there's The Dark Is Rising with its fingers on pagan traditions and a nod to modern Christianity (a small nod). Better still was Pat Walsh's The Crowfield Curse which managed to work in Christianity, the older fairy worship of the hills, and the even older dark religions that came before. Season of Secrets for its part is nothing so dark, but at the same time it isn't afraid to lead its child readers to the edge of some pretty huge questions. The Man, as he is sometimes known, is a figure of rebirth in the spring. So it is that Nicholls will have Molly first encounter his likeness in a church (an accurate detail, I have little doubt) and then later say things like, "He looks like a curly haired Jesus" later even speculating (but not questioning) that, "he's sort of god, like Jesus." Nicholls also draws together different old English myths with skill, reminding readers that they may have seen the horned leader of The Wild Hunt not only in books like The Black Cauldron or the aforementioned The Dark is Rising but also in stories about Woden, Odin, Herne, and even King Arthur.
But the book that this reminded me the most of, both in terms of tone and subject matter, was David Almond's Skellig. In one book you've a girl who tends to an injured man with the power over nature in an abandoned shed. In the other a boy who tends to a starving man with wings in his garage. Of course the relationship in Skellig is mildly contentious. "Season of Secrets", in contrast, feels as if it is invoking the relationship between Lucy and Mr. Tumnus in The Lion the Witch and the Wardrobe. Not a bad comparison when you consider that in both cases you have wild nature spirits tamed, in a sense, by little British girls. Much of this story has been seen before in some sense, but Nicholls puts her own very unique spin on the storytelling. The result is a powerful look at love, nature, the seasons, family, and home.
For ages 9-12.
Since Molly and Hannah's mother died they've been handling it as best they could. Their father, however, has not been handling it well. Not a jot. So distraught is he by the loss of his wife, in fact, that he sends his two daughters off to live with their grandparents in the country. One night Molly is witness to a frightening vision of a man run down by a pack of dogs and a horned man on a horse. In the ensuing days she tries to tell others, to no avail, then discovers the man in a nearby shed. She cannot nurse or help him, but she can learn as much as she can about him and what exactly he is. As she does, her father is drawn more and more into her life with her sister, though it takes him many tries and many mistakes before any progress can be made. The return of her father and the eventual destruction of the man come together in such a way as to give rise to winter, and the ensuing, beautiful, spring.
I've been reading so many books lately that don't give a fig for beautiful language. Coming across Ms. Nicholls felt like a gulp of cool water then. I wasn't two pages in when Molly let loose with the descriptive, "Hannah is one and half years older than me, yet she takes up about one and a half million times more space." And later, "My dad's shirts are always stiff and clean and white; you button him up all the way to his throat and there he is, locked up safe and going nowhere." I love a book that gives everyday descriptions real personality and flair. It's the signature style of Ms. Nicholls. It's something you can count on in every book she writes.
And then there was an element to this title that I found simultaneously clever and frustrating. Age. Here we have a tale of two sisters, one older, one younger, and there's not a moment in this story when we've a clear sense of how old they are. This is frustrating to a reviewer like myself since you judge how believable you find a character based, in large part, on whether or not they accurately act their age. I would have thought that Molly was acting a bit young for her age at quite a few points in the story, except that for all I know Molly could be seven or she could be ten. My suspicion is that Ms. Nicholls gave Molly a younger age, but then realized something. If you write a middle grade novel for 9-12 year-olds and you make your heroine only eight years of age, children aren't going to want to read that story. Truth be told, kids like to read about children that are older than themselves. I don't care how many horned baddies you throw in there, the minute they realize that they're sympathizing with someone the age of their little brother or sister, they may abandon the novel tout suite. The solution then would be to eliminate ages altogether. A clever solution then, if a bit frustrating for those of us trying to get a firm grasp on whom these characters really are.
It's such a strange novel that for a moment there you just have to wonder if this is all entirely in Molly's head. She certainly believes that the man and the Holly King (a.k.a. the dude with the horns) are real, but might we take this book as a story that is just the wild fever dream of a girl desperately trying to recreate a strong male figure in the absence of her own father? You can get fairly far in with this interpretation, but at some point it's just not possible anymore. What happens here is real, to a certain extent. For good or for ill.
I've always had a bit of interest in books for children that are brave enough to meld religions in some fashion. For example, there's The Dark Is Rising with its fingers on pagan traditions and a nod to modern Christianity (a small nod). Better still was Pat Walsh's The Crowfield Curse which managed to work in Christianity, the older fairy worship of the hills, and the even older dark religions that came before. Season of Secrets for its part is nothing so dark, but at the same time it isn't afraid to lead its child readers to the edge of some pretty huge questions. The Man, as he is sometimes known, is a figure of rebirth in the spring. So it is that Nicholls will have Molly first encounter his likeness in a church (an accurate detail, I have little doubt) and then later say things like, "He looks like a curly haired Jesus" later even speculating (but not questioning) that, "he's sort of god, like Jesus." Nicholls also draws together different old English myths with skill, reminding readers that they may have seen the horned leader of The Wild Hunt not only in books like The Black Cauldron or the aforementioned The Dark is Rising but also in stories about Woden, Odin, Herne, and even King Arthur.
