Giant by Nicola Skinner
Synopsis
From critically acclaimed author Nicola Skinner comes her most brilliant book yet - a daring, thrilling, darkly comic story about staying true to yourself, and to the people you love, even if that means tearing everything down . . .
There's absolutely nothing wrong with Minnie's island. Nothing, that is, apart from the earthquakes, which pull buildings and schools and houses down on a regular basis. Luckily, the island's inhabitants have found a way to fix their crumbling walls: giants. Giants look after human children, like eleven-year-old Minnie.
When Minnie turns twelve, she'll kiss her giant, turning her into a stone statue forever. The stone will be used to repair buildings. And there's nothing wrong with that either . . . or so Minnie thinks. But when a dreadful earthquake strikes, Minnie realises she's not quite ready to say goodbye to her giant - not forever - not yet.
So Minnie goes on the run, betraying her parents and everyone she knows. The secrets she uncovers on her journey threaten to pull everything down: and so begins a desperate race against time in which she will confront the truth about her island, her giant . . . and ultimately herself.
Reviews
‘An impressive feat, achieved with prose that often feels newly minted’ Sunday Times Children’s Book of the Week
‘A fabulously entertaining, hugely inventive novel of epic adventure, friendship and bravery’ Editor’s Choice, Bookseller
‘A gloriously imaginative adventure’ Daily Mail
About the Author
Nicola was born in Sao Paulo, Brazil, to a German mother and an English father. After an idyllic early childhood spent on beaches and reading comics, she moved to England aged eight to attend a series of boarding schools where she was often told off for reading after lights out.
As a journalist and copywriter, Nicola wrote for tabloids, broadsheets, charities and women's magazines, before starting her first children's novel, 'Bloom'. Her books have been The Times Children's Books of the Week, the Guardian, the Daily Mail, the Statesman and Bookseller picks for the month, and nominated for the Blue Peter, Branford Boase and Carnegie book awards. Bloom was a Guardian Book of the Year. She lives in a small village which thinks it's in Somerset but is technically in Bristol.