{"product_id":"the-schoolhouse-9781472156327","title":"The Schoolhouse","description":"\u003cb\u003eBook Synopsis\u003c\/b\u003e\u003cbr\u003e\u003cp\u003e\u003cb\u003eLONGLISTED FOR THE POLARI PRIZE 2023\u003c\/b\u003e\u003cbr\u003e\u003cbr\u003e\u003cb\u003e''A compelling, fast-moving narrative . . . delivers real emotional impact'' \u003ci\u003e\u003cu\u003eTelegraph\u003c\/u\u003e\u003c\/i\u003e\u003c\/b\u003e\u003cbr\u003e\u003cbr\u003e\u003cb\u003e''A literary provocateur'' \u003ci\u003e\u003cu\u003eGuardian\u003c\/u\u003e\u003c\/i\u003e\u003cbr\u003e\u003cbr\u003e\u003c\/b\u003eIsobel lives an isolated life in North London, working at a nearby library. She feels safe if 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 are all it takes for her ordinary, careful armour to become overwhelmed and the trauma of what happened when she was a pupil at The Schoolhouse to return.\u003cbr\u003e\u003cbr\u003eThe Schoolhouse was different - one of the 1970s experimental schools that were a reaction to the formal methods of the past.  The usual rules did not apply, and life there was a dark interplay of freedom and violence, adventure and fear. Only her teenage diary recorded what happened, but the truth is coming for her and everything sh\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":48739406020951,"sku":"9781472156327","price":16.14,"currency_code":"GBP","in_stock":true}],"thumbnail_url":"\/\/cdn.shopify.com\/s\/files\/1\/0817\/1739\/5799\/files\/9781472156327.jpg?v=1720052154","url":"https:\/\/bookcurl.com\/products\/the-schoolhouse-9781472156327","provider":"Book Curl","version":"1.0","type":"link"}