But the book that this reminded me the most of, both in terms of tone and subject matter, was David Almond's Skellig. In one book you've a girl who tends to an injured man with the power over nature in an abandoned shed. In the other a boy who tends to a starving man with wings in his garage. Of course the relationship in Skellig is mildly contentious. "Season of Secrets", in contrast, feels as if it is invoking the relationship between Lucy and Mr. Tumnus in The Lion the Witch and the Wardrobe. Not a bad comparison when you consider that in both cases you have wild nature spirits tamed, in a sense, by little British girls. Much of this story has been seen before in some sense, but Nicholls puts her own very unique spin on the storytelling. The result is a powerful look at love, nature, the seasons, family, and home.
For ages 9-12.
February 11, 2012
I finished Season of Secrets earlier this evening and if I'm totally honest, I was a little underwhelmed by it. 'Ways To Live Forever' is one of my favourite YA novels and I found this to be a disappointing follow-up, not because of the writing, but because of the subject matter. Yes, it's my old bug-bear; 'magical realism' - and in this case it really didn't work for me. I thought that the local folklore was maybe a little too localised for the book, it was a tale that I was totally unfamiliar with, so couldn't really engage with it.
There is no doubt however that Sally Nicholls has a beautiful style of writing and this will not put me off reading any more of her books, in fact I'm really looking forward to the release of 'All Fall Down' in March - set in Yorkshire during the Black Death.
There is no doubt however that Sally Nicholls has a beautiful style of writing and this will not put me off reading any more of her books, in fact I'm really looking forward to the release of 'All Fall Down' in March - set in Yorkshire during the Black Death.
Read
October 16, 2015If you like a story with living gods you've probably never heard of, this is a book for you.
September 18, 2020
Not much happens, but it wraps you up like a whirlwind and transports you to the british countryside. I very much enjoyed my time with the young narrator and her head full of stories and ideas.
December 8, 2012
Lovely. The Season of Secrets starts off a bit sad. Molly's mother has died. Her father is distant and her sister is angry. They have temporarily been placed with their grandparents in a small village and go to a school that has only 8 students. Towards the beginning of the story Molly has a strange, muddy encounter with a man being hunted by another man. The hunter has horns, rides a horse and has wolf like dogs to sniff out and injure the other man. the green man, the oak king. Molly thinks the Oak King is kind and tries to help him but realizes that he is a god like creature that she cannot help but that has a special relationship with her. The story ends when the roles are reversed and the Oak king hunts the other man, the Holly king. It is an old pagan myth about seasons, but it is this story that help Molly realize that with death there is always rebirth of some kind, even if scars are left behind. Sally Nicholls has taught me about conkers, a game played in England with large chestnut type nuts from trees there. It is a child's game to collect these seed bearing nuts and drill holes for strings to then swing at each other's till one falls apart and the other is still intact. The main character, Molly, is an avid reader and refers to the popular english children's wrtier Enid Blyton who wrote the Fantastic Five. I've heard these older stories mentioned before but it was fun to hear about them again from this english author.
This entire review has been hidden because of spoilers.
May 31, 2014
I assume Season of Secrets has a low-ish rating because people read Ways to Live Forever and expected more of the same. I can't imagine why else it has barely scraped a 3.5 because this is a really enjoyable, quite atmospheric children's read which deals with mythology, life/death, rebirth and all kinds of other things besides.
Molly is a young girl learning to cope with the death of her mother, and the loss of her father to his grief. No matter how much you wish your dad would get his act together, there must be something a teeny bit magical about going to live with your grandparents in a tiny village in the countryside because Molly meets someone most people will know as the Green Man, or possibly the Oak King. As the story unfolds we explore more of the mythology surrounding this figure, but we also explore Molly's own understanding of death and rebirth. There is no neat tidy ending, but Molly comes to see that death is part of life and that sometimes things have to end, so that new things can begin. Molly's just the kind of heroine I love - her mind is open to the possibilities of magic, but at the same time she is a very real girl - and I'm so glad things seemed to be on the up for her. I wish there was a sequel because I'd love to see a bit more of her, but perhaps her story has been explored enough. Time to let Molly out of the book and into the big wide world.
Molly is a young girl learning to cope with the death of her mother, and the loss of her father to his grief. No matter how much you wish your dad would get his act together, there must be something a teeny bit magical about going to live with your grandparents in a tiny village in the countryside because Molly meets someone most people will know as the Green Man, or possibly the Oak King. As the story unfolds we explore more of the mythology surrounding this figure, but we also explore Molly's own understanding of death and rebirth. There is no neat tidy ending, but Molly comes to see that death is part of life and that sometimes things have to end, so that new things can begin. Molly's just the kind of heroine I love - her mind is open to the possibilities of magic, but at the same time she is a very real girl - and I'm so glad things seemed to be on the up for her. I wish there was a sequel because I'd love to see a bit more of her, but perhaps her story has been explored enough. Time to let Molly out of the book and into the big wide world.
May 11, 2020
Nota: 5,0 + ❤
"O mundo é um lugar estranho e maravilhoso"
O livro conta a história de Molly, uma menina que se muda para a casa dos avós com sua irmã Hannah após a morte de sua mãe. Para superar a perda, a menina vive em um mundo de fantasia, ao contrário da irmã, que reage com violência a todos ao seu redor. A rotina muda quando Molly vê um homem sendo perseguido em uma caçada e, depois disso, tenta descobrir quem é o misterioso homem e provar que ele é real. Essa tarefa vai se mostrar um desafio difícil para a menina, considerando que somente ela consegue vê-lo.
