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The rugged west coast of Ireland seems like the perfect place for a holiday. Then everything starts to go wrong. Colin is aware of an awful smell coming off the land, a smell of death and decay... Colin and Prill were looking forward to a holiday of fun and adventure in Ireland. It would have been perfect if only they hadn't had to drag along their "odd" cousin Oliver. But Oliver, it turns out, isn't their biggest problem. Almost from the moment they arrive, Colin feels sick from an awful smell, so powerful and horrible that it seems to be rising from the land of the dead. At the same time, Prill is visited by a strange creature creeping into her dreams. Who is she, and what does she want? Only Oliver seems untouched by the danger. As the hot summer days continue, their terror mounts and their baby sister becomes critically ill. Oliver links the present horror with the terrible famine in Ireland of the 1840s - and the strange occupant of the nearby caravan, whose land was lost then through eviction - and he must bring about the reconciliation to save himself and his cousins.
A summer holiday on the Irish coast descends into a nightmare when three cousins encounter a malevolent presence linked to the Great Famine. Colin, Prill, and their cousin Oliver arrive expecting adventure, but they are quickly besieged by a pervasive, sickening odor and unsettling supernatural occurrences. As their baby sister falls ill, the siblings must navigate the physical isolation of the coast and the psychological weight of a historical trauma that refuses to remain buried. The narrative follows their desperate attempt to reconcile the past to ensure their survival in the present.
This novel presents a chilling intersection of historical tragedy and supernatural suspense that effectively utilizes the Irish landscape as a character in its own right. The narrative structure relies on the juxtaposition of the children's modern perspective with the lingering, spectral echoes of the Great Famine. Readers likely find the mounting tension and the focus on the psychological impact of the past to be the primary drivers of the story. The book functions as a somber exploration of how historical grievances can manifest in the lives of the present generation.
Page Count:
196
Publication Date:
2014-01-01
Publisher:
HarperCollinsChildren’sBooks
ISBN-10:
0007392419
ISBN-13:
9780007392414
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