A Song for Ella Grey

Written in lyrical prose, this novel for fans of epic romances and mythology retellings explores themes of love, loss, fate, and destiny set against the dramatic and diverse backdrop of Northern England. 

David Almond, recipient of the prestigious Hans Christian Andersen Award, a Printz Honor for Skellig, and the Printz Award for Kit’s Wilderness, has crafted an enchanting modern take on the myth of Orpheus and Eurydice.
  
    Claire and Ella and their friends are bound by ties so strong they seem unbreakable. Then the strange and handsome Orpheus strolls onto the beach, and he sings them all into an astonishing new understanding of themselves. Ella is caught the hardest, fastest, deepest—and Claire is left with the pain of looking on.

   Raw, emotional, lyrical, funny, and true, A Song for Ella Grey is a tale of the joys, troubles, and desires of modern teens. It takes place in the ordinary streets of Tyneside and on the beautiful beaches of Northumberland. It’s a story of first love, a love song that draws on ancient mythical forces. A love that leads Ella, Orpheus, and Claire to the gates of Death and beyond.


Winner of The Guardian Children’s Fiction Prize

PW Best Book of 2015

"Almond's lyrical narrative will sweep readers on a journey to unearthly, mysterious realms and back."—Publishers Weekly, Starred Review

"Innovative and dreamlike . . . and told in Almond's lyrical, distinctive prose. Teen readers of a literary bent and mythology enthusiasts will love this latest work."—School Library Journal, Starred Review

"Almond brings his hypnotic lyricism to this darkly romantic tale that sings of the madness of youth, the ache of love, and the near-impossibility of grasping death."—Kirkus Reviews
David Almond grew up in a large family in northeastern England and says, “The place and the people have given me many of my stories.” His first novel for children, Skellig, was a Michael L. Printz Honor Book and an ALA-ALSC Notable Children’s Book and appeared on many Best Book of the Year lists. He wrote My Name Is Mina, the prequel to Skellig. His novel Kit’s Wilderness won the Michael L. Printz Award for Excellence in Young Adult Literature. David Almond is a recipient of the prestigious Hans Christian Andersen Award. He lives in England. Visit him online at davidalmond.com and on Facebook and follow him @davidjalmond on Twitter. View titles by David Almond
  • SELECTION | 2016
    YALSA Best Books for Young Adults
  • SELECTION | 2015
    Publishers Weekly Best Books
"Almond's lyrical narrative will sweep readers on a journey to unearthly, mysterious realms and back."—Publishers Weekly, Starred Review

“Innovative and dreamlike . . . and told in Almond's distinctive prose. Teen readers of a literary bent and mythology enthusiasts will love this latest work.”—School Library Journal, Starred Review

"Almond brings his hypnotic lyricism to this darkly romantic tale that sings of the madness of youth, the ache of love, and the near-impossibility of grasping death."—Kirkus Reviews

". . . captures the heady rush of reckless youth. Readers will likely be transfixed by this rhapsodic modern telling of a classic tragedy."—Booklist

"Almond's . . . prose seeps into your blood like word venom until you can't imagine reading anything else."—The Times (London)

"David Almond's books are strange, unsettling wild things--unfettered by the normal constraints of children's literature, beyond classification."—The Guardian

"Printz Award-winner Almond delivers another haunting, intricately-woven piece of literature."—VOYA

"The evocation of the desperate immediacy of adolescence itself . . . is artfully rendered."--The Bulletin of the Center for Children's Books

"An ode to the mad joy of youth, mortality and love."--Shelf Awareness

About

Written in lyrical prose, this novel for fans of epic romances and mythology retellings explores themes of love, loss, fate, and destiny set against the dramatic and diverse backdrop of Northern England. 

David Almond, recipient of the prestigious Hans Christian Andersen Award, a Printz Honor for Skellig, and the Printz Award for Kit’s Wilderness, has crafted an enchanting modern take on the myth of Orpheus and Eurydice.
  
