Grade
9-12
Sonya Hartnett
Thursday's Child
Paperback
(Candlewick Aug. 11, 2003)
, Reprint Edition
Sonya Hartnett’s haunting, mythical novel - now in paperback
Harper Flute believes that her younger brother Tin, with his uncanny ability to dig, was born to burrow. While their family struggles to survive in a bleak landscape during the Great Depression, the silent and elusive little Tin - "born on a Thursday and so fated to his wanderings" - begins to escape underground, tunneling beneath their tiny shanty. As time passes, Tin becomes a wild thing, leaving his family further and further behind.
With exquisite prose, richly drawn characters, and a touch of magical realism, Sonya Hartnett tells a breathtakingly original coming-of-age story through the clear eyes of an observant child. It’s an unsentimental portrait of a loving family faced with poverty and heartbreak, entwined with a surreal vision of the enigmatic Tin, disappearing into a mysterious labyrinth that reaches unimaginably far, yet remains hauntingly near.
"Will be treasured by teens. . . . A beautiful and complex coming-of-age story that will burrow into young people’s deepest hopes and fears, shining light on the darkest rooms." - BOOKLIST (starred review)
- ISBN
- 0763622036 / 9780763622039
- Pages
- 272
- Weight
- 7.2 oz.
- Dimensions
- 4.78 x 0.74
in.