Overview

A beautifully told and gently accessible new middle-grade novel from Waterstones Prize shortlisted Emma Smith-Barton about the eternal power of friendship, memory and love Atlas's Grandpa is beginning to forget things. The end of stories, where he put things - and Atlas is worried that soon Grandpa will forget him, too. Mum says that will never happen, not really - but Atlas is determined to fix him. Skye is forgetting things, too. Like how it feels to have her big sister around now she's left for uni, and the smell of her Grandma's perfume. She's never felt more lonely - until she meets Atlas, a new boy at school who needs her help. Together Atlas and Skye set out to piece together the missing memories of Grandpa's past - and learn how to live with a future that feels uncertain. Told in alternating verse and prose chapters between Atlas and Skye, this is a beautiful story about love, memory, and the power of learning to let go.

Full Product Details

9780241370353

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Reviews

A deftly woven, beautiful story of friendship and support, with a nuanced yet perfectly pitched exploration of memories and memory loss for young readers * Sophie Anderson, author of The House with Chicken Legs * A wonderful tale of love’s resilience through times of forgetting with colourful themes of betrayal, loss and hope running through it. Emma Smith-Barton manages to deal with these themes with maturity whilst maintaining their readability for a younger audience in a beautiful way. * Nation Cymru *

Author Information

Emma Smith-Barton was born in South Wales to Pakistani parents. Growing up between cultures has heavily influenced her writing and she is especially interested in exploring themes of identity and belonging. Before writing, she taught in secondary schools for six years and is passionate about increasing awareness of mental health in young people. Her short stories have appeared in various publications such as Mslexia and The Bristol Short Story Prize 2016 anthology (under her pseudonym for adult fiction, Amna Khokher). The Million Pieces of Neena Gill was Emma's first novel for young adults. It was shortlisted for the Waterstones Children's Book Prize 2020; the Branford Boase Award 2020; and the Romantic Novelists' Association Debut Romantic Novel 2020. Atlas and Skye was her second novel, and her first foray into writing for middle-grade readers.

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