Apesar do mistério e toques de realismo fantástico, a maior parte do livro se foca na vida familiar da Molly, vivendo na casa dos avós, que parecem não estar satisfeitos com a estadia das meninas lá, e no pai, que depois da morte da mãe das meninas, se torna cada vez mais distante.
A narrativa possui um tom de fábula e consegue retratar de forma simples e direta os sentimentos de uma criança que, aos poucos está aprendendo sobre a própria mortalidade e lidando com o luto dela e de todos a seu redor.
"O mundo é um lugar estranho e maravilhoso"
O livro conta a história de Molly, uma menina que se muda para a casa dos avós com sua irmã Hannah após a morte de sua mãe. Para superar a perda, a menina vive em um mundo de fantasia, ao contrário da irmã, que reage com violência a todos ao seu redor. A rotina muda quando Molly vê um homem sendo perseguido em uma caçada e, depois disso, tenta descobrir quem é o misterioso homem e provar que ele é real. Essa tarefa vai se mostrar um desafio difícil para a menina, considerando que somente ela consegue vê-lo.
Apesar do mistério e toques de realismo fantástico, a maior parte do livro se foca na vida familiar da Molly, vivendo na casa dos avós,
A narrativa possui um tom de fábula e consegue retratar de forma simples e direta os sentimentos de uma criança que, aos poucos está aprendendo sobre a própria mortalidade e lidando com o luto dela e de todos a seu redor.
June 3, 2013
Mystery and myth sweep in with the storm
This story starts off quite sad, Molly's mother has died and her father is now distancing himself from his children- Molly and Hannah. He sends them to live with their grandparents temporarily while he Sorts Things Out at Home.
One night, when Hannah convinces Molly to run away with her so they can go back home they run out in to night, it is raining, windy and the moon is only a small sliver. Molly cannot find Hannah anywhere, but in the darkness Molly sees a desperate fugure running for his life from a terrifying midnight hunt.
This story is based on a old age legend about the seasons being men- The Oak King or the Green Man is Spring and Summer, whereas the Holly King is Autumn and Winter.
I cannot say much more about this book without giving away huge spoilers, but this book was amazing and a total must-read.
This story starts off quite sad, Molly's mother has died and her father is now distancing himself from his children- Molly and Hannah. He sends them to live with their grandparents temporarily while he Sorts Things Out at Home.
One night, when Hannah convinces Molly to run away with her so they can go back home they run out in to night, it is raining, windy and the moon is only a small sliver. Molly cannot find Hannah anywhere, but in the darkness Molly sees a desperate fugure running for his life from a terrifying midnight hunt.
This story is based on a old age legend about the seasons being men- The Oak King or the Green Man is Spring and Summer, whereas the Holly King is Autumn and Winter.
I cannot say much more about this book without giving away huge spoilers, but this book was amazing and a total must-read.
October 7, 2021
The award for the sweetest and cutest main character goes to Season of Secrets, because Molly is such a sunshine. I just wanted to hug her and promise her that everything will be okay again.
The story follows Molly, who recently lost her mother and is now living with her grandparents, because her father is struggling to get his sh*t together. While trying to run away one night, Molly meets the Oak King/green man/her man.
There is definitely a sense of "not everything I'm reading is real", but it honestly does not matter. The language, the story, the characters-all lovely.
It was a beautiful, tragic story of a little girl overcome with grief, who has a magical relationship with the nature and world around her.
The story follows Molly, who recently lost her mother and is now living with her grandparents, because her father is struggling to get his sh*t together. While trying to run away one night, Molly meets the Oak King/green man/her man.
There is definitely a sense of "not everything I'm reading is real", but it honestly does not matter. The language, the story, the characters-all lovely.
It was a beautiful, tragic story of a little girl overcome with grief, who has a magical relationship with the nature and world around her.
November 2, 2018
This was a beautiful, lyrically written story, and I loved it! One of my favorite books of the year!
March 3, 2023
Molly och hennes syster Hannah har precis förlorat sin mamma, och medan deras pappa "tänker över saker" är de skickade till sina farföräldrar på landet. De tvingas i samband med flytten dessutom byta skola vilket är en påfrestande förändring mitt i sorgearbetet.
En kväll när det stormar som mest tycker sig Molly se en man inne i skogen. Han jagas av hundar, och en hornbeklädd man till häst. När hon senare försöker dela med sig av sin upplevelse är det ingen som tror henne, trots att det fortfarande finns blod på marken där hundarna hann ifatt mannen.
Vad var det egentligen hon såg? I skolan läser de om The Wild Hunt och olika hedniska gudar som dyrkats på landsbygden runt omkring på de brittiska öarna. Har mannen Molly såg någonting med det att göra?
Boken är en djupdykning ner i ett barns sorg, där vi ställs inför olika sätt att hantera det som skrämmer mest: att förlora någon som står en nära. Molly och Hannah bemöter och bearbetar sin sorg olika och har ibland svårt att mötas i att de båda, faktiskt, förlorat sin mamma.
En bok som ligger nära till hands att jämföra med är A Monster Calls av Patrik Ness. Där är sorgen förvisso mer påtaglig, men båda berör det ogreppbara och vilka vägar ett barns fantasi kan ta om sorgen lämnas obekräftad.
