A powerful contemporary novel for readers of 11+ about slavery, friendship and standing up for what is right.
From the author of the UKLA Book Award-winning THE ELEVENTH TRADE comes a second novel with a powerful modern message - for readers of 11+.
Twelve-year-old Nadia has discovered a new and dangerous secret: she is lonely.
Then two things happen that change everything. She meets Eli, who she suspects may be a superhero, and she finds a strange letter under the dried juniper branches.
The next day Nadia gathers her courage to take the letter to Eli. But something about Eli's family is very strange. Why doesn't he let her step close to the house? And is her new friend hiding his own secrets?
Alyssa is American and this is her debut novel. Her sister worked for an NGO in Afghanistan and Alyssa travelled to Afghanistan to spend time with her sister and the Afghan people she works with. Alyssa wrote an award-winning essay about that experience and continues to work with refugees in the USA, helping them to adjust to their new lives.
Alyssa says,