    Claire and Ella and their friends are bound by ties so strong they seem unbreakable. Then the strange and handsome Orpheus strolls onto the beach, and he sings them all into an astonishing new understanding of themselves. Ella is caught the hardest, fastest, deepest—and Claire is left with the pain of looking on.

   Raw, emotional, lyrical, funny, and true, A Song for Ella Grey is a tale of the joys, troubles, and desires of modern teens. It takes place in the ordinary streets of Tyneside and on the beautiful beaches of Northumberland. It’s a story of first love, a love song that draws on ancient mythical forces. A love that leads Ella, Orpheus, and Claire to the gates of Death and beyond.


Winner of The Guardian Children’s Fiction Prize

PW Best Book of 2015

"Almond's lyrical narrative will sweep readers on a journey to unearthly, mysterious realms and back."—Publishers Weekly, Starred Review

"Innovative and dreamlike . . . and told in Almond's lyrical, distinctive prose. Teen readers of a literary bent and mythology enthusiasts will love this latest work."—School Library Journal, Starred Review

"Almond brings his hypnotic lyricism to this darkly romantic tale that sings of the madness of youth, the ache of love, and the near-impossibility of grasping death."—Kirkus Reviews

Author

David Almond grew up in a large family in northeastern England and says, “The place and the people have given me many of my stories.” His first novel for children, Skellig, was a Michael L. Printz Honor Book and an ALA-ALSC Notable Children’s Book and appeared on many Best Book of the Year lists. He wrote My Name Is Mina, the prequel to Skellig. His novel Kit’s Wilderness won the Michael L. Printz Award for Excellence in Young Adult Literature. David Almond is a recipient of the prestigious Hans Christian Andersen Award. He lives in England. Visit him online at davidalmond.com and on Facebook and follow him @davidjalmond on Twitter. View titles by David Almond

Awards

  • SELECTION | 2016
    YALSA Best Books for Young Adults
  • SELECTION | 2015
    Publishers Weekly Best Books

Praise

"Almond's lyrical narrative will sweep readers on a journey to unearthly, mysterious realms and back."—Publishers Weekly, Starred Review

“Innovative and dreamlike . . . and told in Almond's distinctive prose. Teen readers of a literary bent and mythology enthusiasts will love this latest work.”—School Library Journal, Starred Review

"Almond brings his hypnotic lyricism to this darkly romantic tale that sings of the madness of youth, the ache of love, and the near-impossibility of grasping death."—Kirkus Reviews

". . . captures the heady rush of reckless youth. Readers will likely be transfixed by this rhapsodic modern telling of a classic tragedy."—Booklist

"Almond's . . . prose seeps into your blood like word venom until you can't imagine reading anything else."—The Times (London)

"David Almond's books are strange, unsettling wild things--unfettered by the normal constraints of children's literature, beyond classification."—The Guardian

"Printz Award-winner Almond delivers another haunting, intricately-woven piece of literature."—VOYA

"The evocation of the desperate immediacy of adolescence itself . . . is artfully rendered."--The Bulletin of the Center for Children's Books

"An ode to the mad joy of youth, mortality and love."--Shelf Awareness

PRH Education High School Collections

All reading communities should contain protected time for the sake of reading. Independent reading practices emphasize the process of making meaning through reading, not an end product. The school culture (teachers, administration, etc.) should affirm this daily practice time as inherently important instructional time for all readers. (NCTE, 2019)   The Penguin Random House High

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PRH Education Translanguaging Collections

Translanguaging is a communicative practice of bilinguals and multilinguals, that is, it is a practice whereby bilinguals and multilinguals use their entire linguistic repertoire to communicate and make meaning (García, 2009; García, Ibarra Johnson, & Seltzer, 2017)   It is through that lens that we have partnered with teacher educators and bilingual education experts, Drs.

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PRH Education Classroom Libraries

“Books are a students’ passport to entering and actively participating in a global society with the empathy, compassion, and knowledge it takes to become the problem solvers the world needs.” –Laura Robb   Research shows that reading and literacy directly impacts students’ academic success and personal growth. To help promote the importance of daily independent

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