COVER STORY: A SONG FOR ISSY BRADLEY

A Song for Issy Bradley by Carys Bray is the story of a family trying to carry on after the death of their daughter. Designer Glenn O'Neill tells us about the process of creating the cover.  In considering the jacket approach for A Song For Issy Bradley, it seemed appropriate to be guided both by the rich narrative and also by the tremendously evocative atmosphere. In the opening prologue, Claire, Issy’s mother, describes walking down the beach towards the tideline: "She stops walking when she sees a discarded net. It’s red like the little bags that hold oranges, and half full of tiny cockles - silver bells and cockle shells - she remembers singing the nursery rhyme to the children. She crouches, opens the net and helps herself to a cockle." READ MORE >

FEATURES

   

YA AUTHOR NATASHA FARRANT ON WRITING FOR GIRLS The author of Flora in Love tells us why  writing for girls is more than just chick-lit for younger readers. MORE >

LIAM MURRAY BELL ON HIS LOVE OF SECOND-HAND BOOKSHOPS The author of The Busker talks about his affection for second-hand bookshops, inspired by his childhood. MORE >

	BOOK OF THE WEEK

HER by Harriet Lane Harriet Lane has created a taut, unnerving thriller in Her that will keep you in its hold until the devastating conclusion. Nina spots Emma on the street in London and immediately recognises her, but Emma doesn't realise she's met Nina before. Both women are in their late thirties but in very different situations and Emma is entranced by Nina's attention, gratefully welcoming her into her life, allowing Nina the access to manipulate Emma. Lane ever so gradually reveals things about the women's pasts although she  resists giving much away at all until near to the end - when the motive behind Nina's obsession with Emma is revealed - before building to a shocking ending. Her is a beautifully put together novel which fans of Deborah Levy's Swimming Home or Helen Walsh's The Lemon Grove will enjoy. MORE >