The Door That Led to Where - Softcover

Gardner, Sally

Softcover

ISBN 10: 1471401111 ISBN 13: 9781471401114

Publisher: Hot Key Books, 2015

Synopsis

When the present offers no hope for the future, the answers may lie in the past. AJ Flynn has just failed all but one of his GCSEs, and his future is looking far from rosy. So when he is offered a junior position at a London law firm he hopes his life is about to change - but he could never have imagined how much. Tidying up the archive one day, AJ finds an old key, mysteriously labelled with his name and date of birth - and he becomes determined to find the door that fits the key. And so begins an amazing journey to a very real and tangible past - 1830, to be precise - where the streets of modern Clerkenwell are replaced with cobbles and carts, and the law can be twisted to suit a villain's means. Although life in 1830 is cheap, AJ and his friends quickly find that their own lives have much more value. They've gone from sad youth statistics to young men with purpose - and at the heart of everything lies a crime that only they can solve. But with enemies all around, can they unravel the mysteries of the past, before it unravels them? A fast-paced mystery novel by one of the UK's finest writers, The Door That Led to Where will delight, surprise and mesmerise all those who read it.

About this title

About the Author:

Sally Gardner is a multi-award-winning novelist whose work has been translated into more than twenty-two languages. Her novel MAGGOT MOON (Hot Key Books) won both the Costa Children's Book Prize and the Carnegie Medal 2013. Sally's genre-defying novel THE DOUBLE SHADOW (Orion) received great critical acclaim and was also longlisted for the Carnegie Medal 2013. THE RED NECKLACE (shortlisted for 2007 Guardian Book Prize) and THE SILVER BLADE are set during the French Revolution, the film rights for which have been purchased by Dominic West. Sally also won the 2005 Nestle Children's Book Prize for her debut novel I, CORIANDER. She is currently writing the popular WINGS CO Fairy Detective Agency Series (Orion) for 7-11 year olds - hailed as 'Agatha Christie for kids' - and has recently released her latest Young Adult fiction novel, which is a modern gothic tale called TINDER, illustrated by David Roberts (Orion). Follow Sally at www.sallygardner.net or on Twitter: @TheSallyGardner

Review:

Captures the mood of a generation. * The Times * Sally Gardner is quite possibly my favourite children's author of all time. Her poetic prose and seemingly effortless ability to flit from genre to genre never ceases to astonish me. * The Independent; * Striking, elegant ... Gardner's humane message will resonate with teens everywhere: keep looking for that door, as one day you'll find it - and maybe, once you've gone through, you'll even want to lock it behind you. -- Philip Womack * The Spectator * Gardner vividly juxtaposes the drug deaths and gang rivalry of the present with the top hats and formality of the early 19th century ... Gardner's clever tale is enjoyably complex * Financial Times * The story, which is set in the present and in 1830, makes both centuries vivid and credible. Unfolding a complicated mystery without losing us, it is told with uncliched brio and contains characters to care about, while making us consider what a difference a fresh start could make to those who have few opportunities. * The Sunday Times * As the three tangle with poison, treachery and love, the novel asks whether the past was better at granting the young responsibility, opportunities and adulthood... subtle, beautifully written and captivating. Enjoy. * New Statesman * Gardner pulls off a brilliant balancing act as her flawed hero travels between the two periods, discovering that, sometimes, a fresh start in a new environment can restore and heal those whose future - or past - looks hopeless. Rollicking stuff. * Daily Mail * This fast-paced and thought-provoking thriller will intrigue all who read it. Gardner is on top form here; though honestly, anything less from one of Britain's finest writers would have been a disappointment. * South China Morning Post * In the simplest of classifications this would qualify as a "time slip" novel, though such a reductive description does little to convey its richness and variety as it moves effortlessly between two Londons: the city in its contemporary guise and the re-imagined city of 1830. * The Irish Times * This YA thriller blends time travel, intrigue, and social commentary when a teen discovers a portal to the 1830s and encounters a murderous plot * Publishersweekly.com, *

About this edition

• Publisher: Hot Key Books
• Publication date: 2015
• ISBN 10: 1471401111
• ISBN 13: 9781471401114
• Binding: Paperback
• Number of pages: 276