Kit has just moved to Stoneygate with his family, to live with his ageing grandfather who is gradually succumbing to Alzheimer's Disease. Stoneygate is an insular place, scarred by its mining history - by the danger and death it has brought them. Where the coal mine used to be there is now a wilderness.
Here Kit meets Askew, a surly and threatening figure who masterminds the game called Death, a frightening ritual of hypnotism; and Kit makes friends with Allie, the clever school troublemaker. As Kit struggles to adjust to his new life and the gradual failing of his beloved grandfather, these two friendships pull him towards a terrifying resolution. Haunted by ghosts of the past, Kit must confront death and - ultimately - life.

A stunning novel from the author of the modern children's classic Skellig - winner of the Carnegie Medal and the Whitbread Children's Book Award. David Almond is also winner of the 2010 Hans Christian Andersen award.

In Stoneygate there was a wilderness, an empty space where the coal pit had once been. There, Kit met Askew, with his wild dog Jax. Askew, who ran the game called Death ... A superb book, winner of the Smarties Prize and the Michael L Printz Award.

About the Author
David Almond is the author of Skellig, My Name is Mina, Island, Bone Music and many other novels, stories, picture books, opera librettos, songs and plays. His work is translated into 40 languages, and is widely adapted for stage and screen. His major awards include the Carnegie Medal, two Whitbread Awards, the Eleanor Farjeon Award, the Michael L Printz Award (USA), Le Prix Sorcieres (France), the Nonino International Prize, the James Kruss Prize and the Guardian Children's Fiction Prize. He has also won the Hans Christian Andersen Award, the world's most prestigious prize for children's authors. In 2021, David was awarded an OBE for services to literature. David speaks at festivals and conferences around the world. He is Emeritus Professor of Creative Writing at Bath Spa University. He is widely regarded as one of the most exciting, inspirational and innovative children's authors writing today. He has one amazing daughter. He lives in Newcastle, the city in which he was born. www.davidalmond.com

Reviews
Magic of a very different kind -- Erica Wagner * The Times *
An enthralling, multi-layered and complex story with a tension that builds and grips the reader. A wonder ful read. * The Bookseller *
A writer of subtle, page-turning and daring exactness. * The Times Educational Supplement *
Extremely good. Written with an acute sense of place plus a touch of the supernatural. * The Independent *
Sensitive and absorbing. * The Observer *
Has the same mesmerising quality of writing and a hauntingly intense plot. * The Sunday Times *
The book treats all the great universal themes of literature - love, loss, redemption, mortality - with elegant, tender simplicity, and it is bound to touch any reader of whatever age. -- Raymond Seitz * The Daily Telegraph *
Very touching. * The Daily Telegraph *
An essential read from an original voice. * The Daily Telegraph *
A haunting read for thoughtful readers. * The Daily Telegraph *
A moving rites-of-passage novel. * The Guardian Weekly *
This superb piece of lyrically-written literary fiction captivates teenagers and their parents alike. * The Guardian *
Almond's magic is subtle, breath-taking, redemptive. * The Times *
Gripping, convincing and effortlessly well-written * The Observer Review *
Dark and gripping. * The Times *
Almond's masterpiece: Kit's Wilderness is one of those rare works that changes how we see the world * The Guardian *
Could a children's book win the Booker? The best writing is the kind that defies categories, and Almond's Kit's Wilderness makes the grade. * The Times *
You can feel the chill from the ghosts that haunt its pages. An essential read from an original voice in children's books. * The Daily Telegraph *
David Almond is a writer of subtle, page-turning and daring exactness, and he applies the same potent poetic and emphatic skills in his equally moving new novel. * Times Educational Supplement *
A children's book of stunning freshness and individuality. * Literary Review *
Deeper and more unsettling than Almond's breakthrough book. * Books For Keeps *
Dark and gripping. * The Times *



Book Information
ISBN 9780340944967
Author David Almond
Format Paperback
Page Count 240
Imprint Hodder Children's Books
Publisher Hachette Children's Group
Weight(grams) 210g
Dimensions(mm) 241mm * 129mm * 19mm