Accompanying his engineer father on a work trip, Louie is stranded by an earthquake in an isolated world peopled by ghostly figures. Overwhelmed by the misery of the silent Endlanders and grieving the loss of his own brother, Louie realises there is something he can do to help them all face the future again. But will he find the courage to do it?
Accompanying his engineer father on a work trip, Louie is stranded by an earthquake in an isolated world peopled by ghostly figures. Overwhelmed by the misery of the silent Endlanders and grieving the loss of his own brother, Louie realises there is something he can do to help them all face the future again. But will he find the courage to do it?
A family mix-up means Louie has to tag along with his engineer father and his team as they head for a routine job in the farthest flung and most neglected province of the Federation. A massive earthquake, with ensuing tsunami, devastates the entire isolated coastal region, laying bare the other-worldly manner in which the silent and strange Endlanders deal with life, death and the hinterlands of memory and loss. Their curious and unsettling ways raise ghosts for Louie, who has recently lost his own brother. This modern fable – part ghost-story, part coming-of-age novel and part astute social and family observation – explores the ways in which grief can affect not only individuals, but communities at large.
“a weird and wonderful triumph; a challenging, powerful book - this is Fine at her very bestThe Times Children's Book of the Week, February 2022”
a weird and wonderful triumph; a challenging, powerful book – this is Fine at her very best.
The Times Children's Book of the Week, February 2022
-- Alex O'Connell The TimesThis is a book with the potential to heal. – Sunday Times Book of the Week
-- Nicolette Jones The Sunday TimesA remarkable novel which defies easy categorisation.
Aftershocks is a book of contradictions. It is at once familiar, yet otherworldly. It is a ghost story yet is rooted in real and highly relatable emotions. It's ambition and scope are large, yet at once it explores the intimacy of personal grief. Books of the Year 2022
Books for KeepsFormer Children's Laureate Anne Fine has written over seventy books for children and won many prizes and accolades, including twice winning the Carnegie Medal. Her writing very often tackles series social issues but can also be laugh-out-loud funny and her range is demonstrated by the successes of Madame Doubtfire and Goggle Eyes.
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