A chance meeting with Jenny at an Oxford party leaves seventeen-year-old Chris with hope for a summer romance—and no premonition of trouble. Busy with his job and soon in love with Jenny, whose cheerful surface belies the dark uncertainty of her past, Chris misses all the signs of danger. Before he knows it, he's caught in the sinister web of a criminal whose desire for revenge crushes all those who stand in his way.

"The story line will hook readers and hold them . . . a pageturner that raises some unsettling questions about trust and betrayal and the nature of good and evil."—School Library Journal

"An engrossing, tragic story with rare depth of feeling. . . . Readers won't be able to turn the pages fast enough."—Kirkus Reviews

"Fans of Robert Cormier should appreciate this tense thriller."—The Bulletin of the Center for Children's Books 
© Bryan Appleyard
Philip Pullman is one of the most acclaimed writers working today. He is best known for the His Dark Materials trilogy (The Golden Compass, The Subtle Knife, and The Amber Spyglass), which has been named one of the top 100 novels of all time by Newsweek and one of the all-time greatest novels by Entertainment Weekly. He is also the author of another trilogy set in the same world, The Book of Dust (La Belle Sauvage, The Secret Commonwealth, and The Rose Field) as well as numerous other much-loved novels, a collection of fairy tales, and a volume of essays and speeches on writing. He has won many distinguished prizes, including the Carnegie Medal, the Whitbread (now Costa) Award, Parents’ Choice Gold Awards, and the Astrid Lindgren Memorial Award. Pullman was knighted for services to literature in the New Years Honours 2019. He lives in Oxford, England. View titles by Philip Pullman

About

A chance meeting with Jenny at an Oxford party leaves seventeen-year-old Chris with hope for a summer romance—and no premonition of trouble. Busy with his job and soon in love with Jenny, whose cheerful surface belies the dark uncertainty of her past, Chris misses all the signs of danger. Before he knows it, he's caught in the sinister web of a criminal whose desire for revenge crushes all those who stand in his way.

"The story line will hook readers and hold them . . . a pageturner that raises some unsettling questions about trust and betrayal and the nature of good and evil."—School Library Journal

"An engrossing, tragic story with rare depth of feeling. . . . Readers won't be able to turn the pages fast enough."—Kirkus Reviews

"Fans of Robert Cormier should appreciate this tense thriller."—The Bulletin of the Center for Children's Books 

Author

© Bryan Appleyard
Philip Pullman is one of the most acclaimed writers working today. He is best known for the His Dark Materials trilogy (The Golden Compass, The Subtle Knife, and The Amber Spyglass), which has been named one of the top 100 novels of all time by Newsweek and one of the all-time greatest novels by Entertainment Weekly. He is also the author of another trilogy set in the same world, The Book of Dust (La Belle Sauvage, The Secret Commonwealth, and The Rose Field) as well as numerous other much-loved novels, a collection of fairy tales, and a volume of essays and speeches on writing. He has won many distinguished prizes, including the Carnegie Medal, the Whitbread (now Costa) Award, Parents’ Choice Gold Awards, and the Astrid Lindgren Memorial Award. Pullman was knighted for services to literature in the New Years Honours 2019. He lives in Oxford, England. View titles by Philip Pullman

Get Inspired! Books for After-School Clubs & Activities

Coordinating after-school clubs and activities in your school community? Explore our collection of books that will help students discover their passion for new (and screen-free!) hobbies. Focusing on topics such as art, board games, crafting, cooking, nature, sports, and more—these books are bound to spark imagination and movement. Browse the middle school and high school

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