En kväll när det stormar som mest tycker sig Molly se en man inne i skogen. Han jagas av hundar, och en hornbeklädd man till häst. När hon senare försöker dela med sig av sin upplevelse är det ingen som tror henne, trots att det fortfarande finns blod på marken där hundarna hann ifatt mannen.
Vad var det egentligen hon såg? I skolan läser de om The Wild Hunt och olika hedniska gudar som dyrkats på landsbygden runt omkring på de brittiska öarna. Har mannen Molly såg någonting med det att göra?
Boken är en djupdykning ner i ett barns sorg, där vi ställs inför olika sätt att hantera det som skrämmer mest: att förlora någon som står en nära. Molly och Hannah bemöter och bearbetar sin sorg olika och har ibland svårt att mötas i att de båda, faktiskt, förlorat sin mamma.
En bok som ligger nära till hands att jämföra med är A Monster Calls av Patrik Ness. Där är sorgen förvisso mer påtaglig, men båda berör det ogreppbara och vilka vägar ett barns fantasi kan ta om sorgen lämnas obekräftad.
January 14, 2025
adorável e reconfortante
July 29, 2011
"You can even get used to having a hole in your life where someone used to live. A hole where you thought they'd live for always, except that one day they just step sideways, without looking back or saying good-bye, and vanish forever."
—Season of Secrets, P. 110
The debut effort in the writing career of Sally Nicholls, Ways to Live Forever, was an absolute wonder. In a year filled with so many wonderful new contributions to literature for young readers, I would have to say that it was arguably the best of them all. Had the book been eligible for the 2009 Newbery Medal, I don't doubt that it would have (or at least should have) been the winner. In 2009, Sally Nicholls followed up her grand entrance on the literary scene with Season of Secrets, and proved that her initial success as a writer was no fluke. This second novel is another perceptive and sensitively rendered work, worthy of all the praise it receives.
Months after the death of their mother, Molly and her older sister, Hannah, are living with their grandparents while their widowed father tries to wright the ship and take back control of his own life. He had been completely wiped out by their mother's passing, hardly able to take care of himself, and nowhere near ready to bear the responsibility of looking after two young girls on his own. That's why the sisters live with their grandparents for now, but it's an arrangement that neither Molly nor her sister want to remain in place. As they continue the process of grieving for their mother, all they really want is to head back home, even if their father is like a ghost of the man he used to be.
Molly has always had an active imagination, but she no longer can be sure of the definitive line between fantasy and reality when she begins on a regular basis to see a man running in the streets of England near her home, injured and fleeing from a hunter on horseback with a pack of vicious dogs at his command. There's something very ethereal about the situation, though, and Molly understands that it's not as straightforward as it seems. When she sees the exact likeness of the injured man in a stone sculpture atop a pillar of a nearby church, she learns that the mysterious stranger and his pursuer must be the manifestation of the gods of the two seasonal equinoxes, the Green Man and the Holly King. According to pagan legend, the two enemy gods take turns tracking down and killing each other when the other one's six-month reign ends, only for the "killed" god to be reborn again in half a year and eventually have his own day to hunt down and kill his rival, beginning the cycle anew.
Molly still has no way of knowing how real this whole experience might be, but she never stops trying to help the hunted man as autumn and then winter approach. All the while, she and her sister Hannah attempt to live in tolerable relation to their grandparents, though Hannah doesn't always make it easy. She's much more demonstrative in wanting to go back home than Molly, and always seems to be stirring up strife in some form or another. Their father visits on occasion and tries to maintain a relationship with his daughters, but the pain they all feel is still evident in everything they do together, and it's hardly become any easier at all since the family separated.
Season of Secrets is a subtle journey, seen mostly from Molly's perspective as the youngest member of this hurting family. All of the people affected by the death of Molly's mother have such a long way to go before finding the beginning trail of their own healing, but one can never be sure how long that winding path will stretch forth, and how much persistence will be required to reach a better place on it. There never really is an end to such a journey, and this book is about Molly and the others in her family coming to accept the truth of that as they try their best to move forward anyway, knowing that it's the only way to go even though they will never stop missing the one they loved and lost.
With the same tender wisdom that marked Ways to Live Forever, Sally Nicholls writes beautifully of people's natural reactions to death, and of coming to grips with the hard reality of one's own continued existence in the aftermath of such personal devastation. Season of Secrets is a lovely and subtle story that offers real hope without ever relying on glib answers to mammoth questions of mortality and sadness, and I'm sure that countless readers will come to love this book for years to come. It is a very good story worth going out of one's way to find and read, and I would rate it at least two and a half, possibly the full three, stars.
—Season of Secrets, P. 110
The debut effort in the writing career of Sally Nicholls, Ways to Live Forever, was an absolute wonder. In a year filled with so many wonderful new contributions to literature for young readers, I would have to say that it was arguably the best of them all. Had the book been eligible for the 2009 Newbery Medal, I don't doubt that it would have (or at least should have) been the winner. In 2009, Sally Nicholls followed up her grand entrance on the literary scene with Season of Secrets, and proved that her initial success as a writer was no fluke. This second novel is another perceptive and sensitively rendered work, worthy of all the praise it receives.
Months after the death of their mother, Molly and her older sister, Hannah, are living with their grandparents while their widowed father tries to wright the ship and take back control of his own life. He had been completely wiped out by their mother's passing, hardly able to take care of himself, and nowhere near ready to bear the responsibility of looking after two young girls on his own. That's why the sisters live with their grandparents for now, but it's an arrangement that neither Molly nor her sister want to remain in place. As they continue the process of grieving for their mother, all they really want is to head back home, even if their father is like a ghost of the man he used to be.
