Christiane M. Andrews
Spindlefish and Stars
![9780316496018_ANDREWS_SpindlefishandStars_HC[1].jpg](https://static.wixstatic.com/media/e6b266_2edb2352fc204e6ba624c7223bd5da96~mv2.jpg/v1/fill/w_451,h_656,al_c,q_80,usm_0.66_1.00_0.01,enc_auto/9780316496018_ANDREWS_SpindlefishandStars_HC%5B1%5D.jpg)
In which a story is spun.
And unspun.
Clothilde has lived her whole life in the shadows with her (sometimes) thieving and (always) ailing father. But when he fails to meet her one morning, sending her instead a mysterious ticket of "half-paffage," Clo finds herself journeying across the sea to reunite with him. The ticket, however, leaves her on a sunless island populated only by creaking fishermen, a rumpled old woman, a piggish cat, and a moon-cheeked boy named Cary.
Clo is quickly locked away and made to spend her days in unnerving chores with the island’s extraordinary fish, while the old woman sits nearby weaving an endless gray tapestry. Frustrated and aching with the loss of her father, Clo must unravel the mysteries of the island and all that’s hidden in the vast tapestry’s threads — secrets both exquisite and terrible. And she must decide how much of herself to give up in order to save those she thought she’d lost forever.
Out now from Little, Brown Books for Young Readers
PRAISE FOR SPINDLEFISH AND STARS
“
An epic tale of abandonment,
travel, secrets, family,
and the meaning of art...
Exquisite in detail,
Andrews's stunning novel
gives careful importance to objects...
Chapter titles sparkle and tantalize...and prose sings.
A tapestry, both humble and rich.
KIRKUS,
Starred Review
“
Andrews’ stunning debut, loosely based on Greek mythology, is bewitching, beautiful, and bewildering, akin to being submerged in an eerie dream...
[I]t’s immensely satisfying to absorb the delicious descriptions and gradual revelations along with the appealing protagonist. We may be just a single shining thread in a tapestry, as Clo learns, but what a glorious whole it creates.
Booklist,
Starred Review
Andrews' musical prose is a delight, full of rhythm and sparkle...Readers familiar with Greek myth will take special pleasure in the slantwise view Andrews conjures... The tapestry metaphor also offers a longer, measured view of the unavoidability of pain and the beauty of kindness as well as commentary on the persistence of powerful stories through art.
Bulletin of the Center for Children's Books,
Starred Review
“
“
[A] lyrical debut
exploring the nature
of destiny and sacrifice...
The narrative voice...makes
this enchanting story
feel like an all-new myth built from classic material.
Publishers Weekly,
Starred Review
Expertly written, full of beautiful imagery...Clo’s dynamic character growth is one to be applauded...[her] enlightening adventure teaches her to find beauty in tragedy, to help those in need, and to accept what cannot be changed while having the courage to change what she can. These timeless lessons alone make this title worth the read...an engaging and inventive novel.
“
“
Mysterious and evocative...
a dreamy, immersive
story that raises questions
about the power of art
and the value of
human suffering.
Horn Book
A 2020 Booklist
Editors' Choice
A Kirkus
Best Book of 2020
A Junior Library Guild
Gold Standard Selection
Wolfish
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The Inquisitor’s Tale meets The Book of Boy in this adventurous fantasy inspired by the myth of Romulus and Remus.
Twelve-year-old Rae is content as the adopted daughter of shepherds, helping with the flock and reveling in the beauty of the family’s hillside farm. But after a frightening encounter with a wolf, to whom she feels a sudden, peculiar connection, Rae realizes there is much more to her past—and her future—than she could have imagined.
Meanwhile, a young girl named Alba goes about her days as an oracle’s apprentice, a duty that confines her to a distant, watery cave. But when she bestows a troubling prophecy on the rising boy-king, her words unintentionally begin a reign of terror—and send Alba on a desperate mission alongside Rae and her wolf.
At turns profound, mysterious, and uniquely magical, Wolfish explores the complicated roles of nature and fate in our lives, the immense power of language to shape our world, and the boundless importance of love and kindness.
Out now from Little, Brown Books for Young Readers.
Available in paperback May 28.
Signed copies available from Gibson's; to have a copy personalized, leave a note in the comment box at checkout.
PRAISE FOR WOLFISH
“
In this world conjured by Andrews, metaphor bleeds into stark reality, and those able to read with an open mind will be rewarded with a deeply evocative, lyrical blend of fairy-tale and historical fantasy tinged in horror—and beauty. The book finds its emotional core in the touching depiction of Rae’s life with her shepherd parents, as well as in the elegant and immaculately controlled prose...Hand this to fans of Kelly Barnhill and those who appreciate a story as much as the manner of its telling.
Booklist
Starred Review
“
The narrative is beautifully written and provides readers with a strong sense of time and place. The text even includes poetry in the
form of the songs sung by the shepherds....Give this title to readers of Catherine Murdock and Kate
DiCamillo.
School Library Connection
Starred Review
“
Andrews’s narrator weaves a fable-like story of betrayal and love, revenge and destiny, in sure, poetic prose...every word draws us into a tactile, living world, one in which insects, worms, grubs, and beetles are as vital as a huge wolf, a royal advisor, and even the act of writing... Chapter-opening framed decorations (akin to medieval illuminations) by Yuta Onoda make the book an attractive object in itself and suit Andrews’s writing perfectly—delicate and earthy at once, both realistic and magical.
Horn Book
“
…Andrews’ Wolfish feels as if it was plucked from the mouths of bards and placed, words still forming, onto the page. It is a quiet, intimate fantasy made of the everyday magic of nature and humanity and bound up in lyrical prose, shaped like a stone by the river that holds it. This story flows, myth-like in its familiar majesty, tumbling across a wild countryside and sweeping in its scope. It evokes rumblings of various legends while remaining wholly unique, a tale of words about their importance and power.
THE BOOK SELLER
(Grass Valley, CA)
“
Intricate worldbuilding...couple[s] with poetic prose to render a protagonist whose careful dialogue emphasizes the way in which words—both spoken and written—can shape the world.
Publisher's Weekly
“
Fans of Roman mythology will appreciate the nods to classical literature, but fiction readers will gravitate toward the twins and their connection, and they will find this a contemplative and affecting read about the profound loneliness that has shaped each of the four main characters.
Bulletin of the Center for Children's Books
Shortlisted for the Ursula K. Le Guin Prize for Fiction
