With its stellar storytelling, and unique, unforgettable characters, Tania Unsworth’s Nowhere Island is a fresh, thought-provoking survival-in-the-wild adventure. Both nuanced and immediate, Nowhere Island gets to the heart of human bonds in an arresting voice that speaks of, and to, young minds. It also transcends age boundaries, and really is a wonder for all ages.
“Gil was five years old when his parents were drowned in a kayaking accident.” Now twelve, after spending “his whole life being taken to one place after another” in the foster care system, Gil decides to go somewhere all by himself for once.
After hiding out in the trunk of a car, Gil’s bag is stolen by two brothers, Riley (11) and Grayson (13). Having fled their violent father, they now live on a wild area of land that’s protected from spying eyes by a motorway. Though the area is plainly visible from the road, no one sees them simply because no one looks. As such, “Nowhere Island” is the perfect hideout for all three runaways.
Gil remarks that the brothers are like pirates, plundering what they can to survive, surrounded by the road rather than sea. And, in befriending the boys, Gil realises that the magic of telling stories doesn’t only provide personal pleasure; it also pleases other people. As a result, he starts to think that “there was a place for him in the world, after all.”
But the boys aren’t alone on Nowhere Island. A girl the brothers have named Pez also lives there. After fleeing the Starborn survivalist community her parents moved to, she’s adept at wild living, but set on remaining true to her resolution to never speak to anyone, and to never form friendships. That way, no one can ever betray her again. But meeting Gil sees an unexpected shift in Pez — she wants to make him laugh again.
Then, after the two camps begin to exchange gifts, with Pez also silently sharing her wisdom with the boys, the secrecy of Nowhere Island is spoiled and all four residents are forced to make tough decisions.
Gripping, moving and teeming with tension, with every sentence perfectly crafted and layered with meaning, Nowhere Island is a beautiful, impactful book.
Hidden at the intersection of several busy highways behind the trees and scrubby undergrowth is an island, full of secrets... Pez has lived there for a while now, enjoying the solitude.
She has a vegetable patch, a routine, her own way of doing things and a condor, who may be outstaying his welcome. Runaway brothers, Riley and Grayson call the island home too.
They keep their distance from Pez and spend precarious days trying to survive, still relying on the man-made world which speeds around them. Then Gil arrives, with his hagstone and a dream of happy families, and everything changes.
The four of them find a way of living and believe they might stay on the island forever.
But all too soon they witness something they should never have seen and they're in deadly danger... Tania Unsworth constantly raises the stakes to write about trust, friendship, resilience and what really makes a home in this original, tense and action-packed survival adventure.
‘The world is full of spaces that nobody notices. Forgotten corners and neglected patches, hiding in plain sight. I’ve always wondered who might be living there, and what secret adventures may be taking place. Writing Nowhere Island was my chance to find out.’Tania Unsworth
‘A winning time-slip tale.’ Sunday Times, Book of the Week
‘A classic adventure, worth reading alone for the transporting evocation of the mighty, beautiful, much misunderstood creature at its heart.’ Piers Torday, author of The Frozen Sea
‘If you like mystery, adventure, time travel, history, conservation and stories about friendships and tigers then this is a book for you.’ Just Imagine
‘There hasn’t been a great time-travelling novel for many years, but Tania Unsworth’s is just that … Environmental, racial and social concerns are deftly woven into a gloriously warm, heart-stopping adventure that is my book of the year for 11+.’ Amanda Craig, New Statesman
‘This is a powerful and magical story … A moving story to help us think about love and loss and the repercussions of our actions.’ Juno Magazine
‘Unsworth presents the reader with a vivid evocation of colonial India, which is rich with detail of the animal and plant life that dominate the jungle.’ The Irish Times
‘A lyrical, vivid and tender novel.’ Literary Review
Praise for The Girl Who Thought her Mother was a Mermaid;
‘From the opening sentence, this debut novel is enticing … teasing and suspenseful, and written with vivacity and elegance, and the danger is resolved in a way that is uplifting.’ Nicolette Jones, Sunday Times Culture
‘Tania Unsworth writes beautifully, and it's hard not to get caught in the current of this magical tale about family and identity’ Alex O'Connell, The Times
‘A rollicking adventure with some tense nailbiting moments and giddy splashes of magical realism’ BookTrust
‘A very enjoyable adventure, where reality mixes with fantasy ... Unsworth's imagination convinces from the first sentence to the last.’ Books for Keeps
Author
About Tania Unsworth
Tania Unsworth spent her childhood in Cambridge before moving to America in her early twenties. She comes from a family of writers and lives in Boston, USA, with her husband and two sons.