Molly has always had an active imagination, but she no longer can be sure of the definitive line between fantasy and reality when she begins on a regular basis to see a man running in the streets of England near her home, injured and fleeing from a hunter on horseback with a pack of vicious dogs at his command. There's something very ethereal about the situation, though, and Molly understands that it's not as straightforward as it seems. When she sees the exact likeness of the injured man in a stone sculpture atop a pillar of a nearby church, she learns that the mysterious stranger and his pursuer must be the manifestation of the gods of the two seasonal equinoxes, the Green Man and the Holly King. According to pagan legend, the two enemy gods take turns tracking down and killing each other when the other one's six-month reign ends, only for the "killed" god to be reborn again in half a year and eventually have his own day to hunt down and kill his rival, beginning the cycle anew.
Molly still has no way of knowing how real this whole experience might be, but she never stops trying to help the hunted man as autumn and then winter approach. All the while, she and her sister Hannah attempt to live in tolerable relation to their grandparents, though Hannah doesn't always make it easy. She's much more demonstrative in wanting to go back home than Molly, and always seems to be stirring up strife in some form or another. Their father visits on occasion and tries to maintain a relationship with his daughters, but the pain they all feel is still evident in everything they do together, and it's hardly become any easier at all since the family separated.
Season of Secrets is a subtle journey, seen mostly from Molly's perspective as the youngest member of this hurting family. All of the people affected by the death of Molly's mother have such a long way to go before finding the beginning trail of their own healing, but one can never be sure how long that winding path will stretch forth, and how much persistence will be required to reach a better place on it. There never really is an end to such a journey, and this book is about Molly and the others in her family coming to accept the truth of that as they try their best to move forward anyway, knowing that it's the only way to go even though they will never stop missing the one they loved and lost.
With the same tender wisdom that marked Ways to Live Forever, Sally Nicholls writes beautifully of people's natural reactions to death, and of coming to grips with the hard reality of one's own continued existence in the aftermath of such personal devastation. Season of Secrets is a lovely and subtle story that offers real hope without ever relying on glib answers to mammoth questions of mortality and sadness, and I'm sure that countless readers will come to love this book for years to come. It is a very good story worth going out of one's way to find and read, and I would rate it at least two and a half, possibly the full three, stars.
June 17, 2011
Nicholls offers a serious, quiet book, one which might easily fit in with any number of realistic fiction novels about a young girl dealing with grief, and wraps a layer of mystery and fantasy into the pages.
Molly Brooke is attempting to put on a brave face after the sudden and unexpected death of her mother. Her grieving father has shunted her and younger sister Hannah off to stay with their grandparents. Molly is full of concerns about how she'll fit in at her new school, how long she'll be staying with her grandparents, whether she'll end up in an orphanage, and if her father will ever be able to pull himself together. Amidst all of this, she finds and hides a mysterious man in the woods, who is apparently being hunted. Her family assumes that her "imaginary friend" isn't real, and the reader is left to guess whether the "Green Man" in the story is simply a coping mechanism for Molly, or in fact, a helpless pagan God who relies on Molly's help to weather the winter. Hannah is appropriately bratty for a younger sister, the grandparents are loving, yet feeling quite put-upon, and Molly's dad is nearly catatonic with grief. When another child in the neighborhood corroborates Molly's story about a "homeless" man in the woods, her grandparent's belated panicky reaction amused me greatly. The family's initial disbelief of her claims is well handled -- everybody's stressed to the max about the recent death in the family, Molly's always been known to be an imaginative, dreamy kid, and when she initially tells her grandparents that she's worried about this man she saw in the woods there are enough details that sound unbelievable... he can appear and disappear, he can make plants and trees grow at his touch, he's being hunted by another man on horseback... and when her grandmother goes out to where Molly claims she left him camped out, she finds nothing, so the whole family assumes that this is another symptom of Molly cracking under the stress.
Months later, someone else mentions seeing him, the grandparents panic, suddenly realizing their granddaughter has been hanging out with a stranger for REAL all this time. It's not really that "funny" but it had me thinking, "Well, duh!" and reminded me of how adults often don't take kids seriously enough.
With it's themes of loss, stressful family situations and hidden supernatural beings who may or may not be real, this story reminded me greatly of Skellig by David Almond. Anglophiles will be pleased to know that the book has remained largely unedited, full of British references to popular children's television programs such as Blue Peter and the like.
Molly Brooke is attempting to put on a brave face after the sudden and unexpected death of her mother. Her grieving father has shunted her and younger sister Hannah off to stay with their grandparents. Molly is full of concerns about how she'll fit in at her new school, how long she'll be staying with her grandparents, whether she'll end up in an orphanage, and if her father will ever be able to pull himself together. Amidst all of this, she finds and hides a mysterious man in the woods, who is apparently being hunted. Her family assumes that her "imaginary friend" isn't real, and the reader is left to guess whether the "Green Man" in the story is simply a coping mechanism for Molly, or in fact, a helpless pagan God who relies on Molly's help to weather the winter. Hannah is appropriately bratty for a younger sister, the grandparents are loving, yet feeling quite put-upon, and Molly's dad is nearly catatonic with grief. When another child in the neighborhood corroborates Molly's story about a "homeless" man in the woods, her grandparent's belated panicky reaction amused me greatly. The family's initial disbelief of her claims is well handled -- everybody's stressed to the max about the recent death in the family, Molly's always been known to be an imaginative, dreamy kid, and when she initially tells her grandparents that she's worried about this man she saw in the woods there are enough details that sound unbelievable... he can appear and disappear, he can make plants and trees grow at his touch, he's being hunted by another man on horseback... and when her grandmother goes out to where Molly claims she left him camped out, she finds nothing, so the whole family assumes that this is another symptom of Molly cracking under the stress.
