'Everyone knows seventeen-year-old Grace Foley is a bit mad. She’s a prankster and a risk-taker, and she’s not afraid of anything—except losing. As part of the long-running feud between two local schools in Swanston, Grace accepts a challenge to walk the pipe. That night she experiences something she can’t explain. The funny girl isn’t laughing anymore. She’s haunted by voices and visions—but nobody believes a girl who cries wolf.
As she’s drawn deeper into a twenty-year-old mystery surrounding missing girl Hannah Holt, the thin veil between this world and the next begins to slip. She can no longer tell what’s real or imagined—all she knows is the ghosts of Swanston, including that of her own mother, are restless. It seems one of them has granted her an extraordinary gift at a terrible price. Everything about her is changing—her body, her thoughts, even her actions seem to belong to a stranger. Grace is losing herself, and her friends don’t understand. Is she moving closer to the truth? Or is she heading for madness?' (Publication summary)
'I’ve been thinking lately about what a good review can offer readers, especially teachers who have so many demands on their time and limited opportunity to read the huge range of new texts available for their students in the classroom. Reviews can give a pointer to teachers about some texts that merit their attention. Obviously, an opinion is called for – what is the appeal of this text and to whom may it appeal? I won’t waste your time on texts if I don’t think they will engage some of your students in the classroom. I can’t recommend texts which haven’t engaged me too, at some level. A brief idea of what happens, the style of writing or designing and the impact of the text written or created and perhaps some ideas on how it might be used in the classroom. With a much greater focus in classrooms today on student choice and voice about what they read and view it’s important to have a range of texts to capture their interests and enthusiasm. Not all these texts will work with all students, but there will be readers, and reluctant and disengaged ones as well, who will find something here that speaks to them.' (Introduction)
'How young people respond to trauma and being trapped is explored in five new novels by Australian writers. Some characters are stuck in time and place, others are victims of grief and persecution.' (Introduction)
'How young people respond to trauma and being trapped is explored in five new novels by Australian writers. Some characters are stuck in time and place, others are victims of grief and persecution.' (Introduction)
'I’ve been thinking lately about what a good review can offer readers, especially teachers who have so many demands on their time and limited opportunity to read the huge range of new texts available for their students in the classroom. Reviews can give a pointer to teachers about some texts that merit their attention. Obviously, an opinion is called for – what is the appeal of this text and to whom may it appeal? I won’t waste your time on texts if I don’t think they will engage some of your students in the classroom. I can’t recommend texts which haven’t engaged me too, at some level. A brief idea of what happens, the style of writing or designing and the impact of the text written or created and perhaps some ideas on how it might be used in the classroom. With a much greater focus in classrooms today on student choice and voice about what they read and view it’s important to have a range of texts to capture their interests and enthusiasm. Not all these texts will work with all students, but there will be readers, and reluctant and disengaged ones as well, who will find something here that speaks to them.' (Introduction)
