Anya's mum is a scientist. One night she does not return from her work out on the ocean, so Anya braves the night and rows out to find her. Then something happens - a bright light engulfs Anya. Jump forward and two months later Anya is living in the home of two strangers. She has no idea what happened to the lost time and there are other puzzling things such as a doctor who visits and keep testing her, taking her blood and asking her questions about her life. She overhears a strange conversation in this austere house where she is held like a prisoner. Nothing makes sense. It is time to run away but Anya has no idea what lies ahead or that she is about to discover another Anya - who is real and who is duplicate and what happened out there in the ocean and where is her mum?
The cover and blurb do not even slightly hint at the contents of this story - only the endorsement on the cover gives the game away but luckily I did not read this before I read Anya and the light above the ocean.
I picked up this book at The Constant Reader mainly because the cover appealed to me. I especially like the way it has gold lettering which almost sparkles when you hold it under the light.
Publisher blurb: When her scientist mum disappears one night, Anya sets out to find her in the middle of a storm. Taking a boat out to sea, she encounters a strange window of light hovering above the waves. Transfixed, she reaches out to touch it. Moments later, Anya wakes in her boat. The sea now eerily silent. With her mum still missing, Anya is packed off to stay with the odd, unwelcoming Mr and Mrs Ungsworth. Trapped under their watchful gaze, she uncovers a shocking secret: the light has split her into two people. Anya escapes and returns home – to find another girl, identical to her, living there. Confronted with this impossible situation, the girls soon realise the organisation their mum worked for, Janus, is seeking to harness the power of the mysterious light and is now after them. Thrown headfirst into the perilous world of Janus, both versions of Anya must now team up to escape them. But can Anya’s battle to find herself also lead her back to her mother?
Spoiler alert - you may have already guessed this is a Science Fiction story but I absolutely did not expect that plot twist.
I would put this book into the hands of a thoughtful reader aged 10+ and I would tell them to expect to have their mind blown!
This book did in some ways remind me of a famous book which you may have read. It's a book I will never ever re-read - Coraline by Neil Gaiman.
One of the most gripping and thought-provoking books you will ever read. A Paper Girl
A vivid and riveting sci-fi mystery, heartfelt and hopeful ... Book Craic
Anya and the light above the ocean is a debut novel for Amelia Giudici. She grew up in New Zealand and Warwickshire. She is currently based in East London where she works as a primary school teacher. Prior to teaching, Amelia studied Philosophy at Cambridge University, where she first encountered the thought problems concerning personal identity that Anya and the Light Above the Ocean draws on.
The cover illustration is by Philip Harris. I wonder why his name does not appear on the imprint page? You can see more of his art here.
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