Months later, someone else mentions seeing him, the grandparents panic, suddenly realizing their granddaughter has been hanging out with a stranger for REAL all this time. It's not really that "funny" but it had me thinking, "Well, duh!" and reminded me of how adults often don't take kids seriously enough.
With it's themes of loss, stressful family situations and hidden supernatural beings who may or may not be real, this story reminded me greatly of Skellig by David Almond. Anglophiles will be pleased to know that the book has remained largely unedited, full of British references to popular children's television programs such as Blue Peter and the like.
January 5, 2011
After Molly’s mother died, she was sent to live with her grandparents along with her sister Hannah. Her father’s job didn’t allow him to take care of them, so they went there while he figured things out. So she has a new home to get used to, plus a new school filled with new children. Her sister Hannah is just plain angry about everything, even at school so the others think she is mean. Molly though is the one having real problems making friends and while she may not be showing it aloud, she is not coping with the loss of her mother. That’s why she is out on a stormy dark night and sees the man for the first time, being hunted by others on horseback and dogs. Molly continues to secretly visit her man, who has the ability to make flowers bloom in his hand and to make trees grow. Could this magical man be the key to bringing back her mother?
Nicholls uses a lovely light touch with her story that very nicely shows the journey of one girl through grief as contrasted with the way her sister is coping. At the same time, there is a richness to the writing, especially when nature is being described and the seasons changing. This beautiful lingering on details makes for a very compelling read.
Molly is a character that young readers will relate to easily. Her broken heart is evident from the beginning as is her tumultuous relationship with her sister and her confusing situation with her father. Hannah’s angry response to their situation is vivid and loud, making Molly’s pain that much more silent and stirring. The girls’ grandparents are equally well written with differing responses to their grandchildren moving into their lives.
This is a book that celebrates nature, life and embraces the turning of the seasons and of lives. It’s a beautiful read about grief for children with a cover that does the book proud. Appropriate for ages 8-11.
Nicholls uses a lovely light touch with her story that very nicely shows the journey of one girl through grief as contrasted with the way her sister is coping. At the same time, there is a richness to the writing, especially when nature is being described and the seasons changing. This beautiful lingering on details makes for a very compelling read.
Molly is a character that young readers will relate to easily. Her broken heart is evident from the beginning as is her tumultuous relationship with her sister and her confusing situation with her father. Hannah’s angry response to their situation is vivid and loud, making Molly’s pain that much more silent and stirring. The girls’ grandparents are equally well written with differing responses to their grandchildren moving into their lives.
This is a book that celebrates nature, life and embraces the turning of the seasons and of lives. It’s a beautiful read about grief for children with a cover that does the book proud. Appropriate for ages 8-11.
August 14, 2011
Grades 4-7
This hauntingly written story is reminiscent of Kathi Appelt's novels, not so much in subject matter, but in the beautiful use of language and the easy melding of fantasy and realism. Molly and Hannah have been sent from Newcastle to the English countryside to live with their grandparents, following the unexpected death of their mother, and their father's emotional withdrawal as he tries to deal with his grief. Molly is lonely and withdraws into her books and her imagination, while the older Hannah tries to cope by striking out at the people around her. When Molly makes a mysterious friend in the forest-- a man who can make flowers grow from his palm and trees grow where he touches the earth-- her family members think this is more of her imagining. But the man is real, and he is in real danger from the Holly King, who is on the hunt. As Molly tries to figure out how best to help her friend, she learns that much of life is cyclical, and that good and bad are not as absolute as she had once thought. Molly is a fresh and engaging character, and the secondary characters are fully drawn. In spite of the serious themes, the over-riding message is one of hope. My one issue with this book is in the title: Molly is very forthcoming with her family about "her man," so there is really not a secretive element involved.
This hauntingly written story is reminiscent of Kathi Appelt's novels, not so much in subject matter, but in the beautiful use of language and the easy melding of fantasy and realism. Molly and Hannah have been sent from Newcastle to the English countryside to live with their grandparents, following the unexpected death of their mother, and their father's emotional withdrawal as he tries to deal with his grief. Molly is lonely and withdraws into her books and her imagination, while the older Hannah tries to cope by striking out at the people around her. When Molly makes a mysterious friend in the forest-- a man who can make flowers grow from his palm and trees grow where he touches the earth-- her family members think this is more of her imagining. But the man is real, and he is in real danger from the Holly King, who is on the hunt. As Molly tries to figure out how best to help her friend, she learns that much of life is cyclical, and that good and bad are not as absolute as she had once thought. Molly is a fresh and engaging character, and the secondary characters are fully drawn. In spite of the serious themes, the over-riding message is one of hope. My one issue with this book is in the title: Molly is very forthcoming with her family about "her man," so there is really not a secretive element involved.
