In 1849, the Thomas Arbuthnot set sail for Australia.
Onboard were 194 Irish girls.

I heard the emotion in Sarah's voice as she asked, 'Will we ever come back?'

'Come back where?'

'Home,' said Sarah. 'Do you think we will ever see Ireland again?'

Maggie and Sarah are on their way to Australia. Their homes and their lives have been devastated by famine, with death coming to so many. Even when they sought refuge in the workhouse they found horror and heartbreak there.

When the girls are given the chance of a new life on the other side of the world, they know they have to say yes - no matter the price.

On board ship, they are caught in between worlds. How will they find the courage and strength to build new lives in a strange land?

About the Author
Nicola Pierce published her first book for children, Spirit of the Titanic, to rave reviews and five printings within its first twelve months. City of Fate, her second book, transported the reader deep into the Russian city of Stalingrad during World War II. The novel was shortlisted for the Warwickshire School Library Service Award, 2014. Nicola went on to bring seventeenth-century Ireland vividly to life in Behind the Walls (2015), a rich emotional novel set in the besieged city of Derry in 1689, followed by Kings of the Boyne (2016), a moving and gritty account capturing the Battle of the Boyne (1690), which was shortlisted for the Literacy Association of Ireland (LAI) awards. In 2018 Nicola delved in to the true stories of the passengers, crew and the legacy of the fated ship Titanic, in her illustrated book of the same name. To read more about Nicola, go to her Facebook page, www.facebook.com/NicolaPierce-Author and on Twitter @NicolaPierce3. Lauren O'Neill is an illustrator and graphic designer based in Dublin. Originally from Wexford, she moved to Dublin to study in NCAD and stayed. Her work has appeared across a wide variety of areas from advertising campaigns to storybooks and gallery exhibitions. She has illustrated Jonathan Swift's Gulliver's Travels, winning the Children's Books Ireland Merit Award for Illustration, and Blazing a Trail which won the Children's Book of the Year (senior) Irish Book Award in 2018. www.laurenipsum.ie

Reviews

Shedding fresh light on a lesser-known aspect of the story of the Irish famine, Nicola Pierce takes readers on a journey through time, beginning on the eve of Maggie's 100th birthday, as she casts her mind back to her childhood and adolescence during the Great Hunger of the 1840s ... Pierce masterfully collapses time in this affecting historical fiction highlighting survival and sacrifice

-- Irish Examiner

I read every word in one sitting ... it just keeps pulling you in ... beautifully written and a lovely way of framing the story and the characters were wonderful ... I'm going to read a couple more of your books even if they're aimed at young people because I love them

-- LMFM's Gerry Kelly show

stunning cover ... created by Lauren O'Neill suggests a journey across oceans and possible ghosts, it is beautifully crafted and evocative ... This is an emotional, beautiful and outstandingly imagined story ... harrowing, beautiful, full of adventure and tells a story that is not often remembered

-- Armadillo Magazine

Stirring, awe-inspiring, richly told in expressive detail and in a genuine voice, perfectly paced, powerful...unforgettable ... an amazing story ... Nicola Pierce writes so descriptively that you are transported; you see, feel and smell ... The characters come alive on the page ... Maggie, the storyteller here, is wonderfully drawn throughout and filled with determination, confusion, courage, anxiety, that glimmer of hope and compassion for these strangers she finds herself thrown in with ... the cover by Lauren O'Neill...just beautiful! It perfectly captures the pervading atmosphere that runs through the entire book and makes it a thing of beauty and joy to hold in your hand ... a marvellous book on so many levels'

-- Fallen Star Stories

a fantastic story for younger readers about a group of young girls who were given the chance to leave Ireland during the famine in search of a better life in Australia. The author is able to provide the reader with so many great, real and human characters ... 'In Between Worlds' is a fantastic novel, written extremely well by an author who obviously did her research into the Famine - student John Prendergast

-- Mayo News, Tertulia Bookshop recommends

Nicola Pierce's novel illustrates the fracturing of family and community dynamics as certainties such as religious faith and consolation, parental responsibility, and neighbourly support crumble in response to starvation and poverty ... a thought-provoking spotlight on an under-explored aspect of Irish emigration history

Maggie's retelling of the tragic story of 1840s Ireland helps us to understand the fear, pain and suffering of the time, although she herself remains hopeful of a brighter future

As in previous works, including Spirit of the Titanic and Behind the Walls, Drogheda-based Nicola Pierce blends fact with fiction to present Irish history afresh to young readers

-- Irish Examiner, Pet O'Connell



Book Information
ISBN 9781788493468
Author Nicola Pierce
Format Paperback
Page Count 288
Imprint O'Brien Press Ltd
Publisher O'Brien Press Ltd
Weight(grams) 258g
Dimensions(mm) 196mm * 129mm * 22mm