Shortlisted for The Branford Boase Award 2015 - Longlisted for the 2015 CILIP Carnegie Medal - One of our Books of the Year 2014 Heartbreak is made bearable by humour in this gripping and touching story of sixteen year old Pearl, struggling to keep going after the death of her mother. Pearl’s mum dies after giving birth to The Rat as Pearl designates her tiny, newborn sister. How can Pearl ever forgive The Rat for all the grief she has caused? Locked into her own sadness and refusing to let anyone help her, Pearl knows that only her mum can help her. What would she say if she turned up and knew what Pearl was thinking? How Pearl grieves for – and with – her mother is a tragic tale beautifully told.
A Piece of Passion from Ingrid Selberg, Publisher, Simon & SchusterClare Furniss has that rare ability only the very best writers have: to provoke an authentic emotional response. Clare describes grief that cuts to the bone at the same time as making you smile wryly at life’s unpredictability...If you’re a daughter you can’t help but immediately want to pick up the phone to your mum after reading this…
Teens love to read and in addition to our Lovereading expert opinion some of our Reader Review Panel were also lucky enough to read and review this title.
I always thought you'd know, somehow, if something terrible was going to happen. I thought you'd sense it, like when the air goes damp and heavy before a storm and you know you'd better hide yourself away somewhere safe until it all blows over. But it turns out it's not like that at all. There's no scary music playing in the background like in films. No warning signs. Not even a lonely magpie. One for sorrow, Mum used to say. Quick, look for another. The world can tip at any moment … a fact that fifteen-year-old Pearl is all too aware of when her mum dies after giving birth to her baby sister - The Rat - who is a constant reminder of why her mum is no longer around…
An emotionally compelling novel full of bittersweet humour and heartbreaking honesty about loss, love and learning to move on. The Year of the Rat, follows a year in the life of 15 year-old Pearl, coping with the heartbreaking loss of her mother and the arrival of ‘the Rat’, her baby sister. No one can possibly understand Pearl's grief: not her dad, not her best friend and certainly not her gran who never really approved of her son's choice of wife. Feeling completely alone, Pearl struggles to find her place in what feels like an empty and pointless world as she tries to come to terms with losing her mum.
This is a debut that will capture your heart, perfect for fans of Jodi Picoult, Meg Rosoff and John Green.
Clare Furniss studied at Cambridge University and worked for several years in political media relations. She now lives in Bath and is completing an MA in Writing for Young People at Bath Spa University.
