Jackdaw Summer
by David Almond
2009
A long hot summer. A wild boy. An abandoned baby. An act of violence. Every summer Liam and Max roam the wild countryside of Northumberland -- but this year things are different. One hot summer's day a jackdaw leads the two boys into an ancient farm house where they find a baby, wrapped in a blanket, with a scribbled note pinned to it: PLESE LOOK AFTER HER RITE. THIS IS A CHILDE OF GOD. And so begins Jackdaw Summer. A summer when friendships are tested. A summer when lines between good and bad are blurred. A summer that Liam will never forget ...
'a book of startling quality and tremendous beauty' -- The Bookbag 'Another brilliant novel from a master storyteller.' -- Carousel Unsettling but, as ever, beautifully written. -- Daily Mail '... exceptional, delicate writing ... make a moving and thoughtful story told with exceptional elegance.' -- Julia Eccleshare 'exquisite prose which sparkles off the page' -- Writeaway BACKLIST REVIEWS: 'Almond manages to make a work of art out of the simplest words.' -- Amanda Craig, The Times 'a master novelist' -- Independent 'There really is nobody quite like Almond writing in children's or adults' fiction today.' -- The Times 'a writer of subtle, page-turning and daring exactness.' -- Times Educational Supplement 'David Almond's novels all have a unique, mystical thread running through them. He weaves a story web, spiderlike, that holds the reader spellbound while he spins new though-threads on universal themes.' -- Carousel 'David Almond is a fine writer, one of the very finest we have. He is simply incapable of writing a bad sentence.' -- Michael Morpurgo 'One of these days, someone is going to notice that David Almond has been kidnapped by children's publishing and demand him back for adults. But until then, we must rejoice in every new offering of his.' -- Sunday Telegraph
