Inspired by a true story, a beautiful novel-in-verse about a child far from home. From award-winning poet Liz Berry.
*WINNER OF THE WRITERS' PRIZE - BOOK OF THE YEAR*
*WINNER OF THE WRITERS' PRIZE FOR POETRY*
'A
profound act of witness
to a long injustice, and a
beautifully crafted conjuring of a life lived as truly as possible
'
Guardian
'Book of the Day'
'Ground-breaking' Benjamin Zephaniah
'Exquisite' Hannah Lowe
, author of
The Kids
Home's not a place, you must believe this,
but one who names you and means
beloved
.
In 1908, Eliza Showell, twelve years old and newly orphaned, boards a ship that will carry her from the slums of the Black Country to rural Nova Scotia. She will never return to Britain or see her family again. She is a Home Child, one of thousands of British children sent to Canada to work as indentured farm laborers and domestic servants.
In Nova Scotia, Eliza's world becomes a place where ordinary things are transfigured into treasures - a red ribbon, the feel of a foal's mane, the sound of her name on someone else's lips. With nothing to call her own, the wild beauty of Cape Breton is the only solace Eliza has - until another Home Child, a boy, comes to the farm and changes everything.
Inspired by the true story of Liz Berry's great aunt, this spellbinding novel in verse is an exquisite portrait of a girl far from home.
A
haunting, deeply compelling
narrative
' Andrew McMillan
physical
Only Liz Berry
could write such
raw and staggeringly beautiful
poems
' Fiona Benson
Vertigo & Ghost