The Double Shadow

Description

Arnold Ruben has created a memory machine, a utopia housed in a picture palace, where the happiest memories replay forever, a haven in which he and his precious daughter can shelter from the war-clouds gathering over 1937 Britain. But on the day of her seventeenth birthday Amaryllis leaves Warlock Hall and the world she has known and wakes to find herself in a desolate and disturbing place. Something has gone terribly wrong with her father's plan. Against the tense backdrop of the second World War Sally Gardner explores families and what binds them, fathers and daughters, past histories, passions and cruelty, love and devastation in a novel rich in character and beautifully crafted.

Sally Gardner trained at art college and went on to work in the theatre, winning awards for her costume designs for some notable productions. After her twin daughters and her son were born she started to illustrate children's books and then turned to writing. She lives in North London.

A paranormal teen romance with a rare philosophical depth * Financial Times * Astonishing * The Guardian * Exciting and fulfilling * Carousel * Extraordinary -- one of those rare novels published for young readers where we are admitted to a secondary world charged with its writer's exceptional intelligence of both mind and emotion * Books For Keeps * A rich and compelling book ... a tour de force * School Librarian * An extraordinary novel of unusual grace and power * The Daily Telegraph * Remarkable ... lyrical ... unpredictable * The Times * At times the writing is almost too good -- so visual, so visceral that you can feel the green fog of captured memories seeping out form the pages * The Sunday Telegraph * What a mysterious and haunting book ... terrifying and fascinating in equal measure * The Bookseller * Strikingly original * The Independent * Gardner is a true artist and original ... The writing is thrillingly vivid, dramatic and makes for a serious treat which keeps readers on the edge of their seats all the way to the end * The Times * Typically brilliant ... an unusual and constantly challenging story * The Independent * One of those haunting books that will be remembered by the reader for a lifetime * SFX Magazine *