A debut YA novel that is both a story of horrifying things and a celebration of the power of hope and resilience.
“Behind this garden is a labyrinth. It’s a dark and dangerous place, but there’s a boy trapped inside.”
When a tragic chain of events tears his life apart, eleven-year-old Thomas finds himself in a children’s home. He is found by a sinister character called Raven who takes him to an old orangery where they encounter a ragged man called Marcel. The sole purpose of Marcels’ life is to feed an old gnarly peach tree. From a branch hangs a single ripe peach. Marcel tells Thomas that if he eats this peach, it will take away all his problems. But there is a terrible price to pay, because the tree demands tribute; a tribute which must be hunted down within a dark and dangerous labyrinth and taken from the soul of a lost boy it has imprisoned.
A powerful debut novel that is both a story of horrifying things and a celebration of the power of hope and resilience.
About the Author: Clíona Woods grew up between the mythical landscapes of Shropshire, England and County Meath, Ireland. Her origins lie in the brutal Spanish and Viking invasions of Ireland; ravages which mingled their mythologies, and left behind a race combining the ethereal Norwegians, vivacious Spaniards, and the mystical indigenous Irish. She has always loved stories; they are an intrinsic and essential part of her identity. As a child Clíona’s primary source of sustenance came from authors such as Susan Cooper, Alan Garner, Jenny Nimmo and Tolkien. Marcel’s Peaches & The Raven’s Dream is her debut novel.
