The Wild Way Home

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What to expect

Bloomsbury presents The Wild Way Home by Sophie Kirtley, read by Sarah Ovens.

'So good I read it twice' – Hilary McKay, author of The Skylarks' War

'This thrilling time-slip adventure oozes magic and heart' – Bookseller EDITOR'S CHOICE

When Charlie’s longed-for brother is born with a serious heart condition, Charlie’s world is turned upside down. Upset and afraid, Charlie flees the hospital and makes for the ancient forest on the edge of town. There Charlie finds a boy floating face-down in the stream, injured, but alive. But when Charlie sets off back to the hospital to fetch help, it seems the forest has changed. It’s become a place as strange and wild as the boy dressed in deerskins. For Charlie has unwittingly fled into the Stone Age, with no way to help the boy or return to the present day. Or is there?

What follows is a wild, big-hearted adventure as Charlie and the Stone Age boy set out together to find what they have lost – their courage, their hope, their family and their way home.

Fans of Piers Torday and Stig of the Dump will love this wild, wise and heartfelt debut adventure.

Critics Review

The Wild Way Home echoes Skellig and Stig of the Dump, with a bold, readable charm entirely its own ... Full of peril, sadness and wild joy, it’s a timeslip adventure with a difference.
Guardian
Underpinning this action-packed debut is a sensitive portrayal of how a child’s fear of illness and change can be overcome by helping others and facing up to the truth.
Daily Mail
This thrilling time-slip adventure oozes magic and heart
Bookseller EDITOR'S CHOICE
So good I read it twice
Hilary McKay, author of The Skylarks' War
I loved this unique quirky story full of heart
Jasbinder Bilan, author of Asha and the Spirit Bird
An enchanting debut
Mail on Sunday, best fiction of the year
With echoes of Skellig, this story is so smoothly told I barely stopped. A really powerful debut and definitely a must in every school library
Fleur Hitchcock for Waterstones Bookseller Reviews
Delivers in spades. It made me laugh, cry, gasp and turn the pages for one more chapter every time I had to stop
Nizrana Farook, author of The Girl Who Stole an Elephant
Reminiscent of Skellig and Stig of the Dump, The Wild Way Home is a lovely time-slip adventure full of heart, family and finding your feet when times are tough
Anna Fargher, author of Umbrella Mouse
An exciting debut that takes us on a timeslip adventure into the deep past, where survival is at the point of a spear and family is the only thing you have to hold onto
A.F. Harrold
Gorgeously magical and achingly real. I loved every character in this book and I devoured the whole story in a breathless rush because I couldn't stop reading (even when it made me cry)
Stephanie Burgis, author of The Dragon With a Chocolate Heart
A beautiful story of things ancient and eternal. Kirtley convincingly creates and navigates the difficult landscapes of both Stone Age Ireland and contemporary family life in this big-hearted, gripping debut.
Kelly McCaughrain
A tense, emotionally charged time-slip story … deeply moving and at times heart-breaking. Coming soon and eminently worth the wait
Irish Examiner
It is a heart-warming, magical book that has family, friendship and overcoming difficulties at its core. I couldn’t put it down!
NetGalley user
A captivating story of self-discovery and realising what is truly important in life
Scope For Imagination
Perfect for an UKS2 Stone Age topic, or for a nature or history lover, this world was immersive and believable and characters, settings and plot line were written with extraordinary attention to detail. Beautiful!
NetGalley Reviewer
Fans of Stig of the Dump or Michelle Paver’s Wolf Brother series will very much enjoy Sophie Kirtley’s vivid, exciting and heart-warming Stone Age timeslip story… Kirtley portrays the emotional truths of her story with equal skill, making that Charlie’s sense of loss, love and home as vivid and affecting as the encounters with wolves. This is Sophie Kirtley’s debut novel and very impressive.
Books For Keeps
A captivating story of self-discovery and realising what is truly important in life… It is also a magnificent portrayal of Stone Age life with opportunities for discussion about values, survival and family.
True Education Partnerships
Enchanting debut about Charlie, who travels back to the Stone Age while running away from the feelings prompted by the arrival of a poorly baby brother. When Charlie saves a lost Stone Age boy from drowning, the pair brave storms, wolves and other dangers while trying to find their way home
Mail on Sunday

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