{"product_id":"the-schoolhouse-9781472156303","title":"The Schoolhouse","description":"\u003cb\u003eBook Synopsis\u003c\/b\u003e\u003cbr\u003e\u003cp\u003e\u003cb\u003e''A compelling, fast-moving narrative . . . delivers real emotional impact'' \u003ci\u003e\u003cu\u003eTelegraph\u003c\/u\u003e\u003c\/i\u003e\u003cbr\u003e\u003cbr\u003e''A literary provocateur'' \u003ci\u003e\u003cu\u003eGuardian\u003c\/u\u003e\u003c\/i\u003e\u003c\/b\u003e\u003cbr\u003e\u003cb\u003e\u003cbr\u003eSHORTLISTED for the POLARI PRIZE 2023\u003cbr\u003e\u003c\/b\u003e\u003cb\u003eWINNER of\u003ci\u003e DIVA Magazine\u003c\/i\u003e''s 2023 ''Author of the Year'' Award\u003cbr\u003e\u003c\/b\u003e\u003cbr\u003eIsobel lives an isolated life in North London, where she works at a nearby library. She feels safe, so long as she keeps to her routines and doesn''t let her thoughts stray too far into the past. But a newspaper photograph of a missing local schoolgirl and a letter from her old teacher send her spiralling and bring back the trauma of what happened years ago, when she was a pupil at The Schoolhouse.\u003cbr\u003e\u003cbr\u003e The Schoolhouse was a 1970s experimental school where Isobel''s days were a dark interplay of freedom and adventure, violence and fear. The only record of what happened there lies in the pages of her teenage diary. \u003cbr\u003e\u003cbr\u003eThe Schoolhouse taught Isobel that some truths must never be r\u003cbr\u003e\u003cbr\u003e\u003cb\u003eTrade Review\u003c\/b\u003e\u003cbr\u003e\u003cb\u003e\u003ci\u003eThe Schoolhouse\u003c\/i\u003e is taut, gripping and intensely moving right until the very last page. I truly couldn't put Sophie Ward's beautifully written novel down\u003c\/b\u003e -- Susannah Wise, author of This Fragile Earth\u003cbr\u003e\u003cb\u003e\u003ci\u003eThe Schoolhouse\u003c\/i\u003e is a real 'stand-out-from-the-crowd' book, with an absorbing plot from the get-go; part detective novel, part taut, cerebral thriller . . . A masterful rendition of the tensions and realities of human resilience and emotional frailty\u003c\/b\u003e -- Laura Carlin, author of The Wicked Cometh\u003cbr\u003e\u003ci\u003eThe Schoolhouse\u003c\/i\u003e is \u003cb\u003ea legit crime thriller: stylish, pacey and genuinely frightening\u003c\/b\u003e . . . \u003cb\u003eIf only more Booker-recognised writers did stuff this fun\u003c\/b\u003e -- Susie Goldsbrough * The Times *\u003cbr\u003e\u003cb\u003eA tense, taut drama\u003c\/b\u003e that questions how childhood trauma affects adult behaviour -- Joanne Finney * Good Housekeeping *\u003cbr\u003eQueerness and deafness sit alongside themes of resilience and trust, making for \u003cb\u003ean evocative, well-paced narrative that's sure to win her new readers\u003c\/b\u003e -- Hephzibah Anderson * Guardian *\u003cbr\u003e\u003cb\u003eWard proves she can construct a compelling, fast-moving narrative\u003c\/b\u003e (with an extended action-packed denouement). What's best about her novels, however, is \u003cb\u003eher gift for bringing characters to life,\u003c\/b\u003e which means that whether her writing is disconcertingly strange or, as here, treads at times on over-familiar territory, \u003cb\u003eit always delivers a real emotional impact\u003c\/b\u003e. * The Telegraph *\u003cbr\u003e\u003cb\u003eA literary provocateur . . . [Ward writes with] considerable insight and humanity\u003c\/b\u003e . . . this novel has much to say about childhood . . . Ward unpicks the damage caused not just by people intent on harm, but those around them who, blinded by idealism, prejudice or laziness, cannot see what is right before their eyes. \u003cb\u003eHer anger is palpable, but so too is her compassion\u003c\/b\u003e -- Clare Clark * Guardian *\u003cbr\u003eThe mysteries of the child's disappearance and of what\u003cb\u003e \u003c\/b\u003escarred Isobel so deeply 15 years earlier make the book a page-turner, with some intriguing themes of trauma and abuse * The Herald *\u003c\/p\u003e","brand":"Little, Brown Book Group","offers":[{"title":"Default Title","offer_id":47851737743703,"sku":"9781472156303","price":9.49,"currency_code":"GBP","in_stock":true}],"thumbnail_url":"\/\/cdn.shopify.com\/s\/files\/1\/0817\/1739\/5799\/files\/9781472156303.jpg?v=1710643295","url":"https:\/\/bookcurl.com\/products\/the-schoolhouse-9781472156303","provider":"Book Curl","version":"1.0","type":"link"}