Cirrus@Austlit

'High on a cliff above the gloomy coastal town of Withering-by-Sea stands the Hotel Majestic. Inside the walls of the damp, dull hotel, eleven-year-old orphan Stella Montgomery leads a miserable life with her three dreadful Aunts. But one night, Stella sees something she shouldn't have ... Something that will set in motion an adventure more terrifying and more wonderful than she could ever have hoped for ...' (publication blurb).

'The highly anticipated sequel to 2014's runaway bestseller WITHERING-BY-SEA When Stella Montgomery returned to the Hotel Majestic cold and wet but exhilarated by adventure, the Aunts were furious. Now they are sending Stella away to the old family home at Wormwood Mire, where she must live with two strange cousins and their governess. But within the overgrown grounds of the mouldering house, dark secrets slither and skulk, and soon Stella must be brave once more if she's to find out who - or what - she really is ... From bestselling writer-illustrator Judith Rossell comes the thrilling and magical sequel to her multi-award-winning novel, WITHERING-BY-SEA. ' (Publication summary)

'Stella Montgomery is in disgrace, and the Aunts have decided there is only one thing to be done. She is to be sent to Wakestone Hall, a grim and dreadful boarding school where the disobedient are tamed and the wilful are made meek.

Life at school is lonely and miserable, and when a friend disappears, Stella is determined to find her - no matter the dangers that certainly lie ahead…Soon Stella is thrown deeper into the mysteries of Wakestone… and her own past.'

Source: Publisher's blurb.