July 23, 2012
This book was reviewed by Amanda Harbin, staff reviewer with the Fantasy Book Addict.
This story was a beautifully written story about a young girl and her older sister who experiences the unthinkable tragedy of losing her mother very suddenly. The author, Sally Nichols, does a wonderful job of putting the reader into the heart and mind of a pre-adolescent girl. The phases of the sister’s loss is navigated in conjunction with the changing seasons. What makes Molly’s story unique is that she comes to appreciate the circle of life through first hand experience with the mythical Oak King and his counter part the Holly King.
I loved the way the story wove itself in and out of reality as Molly and her sister struggled to deal the reality of their mother’s death they also struggle to comprehend the existence of the Oak and Holly kings. This book is definitely geared toward younger YA audiences. The chapters are short, which facilitates a quick pace for the story. The biggest challenge that I see young readers face while reading this book is the many references to British culture. American YA audiences may have difficulty understanding some of the games, customs and objects. For example, I had to look up ‘conkers’ and the game that they were used to play. On the other hand it’s a great way to learn a little bit more about a new culture. Overall, a great read and highly recommended!
This story was a beautifully written story about a young girl and her older sister who experiences the unthinkable tragedy of losing her mother very suddenly. The author, Sally Nichols, does a wonderful job of putting the reader into the heart and mind of a pre-adolescent girl. The phases of the sister’s loss is navigated in conjunction with the changing seasons. What makes Molly’s story unique is that she comes to appreciate the circle of life through first hand experience with the mythical Oak King and his counter part the Holly King.
I loved the way the story wove itself in and out of reality as Molly and her sister struggled to deal the reality of their mother’s death they also struggle to comprehend the existence of the Oak and Holly kings. This book is definitely geared toward younger YA audiences. The chapters are short, which facilitates a quick pace for the story. The biggest challenge that I see young readers face while reading this book is the many references to British culture. American YA audiences may have difficulty understanding some of the games, customs and objects. For example, I had to look up ‘conkers’ and the game that they were used to play. On the other hand it’s a great way to learn a little bit more about a new culture. Overall, a great read and highly recommended!
December 29, 2011
This was the latest of our book group selections. Certainly it's not a book I would have picked otherwise. It was presented to us as a YA book, it isn't - it is a children's book, an older children's book perhaps but a children's book nonetheless. Nothing wrong with children's books of course, nothing wrong with adults reading them. I think I just struggle reviewing things for which I am not the target audience.
Having said that I thought it was an enjoyable little read. Well written with a sympathetic narrative voice in the recently bereaved Molly. 'Season of secrets' weaves the magical myths which surround ancient tales of The Green Man, with the changing seasons and the grief anger and vulnerability of two young girls who having lost their mother, have been sent away by their father.
I read this in a few hours today (either side of an exhaustive massive shopping trip) and found it a charming easy to curl up with read on an appropriately rainy/blustery day. I am sure a 12/13 year old girl would love this slightly sad family drama with a hint of magic
Having said that I thought it was an enjoyable little read. Well written with a sympathetic narrative voice in the recently bereaved Molly. 'Season of secrets' weaves the magical myths which surround ancient tales of The Green Man, with the changing seasons and the grief anger and vulnerability of two young girls who having lost their mother, have been sent away by their father.
I read this in a few hours today (either side of an exhaustive massive shopping trip) and found it a charming easy to curl up with read on an appropriately rainy/blustery day. I am sure a 12/13 year old girl would love this slightly sad family drama with a hint of magic
July 27, 2010
This is definitively not as poignant as her debut ”Ways to Live Forever” and I must say that my expectations were a little bit higher. Now, here comes the problem I have with almost all YA books; I totally don’t know how to rate them. I mean this book has fantastic reviews, Sunny liked it as well (but then Sunny is a mother and is more than familiar with the language of young girls) while I’m everything but that.
Molly is totally cute and some of her conclusions provoked many “aww”s so I guess Nicholls has done a great job in capturing voice of kids but I really didn’t expect anything like this. The metaphors of dying and rebirth is really nice but relying THAT much on the myth and imagination looks like easier way. Therefore I’m little bit disappointed how in emotional sense this book has, not failed but was kind of average (which is SO not the case with ”Ways to Live Forever”) but then I strongly advise you not to take too seriously my words cause, as I said I’m not that much into YA books and I’m sure I could be quite harsh.
Molly is totally cute and some of her conclusions provoked many “aww”s so I guess Nicholls has done a great job in capturing voice of kids but I really didn’t expect anything like this. The metaphors of dying and rebirth is really nice but relying THAT much on the myth and imagination looks like easier way. Therefore I’m little bit disappointed how in emotional sense this book has, not failed but was kind of average (which is SO not the case with ”Ways to Live Forever”) but then I strongly advise you not to take too seriously my words cause, as I said I’m not that much into YA books and I’m sure I could be quite harsh.
May 17, 2010
The cover of this one makes you think it's going to be a fairy story, but it's so much more than that. Two young girls - the story's told by the youngest, the wonderful Molly - are sent to live with their grandparents in the country after the death of their mother, when their father is unable to cope. The story told through Molly's words is so beautiful and touching - and the bewilderment of the girls and the efforts of their grandparents, and the insights into their father falling apart, are quite heartbreaking. And then there's the magic of the changing seasons and the passing of time - the friendship of Molly and the Green Man, the violent intervention of the Holly King, and the cycle of life and death. I think this was probably directed at a younger audience than "Ways To Live Forever", but there's plenty for an adult reader too. Loved it.
