Stars at Oktober Bend
Shortlisted for the CILIP Carnegie Medal 2017 and recommended by Amnesty as a top book for young adults.
“..a challenging yet life-affirming book that gives its young characters a powerful and original voice” – Amnesty
“Surprising, lyrical and beautiful, this book speaks of hope in the darkest of times, and of love in its many forms” - Liz Flanagan
Alice is fifteen, with hair as red as fire and skin as pale as bone, but something inside her is broken. She has a brain injury, the result of an assault. Manny was once a child soldier. He is sixteen and has lost all his family. When Manny first sees Alice, she is sitting on the rusty roof of her river house, looking like a carving on an old-fashioned ship, sailing through the stars. He has a poem in his pocket, and he knows the words by heart. And he is sure that girl has written them. When Manny and Alice meet, they find the beginnings of love and healing.
Australian author Glenda Millard writes for children of all ages and her work has won some of the highest accolades in her home country. She writes with empathy and skill and 'The Stars at Oktober Bend' was rightly recognised in the UK when it was shortlisted for the CILIP Carnegie Medal in 2017.