From the bestselling author of A Boy Called Christmas, The Girl Who Saved Christmas, Father Christmas and Me and The Truth Pixie.

*Winner of the Gold Smarties Prize, the Blue Peter Book Award and shortlisted for the Carnegie Medal*

Samuel Blink is the hero of this story, but he doesn't know it yet.

Right now, he and his sister Martha are in the back of his parents' car. He has no idea a giant log is about to fall from the sky and change his life forever. He doesn't know that he and Martha will be forced to move to Norway and eat their Aunt Eda's smelly brown cheese. He hasn't the slightest clue Martha will disappear into the Shadow Forest - a forest full of one-eyed trolls, deadly Truth Pixies, a shadow-stealing witch and the evil Changemaker.

Samuel Blink doesn't know any of this. So don't tell him. It might ruin the book . . .

An eerie, funny and exciting fairytale from multi-award-winning author Matt Haig.

'Fascinating and magical . . . Outstanding' The Times

An eerie, funny and very exciting fairytale, winner of the Gold Smarties Prize and the Blue Peter Book Award, and shortlisted for the Carnegie Medal.

About the Author
Matt Haig's first novel for young readers, Shadow Forest, won the Blue Peter Book of the Year Award and the Gold Smarties Award. He is also the author of various adult novels, including the bestsellers The Last Family in England and The Radleys. Reviewers have called his writing 'totally engrossing', 'touching, quirky and macabre' and 'so surprising and strange that it vaults into a realm all of its own'. His books have been translated into 25 languages. He lives in York.

Reviews
A fascinating and magical tale. This is an outstanding piece of literature * The Times *
Enough twists to keep children gripped * The Daily Telegraph *
Matt Haig has crafted a children's classic * Yorkshire Evening Post *
Clever use of Norwegian folklore skilfully weaves humour and sadness, reality and fantasy, into a tense, page-turning tale, which keeps readers guessing by the many unexpected twists and turns in the plot * Carousel *
Shadow Forest features lots of humour mixed in with with some superbly gross parts (such as exploding heads). Matt Haig's quirky style of writing make this an exciting and most enjoyable read... This book is a definite for any child who enjoys being fully immersed in a world of myth and magic * Fantasy Book Review *


Awards
Short-listed for Blue Peter Book Award 2008 and Waterstone's Children's Book Prize 2008.



Book Information
ISBN 9780552555630
Author Matt Haig
Format Paperback
Page Count 416
Imprint Corgi Childrens
Publisher Penguin Random House Children's UK
Weight(grams) 287g
Dimensions(mm) 198mm * 129mm * 26mm