Aidan Chambers0.0 Jacob Todd is abroad on his own for the first time, visiting his grandfather's grave at the annual commemoration of the Battle of Arnhem in Amsterdam. There, he meets Geertrui, a terminally ill old lady, who tells an extraordinary story of love and betrayal, which completely overturns Jacob's view of himself and his country, and leads him to question his place in the world. Jacob's story is paralled in time by the events of the dramatic day in World War II when retreating troops were sheltered by Geertrui's family.
David Almond3.2 The Watson family moves to Stoneygate, an old coal-mining town, to care for Kit’s recently widowed grandfather. When Kit meets John Askew, another boy whose family has both worked and died in the mines, Askew invites Kit to join him in playing a game called Death. As Kit’s grandfather tells him stories of the mine’s past and the history of the Watson family, Askew takes Kit into the mines, where the boys look to find the childhood ghosts of their long-gone ancestors. Written in haunting, lyrical prose, Kit’s Wilderness examines the bonds of family from one generation to the next, and explores how meaning and beauty can be revealed from the depths of darkness.