February 22, 2011
I found Sally Nicholls' marvelous books through our German translator, Birgett Kollmann. Loved her "Ways to Live Forever" a tragic, moving but also hilarious (not many can pull that off) book about a boy dying of Leukemia.
In "Season of Secrets," 10YO Molly and her year-older sister Hannah have just lost their mum and as their Dad can't cope, they go to live with their grandparents in a quiet country town. There, Molly grieves and comes of age with the help and friendship of a gifted teacher, her school chums and the archetypal Oak King (spring/summer) and his darker twin The Holly King (fall/winter) who alternately hunt each other in the nearby woods.
Sally is a beautiful, spare, tender writer and nicely pulls off this melding of reality and myth.
Recommended.
In "Season of Secrets," 10YO Molly and her year-older sister Hannah have just lost their mum and as their Dad can't cope, they go to live with their grandparents in a quiet country town. There, Molly grieves and comes of age with the help and friendship of a gifted teacher, her school chums and the archetypal Oak King (spring/summer) and his darker twin The Holly King (fall/winter) who alternately hunt each other in the nearby woods.
Sally is a beautiful, spare, tender writer and nicely pulls off this melding of reality and myth.
Recommended.
April 11, 2011
This has the sort of deceptive simplicity that makes writing look so easy! Each observation or description is deftly chosen. The world that Nicholls depicts seems timeless; grandparents as shopkeepers; school is a short walk down the hill; hawthorns form the dense hedgerows. It would be an idyll, if it wasn't for the strange hunt that takes place just beyond the village. And Dad's painful absence.
Molly feels that she must take care of the hunted man, but how can she when she isn't even sure that he's real?
Season of Secrets did remind me of David Almond's work, not just the mysterious stranger, but also the descriptions of the northern countryside. But comparison with Skellig is no bad thing! This is a real treat.
Molly feels that she must take care of the hunted man, but how can she when she isn't even sure that he's real?
Season of Secrets did remind me of David Almond's work, not just the mysterious stranger, but also the descriptions of the northern countryside. But comparison with Skellig is no bad thing! This is a real treat.
July 10, 2011
Molly leaves her grandparents' house during a storm, and while she is in the woods, she comes upon a man who seems injured. Once she returns home, of course, no one believes her story, and she is quite annoyed. Plus, she's angry with her father who seems to have abandoned her to her grandparents while he pulls his life together. As Molly distracts herself by worrying about the mysterious figure who appears and disappears at odd times, his connection to the seasons' turning and to a legendary story starts to be more and more apparent. This one didn't appeal to me in the way her other book did--perhaps because there was no mystery for me in the man's identity.
This entire review has been hidden because of spoilers.
July 28, 2011
I was a bit confused by this book (which was recommended by my niece, Amy Palfreyman). I wasn’t sure what audience it was aimed at. It may simply be that my local library had mis-classified it as Teen fiction – the protagonist is young, about 10 years old. As well, the way she is portrayed is rather too twee for my taste. I felt the author could have made her a little more sophisticated and knowing in the ways of the world, without losing the sense of wonder at the cycles of nature and her belief in natural magic. It wasn’t a bad book, but it was disappointing to have everything so clearly sign-posted.
December 3, 2011
This was an interesting story based, in part, on a myth about the Oak and Holly kings. I enjoyed the reflection on change, the life cycle and the idea that something must be lost to be gained. I was greatly bothered by the father in this book, so much so that in parts I wanted to stop reading. He essentially dumps his children on his parents while he becomes totally involved in his own emotional baggage without giving thought to how his children were dealing with the death of their mother. I didn't find this believable or engaging, though I suppose it is a reality of life. It just happens to be a reality I don't care to reflect on.
February 18, 2011
My heart ached for this family, dealing with loss and trying to put their lives back together, knowing they couldn't really put them back together in any normal way. Molly, lost in her world of tales - I was glad she had her hunted man and the hope of spring; Hannah, so angry and their father just lost in the wilderness. I liked that nothing monumental made it All Okay - that isn't really how it works. The world sort of slides back into okay-ness, like spring always follows winter no matter how it feels like the cold will never end.
May 22, 2011
I thought this was well written and I really enjoyed the story of Molly and her sister working through the loss of their mother, but I felt that the magical part had no real place in the story. It seemed as though the author wanted to incorporate a favorite myth but I would have much preferred to read more about Molly and Hannah and less about the Green Man. I can see how the myth intertwined with the story, but felt that it took away from it rather than completed it.
Overall it was a sweet story that was both sad and hopeful. but I think it will be a hard one to recommend.
Overall it was a sweet story that was both sad and hopeful. but I think it will be a hard one to recommend.
September 28, 2012
This book was very good! I enjoyed reading it because it was a fast read but still very entertaining! In the book a young girls mom dies and while her dad tries to figure stuff out, she goes to live with her grandparents out in the country. She has an older sister that is not happy about it. While she is living with her grandma, she finds a man that is magical, but sorry to say you will have to read the book to find out the rest.
This is a book that I very much enjoyed, and it is in our library. Honestly there wasn't anything that i didn't enjoy, so it is great.
This is a book that I very much enjoyed, and it is in our library. Honestly there wasn't anything that i didn't enjoy, so it is great.
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