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Wanted: Islands and Adolescence
5th Jul 2011 in Books
For the past few months I’ve been working on Novel #2, Rust and Stardust, a modern fairy tale about mythical creatures coming of age on a Scottish island.
As research I have been reading masses of Scottish mythology (there are some fascinatingly odd stories about the Hebrides), and now I’m on the hunt for novels about:
- Islands
- The sea
- Females coming of age.
I’ve been hugely inspired by Kirsty Gunn’s Rain and Sarah Moss’s Night Waking, and next on my To Read list I have Karen Russell’s Swamplandia! and Samantha Hunt’s The Seas.
Anything else you can suggest?
Island of the Blue Dolphins by Scott O’Dell? First one that came to mind …
Good suggestion, thank you. I’ve added it to my wishlist. I remember loving Gary Paulsen’s Hatchet and Elizabeth Laird’s Hiding Out – kids obviously love survival stories!
Paul Gallico’s The Snow Goose.
I watched the film in 1971 at the age of 17 and was transported.
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=z7PXmbcbpKM
Edwidge Danticat’s Krik? Krak!
The Story of Lucy Gault, William Trevor. your 3 categories are my favorite subjects.
Thanks for these recommendations, Jill! They all look brilliant. I had ‘The Snow Goose’ on my shelf (though I’m not sure I’ve read it) so I’ve added that to the Things To Read As Research pile.
Females coming of age – it’s got to be The Magic Toyshop by Angela Carter for me, if you haven’t read it already!
Wait, forget that, I’ve just scrolled down and read the bit from ‘Underskirts’, and I’m now convinced you MUST have read at least some Angela Carter already. Sorry!
I would recommend two off the top of my head, although you may have read them both:
–Ice Song
http://www.icesong.com/books.html
–The Bone People
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/The_Bone_People
Can’t wait to read your novel!