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Ravel felt a shifty stab of panic. Indigo had an inquisitive new hobby. He'd taken to chopping things into pieces and this was not, Ravel felt, quite sane. More than that, it was rank with menace. Ravel 'Indigo,' he whispered, 'what are you doing?' In a dilapidated mansion overrun by rats, Ravel and Indigo Kesby have gone to war. In this house, there's no such thing as brotherly love.
- GenresYoung AdultFictionHorror
Paperback
First published June 1, 1997
3 people are currently reading
106 people want to read
About the author
Sonya Hartnett
42 books311 followersSonya Hartnett (also works under the pseudonym Cameron S. Redfern) is, or was, something of an Australian child prodigy author. She wrote her first novel at the age of thirteen, and had it published at fifteen. Her books have also been published in Europe and North America. Her novels have been published traditionally as young adult fiction, but her writing often crosses the divide and is also enjoyed by adults.
"I chose to narrate the story through a child because people like children, they WANT to like them," says Sonya Hartnett of THURSDAY'S CHILD, her brilliantly original coming-of-age story set during the Great Depression. "Harper [the young narrator] is the reason you get sucked into the characters. Even I, who like to distance myself from my characters, felt protective of her."
The acclaimed author of several award-winning young adult novels--the first written when she was just 13--Australian native Sonya Hartnett says she wrote THURSDAY'S CHILD in a mere three months. "It just pulled itself together," she says. "I'd wanted to set a story in the Depression for some time, in an isolated community that was strongly supportive. Once the dual ideas of the boy who tunneled and the young girl as narrator gelled, it almost wrote itself--I had the cast, I had the setting, I just said 'go.' " Accustomed to writing about edgy young adult characters, Sonya Hartnett says that identifying with a seven-year-old protagonist was a challenge at first. "I found her difficult to approach," she admits. "I'm not really used to children. But once I started, I found you could have fun with her: she could tell lies, she could deny the truth." Whereas most children know "only what adults want them to know," the author discovered she could bypass that limitation by "turning Harper into an eavesdropper and giving her older siblings to reveal realities."
In her second book with Candlewick Press, WHAT THE BIRDS SEE, Sonya Hartnett once again creates a portrait of childhood. This time the subject is Adrian, a nine-year-old boy living in the suburbs with his gran and Uncle. For Adrian, childhood is shaped by fear: his dread of quicksand, shopping centers, and self-combustion. Then one day, three neighborhood children vanish--an incident based on a real case in Australia in the 1960s--and Adrian comes to see just how tenuous his safety net is. In speaking about Adrian, the author provocatively reveals parallels between herself and her character. She says, "Adrian is me in many respects, and many of the things that happen to him happened to me."
Sonya Hartnett's consistently inspired writing has built her a legion of devotees. Of THURSDAY'S CHILD, Newbery Honor-winning author Carolyn Coman says, "Hartnett's beautifully rendered vision drew me in from the very start and carried me along, above and under ground, to the very end. This book amazed me." The achingly beautiful WHAT THE BIRDS SEE has just as quickly garnered critical acclaim. Notes PUBLISHERS WEEKLY in a starred review, "Hartnett again captures the ineffable fragility of childhood in this keenly observed tale. . . . Sophisticated readers will appreciate the work's acuity and poetic integrity." Sonya Hartnett's third young adult novel, STRIPES OF THE SIDESTEP WOLF was named an American Library Association Best Book for Young Adults.
Sonya Hartnett lives near Melbourne, Australia. Her most recent novels are SURRENDER, a mesmerizing psychological thriller, and THE SILVER DONKEY, a gently told fable for middle-grade readers.
"I chose to narrate the story through a child because people like children, they WANT to like them," says Sonya Hartnett of THURSDAY'S CHILD, her brilliantly original coming-of-age story set during the Great Depression. "Harper [the young narrator] is the reason you get sucked into the characters. Even I, who like to distance myself from my characters, felt protective of her."
The acclaimed author of several award-winning young adult novels--the first written when she was just 13--Australian native Sonya Hartnett says she wrote THURSDAY'S CHILD in a mere three months. "It just pulled itself together," she says. "I'd wanted to set a story in the Depression for some time, in an isolated community that was strongly supportive. Once the dual ideas of the boy who tunneled and the young girl as narrator gelled, it almost wrote itself--I had the cast, I had the setting, I just said 'go.' " Accustomed to writing about edgy young adult characters, Sonya Hartnett says that identifying with a seven-year-old protagonist was a challenge at first. "I found her difficult to approach," she admits. "I'm not really used to children. But once I started, I found you could have fun with her: she could tell lies, she could deny the truth." Whereas most children know "only what adults want them to know," the author discovered she could bypass that limitation by "turning Harper into an eavesdropper and giving her older siblings to reveal realities."
In her second book with Candlewick Press, WHAT THE BIRDS SEE, Sonya Hartnett once again creates a portrait of childhood. This time the subject is Adrian, a nine-year-old boy living in the suburbs with his gran and Uncle. For Adrian, childhood is shaped by fear: his dread of quicksand, shopping centers, and self-combustion. Then one day, three neighborhood children vanish--an incident based on a real case in Australia in the 1960s--and Adrian comes to see just how tenuous his safety net is. In speaking about Adrian, the author provocatively reveals parallels between herself and her character. She says, "Adrian is me in many respects, and many of the things that happen to him happened to me."
