When English author and poet A.F. Harrold was asked by a schoolchild in 2018 if he and illustrator team-mate Levi Pinfold had any plans to follow up on the outstanding success of their award-winning novel, The Song from Somewhere Else, he said that couldn’t promise anything.
Hector, or Hex as he likes to be known, never meant for the girl to follow him and his best friend Tommo into the woods. He never meant for her to fall off the rope swing and break her arm. And when the finger of blame is pointed at him, Hex runs deep into the woods and his fierce sense of injustice leads him to a strange clearing where he has never been before.
The worlds of reality and fantasy collide with power and thought-provoking poignancy in this unforgettable story which springs surprises and works its wonders as readers explore how we can learn to find the strength to face down monsters… in the darkness, in our friends, and in ourselves. Featuring a delightful and moving new Afterword by Lizza Aiken, Aiken’s daughter, revealing the inspiration behind the story and how it came to be written, this new edition also includes fascinating material from the author’s own archive.
The servants are dismissed, the furniture is sold, and Bonnie and Sylvia are sent to a prison-like orphan school. It seems as if the endless hours of drudgery will never cease. With the help of Simon the goose boy and his flock, they escape. But how will they ever get Willoughby Chase free from the clutches of the evil Miss Slighcarp?