In the book The Heartsong of Wonder Quinn we meet Wonder's special friend - a crow named Hollowbeak. In this newest book, fans of this series can now discover more about the young boy Jackdaw Hollow - a boy who will become Hollowbeak.
This newest instalment begins with a prologue. Here we read about Jackdaw's tragic beginning. His beautiful parents are killed on a stormy night and baby Jackdaw, who is now an orphan, is taken to Direleafe Hall. He is given in the care of Mrs Beekman who runs this school for girls. Jackdaw is a boy and a baby but Mrs Beekman agrees to take him.
"But now ... Now, Mrs Beekman had a boy. And he was to be her son. Mrs Beekman looked down at this baby - her new baby boy - and finally, after all those years, she felt something inside her crack and the almond within it was sweet. She felt joy returning to her soul. It might be mad peril, sure enough, but loving this boy might be the making of her."
Jackdaw has a happy childhood. He is a keen student and he is deeply loved by Mrs Beekman but something is missing in his life. He is sure he needs a calling or a purpose. Why did he survive when his parents both perished? He meets three young girls who also live at Direleafe Hall. They are ghosts and they befriend Jack and encourage his friendship with a young local girl called Angeline. Angeline is suffering but she has a plan to run away - to run away and join the circus. Is it up to Jackdaw to rescue Angeline? Is this his true calling?
Kate Gordon creates memorable characters in this book especially Jack himself of course but also young Angeline who is both brave and vulnerable, suffering horribly and yet also optimistic. I also loved the distinct voices of the three ghosts - Nell, Lucy and Florence. As for scenery, the idea of cartwheeling through a field of tulips is so appealing.
"The girl in the tulip field turned, heels over head, like foam-topped waves rolling to shore. Above her moonlight made the shape of her, the paleness of her, more stark, more visible. She seemed at odds with the landscape. A thing outside, separate. Above it all."
Can you see thistles on the cover?
"Hope is a tulip in springtime. Hope is a thistle that grows through the cracks, that grows on mountainsides, where nothing else will grow. Hope is a bird that takes flight, over and again, even though flying seems an impossible thing. Even though it's dangerous. Hope is a baby who survives."
The Calling of Jackdaw Hollow will be available on 29th March. Huge thanks to University of Queensland Press for this advance copy of this book. I recommend this book for readers aged 10+. even though this is officially the third book in this series I would actually recommend you could begin the series here.
Here are the three books in this series by Kate Gordon. Look closely and you can see a seasonal reference in the background of each image - Winter (Book One The Heartsong of Wonder Quinn); Spring (Book Two The Ballard of Melody Rose); Summer (Book Three The Calling of Jackdaw Hollow). This makes me wonder if Book four is planned.
Kate Gordon lives in Tasmania and she won the IBBY Australia Ena Nöel award in 2016. Since then her writing seems to have gone from strength to strength.
No comments:
Post a Comment