Sonya Hartnett's consistently inspired writing has built her a legion of devotees. Of THURSDAY'S CHILD, Newbery Honor-winning author Carolyn Coman says, "Hartnett's beautifully rendered vision drew me in from the very start and carried me along, above and under ground, to the very end. This book amazed me." The achingly beautiful WHAT THE BIRDS SEE has just as quickly garnered critical acclaim. Notes PUBLISHERS WEEKLY in a starred review, "Hartnett again captures the ineffable fragility of childhood in this keenly observed tale. . . . Sophisticated readers will appreciate the work's acuity and poetic integrity." Sonya Hartnett's third young adult novel, STRIPES OF THE SIDESTEP WOLF was named an American Library Association Best Book for Young Adults.
Sonya Hartnett lives near Melbourne, Australia. Her most recent novels are SURRENDER, a mesmerizing psychological thriller, and THE SILVER DONKEY, a gently told fable for middle-grade readers.
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Displaying 1 - 10 of 10 reviews
July 25, 2015
This is a classic Sonya Hartnett. The slow creep of menace into this story of twins and the clash of the uniqueness of being two against the desire to shine as one is really well done. It is also a story of how laziness in any relationship can lead to unintended consequences - both for the one who has let go of responsibilities and also for the one who takes on more. Still creeping me out after I have finished it!!!
October 30, 2023
A very intense book and you will need to be reading this where no one interrupts you.
This story may seem heavy and dark but the writing is amazing. The pathological narrative of one twin is brilliantly written.
Sonya Hartnett is a very underrated Australian author
This story may seem heavy and dark but the writing is amazing. The pathological narrative of one twin is brilliantly written.
Sonya Hartnett is a very underrated Australian author
October 22, 2016
My first Hartnett. What a thrilling, memorable read.
September 24, 2023
All these years later and this is still a favorite of mine
January 2, 2016
When one brother suggests that he's been getting a bit bored and restless, and is considering getting a job, this kind of idle chatter is unnerving. Getting a job would separate them! Doesn't Ravel want to stay with Indigo?
And so the gaslighting begins.
This isn't my favorite of her books--the story is interrupted with other bits of story, of research, of news items, all of which make sense thematically (especially as the brothers are in the habit of reading off interesting stories to each other) but in many cases they go on too long. The tone of many of these digressions doesn't fit the rest of the book, and yet it's easy to get caught up (or bogged down) in these little side trips scattered throughout.
I was also hoping to see more moral gray area between the twins, but instead we have a pretty clear hero and villain. As nice as it was to know who to root for, I'd have preferred a more sympathetic villain--or a less sympathetic hero.
Another of Hartnett's early works, this lacks the lyricism and sophistication of her more recent titles. That said, it's still an intriguing, darkly gothic thriller. Most (if not all) of Hartnett's books are labeled teen (or YA, a term that sounds clinical to my ears), but because they're paced in such a dreamy, almost plodding way, I don't think they have a lot of teen appeal. For adults, though, these are some amazing books.
And so the gaslighting begins.
This isn't my favorite of her books--the story is interrupted with other bits of story, of research, of news items, all of which make sense thematically (especially as the brothers are in the habit of reading off interesting stories to each other) but in many cases they go on too long. The tone of many of these digressions doesn't fit the rest of the book, and yet it's easy to get caught up (or bogged down) in these little side trips scattered throughout.
I was also hoping to see more moral gray area between the twins, but instead we have a pretty clear hero and villain. As nice as it was to know who to root for, I'd have preferred a more sympathetic villain--or a less sympathetic hero.
Another of Hartnett's early works, this lacks the lyricism and sophistication of her more recent titles. That said, it's still an intriguing, darkly gothic thriller. Most (if not all) of Hartnett's books are labeled teen (or YA, a term that sounds clinical to my ears), but because they're paced in such a dreamy, almost plodding way, I don't think they have a lot of teen appeal. For adults, though, these are some amazing books.
June 10, 2023
Indigo and Ravel are twins living alone in their parents' mansion. Their parents have disappeared after Ravel, 21 and suffering a broken heart from his first romance, turns on them and asks them to go away. Indigo, from that point on, doesn't want Ravel to leave the house and keeps him totally dependent upon his brother. But the day Ravel announces he might like to get a job, Indigo feels betrayed. And so begins the dangerous game for control as Indigo will stop at nothing to keep his brother from leaving.
January 4, 2012
It has been a long time since I read this book but I remember how intense and dark it was and its fascinating examination of identity. It was a gripping story that totally drew you into its world.
Twins Indigo and Ravel live alone in a house outside of town, they are like two parts of the same person. That is until Ravel seemingly wrongs his brother by wanting to leave and the mindgames begin.
Twins Indigo and Ravel live alone in a house outside of town, they are like two parts of the same person. That is until Ravel seemingly wrongs his brother by wanting to leave and the mindgames begin.
May 10, 2014
Hartnett's story about two twins that are obsessionally close is a very good yarn with thriller action. I did catch the clues to the mystery early on. The author lost first one, and then two stars as I realized this was just another rewrite on Thomas Tyron's classic The Other, a book I love and cannot forget. Had I not read that book, this book would seem like a 5 star book with finally, a fresh plot to read.
December 14, 2011
Fascinating reading. Then again I do have a thing for reading stories about identical twins going mad. The book is a swift read and I indulge in the twisted story from time to time just to satisfy my twin fix.
November 18, 2025
This book should have more reviews! It is early Hartnett and so a little less robust than her more recent works, but the imagery is compelling and thus would make great inspiration for a movie. Might be my favorite story about twins.
Displaying 1 - 10 of 10 reviews