One of Our Books of the Year 2017 | June 2017 Debut of the Month A heady romance for two adolescences each of whom is coping with a family trauma revolves around a horse, secrets and the terrible pressures of family. Sass, newly arrived in Cornwall to live with her uncle after her mother’s death in a car crash, comes across a beautiful silver horse in a sun dappled meadow and is enchanted. Alex, a moody teenager trying to cope with the expectations put on him, looks after the horse. When Alex offers to teach Sass how to ride Sass is drawn into his world – and the amazing secret of who he really is. Love and loss go hand in hand in a story that reaches across generations as well as capturing the pressures of today. ~ Julia Eccleshare
A message from the author: I hope that One Silver Summer is like the best chocolate – not too sweet, but meltingly comforting!
As a reader and publisher, I found myself in an editorial meeting wishing for a manuscript that was 'old school' romantic – dramatic and euphoric – set in a place as wild and windswept as Daphne Du Maurier's Cornwall ... but made modern. Then that started me thinking about fairytales and why they're evergreen. Why even today we're still prepared to accept and be fascinated by the idea of monarchy. And I guess the answer is that when life is ordinary – we seek out the extraordinary – when what separates them is a very thin line. Reading fairytales might be escapist, but is there anything better than reading to dream, at least for the length of a book?
One Silver Summer is about a girl who finds a horse that leads her to a boy with history to his name. It reflects on the lives of the real-life royals. Glamorous and popular – but living in the full glare of the media. What would it be like to befriend them? In a dreaming field in deepest Cornwall, out of the reach of the world, it might just be possible . . . I imagine.
And the fruit and nut? Cornwall. Castles. Horses. And lots of galloping!
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After losing her mum in an accident, Sass is sent to live with her uncle in England. Far from her native Brooklyn, the rocky shores and crumbling castles of Cornwall seem like the perfect place to hide her grief. And when she stumbles across a silver horse in a sunlit meadow Sass feels a surprising sense of peace...only to have it broken by a boy. Arrogant and distrustful, the horse's trainer, Alex, doesn't approve of the trespassing American. Yet after a few chance meetings, he begins to feel a connection to the curious girl with the sad eyes, and offers to teach her to ride. Sass never expected to feel anything again - least of all love - but the lessons reveal a far different Alex, and soon their friendship turns into something more. But Alex has a secret - a bombshell about his family that could shatter Sass's trust...and force him to abandon the one girl who made him believe in himself.
The LoveReading4Kids Editorial Team have read and reviewed One Silver Summer and determined it is suitable for children aged 11-14 years old
One Silver Summer features in the following genres: Debuts of the Month, Recommendations, Featured Books for 13+ readers, Books Reviewed by our Reader Review Panels, Featured Books for 11+ readers
One Silver Summer is available in Ebook, Paperback
One Silver Summer was written by Rachel Hickman and published by Old Barn Books
£3.50