There’s an unusual setting for this moving story – a small island off the Dutch coast. When Flip’s father dies he is sent to live there with his stern uncle and his family. Flip has grown up in Amsterdam and island life is very different to what he has known. The island’s remote beauty soon begins to win him over, and things really change when he rescues a horse, washed up onto its coast during a storm. There are lots of different strands to the book: Flip’s growing love of the island; his run-ins with a group of local bullies; his friendship with a mysterious girl; and of course his relationship with Storm – and it makes for an enthralling read, with a distinctive tone. ~ Andrea Reece
A Piece of Passion from Barry Cunningham, Publisher I love wild places and animal stories – so when I read this exciting tale of boy, horse, remote island and unexpected friends, I was nearly carried away into the surf and dangerous seas myself. But I had no worries, because Nick Garlick is a clever and conscientious storyteller – although watch out, he’s got a bit of a wild side too!
With his mother missing and his father dead, 12-year-old Flip's new home is a remote storm-tossed Dutch island. Menaced by the local bullies and with a shadowy mute girl as his only friend, Flip tries to adapt to life on his uncle's farm - but his whole life changes when a sunken transport ship leaves a drowning stallion floundering in the waves. Risking his life to rescue it, Flip is told he can keep the troublesome horse if he can teach it how to work for its keep.
Nick Garlick is a translator and copywriter, who first had a science fiction novel published many years ago. Aunt Severe and the Dragons, his first children's book, was published in 2010. It is soon to be followed by Aunt Severe and the Toy Thieves. He has lived in the Netherlands since 1990.
