Lauren St John’s story ranges from Africa to Scotland and successfully fuses magic with unflinching descriptions of life in one of the world’s most dangerous slums. Makena’s life changes when she loses her parents. She swaps her comfortable home in Nairobi for a cramped house shared with her cousins and abusive aunt but worse is to come when she flees back to the city ending up in the notorious Mathare slum. A girl nicknamed Snow and glimpses of a magical fox give her strength until at last she finds a new family. St John is so accomplished a storyteller that the different elements mesh together seamlessly, the darkness of Makena’s situation always lightened by a sense of hope. Africa, its people and wild spaces are vividly described and this is a story to thrill and inspire young readers. ~Andrea Reece
Lauren St John's stunning Christmas classic is about forgotten children, the power of nature to heal us and a girl who will climb mountains in search for a place to call home. Growing up in vibrant, crowded Nairobi, Makena has only one dream: to climb Mount Kenya like her hero, her mountain guide father. But when her beautiful world is shattered, she finds that in the city's dark places there are a thousand ways to fall, each more deadly than any crevasse. In a world of strangers, does she dare trust Snow, whose ballet dreams are haunted by a past she's still running from? And is the sparkling fox friend or foe? After a fresh start in the Scottish Highlands turns bad, Makena flees to the mountains. But will they betray her or be the making of her?
'A glorious story of loss, refuge, home, heart, snow and mountains. I loved it' Katherine Rundell
'An absolute triumph. A hymn to mountains, lost children and kind hearts' Abi Elphinstone
Author
About Lauren John
Lauren St John grew up surrounded by horses and wild animals on a farm in Zimbabwe. An Ambassador for the Born Free Foundation, she is a passionate conservationist. Catherine Hyde trained in Fine Art Painting at Central School of Art, London. She lives and works in Helston, Cornwall.
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