Heaven Eyes

Description: Erin, January and Mouse live in a children's home, Whitegates. They often dream of escape, and frequently journey into the outside world. Running away is something they know all about. But this time January builds a raft, and the three of them head precariously down river. Towards the Black Middens. This time they might never come back. When they stumble across a disused factory and its strange inhabitants - Grampa and Heaven Eyes - they wonder if they'll even have the choice. Heaven Eyes is the girl who should have drowned at sea. The mysterious girl desperately searching for her family, hoping that these three might be the family she has lost. She has a secret history only Grampa knows. And does he trust these three invaders enough to tell them? Erin feels a sisterly responsibility for Heaven Eyes, Mouse longs to belong anywhere and anyhow, but January thinks Grampa's a murderer. Whatever happens, all three have a part to play...A stunning novel from the author of the modern children's classic Skellig - winner of the Carnegie Medal and the Whitbread Children's Book Award. David Almond is also winner of the 2010 Hans Christian Andersen award.

Review: Strange and beautiful. The Mail on Sunday A beautiful and eerie tale. The Guardian Another astonishingly original novel. The Observer A remarkable novel about love and the heroic refusal to give in to sadness. The Scotsman Another beautiful book by David Almond for teenagers with yearning hearts. Surprsing, perfect and mysterious all at once. The Times Almond at his thought-provoking best Time Out Surprising, perfect and mysterious all at once ... The Times With his magic realism style, he is becoming the Gabriel Garcia Marquez of children's fiction. Janni Howker, Times Educational Supplement David Almond understands the joy and fear of being alive better than most - Heaven Eyes is a mysterious gift of a novel. The Times Both original and unnerving, this really is a fantastic book. The Bookseller Almond's eerie tale is an astonishing piece of writing about the way that the living and the dead find comfort in each other ... A very grown-up, totally compelling book, that, like Almond's brilliant Skellig, is about the lost and found, abandonment and redemption, love and faith - particularly faith in yourself and others. Guardian Beautifully written, intensely imagined, dark, ferocious yet suffused with hope, the book is a breathtaking experience. Carousel

Author Biography: David Almond is twice winner of the Whitbread Children's Book Award. His first novel, SKELLIG, won the Whitbread Children's Award and the Carnegie Medal. His second, KIT'S WILDERNESS, won the Smarties Award Silver Medal, was Highly Commended for the Carnegie Medal, and shortlisted for the Guardian Award. THE FIRE-EATERS won the Whitbread, the Smarties Gold Award and was shortlisted for the Carnegie Medal, and his most recent novel, CLAY, was shortlisted for the Costa Children's Book Award, and the Carnegie Medal. David is widely regarded as one of the most exciting and innovative children's authors writing today, and his books are bestsellers all over the world. He lives with his family in Northumberland.